A Tale of Ever After
by knittingknots
Summary: And they lived happily ever after - my vision of what InuYasha and Kagome's happily ever after is like in chapter fic form. This is gonna be long...
1. Chapter 1

_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**A Tale of Ever After**

_A/N What is this? Knittingknots is starting another chapter fic? Indeed. This story is going to be, perhaps, my ultimate post-manga telling of the world I've created for InuYasha and Kagome after she returns to the past. It more or less follows the timeline sequence I started with all my endless one shots and drabbles, but unlike those, this is by no means a series of snapshots. Some of the material might seem familiar, but much of it has appeared nowhere before, except in my own head. The one thing I can assure you of, is that it is going to be long._

_I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I'm enjoying writing it._

**Chapter One **

It was getting near the end of a rather remarkable day.

Sango rocked her infant son as she watched one of the twins sitting on the lap of the friend she had thought she would never see again. The toddler was nodding off, nestled in the crook of Kagome's arm.

The light from the fire pit flickered over their faces, and on the silver hair and face of the man who sat next to Kagome. Since InuYasha had helped her out of the well earlier in the day, the two had been inseparable. Through all the visits with Kaede and the villagers, and through dinner when she and Miroku had caught their friend up with the high points of their lives since they had last been together, InuYasha had been remarkably patient, but no one could get him to take more than a few steps away from his miko.

And from the looks of it, Sango decided Kagome was perfectly content with his nearness. The three-year separation they had been through seemed to have not lessened their feelings for each other. In fact, it was just the opposite. They had been sneaking glances at each other and little touches all day. It continued through dinner as they sat next to each other, touching hands, sometimes blushing. Although Kagome seemed happy to listen to Miroku's stories, and was trying to pay attention, from time to time, her eyes would meet InuYasha's, and the two of them would be lost to the world around them.

Sango looked down at her sleeping baby. It had bothered her for a long time how it seemed that everybody else got to have their happy ever after except for the two who were most responsible for Naraku's end and the destruction of the Shikon no Tama. Even Kohaku had found peace and a way to make up for having been one of Naraku's tools. For the last three years, InuYasha had been wrapped in a sorrow he really tried to hide, but she could see it peeking through when he thought no one was looking. Sometimes, as she and Miroku had started their life together and raised their children, she felt guilty at her happiness when she knew he deserved more. But today, all that had changed. Sango couldn't remember when last she saw her hanyou friend with such an aura of peace. All the sadness had simply vanished the moment he pulled Kagome up out of the well.

The reunited couple had been generous today, giving up the afternoon to their friends and the villagers who were happily surprised at Kagome's return. But now, Sango thought they needed some time for themselves. She put her son in his basket cradle and looked at the sleeping child in Kagome's arms, then back at Miroku. He must have been thinking along the same lines, because he nodded at her.

"I think it's time for the little ones to go to sleep," he said, picking up his other daughter from where she had curled up to sleep next to his thigh. "You are welcome to stay here tonight, Kagome-sama, if you'd like."

"Thank you, Miroku. But I told Kaede that I would be staying with her and Rin." Kagome smiled at her friends, and handed the sleeping child back to Sango. "There's so much to catch up on! But it's so good to be back."

That woke up a drowsing kitsune. "Can I come with you?" Shippou asked. He hopped from his place on the floor to Miroku's shoulder.

Before InuYasha could say anything, Miroku grabbed the boy with his free hand. "No, not tonight, Shippou. Remember our talk this afternoon?"

The kitsune's face fell, but he nodded. "Yeah. I forgot. I'm staying here tonight."

"That's right. I need you to help me in the morning," Miroku said. "You have to keep Chiya-sama's daughters amused while I talk to her about the temple. Plus, I think her youngest daughter likes you."

Shippou blushed a bit. "You think so?"

"Yes," Miroku said. "You don't want to disappoint her by not being there, right?"

"Right," the kitsune said, perking up. "And you're not going away again, are you, Kagome?"

"Nope," Kagome replied. "I'm here for good."

She caught InuYasha's eyes as she spoke. A small smile touched the hanyou's lips, nowhere near a smirk.

Sango picked up her daughter. "Be sure you come by tomorrow. I have some stuff I would like to give you, some clothes and other things. Or maybe I'll just have Miroku bring them over later tonight."

Kagome nodded as she stood up. "Thanks. I really didn't have time to bring anything with me except what I have on."

"We're just glad you're here," Miroku said. Shippou jumped off his shoulder as he stood up. "Whatever we can do to help you get situated, we'll do it."

"Yeah," InuYasha said softly. For some reason, that soft word made Kagome blush prettily.

He and Kagome walked to the door, and after a few more words, they left. Miroku and Sango stood there with their daughters, watching the couple walk down the path.

"She's grown up," Miroku commented.

"I was so afraid she'd never come back," Sango said, leaning against her husband's shoulder.

"InuYasha knew, I think," said Miroku, wrapping his arm around his wife. "Even though he was willing to give her up forever if it would make her happy, I don't think he ever really doubted."

He gave Sango a little squeeze. "I suspect the next few days are going to be rather interesting."

"Don't you tease him, husband," Sango said, going back into the house.

"What, me?" he said, trying to look innocent.

"Yes, you." Sango replied. "He, both of them, deserve some happiness."

"That's true," the monk replied, and he followed her back in and slid the door closed.


	2. Chapter 2

_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter Two**

InuYasha and Kagome rounded the bend where the path from Miroku's house joined the trail that lead both to the village and further into the woods, to the Goshinboku and places beyond.

Once he was sure they were out of sight, the hanyou stopped and leaned against a tree, taking Kagome by the hand.

"Let's stop a moment," he said. He gave her a little smile, a bit wistful a bit nervous, but happy.

Kagome nodded, and stood beside him. Off in the distance, they could see the village, with its scattered huts and its fields now green with young barley instead of the rice that would be planted later. The light was quickly fading from afternoon to twilight.

"Anything wrong?" she asked. He shook his head, and and gazed down at her. The look in his eyes, intense, otherworldly, was everything she remembered, but his face was calm, at peace. Looking at him, and the aura he gave off, she felt like nothing could be wrong again ever.

"Just glad to have a moment's quiet," InuYasha said. "I know everybody meant well, but . . . "

"So many questions," she said, resting a hand on his arm. "So much talk."

He nodded. "It's just nice to be alone."

"It is, isn't it?" She dropped her eyes and chewed on her bottom lip. "I know everybody wanted to say hello, but I don't know how much more I could have taken."

InuYasha laughed at her admission, and she looked up at him and smiled.

They were standing very close. InuYasha could feel her breath on his face. Her scent was like fine wine, stirring things in his mind and his heart and his body. He lifted his hand and ran a finger over Kagome's cheek.

"Kagome," he said. "I..." His tongue seemed to cleave to the roof of his mouth.

She brushed her fingers over his lips. "I missed you, InuYasha."

He caught her hand, and rested his cheek in it. "Every day, Kagome."

"I'm here now," she said. Her blue gray eyes gazed at him, getting lost in the moment.

He caught his breath."Yeah," he said, wrapping his arms around her, and her arms circled his waist.

"Don't leave me again, even if it's for my own good," she said. "I'll always find a way to come back." She reached up and tugged on his ear for emphasis.

"Never." He pulled her hand off his ear, then pulled her closer. "I don't think I could ever do that again."

"Good." He looked at her with such wanting, needy eyes, it made her breath catch. In return, she gave him an encouraging smile. "So where were you going to take me? It wasn't to Kaede's, was it?"

InuYasha dropped his arms. Taking her right hand, he backed away a step, giving her a little, sheepish grin as he shook his head. Tugging on her hand, he began to lead her a little further down the path, away from the village. "There's this place in the forest I'd like to show you."

"All right," she replied. "Let's go."

They headed deeper into the woods, away from Miroku's house and moving in the general direction of the Goshinboku and the well, down a path that branched off from the road that lead up the hill and into the deep forest.

"So what are we going to see?" Kagome asked.

"It's just up ahead," InuYasha said, and then they left the cover of the trees for a clearing in the forest.

A small stream ran across it to one side, coming down from its spring in the hills to join the river below. In the clearing was a small house, much like all the houses in the village.

The ground around it was uncluttered, no garden, no farm tools. There was a wood pile to one side, and a few dry weeds poked up around it, but not much other sign of domestic life.

"I know I've walked this way before," Kagome said as they neared it. "But I didn't know there was a house here."

"Wasn't here then," InuYasha said. He dropped her hand, and stuffed his own in his sleeves, suddenly uncertain.

"Whose house is it?" she asked.

"Mine," he replied, not meeting her eyes. For some reason, his cheeks colored, and one of his ears twitched.

Kagome rested her hand on his arm "I was wondering why we were coming here."

"I thought you might like to see it," he said, keeping his eyes focused on the small building. "Get away from everybody for a while."

"I'd like that," she replied.

Letting out a breath, he wrapped his hand around hers again, and visibly relaxed. "Good. Just don't expect too much."

She nodded, and they walked up to the small building. Like most of the other houses in the area, it was plank roofed, with solid wooden walls and small shuttered windows, and had a bamboo mat door. InuYasha lifted up and held back the door. It was nearly sunset, but there was still enough light for Kagome to find her way to the raised wooden floor and take off her shoes, but not much more.

"I'll start a fire," InuYasha said. "You'll be able to see it better." He walked over to the fire pit, took his sword out of his belt and laid it next to him, and began sorting wood.

"All right," Kagome replied as she put her shoes near the door.

With the skill that comes from long practice, InuYasha struck flint to steel and soon had a fire burning in the fire pit. It cast a warm light in the small house, chasing away the spring chill.

As the room lit up, Kagome could see that the house was a little smaller than Kaede's hut, and much smaller than Miroku's. There was a folded pile of bedding in one corner and a couple of storage boxes, and by the fire pit, there were a couple of cooking pots and a low table that held a few dishes.

"How long have you had this place?" Kagome asked, shrugging off her sweater and laying it on the floor next to where she was sitting.

"I started building it before the twins were born," InuYasha said. "Some of the men in the village helped me with the framing. I never knew there was so much work involved, even in a place this small." He bent over the fire, feeding it small pieces of pine wood to give off more light. "Old Tameo, the headman - one day, he walked me here and told me I ought to have a place of my own. Said it was so I could keep an eye out for bandits. We had a problem with them for a while the year after Naraku died. But to be honest," he said, looking up at her, "I think he just felt sorry for me being around Sango when she was carrying the twins."

"Was she that bad?" Kagome moved from the entrance to sit down on a mat near where he was working.

He nodded, poking the fire to get the larger pieces to catch. "She got really moody, especially the last few months. Miroku even had Kaede lock up the Hiraikotsu up at the shrine, just to be safe."

She laughed a little at that, but then fell silent as InuYasha finished building the fire. Drawing her legs up she rested her head on her knees. "Things have changed since I left."

"Some," he said, tossing in the final piece of wood. That done, he put down the fire poker and sat down beside her. His right ear twitching again, a nervous habit when he felt tense or uncertain, he took a deep breath and wrapped an arm around her waist. "Some haven't changed at all."

Kagome looked up at him. The amber gaze that her eyes met was warm. She smiled a little, then sitting up, she rested her head lightly against his shoulder. "Have you?"

"Maybe," he replied.

"Yeah," Kagome said, "Me too. These last three years . . . I'm sorry it took so long for me to come back. You must have been terribly lonely."

He stared into the fire as he searched for words. "It . . . it was hard, yeah. I can't lie. But I knew you were safe, and there was so much to do at first - putting the village back to order after what Naraku had done to it, especially Kaede's house, and then building Miroku's house. Did you see he actually has built something he calls a temple? Not much more than a shack if you ask me."

Kagome shook her head.

"I'll have to show it to you tomorrow. And right afterwards, a bunch of stupid youkai seemed to come out of the woodwork. It didn't take long for me and Miroku to get busy in the youkai exterminating business. It wasn't like when my mother died. I wasn't left alone. But still, at night and . . . " His throat grew tight, and he swallowed, trying to get the words out. "Feh," he finally managed to say. "That doesn't matter. You're here now."

Kagome picked up his hand, studied the claw-tipped fingers that could look so threatening. It was a fighter's hand, some might say a monster's hand, but to her was the hand of the man who saved her, protected her over and over, the hand of the man who loved her enough to be there when she returned, the first thing she had glimpsed at her return. She laced her fingers into his.

"I thought about you every day, and especially on new moon nights," she said, not meeting his eyes, her voice small and distant. "I missed you so much, but I was so frightened, InuYasha. I didn't know how exhausted and frightened by the battle I was until I was home. I tried to get through the well, but when I did, it didn't let me through." She sighed. "I had nightmares a long time."

He rested his chin on her head. "I'm sorry."

She leaned back into his chest. "Don't be sorry, InuYasha. If it hadn't been for you, I wouldn't have made it out of there, or made the wish that destroyed the jewel. But it all left me feeling so empty. When I was trapped in the darkness, before you showed up and I thought I was all alone, the jewel showed me a vision, the world it was offering me - friends and school and family. In the vision I had, I always knew something was missing, but I didn't know what. I was going to school and doing things with my friends, but something wasn't quite right. There was an emptiness in my life that spoiled everything. It wasn't until I was walking by the sacred tree that I knew what was missing - it was you."

Kagome straightened up to look at InuYasha then, her eyes damp and shimmering in the firelight. "The jewel was trying to trick me into choosing that life, for wishing for it - all the things I thought I wanted once upon a time. It's funny, really, that after I returned, that was the life I lived - school and friends and family. But it wasn't the life I needed any more. I had grown too far apart from my friends. My family, they loved me, but really didn't understand what I had been through. There was always this empty place inside me, but this time I knew what was missing. I had changed and done too much to really belong. And I was living in a world without InuYasha."

It hurt him to hear the pain in her voice. "Kagome," he said, softly, searching for something to say, to take that hurt away. He couldn't find the words, so he did what he knew to do, pulling her tightly into the circle of his arms.

She sighed as his arms wrapped around her and the fabric of his sleeves blanketed her and leaned her cheek against his chest. "This feels right, doesn't it?" she said.

"More than right," he said, not making any moves to let her loose until a piece of wood in the fire pit loudly popped, exploding with a spray of sparks. Both InuYasha and Kagome turned to look, and she began to giggle.

"Oi, woman, what's so funny?" the hanyou asked. He unwound his arms reluctantly from around her to lean over towards the fire pit. Poking at the burning wood with a stick, he stirred it, and looked back over his shoulder. "Well?"

"It made me think of fireworks," Kagome said, smiling. "Our own private fireworks for our own private celebration."

"After all we've been through, we deserve some fireworks," InuYasha said, amused. "Today's the first thing I wanted to celebrate in a long time."


	3. Chapter 3

_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

_A/N - to the anonymous reviewer who seemed to think I used copy/replace and lifted this story from someone else: Koibito is a Japanese word that means lover; it's the type of endearment that a person uses to the person they care most about, their beloved._

**Chapter 3**

InuYasha gave the burning coals one final stir, then put down the poker, returning to his place next to Kagome. Watching him, she waited for him to get settled, then leaning against him, regained her position against his chest.

"We really do have something to celebrate," she said, focusing on the flickering flames. "I still I don't know why it was today the well let me through, and not any of the other days I walked into the well house and searched for the magic there but didn't find it. Maybe the well knew I was finally ready. I finished my schooling last week. That world now considers me an adult. Everything I had to do as a child of my family was done. Maybe it read my heart and knew now was the time."

She pulled his hand into her lap, resting her much smaller hand on his. "It wasn't the first time I walked into the well house and just stared down into the darkness there. I'd go there to talk to you, tell you about how I missed you and all the little things that were happening in my life. But today was different. I could feel it when I walked into the building. There was something in the air. As I looked at the well, it seemed to me that the reason I could never get back to you was my fault - I was too afraid. I was afraid of the darkness, of all the danger we had gone through, afraid maybe of growing up and leaving my family. Maybe I was afraid you wouldn't want to be with me any more."

InuYasha gave her hand a little squeeze. "Feh. No chance of that ever happening."

Kagome looked up at him, at the honest sincerity in his amber eyes, and smiled, giving his hand a squeeze back. "That's a good thing, because next I found myself wishing, wishing as hard as I could, to be with you again. I could feel the magic, faint at first, but then it grew and reached up to touch me. When I finally looked into the well, I could see the sky here, and I knew I was being given a chance. Mama followed me into the well house. She saw the sky too, and knew what I wanted to do. She gave me her blessing, and then I jumped. When I landed, I looked up, and the first thing I saw was you. I knew I was home. This world, not that one, is where I belong."

InuYasha's amber eyes glistened with emotion as his listened to her. He struggled to say something. "I can't say what that means to me," he said at last, lifting her chin up with one finger. "I just don't have enough words. I've missed you so much. Life was so hard without you."

He bent over slightly, pulling her to him as his lips found hers. The kiss began, gently and tentatively, and a bit unsure, but built up heat as he pulled her closer, cupping the back of her head. Their mouths opened to the taste of each other.

Her arms had wrapped around his neck, under the satin of his hair, as she pressed herself lightly against him, and he was loathe to let go once the kiss had ended. Instead, he rested his forehead against hers.

"I wanted to do that when I pulled you out of the well, but the others showed up too soon," he said, giving her a crooked, sheepish grin.

Kagome brushed her fingers over his lips. "Better now," she said. "Nobody will interrupt us."

"No little brother," he said, gently kissing her forehead. "No kitsune. No teasing monk."

"Nobody else." Her hand went to his cheek, brushing the skin with the back of her knuckles, then slid softly to return through his silver hair to its place around his neck. "Just you and me."

Their mouths found each other's again. Her lips parted as his kiss deepened, and their tongues slid over and around each other in a gentle, delicious dance, exploring and tasting.

Breaking the kiss, InuYasha tucked Kagome's head back under his chin and wrapped an arm around her. She could hear his heartbeat racing as he worked to even out his breath. After a moment, he spoke.

"When I finally broke out of the jewel and saw you there, floating in that blackness, I knew what really mattered to me." His voice was soft, but rough, as if it were hard for him to talk. "Power didn't matter. Strength didn't matter. Just you. Only you."

He picked up her hand, still holding her closely. "I just wanted you to be safe and happy. When I saw you fall into your mother's arms, surrounded by the people who loved you, I knew you needed them, and they needed you, and I didn't even fight it when the well took me back. All that mattered to me was that you were safe and had a chance to be happy."

"I'm happy now," Kagome said, lacing her fingers into his. "The first time I've really been happy in a long time."

"Me too," he said, brushing his thumb over hers. "But even though I let you go, I always hoped - no, I knew that we weren't done. Kaede thought we were, that you'd never be able to make it back. But I knew differently. After I followed you into the Meidou, I found myself trapped in the jewel, fighting the youkai in it. They tried to tell me that you were born to stay there forever in it, to fight through all time with Naraku, just like Midoriko was fighting against the other youkai there. I told them that there was no way in hell that was true. We had been born to meet each other, to be with each other." He gave her hand a small squeeze. "While you were on the other side of the well, that was what kept me going, knowing we were meant to be together. I would have waited forever." He moved so he could smile at her. "But I'm glad we didn't have to wait any longer than we did."

"InuYasha," she whispered. Their lips met again, tender, lingering.

Kagome snuggled back against InuYasha's shoulder. They sat there, wrapped up together for several minutes, watching the fire, not speaking, just pleased to be with each other. InuYasha's free hand made long, gentle strokes over Kagome's arm and back, almost as if were reassuring himself she was really there.

"I'm afraid," he said, breaking the silence. "I'm afraid that all this is going to turn out to be a dream and when I wake up in the morning, you'll still be on the other side of the well."

"I'm here," she said. She turned to face him. His right ear twitched, like it always did when he was tense. His eyes, though, glimmered in the firelight, dark burnished amber, filled with longing. "I'll only leave if you send me away."

"Never. Never again, even if I think it's for your own good. It's going to be hard enough just to take you back to Kaede's for the night." He smiled a rueful, wistful smile.

"Then don't," Kagome said. She ran a fingertip gently over his lips. He caught her hand, and kissed the fingertips. "I didn't come back to stay with Kaede." She lifted her other hand and slid it around his neck. "I want to be with you. Tonight. Always."

"With me," he repeated. It sounded like a question. His eyes grew wide as it dawned on him what she meant.

She nodded.

"Kagome," he breathed, and his mouth reclaimed hers, this time hungry and unrestrained in his want of her. As the kiss deepened and turned into more than one, they ended up laying down, InuYasha half on top of her. Suddenly, he stilled as if he had realized something, then lifted himself up on his elbows.

Amber eyes searched her face, his look intense and serious. "You do know if you stay, everyone in the village will call you InuYasha's wife. The hanyou's wife. Some people aren't going to like it. It's never easy when a human chooses a youkai as their partner. There won't be any going back. Be sure you're ready for this, Koibito. If you're not, let me take you back to Kaede's. As much as I want to be with you, I'll understand."

Kagome smiled at him and shook her head. "I traveled nearly five hundred years in time to be here with you," Kagome said. She reached up and brushed a finger across his cheek, then slipped her hand across the side of his face where a human's ears would be, weaving her fingers into his hair. Her eyes were warm and dark and wanting. "I don't know if I could even go back if I wanted to. But that doesn't matter. Let them say whatever they want to say. Call me the hanyou's wife? That's exactly what I want to be. What I came here to be. InuYasha's wife."


	4. Chapter 4

_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 4**

Again, a piece of wood popped in the fire pit, cascading sparks that fell into the ash and sand around the flames. InuYasha's ear flicked at the sound, but neither he nor Kagome looked up this time from where they were stretched out on the floor nearby.

"Wife," he whispered, then let his lips brush across hers. "Kagome wants to be InuYasha's wife."

The awe in his voice, the intensity of feelings in his eyes – want and hope, love and need – was almost too much for Kagome to take. She nodded, not quite able to speak. Burying his head in the crook of her neck, he breathed warmly against the soft skin there, giving her goose bumps.

"I've wanted to be Kagome's husband for so long," he murmured.

She moaned softly at the sensation. His mouth found hers again, desperately trying to pour all that she meant to him into that kiss. One arm wrapped under her neck, cradling her head; the other explored the length of her body with long, gentle strokes, eventually finding his way under the bottom hem of her blouse. She arched up to him as his hand explored the soft velvet of her back.

"The things you do to me, woman. I need you," he said, raising himself up on one elbow. "I need you like I need air. I need to feel your skin next to mine and taste you everywhere. I want to drown myself in your smell and wrap myself around you. Is that wrong?"

"No, InuYasha," she said, letting her hands brush the neckline of his kosode and slip under the fabric to touch his warm, bronzed skin. "It's not wrong at all. I need that too. It's what husbands and wives do."

Wrapping both arms around her, he lifted her up to stand. "Show me what you need," he said, his voice shaky. "I..."

Kagome nodded. "Take me to bed, husband, and we'll learn together."

He said nothing, but kissed her quickly and untangled himself from her to walk across the small room and grab the folded bedding, unrolling it not too far from the fire pit. Next, he laid Tessaiga down, putting it where it would be in easy reach. After that he knelt down to smooth the futon out and spread a blue cover over it.

"You have a futon?" Kagome asked, kneeling down next to him, helping him smooth the cover out. She was surprised at the touch of luxury before her. Futons were not yet everyday furnishings. And they were expensive. She had spent more than one night sleeping on the floor in her earlier days in InuYasha's time.

"Yeah," he said a little sheepishly as they finished. "I haven't used it much. I guess you could say it was a sign of me hoping you would be here to use it. I...I didn't want you to have to sleep on the ground." He blushed a little at the admission.

She rested a hand on his, and smiled. "I'm here," she said. "Thank you."

"Yeah." Rising to his knees, he pulled her up to him. "You really are here. I'm glad I did it."

His hands slid under her blouse, exploring the warm curves only somewhat hidden by the garment. It wasn't enough for her. She backed away just enough to pull the garment up and over her head, and then reached back and unfastened the clasp to her bra. He watched her, not sure of what to do, but she smiled shyly at him, nodding. His hands shook a little as he reached out and slid the straps down her arms and revealed her breasts with their rosy peaks.

"You are so beautiful," InuYasha said. Watching her with both appreciation and wonder, he pulled the garment all the way off, and laid it on top of her blouse.

Kagome took one of his hands in hers, brought it to her breast and said, "You can touch, you know."

For a moment, he stared at what he was doing, weighing the soft warmth of her breast in his hand. His thumb brushed across her nipple, and she gasped, closing her eyes for a moment. Suddenly, he crushed her to him, his mouth desperately seeking her lips, then trailing wet kisses down her neck. Her fingers sought the ties to his jacket. He pulled back when he realized what she was doing, and shrugged out of his suikan and kosode.

"I've always wanted to do this," she murmured, running her fingers over his golden skin. "To touch you without needing to bandage you." Her hands slid from the tops of his shoulders, across the muscles of his arms, to trace the outline of his chest. He shivered at the touch, his eyes closing as she explored.

Kissing him on the cheek, Kagome stood up, unfastened the waistband of her skirt, and let it pool to the floor. He looked up into her eyes. Hers in turn looked down on him, heavy lidded, warm, loving and as wanton as the scent of her desire that swirled around him. His hands reached up, tracing the outline of her waist and hips, and slipped into the waistband of her panties, and began to pull them down. She nodded to encourage him; then, as he wrapped an arm around her to support her, she stepped carefully out of the garment. After he added the garments to the pile with the others, he rose up, letting his hands coast along the length of her legs and up to her waist. Her hands went to the bow of his obi and loosened it while he wrapped his arms around her, drinking deeply from her mouth, tasting the salty warm of her skin, feeling her melt against him. Lifting her up, he laid her on the futon, and made quick work of his hakama and fundoshi, then slipped into the bed next to her.

Slowly and gently, they explored each other's bodies through touch and taste, the air filling with the music of gasps and moans and murmured words of love, growing ever closer to that moment when they would be one. Unknown to them, and unseen or unseeable by most eyes, the little house began to glow as youki and reiki began a dance of their own, weaving in and out, reflecting the union going on in their hearts and bodies.

This spiritual fireworks of red and pink light did not go unnoticed, though.

Kaede sitting by her fire felt it first, snapping her head up. She almost dropped the cup of tea she was drinking as it first brushed across her senses, but then a smile touched her lips when she realized what she was feeling, and what it must mean.

Rin, sitting next to her, looked up from the herbs she was sorting. "Is there something wrong, Kaede-sama?" she asked.

"No, nothing, child. Nothing to worry about." She took another sip of her tea. "No, it's something quite good, I think. We'll find out for sure tomorrow, though."

Too softly to be heard by anyone else, she said, "I wondered how long it was going to take them."

Much further away, Toutousai looked up from his forge. Suddenly he shuddered

"Damn." He looked around the fume-filled room he used as a workplace. "Hey, Myouga, where are you?"

The old flea youkai yawned, peeking out of the old smith's topknot. "I'm here. What's wrong?"

"Something's up with the pup. Tessaiga's all excited. I can tell from here. You need to go check him out. It's been too quiet since Naraku died. Maybe we'll get something interesting to do."

The flea yawned again. "Ah, the life of a flea. Do this, do that. Can it wait until the morning? I have a headache."

"Yeah, yeah. That's what you get for visiting the teashops again. Tomorrow will do." He chuckled as the old flea groused then went back to sleep. "I didn't know the pup had it in him," he said, looking down the edge of the blade he was working on. "Wonder if that pretty girl he was mooning over showed back up?"

Miroku might have noticed, being rather in tune to his friend's youki, but he was quite busy himself at the moment, taking advantage of sleeping children and a willing wife.

But two others noticed as well.

Outside of the small house, light cascaded around the Goshinboku as a long, shimmering form stepped out of the tree. Not very far away, another being of light arose out of the well. Diaphanous, and hard to spot for even those with spiritual gifts, the two of them walked together, linking hands, and moved toward the house as they watched the light around the hut gather in intensity.

"You were right," the kami from the well said. The figure, seemingly female, moved a bit closer, and let her voluminous sleeve of brilliant blue figured silk brush against the light. A cascade of violet sparks ensued. "It didn't take them long at all."

"Well, I did hold him next to me for fifty years," said the figure from the tree, seemingly male, dressed in resplendent russet and green. "It gave me a certain perspective."

"I thought they might be too shy around each other," the spirit of the well admitted. "They were always so circumspect around each other before, never stepping over the boundaries of propriety, even when they could have."

"That's the hanyou's sense of honor," he said. "And perhaps it was because she was rather young and not ready to cross that bridge. But you should have been able to feel his heart and see the red thread that tied them together. Look how often he came and sat by you."

"She did, too. That's why I agreed, really, when you asked me to open the path." She touched the light emitted from the house again, just briefly. The light shuddered and changed ever so slightly as the red intensified and began to dominate the pink.

"I wouldn't do too much of that if I were you," said the tree spirit. "You don't really want youki to overwhelm reiki; he doesn't want to devour her soul."

"No. But do you want her reiki to overwhelm his youki? He might get purified," she said. "You know how he feels about being human."

"Here, let me," he said, and reaching out a hand, a sound like wind through leaves wrapped around the house. Slowly, the dance of color grew at once calmer and more expanded, settling down into a brilliant rose, perfectly balanced in color, dancing now only in time to their joining.

"You always had a defter hand than I," said the spirit of the well.

"They deserve it," the tree spirit said. "The heroes of that story have earned their happy ending."

"How long will it last?" she asked.

"Oh, quite awhile, I suspect. Never bonded a hanyou and a miko before. But his youki and her reiki will work together, supporting each other. Maybe as long as I'm around." He smiled at her.

"That, my dear one, is a long, long time," she replied, smiling back. "I wonder how much time it will take them to realize it?"

The tree spirit shrugged. "Oh, a decade or two, I suspect. Still, I don't think it will bother them, though, once they get used to the idea."

"I suppose you are right. It would be interesting to see." She waved her fan, and watched.

Suddenly the light built into its largest crescendo yet. It was echoed by voices calling out from within the house. The light disappeared.

She sighed. "Well, it's done."

"And I suspect," said the spirit of the tree, "Our part of their story is done as well."

"Perhaps," she said. "At least until her fifteenth birthday."

"Ah, yes, the joy of time paradox." He let her hand go.

The night was suddenly calm and silent. With a last coy look at her friend, the spirit of the well dissolved and melted into a streak of light retreating to her place of slumber.

"Live well, children," said the spirit of the tree, and a moment later, he too was gone.

Unaware of all the attention being paid to them, InuYasha, his silver hair spilling behind him, lay there holding Kagome in his arms in a way he had only dreamed of before, her head pillowed on one arm, his free arm making slow, lazy strokes down the soft warmth of her back. The reality of what had just happened when she gave herself to him, about the way his life had just been changed forever, was beginning to wash over him.

She looked up at him with sleepy, content, happy eyes, and brushed a finger across his lips. "You look so far away," she murmured.

"Just thinking about last night," he said.

"Last night?" She sat up, surprised.

He smiled at her, kissed her lightly, and pulled her back down into his embrace. "Last night, I just felt trapped, all my thoughts crowding in on me. I couldn't stay here any longer. I went on a run, up towards the mountains, until I found a place where the sky looked like it went on forever. I sat down, looking at all the stars. Just me and the night sky, alone in the dark. I was wondering if it was my fate to always be alone like that."

He rested his cheek on the top of her head. "I guess what happened today answers that question."

"Like the answer?" she asked, wrapping her arm around him and pulling him closer.

"Yeah, I do." He reached down and pulled the cover over them both. "Very much so."

Snuggling her close to him, he listened to her breathing, and felt how perfectly her body fit next to his, and slowly drifted to sleep, amazed at the difference one single day could make.


	5. Chapter 5

_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 5**

He woke up as the first morning light filtered into the room.

It didn't happen all at once. InuYasha's ears twitched first, taking the sounds in around him, and then his nose woke up. Something in the air was different. Not bad at all – in fact very good – but he knew it was not what he expected to scent. He felt warm and comfortable and surprisingly content. Memories of the night before suddenly flooded into his mind as he grew alert. He opened his eyes to see a pale shoulder with black hair cascading around it, and he realized he was spooning a warm body close to him, his hand wrapped protectively across her middle.

"She's really here," he whispered, a touch of amazement in his voice. "She came back to me. And we . . . "

For a long time he just lay there, breathing in the sweet scent of the woman in his arms, a scent now blended together with the fragrance of their union, as he watched the light grow brighter as the morning deepened. A smile touched his lips as he admired how their hair, silver and black, fell intertwined together across the bedding. He could feel the heat pooling in his middle as images from the night before crossed his mind, and he found himself moving his hand across the softness of her tummy, and up to the swell of her breast, enjoying the satin of her skin and the delight of how it felt to be able to hold her like that. She stirred a little, and he nuzzled the crook of her neck, and planted little kisses on the top of her shoulder. In response, she snuggled closer.

InuYasha kissed the lobe of her ear, and Kagome rolled onto her back, still mostly asleep, eyes fully closed. He studied how the light touched the planes of her face, the line of her eyebrow, the shape of her lips, the relaxed contentment she radiated. He planted a light kiss on her forehead. It was enough to just lie there, enjoying how everything that mattered in his life had changed since yesterday morning. Then suddenly, he sighed deeply, having realized something, and propped himself up on one elbow. "Kagome," he said softly.

"Mm . . . InuYasha, " she said, too groggily to be really awake, but it was a content sound.

"Good morning, Koibito." He pulled back the hair covering her ear and neck, touched his tongue to the shell of her ear. She jerked a little at the sensation.

Trying to pull away and move her ear out of his reach, she grumbled and wrinkled her nose. "Tickles."

"You need to wake up, Kagome. They're going to come looking for us soon if we don't show up somewhere. We have to get to Kaede's or Miroku's."

She rolled over onto her stomach. "Don't want to."

InuYasha pulled back the blanket and gave the tops of her shoulder little kisses. "Oi, woman - did you forget what a tease and hentai Miroku is? Just cause he's married hasn't changed his sense of humor any. You want him to find you in bed like this?"

Kagome grabbed the blanket back, but sat up, holding the cloth around her. Looking at InuYasha with sleepy eyes, she smiled a crooked grin at him. "He'd tease us all day, and maybe all week."

"You know it," InuYasha said, returning her smile. "Maybe for a month."

She reached out, and touched him gently on the cheek. Her smile got very large. "Good morning, InuYasha. What a good thing to wake up to find that I'm really here. That you're really here." She leaned over and kissed him lightly on the lips, then pulled away, bringing the covers up almost to her chin. "It's cold in here."

InuYasha sat all the way up and reached over her for his fundoshi that sat on the stack of clothes they made the previous night. "A little cool, but I doubt we'll be back for a while, so I didn't want to start a fire. Hurry up and get dressed. There's nothing for breakfast in this house."

Staying wrapped up in the quilt, she reached over to the pile of clothes and fished hers out of the stack. InuYasha stood up to get dressed. Kagome turned away at first, blushing at seeing the sunlight touch his lean, golden body, but she sneaked glances at him as he wrapped himself in his undergarment then walked around the futon to pick up the rest of his clothes. He moved with an easy grace on muscled runner's legs. Not for the first time, she wished he didn't hide them in the baggy red hakama that made them so hard to appreciate.

Smiling at her silliness, she stood up and let the blanket drop as he was fastening the ties of his hakama. It amused her to see InuYasha's eyes grow big and his cheeks color as well. Then she turned her back, slipped into her under things, and put on her skirt.

"If we hurry," he said, shrugging into his suikan, "maybe we can get breakfast at Kaede's before she starts her morning work."

"Kaede? I'm sure she'll feed us, but why go there? Why not go to Sango's? She's closer." Kagome picked up her blouse and pulled it over her head, and then began dragging her fingers through her hair, trying to give it some semblance of order.

InuYasha gave her a sheepish grin."I don't know if I'm ready to deal with Miroku," he said, tying his obi. "Hells, I'm not sure if I'm ready to deal with Kaede, but at least she's not a tease."

Kagome's eyes grew wide for a moment, then her eyebrows knit together as she frowned. "You're . . . you're not ashamed of us, are you?"

InuYasha sighed, stepped to where Kagome stood biting on her lower lip, and wrapped his arms around her. "Never. Never. Don't ever think that." He kissed the top of her head, and then tenderly on the lips. "Remember what I told you last night? About how it's never easy when a human takes a youkai partner? It won't be any easier because I'm a hanyou." His face was very serious, and his ear was twitching, always signs he was stressed and wasn't sure what to do next.

"You're afraid Kaede will disapprove?" she said. Her eyes studied his face. "I can't believe that."

"No," he said, shaking his head. "I don't think so. But I'm not so sure what will happen when the news gets out."

He let her go and bent down to pick up his sword. As he tucked it into his obi, she rested a hand on his arm. "Whatever happens, we can deal with it, InuYasha."

"Keh." He walked over to the entry way, and picked up Kagome's sweater and handed it to her. Although his eyes were still solemn, he smiled for her. "If we're lucky, she'll have some soup left. That is, if Shippou didn't show up and eat it all."

She laughed, and put on her shoes and together, they left the house.

Very few villagers were out along the street by the old miko's house when Kagome and InuYasha walked up, only a few children who gave them a curious glance, but then returned to their games. The bamboo mat door at Kaede's house lifted up right before they reached it, and the old miko stepped out, looking at the young couple with an amused grin.

"Well, children, come in. I've been expecting you," Kaede said. "Although I must say, I really was expecting to see you last night. But I'm not totally surprised I didn't."

Kagome blushed, and for a moment, was fascinated by the toe of her shoe, then decided she was being childish and smiled at the older woman. "I'm sorry, Obaachan. We had a change of plans. I hope we didn't cause you any trouble."

InuYasha squared his shoulders and shoved his hands into his sleeves. Glancing up at him, Kagome thought he looked almost as wound up as he did when he went into battle.

"No, no, child. It's all right. Come inside. I suspect you two are hungry. I've got soup on the fire." She turned, still smiling, and went back in.

"It's going to be all right, InuYasha," Kagome said, very quietly. "And you're going to get your soup."

"Feh," he said, and held the door open for Kagome.

She stepped into the entryway of the house that had so many memories for her, and slipped off her shoes. The air smelled of smoke and herbs, miso soup and rice. The walls were lined, just like she remembered, with chests and jugs, storage jars and all the things of the everyday life of a village miko and healer. Kaede had already taken her place by the fire pit, and was ladling soup out into bowls for the two of them.

InuYasha sat down next to the older woman, and motioned for Kagome to sit next to him, as if he needed to shield her from Kaede with his body. With a small nod, she settled down where he asked.

Kaede handed a bowl of soup to the hanyou, and raised an eyebrow when he in turn handed it to Kagome. After handing him another, she passed them bowls of rice.

"Where's Rin?" the younger woman asked.

"Ah, I sent her to keep Sango company while Miroku does his business with Chiya-sama," Kaede said. "Sometimes, taking care of the twins and Naoya is more than one person can do."

"Or sometimes, there are things you don't want her to hear," InuYasha said, sipping his soup.

"Blunt as ever, InuYasha. Yes, or that. Especially when it's time to talk to a nervous hanyou who's afraid I'll tell him something he doesn't want to hear." She looked at him steady with her one eye, but there was a small smile she didn't quite hide.

He stared into his bowl, then took another sip. "You knew we were coming here?"

"I suspected as much." Instead of eating, Kaede sipped a cup of tea. "I knew you would either show up here, or at Miroku's. Somehow, I'm of the feeling you'd rather see me than him."

"Keh," he said, then drank his soup down.

Kagome hid her smile, then sipped from her bowl. It tasted of miso and fish and kombu and something extra she knew Kaede put in her soup. She wasn't quite sure what it was; it added a rich taste that made it different from the soup her mother made. Sipping it flooded her with memories of the last time she sat here, drinking soup in the morning. That was right before the final battle with Naraku. Miroku and Rin were laying in their sickbeds. She looked up and caught the old miko's eye. "So much has happened since the last time we did this."

"Indeed it has, Kagome-chan," the older miko said, nodding. "I must say that I was surprised to see that the magic let you come back. I was afraid your time here was done."

"So was I," Kagome replied. "I don't think it will let me go back anymore, though. The well must have decided I belong in this world instead of the other."

"I suppose," Kaede said, chuckling, "that the kami who controls the well knew you had something more important in this world than that."

"I do," Kagome replied. She looked at InuYasha.

He met her eyes and stopped eating. A soft smile touched his face. They stayed like that for a long moment, before breaking their gaze and suddenly returning to their breakfast, which they quickly finished.

After the last bite was eaten, Kaede put down her teacup. "InuYasha, Kagome, we must talk." She filled tea cups for Kagome and InuYasha and passed them down. Kagome, returning the favor, refilled Kaede's cup.

Suddenly, all the tension InuYasha carried coming to the miko's house returned, and he stiffened, but taking a deep breath, he took Kagome's hand and rested his on top of hers. "Kagome is under my protection, Kaede-babaa. I have taken her for my wife."

The old miko gave him a reassuring smile. "Good, good. I had no doubt that was going to happen, InuYasha. If not last night, I knew it would only be a matter of a few days to come. If the kami are kind enough to let her return to you after all your devotion to her, who am I to say anything against such a match?"

InuYasha visibly relaxed at the miko's words, and Kagome gave his hand a little squeeze.

Kaede poked at the fire in the pit while she thought about what she needed to say next. "Most of the villagers are now comfortable with you being here, InuYasha. They approve how you avenged my sister, now that they know the truth of what happened. They've seen what you've done since, and how you work to keep the village safe. They will not forget how you fought against the bandits last year."

"Bandits?" Kagome asked.

"I'll tell you later," he said.

"Still," Kaede said, "There are always some who may try to make trouble, especially with you taking a bride, and which bride it is. Don't think you don't have friends, though. My cousin Tameo, the headman, is pleased to have you staying here, and his family is the largest one and has the most influence on what happens in this village." She sipped her tea. "Still, not everyone is so inclined. There's Tsuneo's family. Tsuneo's wife, Haname, lost her father to a youkai attack many years ago and has a strong hatred of them. All of them. She uses the damage that Naraku did to the village as a reason why she thinks the village elders should chase you away." She sipped her tea once again. "She is a bitter, unhappy woman. And her daughter Chiya isn't much better."

"Chiya?" Kagome asked, surprised. "She was always nice to me. Isn't that who Miroku was going to talk with today?"

"Keh." InuYasha said, frowning a little. "She's nice to you cause of Kikyou. She's nice to Miroku cause she's trying to go to Amida's heaven when she dies. But you haven't seen the looks she's given me when you weren't around."

"I didn't know," she said, touching his arm. "I'm sorry."

"Not your fault." He shrugged, then covered her hand with his. "Chiya's brother Joben's no better. I've heard what he says when he thinks I can't hear him."

Kaede nodded. "If there's trouble, it will come from that quarter, I believe." She finished her tea. "I will talk to my cousin today and tell him the news. He, as well as I, expected this turn of events. We will figure out what to do." She stood up. "InuYasha, come here and help me with this."

Curious about what the miko wanted, he nodded and stood. Together they walked to the back corner of the room. Kaede stopped by a wooden tub covered with a bright piece of cloth. "Take this to your house."

InuYasha picked it up. "What is it?"

"Useful things," she answered. "Congratulations, you two. Now go home. Stay out of the village for the next day or two. I'll come see you after I talk to Tameo-sama."

They headed for the door, and Kagome held open the door mat while InuYasha walked through it.

"I am glad you are back, Kagome-chan," Kaede said before the younger woman stepped out. "I still remember the first time both of you sat down around my fire. That day, I never would have expected this day." She smiled. "He's changed so much since then."

"He has, hasn't he?" Kagome smiled. "I'm glad I'm back, too. I missed all of you so much."

"But especially him."

Kagome nodded. "But especially him."

"Go be with your husband, girl. It will all work out. If the kami brought you back, it's meant to be." Kaede took the door mat from Kagome's hand.

"Yes it is. Thank you." Giving Kaede a beautific smile, she bowed to the older woman, and went out to join InuYasha.


	6. Chapter 6

_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 6**

There was an ambush set up when they got back to the house.

"Dammit. I knew I couldn't get even one day away from them," InuYasha said. He stopped in his tracks, shifted the tub from his right shoulder to his left, and started to growl. Catching himself, he stopped, and sighed instead. It didn't stop his ear from twitching, though.

"Who? What's wrong?" Kagome asked, making a mental note that she needed to get a bow and some good arrows as soon as possible.

"Look!" he said, pointing towards the clearing.

Miroku, Sango, Shippou, and the children were there, sitting in front of his house. Miroku had his back to the wall, with his staff propped next to the door. Sango was next to him, feeding baby Naoya. Shippou was entertaining the twins with his toys while trying to keep the twins away from his tail. The kitsune noticed them first. His head jerked up, first smiling, and then the smile warped into an angry frown just before he came bounding toward them.

"There they are!" he yelled. InuYasha deftly caught him by the tail as he made a leap towards Kagome.

"What are you doing, runt?" the hanyou demanded. "You don't need to knock Kagome down."

"I was worried!" the kitsune said, looking at InuYasha with as much ire as InuYasha returned. "You didn't stay with Miroku. You didn't spend the night at Kaede's."

"You think I can't take care of Kagome? Or myself?" InuYasha asked. He dropped the kit on the ground.

Shippou rolled to his feet, rubbing his head, then jumped into Kagome's arms. Crossing his arms in a very InuYasha-esque manner, he asked, "Where were you?"

Kagome ruffed the kit's hair, and smiled at the boy. "We spent the night at InuYasha's house, Shippou-chan, and then we went to Kaede-obaachan's for breakfast. We were perfectly fine all night," she said. "I thought you were going to play with Chiya-sama's daughters today."

"I thought so too, but she sent them to their grandmother's house. It was boring." He looked at the tub InuYasha was carrying. "What's that?"

"Kaede-babaa sent it," InuYasha said.

"That's funny," Shippou said, scratching his head. "Miroku brought some stuff, too. Why is everybody giving you things?"

"It's for good luck," Kagome said, and looked up at the hanyou standing next to her, she smiled. "And because I'm going to be living with InuYasha and came here without anything but what I was wearing."

Shippou's eyes got big. "You're going to live with him? Like Sango lives with Miroku?"

Kagome laughed. "Yes, Shippou-chan. I came back to live with InuYasha."

"Hope you're not making a mistake," the kitsune said, glancing at the hanyou, who glared back. "But I'm glad you're here!"

Seeing InuYasha's hand clench into a fist and deciding he had pushed the hanyou far enough, he jumped out of Kagome's arms and scuttled back to rescue his toys from the twins. The girls, surrounded by the kitsune's playthings, were so busy trying to figure out how to make the top spin like Shippou did that they didn't even look at the newcomers.

But they didn't escape Miroku's notice. "Ah, the missing ones return," the monk said, standing up.

"We were at Kaede-babaa's, if it's any of your business, Bouzu," InuYasha said.

"We must have been walking circles around you today then," Miroku smiled. "I stopped by her place this morning, but you weren't there. And hadn't been there since yesterday afternoon."

Sango put Naoya over her shoulder and patted his back until he gave a loud burp. "Stop that, Miroku, " she said, handing the baby to him. "We brought you some things, Kagome." She got up and picked up a cloth wrapped package.

InuYasha walked into the house while Sango and Kagome began talking, and put the tub down near the edge of the raised wooden floor. That done, he went to the far side of the room, sat down and leaned up against the wall. One of the twins shrieked the way children will do, and Shippou yelled at whomever it was to let go of his tail. For some reason, this made the hanyou grin, until the door mat lifted and Miroku walked in.

InuYasha said nothing, but stuffed his hands into his sleeves. When Miroku came and sat down next to him, he didn't meet the monk's eyes. For a moment, neither of them spoke.

"You've been a hard man to find," Miroku said at last. "Busy, were you?"

The hanyou's right ear twitched, and just a hint of color touched his cheeks even as he scowled. "What's it to you, Bouzu?"

Miroku chuckled. "I will tell you that, contrary to my reputation and what some would think of me, I resisted all anxious female and kitsune nudges to go looking for you when I found out that you weren't at Kaede's last night. But alas, after breakfast and my meeting with Tsuneo's daughter, the female anxiety won out." He reached in the sleeve of his robe and took out a small bundle. "At least you were able to have breakfast in peace. You've got to give me that much."

"Keh," InuYasha said. He stretched out one of his legs, and his ear swivelled as Kagome laughed at something Sango said.

"It's good to hear Kagome's voice again," Miroku said. "Sango missed her almost as much as you did. For all of her many virtues, my lovely wife does not make female friends easily. And the women of the village don't quite know what to make of a woman who is a warrior, much less who married a monk."

InuYasha looked at him then, cocking his head to one side. "I . . . I didn't realize that."

"She wouldn't have mentioned it." Miroku said, nodding. "Women do things differently than we men do."

"Yeah." InuYasha looked towards the front of the house, as if he could see through the wall.

"Come back, Noriko," he heard Kagome say. "You can't climb the tree to get to Shippou."

"You two spent the night here, I assume," Miroku said.

InuYasha nodded.

"I can't promise I'll be able to resist all urges to tease, but even I will admit that some things should be just between a man and his bride," the monk said, weighing the pouch he had in one hand. It jingled a little as he moved it.

The hanyou looked away. The touch of blush on his cheeks deepened a little.

Miroku watched his friend a moment, and raised an eyebrow. "You did take her for your bride, right? I'm sure you're the reason the magic worked and let her come back."

"You ask too many damn questions, Bouzu." InuYasha's ear twitched, and he began to make a fist.

"You know I approve, don't you?" Miroku said. "How could I not? My good and honorable friends have just been gifted with an amazing turn of events. If you come by the temple, I'll even do a formal blessing if you want."

InuYasha met his friend's eyes then, studied Miroku's face and relaxed at what he saw there – honest sincerity. "Though why she wanted to give up everything to be with me . . . " He sighed. "My head's still spinning. Everything's changed so fast."

"Amazing how that can happen," Miroku said, nodding.

Outside, Sango and Kagome laughed again, rising above the giggles of the two small girls.

Miroku stood up. "Well, my friend, this is just a first step in how your life is going to change. I suspect the women are already plotting things, like how to furnish this empty house of yours."

InuYasha looked around the sparsely furnished room. "Never needed anything else," he said as he gracefully got to his feet.

"If you're going to be a husband, you're going to find out you suddenly need all sorts of things you never thought you did," Miroku said sagely. "Why do you think I charge those who can afford it so much for our services?"

"Probably don't want me to answer that," InuYasha replied.

Miroku laughed, and pressed the pouch he had been holding into his friend's hand. "Here. This will help."

"What . . ." InuYasha said, looking at the object. It was heavier than it looked.

"Open it," Miroku said, with the faintest touch of a smirk on his lips.

As InuYasha untied the strings holding it closed, Miroku said, "In the three years we've been working together as youkai exterminators, you never would take your fair share of the profits. I've been putting what you wouldn't take on the side, just in case."

"Miroku," the hanyou said, looking at the coins in the bag. It was a sizable sum.

"You're going to need it, take my word for it." He met his friend's eyes, which had a shining, dazed look. "You think your head is spinning now, just wait."

He moved towards the door. "With luck, once all the dust settles, we'll get another exorcism request. We family men, we have our expenses."


	7. Chapter 7

_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 7**

Saying their goodbyes to Kagome outside, Sango and Miroku left, taking Shippou with them, with a promise to return later that day to share dinner in the little house. She walked back inside, slipped off her shoes, then noticed InuYasha just sitting there, staring at a pouch he was holding in his hands. He looked lost in thought.

"Well they're gone," she said as she tucked her shoes away, "although they'll be back later. Sango said she'd bring dinner here. We were thinking that tomorrow morning you and I should go over there, and she'll give me a cooking lesson. I never learned to cook much besides campfire food on an open fire."

InuYasha didn't look up or say anything, although his ear flicked at her voice.

She walked across the floor and sat down by him. "If that's all right with you."

"Huh. Oh, yeah," he said, snapping out of his daze. "Sounds good."

"What did you and Miroku talk about?" she asked.

"He was telling me about how Sango has been having trouble fitting in with the other women in the village." InuYasha looked up at her. "Is that true?"

Kagome tilted her head to one side, and considered his question. "Maybe. Sango wasn't raised like most women are around here. She learned to fight when the women here were learning about farming and housework and other things. They probably don't have a lot in common. You're not the only one here who's different."

"Keh," he said. "We're all a bunch of misfits. Probably why we all get along so well. It's a good thing you're back, though, not just for me. She needs a friend."

She leaned her head against his shoulder. "And I do, too. What do you have there?" she asked, as he tossed the pouch between his hands.

"This?" He handed it to her, and she opened it.

"Money?" she said. "It looks like a lot."

"It is." He took it back from her and tucked it into his jacket. "Friends are funny. All this time I was working with Miroku doing youkai exterminations, I only took enough out of the fees he charged to do what I needed. He tried at first to make me take half, but I wouldn't. I figured he had a family and needed it more. And maybe I felt a little guilty about him charging what he does sometimes." He looked at Kagome. "I found out today that he'd been saving the difference. Thought I might be needing it some day."

Kagome's eyebrows lifted at that. "Friends do surprising things for each other. And Miroku is your friend." She rested her hand on his.

"Yeah, he is." He stood up. "Let's see what Kaede-baaba sent over."

They moved over to the other side of the room. After uncovering the tub, and handing the bright cloth to Kagome, who folded it neatly and put it on the side, InuYasha picked up a rather plain pottery jug with a stopper. He unstopped it, and almost immediately made a face and nearly sneezed. "Vinegar," he said, ramming the stopper back in and handed it to Kagome.

She leaned over and lifted up a smaller jar and opened it. "Tea!" she said.

InuYasha picked up a small piece of cloth. Three needles were stuck in it. "Kaede-babaa thinks a lot of you. Needles aren't cheap," he said, and handed it to her.

"Or maybe the both of us," she said, then pulled out a packet that contained dried kombu. "Oh my."

"Kombu?" he asked. "What's so special about dried kelp?"

"Where I grew up, kombu was given to wish many children on a couple," Kagome replied, smiling. InuYasha blushed a little, then pulled out a package that smelled of fish. "Dried fish?"

"For making soup," she said.

There was a length of thread wrapped around a stick of wood, a package of sweet-smelling herbs good for putting away with clothes, a bucket, a length of rope and several pieces of linen.

"Now we can get started," Kagome said. She picked up the rope and the bucket.

"Get started doing what?" he asked as she handed the rope and bucket to him.

"We need a clothes line to air out the futons, and I need some water," she said.

Before he knew what had happened, InuYasha found himself pounding fresh-cut saplings into the ground for a make-do laundry line. While he was occupied with that, Kagome changed clothes.

When he walked back in with the water, what he saw was a small woman in a beige kosode, sitting in a pool of light from the window. She had a blue wrap skirt tied around her waist, and her sleeves were tied back so she could work. Her hair was covered by a white and blue head scarf. She sat there humming to herself as she folded her other clothes to put away. She could have passed for any farm wife in the village.

InuYasha put the bucket of water down and went to sit next to her. Reaching out, he tucked a piece of hair that had escaped from her scarf back behind her ear. "You look . . . different," he managed to say.

"Sango gave me the clothes," Kagome said, chewing her lip, and dropping her eyes, suddenly self-conscious. "Do they look all right?"

He smiled, leaning forward until his forehead touched hers. "Yeah. You look nice, like you belong here."

"Good," she replied, smiling. "That's the way I want it always to be. I want to look like I belong here with you, because I do."

InuYasha slid an arm around her waist and cupped her cheek with his other hand. His right ear twitched as his eyes, intense and warm, searched hers, which looked back at him, blue-gray, calm and happy. He struggled to say something. "Damn it, woman. I don't have the words."

He kissed her, gently, tenderly, lips lightly dancing over hers, and then, coming up for air, he stroked her cheek with his thumb. "I don't know if I'll ever have the words. How can I tell you what it means to me that you're here? That you want to be here? That you gave up so much."

Kagome kissed him back. "I didn't lose anything. I came back to the place I'm supposed to be, the place that feels like home."

InuYasha smiled, but followed it with a sigh. "I don't know anything about being a. . . . a husband. I barely know how to be a friend. I'm walking around in a daze today because everything's changed so fast. If I act stupid or don't say the right thing, it doesn't mean anything."

"I know," she said, resting her hand on his. "Now help me move the futon and coverlet outside. They could use a good airing. Then we can move the chest and other things out, too, and open the door. The house can use a good airing, too. I'd like to mop the floor before the twins get here. It's pretty dusty."

"I...I didn't stay here a lot," he said.

She began to fold the futon up. "I bet you stay here more now."

He took it from her hands, and stood up. "Yeah, I bet I do."

Grabbing the coverlet, she laughed, and followed him out of the house


	8. Chapter 8

_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 8**

It didn't take InuYasha and Kagome long before they stacked a neat pile of belongings in the front of the house - the chest, the low table, and all the other loose bits that had rested on the wooden floor. The futon and quilt were airing out on the new clothes line not too far from the back of the house. The door mat was rolled up, and the window was unshuttered to let in the air and sunlight. It spoke of change and industry, but most importantly to InuYasha, of a woman's touch. Kagome's touch.

"Never would have thought of doing all this," he said to himself as he carried an armful of chopped wood into the house to add to the wood cradle. Even filling up the wood cradle instead of only grabbing a handful off the wood rick outside was itself a change of rhythm.

When he stepped over the threshold, he stopped for a moment and just looked. Kagome was on her hands and knees mopping the floor, her backside to him. The air smelled of vinegar and springtime. He watched her dip her rag into the water, wring it out and swirl the cloth over the floor in steady circles. In the light, he could see how small the house was and he noticed every flaw in the walls and floor. As he looked, he considered what he had brought her to, scrubbing floors in borrowed clothes of peasant linen. It made a bad comparison in his heart to the memory of his mother in her robes of silk and with her attendants. His ear twitched at the thought that Kagome, whom he loved every bit as much as his mother, should be doing that type of work for his house, and yet he couldn't deny she seemed perfectly content with what she was doing. She began humming, then singing softly.

"Why does the crow caw  
>flying over the mountain,<br>kawaii, kawaii  
>hear her calling," she sang.<p>

It was a pretty tune, the type children sing when they play.

"Crows," InuYasha said, not yet moving. "They're not always so cute. What about that crow youkai that led to the jewel being shattered in the first place?"

She turned around and smiled at him, blowing a strand of hair that had escaped from her scarf away from her nose. It fell right back to where it had been tickling her, and she sat up and tucked it back into place.

"It certainly changed our lives forever, didn't it, trying to fly away over the mountain like that," she said. "Today would have never happened if that crow hadn't tried to take the jewel, so maybe we should be grateful."

"I guess," he said, giving her an uncertain smile. "It sounds weird to think of it that way."

Kagome laughed, and went back to her mopping.

Like all houses in the area, the raised wooden floor of the house was fronted with a doma, a wide strip of beaten earth that was used for storage and other things. He moved across it to where the wood cradle rested. It only had a couple of armfuls of wood in it yet. Carefully, he began to stack the wood up for later, taking pains not to get any bits of bark or splinters on the raised platform.

As he worked, someone knocked on the door frame, and two young women peered into the room. They were pretty girls, giggling as they looked in. Both were around Kagome's age. The older wore a kosode in light blue and a wrap skirt that moved from light to dark blue, with a pattern of red flowers printed on it, the other a similar garment in a pale orange, both dressed better than many of the other girls in the village.

"Kagome-chan?" the older of the two said.

"Kaede-obasan said you were staying here," said the younger. "So we had to come see. We didn't get a chance to talk to you yesterday."

Kagome dropped her mop cloth. "Erime? Tama?" she asked.

InuYasha placed the last piece of wood in the cradle. "Yeah. That's who it is." He turned to the girls. "Your dad let you get this far from his side of the village? Takeshi must be getting soft."

"Oh no, InuYasha-sama," Erime said, as she and her sister bowed. "Is it all right that we are here? Hisa-obasan told us Kagome-chan was staying here, Tameo-ojisan thought it was a good idea, and Kaede-obasan told us the way."

"It'll be all right long as you cut out that sama shit." He stuck his arms in his sleeves, looking at them rather lordly in spite of himself. Tama covered her face with her hand, trying to suppress a giggle.

"We can't, InuYasha-sama." Erime said, bowing again. "If our father or uncle heard us talk that way, they would lock us in the cow shed all night, so sorry."

"Feh," he replied, and headed back outside.

Kagome made her way to the entry way where the two girls were standing. Back during the wild year of the Shikon quest, they had been acquaintances who enjoyed a few good moments, and if there had been more time, they would have become friends. Wiping her hands clean with a piece of linen, she bowed a greeting and smiled at both of them.

"Is it true?" Erime asked.

"You're staying and going to be InuYasha-sama's wife?" Tama asked.

Kagome smiled at them and nodded.

"Congratulations! I was hoping you'd get to come back," Erime said. "Hisa-obasan sent this to help you get settled down." She handed Kagome a basket filled with food.

"Tell your aunt thank you very much," Kagome said. "It was very kind of her."

"We will." Erime looked around the little house, and saw the mop bucket and the stacks of things outside. "She always did like you, and Ojisan does, too. I guess we should let you get back to your work. I didn't realize you'd be cleaning up today."

"I didn't either," Kagome replied. "But I guess there's a lot to do when you want to get settled in."

"Mother always says that men can find a lot for women to do even when they're not trying to," Erime said. Tama gave her a little nudge. Erime frowned, and Tama giggled.

"You'll be finding out if that's true, soon enough," Tama said. She turned back to Kagome. "O, you must come and visit when you get caught up. We've got so much to talk about! Erime's getting married, too. You'll have to hear all about it!"

Erime blushed a little, and nodded.

"You can come back, too, you know," Kagome said. "Now I won't be running off all over the place anymore. We'll have more time to talk."

Erime pulled her sister back towards the door. "We will. We're glad you're back, Kagome-chan. Come soon. We'll have tea!"

The girls bowed and left, giggling between themselves. InuYasha walked back in, shaking his head. "That's something I didn't expect."

Kagome sat down on the edge of the raised floor. "Me either. It's a good sign, I think."

"I hope so," InuYasha said. Finding the bucket they used for drinking water, he dipped up a ladle full and drank. "I'll be outside working until you're ready to move the furniture back in."

Soon, Kagome could hear the sound of wood being chopped. She went back to her mopping, humming her song.

Those were not their only visitors. Two other women from the village stopped by in the early afternoon, also bringing gifts of food, but the most interesting visit from InuYasha's point of view was when Daitaro, the elderly owner of the best stud bull in the village came by, bearing a jug of saké. His animal was notorious for escaping from its pen, and InuYasha had helped round it up more than once when it made off.

Daitaro, his silver hair pulled back neatly into a tea whisk topknot, showed up right as they were beginning to move things back inside. For a moment, he stood next to InuYasha and watched Kagome with a sharp eye moving in and out of the house, carrying out her mop water, retrieving her quilt, and noticing how InuYasha's eyes followed her every move.

"Take good care of her," the old man said, shoving the saké into the hanyou's hand. "You're a fool if you don't." And then, as quietly as he had arrived, he left, leaving the dazed hanyou looking down at the jug as he went on about his way.

For some reason, that, more than any of the visits by the village women, made the hanyou begin to believe that maybe, just maybe, the village would accept them. Clinging to that unexpected feeling of acceptance, he grabbed the futon off the clothesline, and carried it and the saké into the house.


	9. Chapter 9

_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 9**

InuYasha's little house seemed crowded with four adults, two toddlers, and a kitsune, but it was a comfortable crowd, the type that only good friends enjoy. Dinner was over, Sango's stew pot empty and the dishes were washed and put away, but no one was really ready to leave yet.

"Tell us a story, Kagome," Shippou asked. He was sitting in her lap, ignoring the looks InuYasha was sending his way. "Do you know any stories about kitsunes?"

"Maybe," she said. "But why don't we get Miroku to tell us one? I know he knows more stories than I do."

"I could tell the story about the kitsune and the tanuki," Miroku volunteered.

"No way. That may be Hachi's favorite story, but I don't want to hear how a tanuki tricked a kitsune into getting beaten up," Shippou said.

"Ah, but it's true purpose is to remind you not to be impious and to teach you that knowledge is better than trickery," the monk said. "This is a lesson you need to learn before you try to tease Kaede-sama again."

"Ha! You're a fine one to talk about trickery," Shippou said. "Not my fault she can see through fox magic." He rubbed his head, as if he could still feel what happened the last time he tried.

"Maybe when you learn to hide your youki better, or your tail," Miroku replied. "Until then, it's probably a good idea not to try to impersonate people around her. Even I know that it takes wisdom do know when to do trickery." He picked up his daughter Noriko, and put her on his lap before she could move towards the irritated hanyou, who was in no mood to have his ears tugged.

"What happens in the story about the kitsune and the tanuki?" Kagome asked. "I don't think I know that one."

Shippou, gave them both a disgruntled look and went off to sit by himself.

"Ah, a kitsune and a tanuki decided to have a contest to see who had the best magic. This kitsune was rather unrespecting of the Buddha." Miroku began. Lifting up his cup, he took a small sip of tea. Noriko used this opportunity to wiggle out of her father's lap.

"The kitsune knew that the tanuki had an interesting habit. Whenever he would see an image of Jizo-sama, who especially watches over children and travelers, he would get hungry, stop and take a break to eat. So the kitsune, running to a place where he knew the tanuki would be passing, went and turned himself into a statue of Jizo. It was very realistic. When the tanuki passed by, he saw the image, and said, 'Hmm . . . I'm hungry. Time to eat.'"

"Even Hachi isn't that stupid," InuYasha mumbled.

"Oh yeah?" Shippou said. "Look who he has for a friend."

Miroku, ignoring them, continued. "The tanuki sat down, took out some rice balls. He offered one to Jizo-sama and bowed his head. When he looked up, the rice ball was gone. He got confused, wondering if he had even put it there. So he put out another one, bowed his head, prayed 'Namu Amida Butsu,' and raised his head right away. The rice ball was also gone. He put out a third rice ball, but this time, he lifted his head before the prayer was through. What he saw was this: the statue of Jizo-sama was standing there with a half-eaten rice ball in its hand. The tanuki yelled 'Hey!' and grabbed the arm. Suddenly, the statue turned back into the kitsune's usual form. The fox smiled up at the tanuki and said, 'Now it's your turn.'"

Noriko made her way to Kagome's lap.

"Now we reach the part about wisdom," Miroku said. The other twin, Yusuko saw where her sister was, and began toddling that way. "The tanuki was unhappy about how the kitsune tricked him, and so he thought a moment. 'About noon tomorrow, I'm going to change into the lord from the castle and come by this road. Be sure to be here and watch.'

"The kitsune was there waiting the next day, waiting to see. Finally the procession reached his hiding place. First, there came the sweepers yelling 'Down! Everybody down!' Next came a long line of samurai, and then finally, the palanquin in which the lord was riding. It was all very impressive and majestic. The fox was amazed at his friend's skill, and ran over to the lord's basket.

"'Tanuki-sama! Tanuki-sama!' he called, 'You have beaten me. This is amazing.' But this was not a transformation by the tanuki at all; it was the real thing. The tanuki knew the lord was going to be going this way. One of the samurai carrying a staff came over to the kitsune. The kitsune was beaten indeed. He never tried to steal the tanuki's rice again."

"Stupid story," Shippou said.

Yusuko tried to squeeze into Kagome's lap next to her sister.

"Getting kind of crowded there, girl," InuYasha said. He picked her up and put her in his lap, wiggling his ears at her when she started to pout.

"Inu-oji," she said, laughing. He delicately caught her arm when she tried to use his hair as a ladder to climb up towards his head.

"Doggie uncle?" Kagome asked. "They call you that?"

The hanyou shrugged.

"Shippou-chan," Kagome said, watching the little kitsune turn his back to everybody, still irritated. "My grandfather used to tell me a story where kitsune used tricks that taught wisdom, too."

He peeked over his shoulder at her.

"You want to hear it?"

"Does it have tanuki in it?" he asked, moving closer.

"Not this one. But it has monks and samurai." Noriko, unhappy that her sister was in InuYasha's lap, wiggled out of Kagome's hold, and moved closer to InuYasha.

"Why don't you tell it, Kagome-chan?" Sango said, as she lay her sleeping son Naoya on the small blanket she had spread out next to her. He barely moved as she put him down.

"Yes, please, Kagome-sama," Miroku said. He poured more tea in her cup. "Always good to hear new stories."

"I guess I will, then." She reached over and filled the monk's tea cup in return, and then her husband's. Picking her cup up, she took a sip, and began.

"Once there was a man who was really very simple and uninformed, so his neighbors called him Kashikoi-sama," she said. "For some reason, he began to believe he was as smart as his nickname of Wise One and began talking and giving his opinions about everything like he really knew what he was talking about."

"It's lucky that some of us actually do know what we're talking about, isn't it, Sango my beloved," Miroku said.

Yusuko shrieked at that moment because Noriko decided to pull her hair. Miroku got up and picked her up and secured her in his lap. Yusuko abandoned InuYasha and went to her mother, who soothingly rubbed her head.

Once things had quieted down, Kagome continued.

"One day, he and some friends had come together for a celebration. While they were drinking saké and eating, somehow or other, the talk got around to kitsune."

Yusuko took that moment to begin toddling towards the young kitsune, snagged at the last moment by Sango who realized what she was doing. "Shippou!" the girl cried, holding her arms out to him. Shippou jumped on InuYasha's shoulder.

"You like living dangerously, don't you?" InuYasha said. There was no real threat in his voice.

"Better you than her," Shippou said, holding his tail defensively.

Kagome shot looks at both of them, but continued her story. "Now on this occasion, Kashikoi had drunk a lot of saké, and it made him even more opinionated than normal. After hearing several stories about people being fooled or frightened by kitsune in their area, he declared that only the foolish or easily led could ever let a fox do that to them. Wise and intelligent people like himself could never be tricked that way. In fact, he declared, he doubted kitsune did much of this type of thing. Most people, he said, who thought they had been in a run-in with a fox probably had just scared themselves.

"The other people at the celebration just shook their heads, because Kashikoi was always declaring this or that. They didn't want bad luck on their hands and were about to ask him to leave. His friend Takeo tried to talk sense to him. 'You shouldn't talk that way!' he said. 'We know of at least twenty people who had been tricked in one place alone. Are you saying they all were men who fooled themselves or were weak, or someone human tricked them?'

"'Yes,' Kashikoi told him. 'That's exactly what I'm saying. And to prove it, I'll go out there tonight!'

"'Well, let's make it worth your while. You come back with no fox tale to tell us, and we'll buy you five jugs of saké. But if anything happens, you have to do the same for us,' Takeo said. Their friends roundly agreed. It would get rid of him, give them some peace and quiet, and if Inari was merciful, they'd get something to drink out of the whole thing. Soon all six of them stood up, and with much loud noise and rude singing, they got torches and escorted their friend out into the night and towards the place the kitsune liked."

Shippou snickered. "He was kind of stupid, wasn't he?"

"And I suppose you're thinking about pranks you would pull on him right now, aren't you, brat?" InuYasha said.

"I was thinking what the guys at the last youjutsu exam would have done to him," Shippou said. He jumped off InuYasha's shoulder and landed next to the fire pit. "First, they'd - "

"Shippou-chan," said Kagome, looking at the kit. "Can I keep telling the story?"

"Oh," he said, sitting down. "I'm sorry."

"Anyway," Kagome said, "Kashikoi's friends took him there, and Takeo announced loudly, 'Hey, Kitsune-samas, we have someone who doesn't believe in you here. We have five jugs of saké that say you'll show him what you can do. Don't let us down!' And laughing, they all walked off."

"Some friends," Sango muttered. Naoya began to wake up and she let Yusuko loose to take care of him, putting the baby over her shoulder.

"The first thing Kashikoi noticed once his friends left him was a rustle in a nearby stand of bamboo. Looking carefully, he saw a fox dart into the bamboo, and he went to investigate. Not seeing anything more, he walked down the road where he saw the wife of the village headman. 'Why, hello, Kashikoi-sama! How unexpected to see you out here tonight. I am just going to go visit my father in the village. Will you walk with me?'

"Suddenly, Kashikoi became suspicious that a fox was trying to deceive him. He knew that there was no way the village headman would let his wife walk between villages after dark. While agreeing to walk with her, he began to look for telltale signs of fox magic, like the tip of a tail showing at the bottom of her kosode, or if her clothing seemed to glow in the dark, but for the life of him, he saw nothing. Yet he couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong. Still, he tried to be civil and agreed to walk with her.

"They eventually reached her parents' house, but just as her father and mother came out to greet them, he took a knife out of his belt and said, 'Stand back! I know this girl is not your daughter, but a fox out to trick us all!' While her parents watched in horror and tried to pull him away, he tortured her, trying to get her to reveal her true form, and when that didn't work, he used the flame from his lantern to set her dress on fire. 'Mother! Father!' she cried, but there was nothing they could do, and she died."

Yusuko, finally realizing she was free of her mother's hand, chose just that moment to crawl over to pull Shippou's tail, and he shrieked.

"Yusuko, leave Shippou-kun alone!" Sango ordered.

Shippou jumped on Miroku's shoulder.

"Got caught up in the story, eh?" Miroku said.

Shippou crossed his arms. "Feh," he said, in an odd imitation of InuYasha. "You need to teach Yusuko that my tail's not a toy."

Kagome laughed. "You should have seen the look on your face, Shippou-chan!"

"Well, what happens next?" InuYasha said.

She nudged him with her elbow. "Let me see . . . Someone got a big stick and hit Kashikoi over the head and he fell unconscious. When he awoke, he was tied up, and a fierce looking samurai was standing over him.

"'You must die for your murder!' said the samurai. 'I am going off to tell my master and also her husband what has happened. Expect the worst!'

"'But I could have sworn she was a fox!' he cried. 'I saw the fox. Why would the headman let his wife wander around after nightfall?'

"'Our poor daughter! Whatever shall we tell her husband?' cried the parents.

"A Buddhist priest came by, attended by a young boy and a servant. Hearing all the noise, he asked what the problem was. A servant led him in to where the parents and the official were, and he heard their tale of woe. He turned to the unfortunate man. 'Why Kashikoi, is that you?' he asked. 'I thought you were a good man. You always had a donation for me.'

"'Yes, Dono, it is I. I thought I saw a fox turn into this poor woman and I killed her. But I really thought it was a fox out to trick me! If you can do something to save my life, I would do anything.'

"'Well then, let me talk with the family,' the priest said, then took the others away into the back and had a conference. Kashikoi stayed still, trembling, not daring yet to hope. After a few minutes, the priest came back to him.

"'Well, Kashikoi, you have one chance,' said the priest. 'You can shave your head and become my disciple right now, or the samurai-sama will take you to be tried and executed.'

"'Yes, do it right now,' said the girl's father. 'He was trying to protect us, even though it was an evil fate.'

"' Do you agree?' said the priest.

"Kashikoi, speechless at this turn of events, just nodded his head. The priest untied him, had him kneel in like he was praying, and began to shave his head while he chanted. After the ceremony was done, Kashikoi stood up and bowed deeply to the priest. At that moment, he heard a loud burst of laughter and the sun broke over the horizon. When he stood up, he was alone. Everything that happened during the night felt like a bad dream. Reaching up to the top of his head, though, he knew it wasn't a saké dream, because he had no hair. The foxes had fooled him after all."

"Yes!" said Shippou. "That's the way top-ranked kitsune do things! That would have gotten great marks on the exam."

"Hmm," said Miroku. "So what became of Kashikoi?"

"They say he went back to his friends," said Kagome. "He covered his head with a handkerchief, and told them the tale of what happened, and at the right moment, revealed what the foxes had done. Although his friends laughed at him, he paid his debt without complaining. Afterwards it is said he became a monk of great holiness who went out of his way to be compassionate to those who thought they had all the answers, but didn't. And he always remembered to do acts of kindness to the foxes who put him on the right path. Or so my grandfather told me."

"Hn," InuYasha said. "You would think he'd be mad at them, instead."

"Well, many are the paths that lead to enlightenment, my friend," Miroku said, looking thoughtful. He glanced down at the sleepy child in his arms, looked at Sango, who tilted her head towards the door. He gave her a little nod in return. "I think, though, it's time that we leave you two alone and put our children to bed. Thank you for the story, Kagome-sama."

"Can I stay here tonight?" Shippou asked. InuYasha's eyes narrowed, his hand reaching out to clasp Kagome's.

"Remember what we talked about this afternoon, Shippou?" Sango said.

The fox kit sighed. "I forgot." He jumped off of Miroku's shoulders and crawled into Kagome's lap. "I'll see you tomorrow, Kagome."

She gave the kit a little smile then ruffled his hair. "Sure thing, Shippou-chan."

Sango stood up, and handed off the sleeping Naoya to Miroku, grabbing Yusuko by the hand. "Remember to come over early if you want your cooking lesson."

Kagome smiled, getting up herself. "That would be good. I really don't know how to cook well in a fire pit. We did it a different way at my mother's house."

Bidding her friends goodbye, she let down the mat door and fastened it shut.


	10. Chapter 10

_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 10**

After closing the door, Kagome stepped back up on the raised floor and got a drink of water from the water bucket. "I think I'm tired," she said, lifting the ladle up and taking a long drink. "I love them all, but sometimes, it's nice after everybody leaves, too."

She let the ladle fall back in the bucket and looked around. Bending down, she picked up a stray tea cup and straightened a floor mat, then moved back to where InuYasha was sitting at his place by the fire pit.

InuYasha's ear twitched in her direction as she talked, and he nodded slightly, but didn't say anything. She looked at him fondly, with a small, but curious smile, then turned to wash up the tea dishes. While she worked, he poked at the fire, knocking the coals around so that as the wood burned down, the flames would die down but continue to give off heat.

He sighed. Although he had tried fairly successfully to hide it, he had been wanting everybody to hurry up and leave not long after everybody had finished eating. The house was so full, he felt closed in. But now the room that seemed too crowded a few minutes ago felt almost too large. Now instead of a busy group of friends, it was just Kagome and him, and they were alone again for the second night of their new life. The enormity of what it meant was crashing down on him once again, to be living the reality of what he had dreamed of for so long, and he felt overwhelmed by it, almost too overwhelmed to move.

Sensing his mood shift while she dried the tea cups, Kagome hurried to finish then cam and sat down next to him and rested her head on his shoulder. InuYasha didn't move.

"You seem far away. I'm sure you're not thinking about the story I told, right?" Kagome said. She picked up and twirled a lock of his hair around one of her fingers.

"No," he said, uncrossing his arms and wrapping one arm around her waist. "Already knew what kitsune were like."

Kagome snuggled closer and let her hand rest on his thigh. He looked down and stared at it, uncertain what to do.

"So what are you thinking about?" she asked.

He swallowed. "Everything."

"Everything is a big subject." Her fingers began to draw patterns on his leg.

"Yeah." His free hand found hers, stilling it as he closed his fingers around it. He gave it a little squeeze, but didn't say anything else.

She turned to look at him a moment, then rested her head back on his shoulder. "You can tell me about it, you know."

They sat there quietly for a few minutes while he struggled to find the words he wanted to say. Kagome let him find his own way, merely resting against him.

Finally, InuYasha swallowed and took a deep breath."I feel like my head's spinning," he said at last. "Today, people stopped by to congratulate us instead of chasing us away. Today, people came to my house to sit around the fire and eat and tell stories, like at a real dinner party. Old man Daitaro even left us a jug of saké. Usually people are scared to death if I even touch saké, like they think I'll turn into a monster if I take a sip. He left a whole jug. Stuff like this doesn't happen in my world."

"Evidently it does now," Kagome said. She sat up and kissed him lightly on the lips, and then stood up and walked across the room. He watched her, how her black hair was highlighted by the dying firelight, how her garments swayed as she moved. With grace, she went to where she had stowed their bedding and rolled it out. Watching her stirred him, and he could feel the tingles of want start to rise.

Not looking at him, she unfastened the clothes that Sango had given her, beginning with the blue and white wrap skirt with its bold print. Folding it, she placed it on the clothes chest. As she unfastened the obi of her beige kosode, InuYasha stood up, his right ear twitching nervously, still feeling unsure, but strangely, empowered at the same time. He took his sword out of his belt. Rolling her shoulders first, Kagome slipped out of the dress, wearing only her thin white undergarment. He padded up silently behind her, laid his sword down next to the chest, and then wrapped his arms around her.

The touch of her warm in his arms pushed him over some threshold, surging to drown out all the apprehension and doubts. "Life is never going to be way it was before yesterday, is it?" he said, brushing her hair to one side, exposing her neck. Breathing in her scent, he closed his eyes, letting his mouth graze her skin there, planting small kisses.

She relaxed into his hold, closing her eyes at his touch and tilting her neck to the side to give him better access. "No. Never. And I never want it to."

His hands slid over the soft fabric of her under kosode."Me either." His voice was husky, and soft and tickled her ear. "You think you can deal with it?"

She trembled lightly as he cupped her breasts through the thin cloth. "If you can." Her hands slid down behind her, trailing the sides of his thighs.

He pulled the neckline of her kosode open some to give his lips better access to the base of her throat, then slipped a hand beneath the white cloth. She gasped lightly as he ran the pad of his thumb across her nipple while his hand wrapped around the soft, warm mound.

"I guess I could get used to it," he said. His breath teased as his tongue traced the outline of her ear. "Some parts of it are very, very good."

"You haven't eaten my cooking yet," she said, managing to pull away enough to turn around and face him. "I remember how you used to talk about my cooking." Her eyes were dark and heavy lidded, wanting but amused. Her smile challenged him, inviting him to come play.

His arms accepted the challenge, and moved, it seemed, on their own accord, pulling her close. His mouth found hers and devoured her hungrily. "Don't care," he said. "We'll eat Sango's cooking until you learn."

Cupping the back of her head, he deepened this kiss, his tongue dancing with hers until her knees grew weak. She broke for air, and pulled back to move her hands to his chest, even as he whined a little at the separation. Smiling, she unfastened the ties to his suikan.

"Time to get undressed," she said. The look she gave him was playful, but her eyes left no doubt to what she wanted, sultry and inviting.

Not taking his eyes off of her, he stepped back one step and hurriedly removed his suikan and kosode and dropped then on the chest. With just the slightest hint of a knowing smirk, she knelt down by the edge of the futon, and unfastened the wrap to her under kosode, then slid the garment slowly over her shoulders, revealing creamy skin and soft curves.

"Woman," he groaned. He struggled with the knot to his hakama as he watched her fold her undergarment in the dim light. Her pale skin contrasted with the blackness of her hair cascading down her back. As she turned back to face him, he focused on one lock of hair that strayed curling across her shoulder, accentuating the line of her throat, coming to rest at the top of one of her breasts. Suddenly, all he wanted to do was trace that piece of hair with his finger, with his tongue. He watched it, unmoving, mesmerized.

Kagome broke his chain of thought by moving to fold the coverlet back and then sliding under it.

Taking a deep breath, he finished undressing and slid into bed next to her. "Kagome," he whispered as he wrapped his arms around her, half leaning over her.

"How about this? Do you think you could get used to this?" she asked. Her arms circled his neck, losing themselves in the silver of his hair, pulling him nearer.

"Damn it, yes," he said. His mouth found hers, again demanding and needy, and she opened her lips to him in ready surrender. "And never get enough."

He kissed a line of fiery kisses down her throat and down to the white skin of her bosom as he ground himself against her thigh. She closed her eyes, arched her neck back and moaned, and spread her legs for him.

As he ran his finger along the wonderfully soft skin he found there, she opened her eyes and gave him the sultriest of smiles. "Welcome to your new world, InuYasha."

He decided, as they became one again, he liked this new world he was discovering very much.


	11. Chapter 11

_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 11**

"Welcome to your new world, Kagome," Kagome said to herself as she got dressed.

She knelt down by an open chest, dressed only in a white under kosode as she pulled out the clothes she was going to wear for the day. Laying at the bottom of the chest were her sweater and short skirt, carefully folded. Her blouse and modern underclothes rested in a basket, waiting to be laundered until they too could be put away. She gave a fond touch to her sweater, laid her spare garments on top of it and then closed the wooden box. The clothes she was going to wear this day made a simple outfit, an outer kosode of light blue fabric, and a long wraparound skirt in beige with blue flowers printed on it. The clothes of a housewife.

She stood up to slip on the kosode. "I'm glad it's so much easier to wear these things than kimono back home. No pads, less to tie," she said as she smoothed the front of the kosode closed. It only came to mid-calf. The cloth, made of hemp linen, wasn't quite as soft as the cotton and modern fabrics she was used to wearing, and it felt strange in some ways after years of short skirts to be wearing a dress that brushed against her legs. Next, she picked up the wrap skirt and draped the garment around her waist. She liked the concept of the wrap skirt, even if it wasn't used much in her time. It kept her kosode closed, helped her avoid accidently exposing herself, and even functioned as an apron. Almost all the housewives she'd ever seen wore them, as did most of the farm wives not actively working in the fields. Even Sango usually wore one when she was traveling in women's clothes and not her fighting armor. As Kagome struggled to tie the knot behind her, the cords were taken out of her hands.

"Let me," InuYasha said, finishing the bow. Letting go of it, he in turn wrapped his arms around her.

"I didn't hear you come in," Kagome said, leaning back into his chest. She rested her hands on his arms.

"I was quiet," he replied. "Doesn't take long to hang out a futon, you know." His breath was warm against her neck, and she shivered, not in a bad way. His arms pulled her in closer. "You about ready?"

She nodded, grabbed a large square of darker blue cloth and tied it so it covered her head and kept the hair out of her eyes. Spinning around, she stepped back and held out her arms. "So, how do I look?"

InuYasha watched her, saw how she chewed on her bottom lip, waiting for his approval. For some reason, that made him smile. She could have passed for almost any young woman in the village. "Just right," he replied. "Like you really belong here. I like those colors on you."

It was the correct answer, and her face lit up. "You think?" she said.

He stepped forward, pulled her back into his arms. "I know." He kissed her chastely on the lips. "My little village woman who is so much more."

Laughing, Kagome reached up, and kissed him back. "I always want to belong here with you. Now I just hope my cooking doesn't chase you away."

Unexpectedly, his eyes grew intense and serious. "Never," he replied. His arms tightened around her. "That's the last thing I could think of that would ever get me to leave."

Kagome took a deep breath looking at the smolder in his amber eyes, and their honest sincerity, and felt something stirring inside that she needed to get under control. Reaching up, she brushed his cheek.

He gave her yet another chaste kiss. "Now can we go to Miroku's? You're supposed to help Sango fix breakfast, remember? I'm hungry. And Sango makes good morning soup."

"Sango make good soup? I remember when you used to hate her cooking," Kagome said.

"Well, she's had a lot of practice in three years. I think Kaede and some of the other women felt sorry for Miroku and taught her some stuff. Be nice if you learn how she does it."

Laughing, she nodded. He moved to the door as she slipped on her shoes, and held the door mat open as she walked out of the house.

Not long after that, Kagome and InuYasha sat in Sango's house.

InuYasha leaned against the wall, well away from Sango's kitchen area. Both women stood in front of a shelf and wash basin opposite the front door, washing greens and slicing vegetables. Right after he settled down there, Sango had handed him her son, and now he found himself playing with the boy while keeping half an eye on the two women. Little Naoya, even as young as he was, found the hanyou's silver hair and ears as fascinating as his sisters did. He gurgled as he chewed his fist and watched the hanyou wiggle his ears at him. Luckily for the two of them, the twins still rested in the sleeping room, and the baby seemed to enjoy having InuYasha all to himself.

The door slid open and Miroku walked in, fresh from his morning devotions at the nearby chapel he liked to call a temple. InuYasha wrinkled his nose, smelling the incense. It wasn't enough to make him sneeze, but it wasn't one of his favorite smells either.

"Good thing you don't have my nose, kid," he said to the baby. "I don't know how you'd make it growing up here, your dad coming in every morning smelling like that."

Miroku snorted at that, then sat down on the raised wooden floor to take off his sandals. He looked at the two women hovering over their work. "Ah, what a lovely sight," he said as he tucked his sandals into their place.

Kagome started to turn around, but Sango shook her head. "Don't encourage him," she said.

Shrugging, Miroku walked over to his seat by the fire pit. Looking at InuYasha, the monk said, "We must be very lucky, friend, to have two such beautiful women cooking for us this morning."

InuYasha looked over at Kagome. A smile touched his face. "Keh." He watched the women work until Naoya tugged on a strand of his hair and he bent over to rescue it. "You raising this brat of yours to be a fighter?"

Miroku laughed. "I thought he'd follow in his father's footsteps and be a monk. Maybe he's destined to be a warrior monk."

Kagome, turning around, held a length of early spring greens in her hand. "Maybe you only think you're lucky, Miroku-sama," she said and grinned sheepishly. "After you taste how I fix it, maybe you won't think you're so lucky after all. My mother taught me to cook, but the kitchen at her home was so much different. I'm not sure if I really know how to cook here."

"Ah," Miroku said. "But I'm sure my friend here will be happy to eat any ohitashi you make, even if I don't. Right, InuYasha?"

InuYasha looked up, smiled at Kagome, but glared at his friend after she turned around.

"Don't be such a tease, Miroku," Sango said as she fished a piece of pickled radish out of the pickle barrel. She quickly rinsed it off and began slicing it.

"Who, me?" he asked, with his best innocent face. He got up and walked over to where Sango was working. "Whatever gave you the idea I was a tease?"

She slapped at his fingers as he reached over to take a slice of the pickle she was preparing, but he was too quick for her and closed his hand over his prize even as her hand hit his.

"I don't think you really want me to give you an answer," she said, shooing him away.

Munching on his trophy, Miroku walked across the room and sat down next to InuYasha. Naoya, seeing his father, began to fuss, and an uncertain InuYasha was happy to hand him over to the monk.

"You need to go find something to do, husband," Sango said. "We'll call you when breakfast is ready."

"What do you want me to do?" the monk asked his wife. Naoya grabbed one of his father's fingers as he waved them in front of the small boy.

Sango frowned and thought for a moment. "You and InuYasha can take Naoya outside. The girls are still sleeping, and I don't want him waking them up until they've had enough sleep."

He nodded, and stood up. InuYasha looked inquiringly at Kagome, and she smiled to reassure him and nodded.

With a last silly grin, Miroku said, "Come, men. Let's leave the women to their mysteries before they bring the wrath of the kitchen kami upon our heads. Then what would we do for breakfast? Enjoy yourselves, beautiful women."

InuYasha snorted and headed out of the house. Sango scowled at her husband as he slid the door closed, and then both she and Kagome broke out with the giggles.

"I don't know why I'm so nervous," Kagome said.

Brushing a stray lock of hair off of her face and out of the way, she turned around and looked at the fire pit, from where the wood was burning down into coals, and then looked up at the ceiling above the fire pit to where the heavy wooden support for the pot hook was attached. There was a wicker basket stuffed with straw hanging up there with skewers of fish stuck in it to catch the smoke from the fire. Thinking about her mother's house and how the kitchen was laid out, she sighed. She knew all the people of this village and everywhere she had gone in Japan cooked over open fires like this, but thinking about how she and her mother cooked at home, she felt very uncertain.

"I never really paid much attention to how Kaede cooked on the fire pit when I was here before," she said finally. "I know how to cook trail food over a campfire, but cooking in a house like this just feels . . . so different."

Sango smiled at her friend, and patted her hand. "I'm sure you'll do fine. Is it really that much different where you come from, Kagome-chan?" Sango asked.

"Yes," Kagome said, putting the last of the greens into a bowl. "More than you can imagine."

"Well, you've already done the hardest parts. You came across five hundred years of time, found InuYasha and started your new life. Learning to cook in my kitchen has to be the easiest part of it all," Sango said.

Kagome turned to face her friend. "You know, you're right," she said with a smile. "So teach me how you make your soup, and once I learn what I need to know, I'll teach you some things my mother taught me."

"That sounds like a good plan," Sango said, and together, they carried bowls of food to the fire pit to begin cooking the meal.

Outside, the two men looked for a place to sit down and wait.

"So," Miroku said, carrying his son in the crook of his arm, "Five days from today is Market Day. Have you started putting together a list of things you're going to get yet?"

He settled himself in a warm spot of sunshine in front of his house. The air, although springlike, was still fairly cool, and he made sure Naoya was well bundled in his blanket.

InuYasha shook his head, sitting down near his friend. "We barely know what we have, much less what we need yet. I never used the house for much more than a place to duck out of the rain." He picked up a blade of grass. "Kagome's already talking about gardens and storage rooms and clotheslines and all this other stuff."

"Women are like that. Funny, when we were traveling, I needed so little. Now it's cloth and salt and needles and bowls and sweets and who knows what else."

"Keh," InuYasha said, "I know. Carried it home enough times for you."

"And now you'll have to carry your own load home. Talk it over with Sango and Kagome together. She'll help. I suspect Kagome might not have much experience running a house."

"Yeah," the hanyou said, twirling the grass stem. "Yeah, everything's way different where she comes from. We both have a lot to learn."

"It's good to learn together," the monk said.

InuYasha smiled, a peaceful look Miroku hadn't seen on his friend's face very often. "Yeah."

They sat there quietly for a while, playing with the baby until he fell asleep. Not long after, the door to the house slid open and two small bundles of energy ran down the verandah to where the two men sat.

"Otou!"

"Inu-oji!"

Miroku caught Yusuko as she slammed into his lap. Noriko, two steps behind, almost bumped into her sleeping brother. InuYasha grabbed her to put her in his lap.

"Inu-oji?" she asked.

"Don't want to wake up Naoya, right?" he asked.

She shook her head no.

"Well, girls," Miroku said, "You finally got up?"

Both girls looked like they just woke up, each still in her sleeping robe, but there was not a trace of sleepiness left in either of them.

Noriko nodded. "Mama say come!"

"Time to eat?" the monk asked.

"Eat breakfast," Yusuko said. She looked around her. "Where's Shippou-chan?"

"He said he was going to Kaede-obaasan's," Miroku replied.

"Not eat?" she said, frowning.

"Not this time, little girl. Maybe next time," the monk said, standing up.

"You ready to go see what Kagome and your mama cooked?" InuYasha asked Noriko.

"Go eat," she said, tugging on his sleeve.

He put her on his shoulder. "No ears this time, all right?"

"No ears," she agreed as he stood, and they all went back to the house.


	12. Chapter 12

_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 12**

"So, Kagome-sama, you have mastered the art of breakfast soup, I believe," Miroku said as he walked the wooded path from his house to theirs. "This morning's breakfast was excellent."

"We'll know tomorrow," she replied, smiling. "It was easy with Sango there to help me."

"Keh," InuYasha said. He was carrying a covered pot. It had a stew that Kagome was going to finish at home for their dinner, and Kagome carried a basket with the final ingredients. Miroku brought up the rear with a box of rice balls.

"And now you have the whole afternoon ahead of you, the whole evening ahead of you, all alone," the monk said. "Whatever shall you do?"

InuYasha glared at his friend. "Mind your business, Bouzu."

Kagome blushed a little, and touched InuYasha's arm in a calming way. "Actually, I'd like to decide where the garden should grow," Kagome said.

"A wise thing. I've already turned ours and planted the early things," Miroku said. "Did Sango give you any advice?"

Kagome nodded. "And some seeds to get started. I'm probably going to need lots of advice. I've gardened a little before, but only to raise flowers."

"You should get some radish and early mustard down as soon as you're able," Miroku advised. "Our early radish are already sprouting. Mustard spinach will do all right now, too, I think."

Miroku and Kagome continued talking about gardening, but InuYasha moved ahead a little, not paying them much mind. As they neared the little house, his nose began to pick up something though, a scent that didn't belong.

"Someone's been here while we were gone," he said, his voice low and soft, but almost a growl as he handed the stew pot to Kagome and cautiously moved closer to the building, circling around the grounds.

Miroku pushed ahead of Kagome, just in case, and once again she wished she had a bow.

"Damn," the hanyou said. He stopped next to his wood pile, where the neat woodpile had been pulled down and scattered. "That took me a long time to stack."

"So someone did come by," Miroku said.

"My nose doesn't lie," InuYasha said. "Don't think they're still here, though. They better not be." His hand rested on Tessaiga.

Further around the back, where the futon was stretched out on the clothes line, brown spots marred the fabric. Someone had tossed dirt clods on it.

"My bed," Kagome said. She put the pot down, and moved closer to the cloth, and shook it. Some of the dirt fell off.

"Yeah," the hanyou replied, resting a hand on her back. "That'll wash off. Glad it wasn't blood or that they didn't rip it."

She nodded. "You're right . . . but still it makes me feel . . . "

"Dirty," InuYasha said.

She looked up at his face. His eyes were hard and angry, but he pulled her close for a moment, but then let her go. Chewing her lip, she nodded again.

They finished circling around the building but found nothing else out of place until they got to the front door.

"Wait, InuYasha," Miroku said, moving in front of him. He ripped a piece of paper off the lintel.

"An ofuda?" Kagome said.

"Not a nice one, if you have youkai blood," Miroku said, holding the paper by one corner. He frowned as he studied it.

Kagome touched it lightly. " It doesn't have any more magic than the ones my grandfather makes. Either the maker didn't have any spiritual powers, or it was never activated."

"That is true," the monk said. The corner of his mouth turned up, an ironic, but not amused smile. "It looks like my handwriting, but it's definitely not charged. I wonder who put it here?"

"Gimme that," InuYasha said, putting it to his nose. "Smells like Joben and that brat of his, Aki. I thought it smelt like that kid as we moved around the house. Someone else was here, too. But Aki's smell is all over this thing."

"Aki-kun," Miroku said thoughtfully. "That makes sense. What we've seen looks like the sort of prank a boy would do. Let's go inside and see if there's anything else wrong. Let me go first, just in case they left something else behind that's not so harmless."

InuYasha, fuming, but knowing enough to not rush in, gave the monk a curt nod.

Miroku lifted the bamboo mat. After a moment, he called out for them to come in.

The house looked undisturbed. Kagome put the pot near the fire pit, and laid the basket on the low table. InuYasha walked around the room sniffing.

"Nobody's been here but us," InuYasha said after doing a circuit. Finally, his hand left Tessaiga's hilt.

"Just the kids were here?" Miroku asked. He handed his box of food to Kagome who put it with the rest.

InuYasha shrugged. "Don't smell any adults outside of the ones I know have been here."

The monk nodded. "Joben has anti-youkai ofuda all over his house. His mother put such a fear of them on him when he was young that he covers everything in ofuda and amulets. I decided he was too panicky to give him anything much that really worked. Could be his son had one, and seeing nobody was home, decided to act up here." He took the ofuda back from the hanyou, looking at it carefully, as if it held some clue as to what happened.

"Or it could be his father sent him to let us know his true feelings." InuYasha clenched his fists, then relaxed just enough to cross his arms and stuff his hands in his sleeves. "I knew everything was going too well."

"One unruly boy's behavior," Kagome said, tugging on his right arm. InuYasha let her pull it loose. She took his fist in her hand. "Boys do things like that sometimes."

"Yeah, I guess," he replied, then opened his hand to take hers. "Smelled like they were two of'em though."

"I've heard they're more likely to misbehave together," Kagome said. "That makes sense."

"Still, I'm going to take this down to Kaede and Tameo, and tell them about it. They'll want to know," Miroku said, tucking the ofuda into his sleeve.

"Should we go with you?" Kagome asked.

The monk shook his head. "I know they asked you to stay up here for a few days. It would probably be better if I went alone. You being there would remind those people who aren't necessarily friendly of what's going on, and if you went storming in, InuYasha, it might cause them to feel frightened." He smiled sadly. "You're pretty intimidating when you're angry. People might get the wrong idea. And frightened people do stupid things."

"Keh. Don't have to tell me that," InuYasha said. His ear twitched at his unhappiness.

The monk clasped his friend's upper arm. "And if you're around, nobody's likely to try anything else."

"Yeah." InuYasha sighed, moved back a step from Miroku, and wrapped his arm around Kagome. "The brats left us enough work to do, anyway." Kagome looked up at him, and gave him a small, encouraging smile.

Miroku headed for the door. "Just remember, InuYasha, nobody in a village likes everybody. Just because one family causes you trouble, doesn't mean you don't have friends."

The hanyou nodded, and Miroku left.

"He's right, you know," Kagome said. "Just because people live in the same community doesn't mean they all like each other. It just means they live in the same area."

"Feh," he said, letting her go. "Let's get started. Kid really pissed me off throwing dirt on our bed. Bet his dad's having a fit that we're together. He's always whispering shit about me, and now I bet he's saying the same trash about you."

Kagome grabbed his hand back. "Maybe so, but our revenge on him will be to stay here and be happy." She tiptoed up and kissed his chin.

His arms wrapped around her one more time as he studied her face. She had her jaw set in that determined way she got. He knew that look, and having been on the receiving end of it when they didn't know each other very well, he had a brief flash of pity for anybody who might try to sneak back and cause trouble. He gave her a tentative smile back, and kissed her briefly back.

"Yeah," he said, then led her out of the house.

Most of the dirt shook off of the futon, and a little cleaning with vinegar and water got the rest. After that, InuYasha got busy restacking his woodpile. Chime, Daitaro's wife, stopped by with her son Shinjiro, bringing a gift of vegetables. Chime was a frail, stoop-shouldered woman with a heartwarming smile, and at once made Kagome feel at ease. Together they went inside and shared a cup of tea while the men talked by the woodpile. After the visit, Kagome discovered InuYasha had relaxed considerably.

At midday, InuYasha came in and they sat and ate their lunch of onigiri and pickles.

"You're right, you know," he said, after finishing his first rice ball.

Kagome looked up from her plate. "I'm right about what?"

"What the best revenge is. Some people will always hate me because of who I am. But I have friends. There are people who want us to succeed. Shinjiro and I were talking about how to keep an eye on people who wander on this side of the village. He and his dad have had trouble with kids messing things up, too." He grabbed a pickle slice from her plate. She tried to slap his hand, but he was too quick, and he popped it into his mouth and gave her a victorious, silly grin.

"Yes there are people who want us to succeed, and bratty boys who make us unhappy, both," she replied. "And there are pickle thieves, too."

"Yours taste better," he said, picking up another rice ball.

She rolled her eyes, and finished her lunch.


	13. Chapter 13

_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 13**

InuYasha sat under a sakura tree that grew near his house, shading the area where he chopped wood. As he leaned back against the tree trunk, he flicked his ear as he watched Kagome walk past him and the wood pile as she made yet another circuit around the house. Stopping for a moment, she bent down and ran her fingers over the ground, and picked up a pinch of dirt. She looked up at the sky, and the trees overhanging the spot. Shaking her head, she began walking again.

Intrigued, he got up, and began to follow her silently. She stopped at a different place, one not far from the clothes line he had made for her, looked up at the sky, and again repeated her bending down and sampling the soil. She turned around and suddenly found herself bumping into a smiling but curious hanyou.

"This is the fourth time you've walked around the house," InuYasha said. He slid a finger under her chin and tipped her head up a little.

"I know," she said sheepishly, then chewed on her bottom lip.

"Is this some miko thing from your time?" he asked. "Are you doing a spell? Is this how you would pick out where to put a garden back in your time? I'll go back and let you finish if you are."

Kagome shook her head. "No, it's not miko anything." She looked up at the sky, and then back at the ground again. "I'm just not sure what we should do. "

"I'm sure of one thing. I don't really understand why you're doing what you're doing." InuYasha lightly wrapped his arms around her waist, and then pulled her close so he could rest his cheek on the top of her head. "You wanna tell me about it? I can't help you if I don't know what's going on in that head of yours."

With a sound tht was somewhere between a sigh and a small, nervous chuckle, Kagome pulled back from his hold and turned around, chewing on her lip again. "It's hard trying to decide where everything should go. We need a vegetable garden," she said, rubbing her toe against the soil where she stood. "Everybody's made it clear that having our own garden's really important. And I need to figure out where I want to put the laundry tub and where to hang the laundry out to dry, but I'm not sure if where we made the line for the futon is the right place. I think it's too far from the stream. And we're going to want a storage building, too, unless you want to smell the pickles and miso fermenting in the house all the time, and . . ."

"We don't have to decide it all right this minute," InuYasha said, pulling her close against her chest again. He rested his chin on her shoulder. "If you're not sure about the right place for the garden, we can ask Kaede and Sango's opinion. If we need to make a place for the clothes, that's no problem. I know this isn't how you lived back at your place. But you have friends. They know you lived differently, too. They'll help. I'll help, but I think they know more."

After a moment, Kagome relaxed in his arms, and he kissed the top of her head. But then she stood straighter and pointed to the area near the clothes line. "I'd like to put the garden there, but part of it gets too much shade, I think."

"So we'll take a tree or three down if you really want it there," he said, nuzzling the side of her neck. "We can use the wood for the shed, and we'll burn what's left."

"That might work," she said, turning to lean her face in his chest. "I'm sorry. I just realized how much I have to learn, how much I don't know how to do. I don't want to be a useless woman. I want to make your life happy, not filled with worrying about a girl who can't do anything."

"Feh," he said, just holding her. "You already make me happy. And I know you, Kagome. Anybody that can go through a year of chasing youkai, destroying the Shikon no Tama and still get home to take all those stupid test things can do anything." He lifted her chin up and gently kissed her.

She returned his kiss, then stepped back a little. "One thing at a time. Let's just see if I can cook dinner first."

InuYasha gave her a big smile. "I know you. You'll do fine. But I'll stay out here a bit longer and chop some wood. Let me know if you need anything."

She nodded. "I'll do that," she said, and headed back into the house.

InuYasha watched her, then slipped out of his jacket, laid it on the wood pile and picked up his axe. Grabbing a length of wood, he placed it on the stump he split wood on, and began to work.

After a while, Kagome stepped out on the porch. "Could you fill the water bucket up?" she asked, holding it out.

InuYasha, having gotten lost in his work, looked up and realized it was almost twilight. Wedging his ax in the stump he grabbed his jacket. "Sure. Dinner almost ready?"

"Almost," she replied. "It should be by the time you get the water."

She was smiling, which he took as a good sign. As he walked into the house and put the now full bucket in its corner, he took a deep breath. The air was rich with the smells of food.

"It smells good in here. I think I'm hungry," he said, sitting down at his place by the fire pit.

"Good," Kagome replied, slicing some pickled daikon. "It's almost ready. We need to get some trays. It'd be easier to serve if we had trays to eat off of."

"Put that on the list of things we need to get. I'll pick some up next week when Miroku and I go to market day. I just never used all that stuff for just me." He looked at her apologetically. "I never thought about it."

"That's all right," Kagome said, nodding, and handed him a small dish with pickle slices. Next she opened up one pot she had set away from the fire. Steam lifted from it.

"Rice?" he said.

"Yeah. I hope it came out right," she said. "At my mother's, we had a special cooker for rice. Sango told me how I can make it this way." She spooned some into his bowl and put it in front of him. Next she knocked the coals away from under the lidded soup pot, and opened it. It smelled of onions and fish and miso. She dipped up a bowl, and sat that in front of him, as well.

Chewing on her bottom lip, she waited for him to taste the stew. He raised the bowl to his lips, and took a sip of the broth. It was rich with the taste of miso, and slid easily over his palate. It was a recipe Sango had made a lot over the winter, hearty with winter vegetables. "It's good," he said, pulling out his chopsticks and fishing bits of vegetables and fish out. "I like it."

She gave him a smile like the sun, and dipped her food out as well.

They ate mostly in a companionable silence, but Kagome was pleased when he asked for seconds.

After the meal, he sat by the fire, watching her every move as she washed and put away their supper things. She was humming a little tune to herself, wordlessly, and moved with an easy grace. Part of him felt like he ought to say something to break the silence, but couldn't think of what to say. Still, he was too content to worry too much about it.

She came back and sat down by him, and rested her head against his shoulders. "I don't know the last time we got to spend so much time together, with nobody else popping in, or teasing, or trying to do this or that. Just you and me."

"Yeah," he said, wrapping his arm around her. "You like it?"

"I do," she said. "It feels like home."

"Yeah."

They sat there for a while, Kagome again humming her tune as they watched the fire burn. After a while, she stood up, smiled at him, then walked to where she stored the bedding. He got up and prepared the fire in the fire pit for the night, looking up at her as he worked as she laid out the futon, taking care to smooth it out, and spread the cover.

"Our bed," he said, too soft to be overheard. "Our house. Our life. Ours." It seemed an amazing thing to say.

He watched her do her homely little chore with a flood of emotion. Somehow, in only two days, she had managed to turn what had started out as being just a shack he had built to escape once in a while from the noise and eyes of well-meaning friends into a clean and inviting place that was whispering the idea of home, a place that was uniquely theirs, a place where they belonged and where people came to them as visitors. InuYasha was overcome with the need to let her know, somehow, of all the feelings welling up inside of him at the wonder of it all.

"I wish . . . " he said, slightly louder. In the quiet of the room the soft words sounded very loud.

Kagome turned around and looked at him. She smiled, but there was some uncertainty in her eyes. "You wish?"

InuYasha moved next to her where she was sitting next to the bed and took one of her hands in his. He looked down at how it looked in his, slight and delicate, fine and soft, so much smaller than his. Hands that worked magic. "I wish . . . I wish I was one of those guys who was good with words." He wrapped his fingers around her hand, looked up at her with a wry smile. "Dammit. I wish I could say everything that's here," he said, moving her hand over his heart, "so that you could hear it."

Her blue-gray eyes glittered, and her smile lit up her face like a sunrise. "But I do hear it, InuYasha. I could hear it from five hundred years away."

She leaned towards him, brushed her lips across his. His arms wrapped around her, and pulled her into his lap. He kissed her back with hunger that surprised him.

"Does my heart tell you how much I want you?" he said, his voice low and husky.

"Of course," Her eyes had gone from housewifely to wanton, but amusement touched her lips. "Why do you think I made the bed?"

His fingers found the tie to her wrap skirt. "Will it always be like this?" He pulled the garment loose from her body.

He found her mouth again, and trailed a hungry line down her throat, even as she began to unfasten his suikan. "What does your heart tell you?"

InuYasha lifted her out of his lap and laid her on the futon. "That I will never ever have enough."

Kagome watched him as he stood up and pulled off his clothes. She finished pulling off her own, then slipped under the covers.

"Mine says the same thing," she said.

He slipped in next to her, pulling her tightly to him. "Let's see if those hearts of ours are telling the truth.


	14. Chapter 14

_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 14**

Sango, her son Naoya strapped to her back, walked around the little house in the clearing with Kagome. The twins trailed behind the two women, and following the girls, Miroku and InuYasha brought up the rear.

"I think you're right, Kagome," Sango said. "If we could take down those three trees, this would be a really good place for your garden. It's not too far from the stream if you need to water, and the soil looks good."

Yusuko picked up something off the ground, then ran to Miroku. "Look, Daddy!"

Miroku admired the pebble the girl held up to him. "It's very pretty," he said. "You want me to hold it for you?"

The little girl nodded. The monk slipped it into his sleeve.

"Your sleeves ought to be getting heavy by now," InuYasha said.

"And I don't dare drop it when the girls aren't looking." Miroku sighed. "Yusuko, particularly, will want to see it later."

The hanyou snorted.

"Just wait, my friend. Your time will come." The monk walked ahead of him and picked up his daughters. He didn't see the suddenly frightened look on the hanyou's face.

InuYasha took a deep breath and calmed himself before he caught up with the others. "So you have all figured out?"

"I think so," Kagome said. "I know where the garden should go, and the laundry area."

Noriko reached out to Kagome. "Obasan!"

She took the girl from Miroku. "I think you have made a friend there," he said, handing her over.

Kagome smoothed the girl's hair, taking out a stray piece of grass. "Maybe so. You're my friend, Noriko-chan?"

The girl nodded and wrapped her arms around Kagome's neck.

"You'll need to take some trees out," Sango said to InuYasha. "But you'll want to build some outbuildings anyway. And I think Shinjiro or one of his brothers might be willing to plow up the garden. It's heavy work, putting in the garden the first time. He's the one who plowed up ours when we started ours."

"We'll talk with him after we talk to Kaede," Kagome said, looking at the hanyou who nodded at her. "I think she'll come by today."

Miroku leaned on his staff. "I wonder what she and Tameo have planned. I know they talked yesterday. But they haven't told me anything."

The group fell silent for a moment, which for some reason, disturbed Yusuko. "Down, Otou!"

"Maybe we should go inside," Sango said. "You did say you wanted my suggestions on what you needed to get to get started?"

Kagome nodded. "There's so much I don't even know that I need."

"We'll get it figured out," Sango said, reassuringly.

The women headed inside. Miroku looked at InuYasha and smiled.

"What?" the hanyou said.

"I'm just imagining what a big load you'll be carrying home this market day." The monk, and his irritated daughter, followed the others in.

"But she's worth every bit," InuYasha said, and joined them.

Kaede made her way down the path to the edge of the village, carrying a bow and quiver, but also with her collecting basket under her arm. The early morning sunlight glinted through the branches of the trees as she walked down the quiet way. The path she walked was scattered with cherry blossom petals. Looking up, she could see the blossom time was nearly over and the trees were leafing out.

"What's that?" asked the small girl walking with her. Kaede paused and waited while Rin stopped and knelt by some early spring wild flowers, pale blue.

Bending over her shoulder, Kaede said, "Ah, that is Haru-rinndou. Isn't it pretty? I always thought they look like blue stars."

Rin looked at the stand of the small wild gentians as if trying to memorize them. "Can you use them?" she asked.

"Yes, girl. You can eat the leaves and the roots make a tonic," Kaede said as they resumed their walk. "But I like them because when they bloom, they remind me that spring has come and summer won't be long. I am glad the winter is over."

"Me too, Kaede-sama," said Rin. She began to sing softly.

"Spring, spring comes again,  
>the birds they sing their songs.<br>Though cold winds still blow  
>Flower time will not be long."<p>

Rin looked down the path they were taking. "Are we going to see InuYasha-sama today?"

Kaede shifted her gathering basket. "Yes, dear. Tameo-sama wants me to talk to Kagome-chan about something. You, though, if you wish, could go visit Sango-chan if you would like while we're talking."

The girl tilted her head a moment, considering. "Maybe. Can you tell Rin more about Kagome-sama? InuYasha-sama seemed very happy that she came back. Rin doesn't remember her very well, though. She seems nice."

"Yes, I would say so. InuYasha had been waiting for her to come back a long time. You'll like her. She's very nice." She stopped a moment to adjust how the quiver was riding on her shoulder. "With luck, we'll be seeing a lot of her."

Rin skipped forward a few steps then waiting for the old miko to catch up with her."Do you think Sesshoumaru-sama will come by today? Rin would like to tell him about Kagome-sama coming back to stay."

"He doesn't tell me in advance before he comes," Kaede said. "Still, I suspect there's not much that passes by in this area that he doesn't know something about."

"It's been a month since he's stopped by. How will he know?" Rin looked pensive.

"I'm sure he has his ways," Kaede said. She watched the girl stoop to pick a wild flower. Rin turned it in her fingers, and chewed her bottom lip. "What is it, dear?"

Rin sighed, her dark eyes looking off into the distance. "Sometimes," she said. "Rin wonders if he's lonely. Master Jaken is with him, but still . . . "

"I do not know, child," Kaede replied. "Sesshoumaru-sama has his own ways of going through life that are not quite like the rest of us."

Even after three years, the girl missed being with the youkai that had saved her life during the year of the quest, and the miko did not like to see her become saddened missing him. Somehow, she wondered if Rin was ever going to become quite the ordinary girl. In some ways, Kaede thought, she was like InuYasha pining for Kagome. A distraction was in order. Looking around, she spotted a patch of plants with tiny purple flowers. "Look there, Rin." She pointed it out to the girl.

"Hotokenoza," the girl said, remembering it from an earlier lesson. "Shall we pick some?"

"Yes, that's a good idea." She handed her basket to the girl, who deftly plucked a portion, but not all, of the henbit growing along the path and put it into the basket.

"It looks a lot like mint," Rin noted. "But different."

"It does, doesn't it?" Kaede said. "You might call them cousins. Once the weather warms up, we won't see it again until it's cool, though, even though we see mint all summer long. That should be enough."

Rin nodded. "Cousins. Like you and Tameo?"

Kaede chuckled. "Maybe so, child. But neither of us get to hide when it gets hot. That would be a nice thing, to escape the heat."

Rin smiled. "It's nicer in the mountains when it's hot."

"Alas," Kaede said, with a wistful look. "This old woman has too much to do, and perhaps, is just a bit too old to head that way when it gets hot."

"It is a long way away," Rin agreed. "Rin has only done it when riding on Ah-Un."

Together, thinking traveling into the mountains in quite different scenarios, the girl and the old miko went on their way. Not long after that, they reached the little house in the clearing.

InuYasha, sensing the approach of Kaede and her charge, stepped out in front of the house. He stood there with his hands stuffed in his sleeves, and his ears focused straight on the old miko, as if he were trying to decide what type of news she was bringing.

"Hello, InuYasha. Kagome is here?" Kaede asked.

He nodded, his face somber and unreadable. "Where else would she be?"

"InuYasha-ojisan," Rin asked, tilting her head a little and looking at the hanyou curiously. "Why do you look so solemn?"

He shrugged, but her question broke through his mask a little, and he gave her a faint grin. "Not sure, kid. Why do you look so cheerful?"

Rin giggled. "Rin doesn't know."

"I'm not sure either, kid," he said, then turned and lifted the door mat. "Miroku and Sango are here, too. It might be a little crowded."

Kaede nodded, then she and Rin stepped inside. As InuYasha said, the room was fairly crowded. Miroku was watching his daughters playing with the rocks and sticks they had picked up, stacking them up and watching them fall. Sango was rocking a sleeping Naoya. Kagome was making tea.

"Come inside, Kaede-obaachan, Rin-chan," Kagome said, rising to greet them.

Sango, shifting Naoya from one arm to the other, made a space near the fire for Kaede to set down. "We can go if you need us to," she offered.

"No, no, my child," Kaede said. She slipped off her sandals. "It's probably good that you're here. That way, this old woman only has to tell her story once." Leaving her gathering basket in the entry, but holding onto the bow and quiver, she walked across the room to the place next to Kagome.

She unslung the quiver and bow. "I thought you might like to have a bow again, Kagome-chan. This is one that I put aside a long time ago to pass on."

Kagome bowed. "Thank you, Kaede-obaachan. You don't know how I've wanted a new one since I've gotten back." Kagome took the bow and quiver from the old miko's hands, and began to examine them.

Kaede looked at her calmly with her single eye. "Can you still make the sacred arrows?"

"What are you up to, Babaa?" InuYasha asked, moving back to his place. Rin followed and went to sit next to the twins, who immediately began showing her all their rocks.

"I don't know," Kagome said. She took an arrow out of the quiver and nocked it into the bow, and pulled back. The air began to tingle as the arrow began to glow with a bright, purifying light.

Noriko looked up. "Pretty!"

"Well, I guess that answers that question," Miroku said.

At that moment, Naoya, who was sleeping, woke up and started shrieking. Sango put him on her shoulder, and patted his back and bounced him. "Hush, hush, baby," she said in a soothing voice.

"Did I do that?" Kagome said, lowering her bow and relaxing the string.

"Maybe," Miroku said. "We're beginning to wonder if Naoya isn't showing signs of spiritual powers already. It's not the first time he's flinched at the use of reiki or youki."

After a moment the baby calmed down.

"You are very strong, Kagome-chan," Kaede said after the younger woman sat down. "I knew you were before, but some women lose their connection to their spiritual powers after they take a husband."

"Keh," InuYasha said, putting his hand over hers.

Kaede looked thoughtful. "So now that we have established that Kagome is still gifted with her spiritual powers, we can discuss what I came to talk about."

Kagome poured tea for the old miko.

"I'm not sure exactly how to begin," Kaede said. She sipped her tea. "I'll start with what you might have guessed, InuYasha. As expected, my cousin Tameo has told me that Tsuneo, or more likely, his wife Haname speaking through him, is very unhappy with the fact that Kagome-chan is back and staying with you. Tsuneo has hinted that he would like the elders ask you two to leave, but so far, he and Haname have found few supporters. If we don't choose a path that is right, the few supporters could change with time."

InuYasha stiffened, but did not let go of Kagome's hand until she pulled it away to pick up her tea cup.

"So what do you think we should we do, Kaede-obaachan? " Kagome asked.

Kaede sipped her cup appreciatively. "Tameo pointed out to me something yesterday. The problem with both of your positions here is linked to the fact that neither of you really have any binding ties here. You are not blood related nor adopted into any of the families. You have no official tie to the local kami. The fact that you are my sister's reincarnation and helped destroy Naraku has some weight, but it only goes so far."

"But . . . but," said Kagome. She looked up at InuYasha and then back at Kaede. "I've lived at the shrine here all my life. My grandfather is the priest where I come from. I've done work as one of the shrine miko since he decided I was old enough to help. What other place is my home?"

"Ah, but Kagome-sama, that hasn't happened yet," Miroku said. "You've lived here only in the world you came from. And the villagers wouldn't really understand how that works."

"Feh," InuYasha said. "She only saved them from Naraku. They certainly didn't give you a hard time settling down. They gave you the land and everything."

"That's because I offered them something they didn't have," Miroku replied. "They wanted a Buddhist priest here. Even if he is rather unorthodox."

"And there was talk about that, too, Houshi. Surprisingly, it was Tsuneo's family that were champions of that."

Noriko squealed when Yusuko knocked down her stack of toys. Rin picked her up. "Sango-obasan, may Rin take the twins outside to play?"

"That's a good idea, Rin-chan." Sango said, nodding. "All this talk isn't very fun for them."

The three girls went outside. Kaede took another sip of her tea, and gathered her words.

She put her cup down."Tameo suggested that our family adopt you in, Kagome-chan. You could become a recognized branch of our family. It would give you a right to be here that Tsuneo's people could not deny."

"Adopt me?" Kagome said.

"Is that possible?" Sango asked. "Most places don't allow the adoption of women that way. Usually they have to marry one of the villagers."

InuYasha's eyes narrowed, and he clasped Kagome's hand possessively. He didn't like the direction this was going in.

"There is one way," Kaede said. "The custom here is to take a woman in if she has some special gift or ability or possession to bring to the community if she has real reasons why she cannot or will not marry into a family here. In Kagome's case, it would be her spiritual powers. Tameo suggested to me that I take Kagome in as my apprentice to be the next village miko."


	15. Chapter 15

_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 15**

InuYasha suddenly scooted forward towards Kaede, his ears flattening back."The hell," he said. "A miko?"

"Interesting," Miroku said, resting a hand on his friend's back.

The hanyou swerved to look at the monk. Miroku nodded his head and pointed him back to his seat. Still frowning, InuYasha sat back down next to Kagome, but took her far hand, letting his fire rat sleeve drape across her.

"InuYasha," the monk said, "you cannot deny that Kagome-sama has the powers of a miko - one of the most powerful. Your joining has done nothing to diminish them."

"Feh," InuYasha said. "She's still my wife. Nothing's going to change that. We'll leave first."

Kagome met his eyes and gave him a small, nervous smile, and nodded her head. She squeezed his hand, then turned to the older miko who watched the two of them with patience, untroubled by their reaction.

"You do have the gift, child," Kaede said. "InuYasha, be calm, and let me finish."

He scowled, but nodded.

"I'm confused, Kaede-obaasan. Don't miko have to be unmarried? They do where I come from, or at least normally, even if all they do is help around the shrine or dance the kagura dances. Once they're ready to get married, they give up the work. I have a husband," Kagome said, holding her head up.

InuYasha gave her hand another squeeze.

The older woman nodded. "That is the usual way, yes. But, child," she said smiling, "there are miko, and there are miko. Some are attached to shrines, and are often ladies of the nobility, like at the great shrine at Ise. The nobles choose for those miko ladies who have no partner. Even if their spiritual powers are strong, they very seldom act as miko once they marry."

"I've heard stories about some of the lesser miko at Ise," Miroku said, smirking. "Some of them are very good . . . at entertaining."

InuYasha shot him a dirty look.

"Hush," Sango said, giving her husband an elbow. "That's not the type of women we're talking about here. We're talking about real miko."

"Thank you, Sango-chan," Kaede said, frowning at the monk. With a little sigh, she returned her gaze to the young couple in front of her. "There are wandering miko, who travel across the countryside, stopping from place to place to use their powers where they find the need."

"Like Kikyou did when she was looking to defeat Naraku?" Kagome asked.

"Very much like that," Kaede said. "I don't know much about them, really. Who knows what those women do when they aren't traveling?"

"I have met one or two who traveled with men I suspected were their husbands," Miroku said.

Sango shifted her son in her arms. He was sleeping, and didn't stir. "There was a woman like that who stopped by the slayer's village," She said. Brushing a finger through her son's hair fondly, she looked up at her husband. "Miroku, lay out Naoya's blanket for me?" she asked.

He nodded and reached for the cloth.

"She was skilled with medicines, and our village was always happy to see them coming," Sango continued. "None of us ever thought about her companion."

Miroku spread the blanket out, and she lay her son carefully down. He wiggled a little, and stuck his thumb in his mouth, but otherwise didn't wake..

Kaede nodded. "There are others, like myself, local miko who care for their villages, using their knowledge and spiritual power to take care of their people. Often they stay unmarried all their lives, but upon occasion, they marry, and might continue in their work if their duties allow it. After all, if the power they have to help their people remains, even if they have a husband and family to take care of, why shouldn't they?"

Miroku spread a corner of the blanket over his son, then looked up. "The mountain sages, the yamabushi, they often marry miko," he said. "It's quite common. After they marry, the yamabushi and miko often work as a team doing their spiritual work. The difference there is people know the man is a yamabushi, and that they are a married couple."

"I'm no yamabushi," InuYasha said, scowling and unconvinced. "I've got youkai blood, remember? If I even tried to learn that stuff, they'd be throwing ofuda and spells my way." The hand that not holding Kagome's was clenched tightly. Kagome reached for it, and he let it relax into her smaller hand. There were red marks where his claws had almost pierced the skin.

Sango looked a the new couple thoughtfully."My father told me a story of a famous miko who was married to a dragon," she said.

"Yes, many miko over the centuries have been married to supernatural beings who were also their protectors, sometimes their connection to the spiritual world," Miroku said. "It was said in an old text I studied that once upon a time, that a supernatural being was the proper husband for a miko, but then the politics at the court and at Ise made the unmarried miko the usual."

Kagome looked at the monk, surprised."You mean, people thought it was normal for a youkai and a miko to be together?"

Miroku nodded. "Or a miko and a kami. It gets hard to tell sometimes which is which in the old scrolls."

Kagome looked up at InuYasha, who shrugged. "Hell if I know. Before my time." He looked at the monk and the miko. "When I grew up, everybody wanted to chase me and my mother away or kill me."

"Some people..." Miroku said, looking at his son.

The hanyou tilted his head, then looked at Kaede as a thought struck him. "If all this is true, why did Kikyou work so hard against youkai?" he asked. "If I hadn't been hanyou, she probably would have killed me the first time I showed up, no questions asked."

Kaede took a deep breath."She was the guardian of the Shikon no Tama," she said. "We know how that pulled all evil things looking for power toward it, but youkai particularly. She had been trained that way, to assume the worst."

"But we know that not all youkai are evil," Miroku said, "just like not all humans are good. Things aren't always that simple. Look at the kami. Some of them do things we humans feel are evil, like bring disease."

InuYasha knitted his brows. "You're sure about that, monk?"

"Shippou isn't evil," Kagome said, nodding.

"Feh," the hanyou said, crossing his arms. "He's a brat."

"Hachi isn't evil. Toutousai isn't evil," Miroku said.

"That old geezer? He's smelly," InuYasha said. "And irritating."

"And Myouga?" Kagome asked.

InuYasha scowled. "A pest."

"But not evil," Miroku said.

The hanyou, letting out a breath, shook his head. "Not evil."

"If you were a normal human man," Kaede said, "one of the farmers, or a merchant, this might be a harder thing for the village to accept, to have Kagome fulfill the role of miko. But you are not a normal human man. You are hanyou, with a very strong youkai side. You helped save the village from Naraku, and have stepped up to protect it since then. Everybody knows you are and have been Kagome's protector. And the proof that this is what should be is the very fact that the magic brought you back together, so you could continue to be just that."

The old miko turned to the younger woman. "I am not asking you to become a shrine miko, Kagome-chan. But if you wish, you can work with me and learn to use your powers the way a miko does, mastering the protective magic, and how to be a healer."

Kagome looked up at InuYasha, but saw no real answers there, but only uncertainty and a little fear. "Do I need to give you my answer now?"

"No, child. Give it some thought. It might not be the only way to protect your position. It was the first real thing that Tameo-sama and I could come up with." She looked at both of them, sitting together, exchanging glances, and feeling rather overwhelmed. The old miko took a deep breath. "But it might be one of the reasons you were allowed to come back. You, too, InuYasha - help her make a good decision, one that you both can live with, and not just one based on your fears."

He gave her a small nod.

She turned back to Kagome. "Also, think about the work itself. Being the healer and protector is a serious task. Be sure before you decide that this is work you feel called to do."

"I will," Kagome said.

"Good. That's all I'm asking you to do. Think about it." Kaede stood up. "I'll head back down to the village now. When you two make your decision, come and tell me, whatever it is you choose."

InuYasha stood as well, shaking his head. "This place is strange. First you want to keep around a married monk with a questionable background. I can understand wanting to keep Sango around, but him?"

"Hey," Miroku said, not quite sure if the hanyou was teasing or not.

Sango giggled.

"And now you want a miko that's married to a hanyou. I'm having trouble understanding all this."

Kaede smiled. "Things change, InuYasha. Did you know that some of the villagers now say that during the fifty years when you were pinned to the tree, your spirit was watching over the village, keeping it protected?" she said. "It was a rather peaceful time."

"Funny how that works," Miroku said.

InuYasha, shaking his head, walked Kaede to the door.

Everybody left shortly afterwards. Not sure of what to say once everyone was gone, Kagome looked at her husband, who sat in the corner, not saying anything, his face a somber mask. She began to gather up the tea cups people had used and put them in a tub to wash.

As she moved, he got up. "We'll need some more water," he said, and grabbed the bucket then headed outdoors.

As the doormat fell back into place, Kagome moved to sit down by the fire pit, where she threw a few sticks on the flames and stirred it back up.

"I wish he would tell me what he's thinking," she said. Her voice seemed to echo in the empty house.

In a few minutes he came back in with the water, and put it in its place.

"InuYasha," she said.

He looked at her, his ear twitching, but his face still guarded, and went back out, not speaking. Not long after, Kagome could hear him chopping wood. She sighed, then washed and dried her tea things and put them away.

Looking at the tub of used water, she said, "That's it. He can't run away from me. We need to talk about this." She picked up the slop water then walked outside. She tossed it, then walked around to the side where InuYasha was working.

He had taken off his jacket and laid it on a log. He stood in front of an old wide section of tree trunk he used as a base, and put a smaller piece of wood sitting on top of it. With one practiced move, he brought the wood maul he was using down on the smaller piece, and it split smoothly into two pieces. Taking one of the splits, he balanced it back on the chopping block, raised the maul up, and let it fall once again.

Perhaps the wind shifted and he caught her scent, or he felt like he ought to say something, because he looked up.

"Hey," he said, giving her the tiniest smile. He bent over and picked up another piece of wood and put it on the block, but then just stood there, resting the maul over his shoulder.

His right ear twitched. Sunlight glinted off his silver hair, and he gazed at her with solemn amber eyes, wary and unsure. Kagome studied him, how he looked both otherworldly and perfectly belonging right where he was, and something in her ached.

Putting her slop tub down, she walked over to him and rested a hand lightly on his free arm. He dropped the maul, and clasped the other hand over hers.

"I feel..." he said, swallowing. "I...I don't know what to do. What you should do."

"What we should do," Kagome said, and leaned against him. "I never expected this."

His arms pulled her closely to him, and he tucked her under his chin. "We could leave, or just stay like we are now, and see what happens, or whatever. I'll do whatever it takes."

"I know," she said.

"Maybe Kaede was right. Maybe you were meant to come back here, maybe not to be with me, but because you have work to do." He sounded lost.

"InuYasha," Kagome said, reaching up to kiss his chin, "I didn't come back across time to be a miko. I came back because I wanted to be with you. That's what made the well open."

He rested his forehead on hers. "But Kaede-babaa . . . "

"I don't know what all is involved here. I promise you I will never do anything that would interfere with us." She rested her hand over his heart. "I could have been a miko and stayed in my time, working with my grandfather. I could have even been a priest. A woman priest. I could have gone to school to become the keeper of our shrine after Grandfather retires, not just as a shrine maiden. Women were beginning to be allowed to be priests before I came back."

She looked up at him. It was a look that he had seen before, when she had made up her mind about something. "If that's what I wanted, I could have had it without any magic. But that's not what I wanted. I will never let anybody keep me from being with you."

He pulled her closer into the circle of his arms. "Kagome," he murmured, kissing the top of her head.

"But," Kagome said, pulling back a little so she could see his face, "now that she's asked, I think I would like to work with Kaede."

His eyes went wide a moment, then he took a deep breath. "I thought you'd say that. I just wonder if they'll really let you do that and be with me?" He gently cupped her cheeks in his hands. "I know she said they would deal with it, that miko marry, and marry people . . . like me." He leaned forward and gave her a brief, tender kiss. "But sometimes people expect different. I just found you again. If I had to give you up . . . "

She tiptoed up and returned his kiss. "Giving you up isn't going to happen, InuYasha. Sometimes the usual rules just don't work. How can Miroku be a monk and be married to Sango?" she said. "Don't tell me how it proves he's just a bad monk. I know monks in this time don't normally get married. But he fell in love with Sango and did it anyway, because that matters more. We can be like them and just do it. I think I would like to be a healer. I would hate for this village to be without someone to help once Kaede can't manage the work herself."

"They'll call you a dark miko," he said. His eyes narrowed.

"Who, the villagers?" she said, with a soft laugh. "I doubt they'll tell the woman who treats their illnesses and delivers their babies that she's evil."

InuYasha sighed. "I don't know. Strangers. The daimyo down in Odawara. People who'll want to give you grief." He brushed his lips lightly over her cheek. "I don't want anybody making you sad or hurting you. It's going to be hard enough to explain you being with me even without you in miko clothes."

"How do I explain you? How else? You are my protector. That isn't a lie," Kagome said. "You've always been there for me. Are you worried they'll think you're an inugami?"

He laughed at that. "Been calling me that since you released me from the tree and collared me."

The seriousness of her look brushed away his laughter.

"Please, InuYasha. Kaede-obaasan's been so good to us. I like this village and don't mind living here, but that's not the real reason. We couldn't have defeated Naraku without her help. Let me try to give something back," Kagome said, her blue-gray eyes searching his face.

"You're asking me?" he said, surprised.

"Of course." She picked up one of his hands and placed it over her heart. "I came here to be with you. You call me your wife. You have a say-so in this."

"Feh. Since when have I been able to stop you doing anything you wanted?" he replied. "But Kaede-babaa has been good to me, even after you left. If this is what you want . . . "

He kissed her forehead. "Promise me one other thing. Kaede's right. It's hard to be the village healer. I know you have the talent. But if you find it makes you unhappy, don't hide it. Tell Kaede. Don't get trapped into something that makes you wish you could escape."

"Like Kikyou?" she asked.

"Yeah," he sighed. "Like Kikyou. She really didn't have a way out that wouldn't have destroyed her life. But you do. Don't forget it."

"I promise. I promise if it's more than I can handle, I'll tell Kaede-obaasan. You'll probably know it before I even know it myself. I promise something else: if anything that they want me to do interferes with us, I will stop. If we have to, we will leave. I don't need to live in a village. I'd live in a tree in the deep forest if it meant I'd be with you." She wrapped her arms around him, hugging him tightly.

"Koibito," he murmured, running one hand through her midnight hair. "If you're sure, we'll go tell Kaede tomorrow."

"Why not today?" she asked.

He picked her up and cradled her in his arms. "I've got something else to do first."

.


	16. Chapter 16

_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 16**

InuYasha pushed the mat door open, and leaped onto the wooden platform of his house, first propping his sword up against the wall and dropping his jacket on the chest. Then and only then did he allow Kagome's feet to touch the ground.

"Woman," he said, resting his forehead on hers.

"InuYasha?" she asked. She ran her fingers through his silver hair, past the flat space on the side of his head where his ears would be if he were human, and felt him shiver at her touch.

His hand covered hers, catching it at the wrist and pulling it away. He moved her hand and pressed it over his own heart. "One day I saw you sitting on the edge of the well, and you told me you would stay by my side as long as I wanted you there. I couldn't tell you then what your words meant to me. I was stupid and confused, messed up about honor and guilt and my feelings, and I couldn't get the words out."

"InuYasha," Kagome said. He put a finger over her lips to quiet her.

"Still can't get the words out most of the time, but I'm not confused. You gave up everything in that world of yours. You're even willing to give up this piss-poor little place." He just looked at her for a moment and exhaled hard. "Feh. I can't even say it."

His hands cupped the back of her head and he leaned forward and kissed her tenderly. "You deserve more than I can give. But I will do whatever I can to give you the best life I can. Whatever it takes."

Her arms wrapped around him, and leaned her cheek on his chest. "And I will do whatever it takes for you, InuYasha."

"You've already done it. Just being here." He gave a soft kiss to the top of her head.

She glanced up. The look in his eyes was intense. It quickened something in her.

"I could do more," she said. Her hand slipped under the white of his collar, brushing up against golden skin. His breath caught, but he stilled her hand with his.

"I had something else in mind," he said, giving her a little smile when she looked back at him, confused. "How about a hot bath?"

"A bath? How?" Her face lit up.

"I just got the idea when we were walking in. Remember? Sango loaned you her big laundry tub. It's not really big enough to soak in, like in a spring, but it'll do. You sit in the tub, and I'll pour water over you. Then you can do the same for me. We'll have to heat a lot of water, though."

"Sounds heavenly," she replied.

"If you let me go," he said, kissing her on the forehead, "I'll go get the water."

It didn't take long to build up the fire to where it was hot enough to boil water. Kagome carefully filled their largest pot with water, and InuYasha put it on the fire to heat.

"Put the lid on it," Kagome directed, as she dug through the chest where she was keeping her things. "It will heat faster that way." Sitting up, she clutched the comb Sango had given to her in her hand. "Do we have any towels?"

"Uh, there's those pieces of cloth Kaede sent," InuYasha said. "Before you came here, I just usually ducked into the stream and shook off."

"I'm not very good at shaking off," she replied, "and that stream is cold! Hot water's going to be so nice." She went to the shelf where she had stored the cloths that Kaede had sent. One piece she had turned into a mop, and wouldn't think to use, but one piece was almost big enough to wrap around her hair. She grabbed that. "Towels. Something else to add to the market list."

"Yeah," he said, filling a second pot, not quite as large. "Worse comes to worst, we could always just sit by the fire and wait to dry off." He waggled his eyebrows at her.

"I'd get cold," she said, laying her clean kosode out near the tub.

"No, you wouldn't." He stood up, walked over to her and wrapped his arms around her, lifting her up. "I'd make sure of that."

"And then I'd just have to take another bath," she said, her smile sultry as she leaned into his arms.

He laughed.

After a bit, Kagome lifted the lid from the big pot to find it was starting to boil. "I think we can get started."

"Who gets to go first?" he asked. Lifting the pot off the hook, he added it to the cool water in a bucket.

She unfastened her wrap skirt, and stepped out of her kosode, and grabbed the piece of cloth she chose to use as a wash cloth. InuYasha's eyes grew large, appreciating his wife in the full sunlight. "Damn, woman, and I thought you looked good in the firelight."

The washing was fun. First Kagome sat in the tub, and let InuYasha pour water over her. She had to draw her knees up close, but the water felt wonderful. As she scrubbed her front with the wet cloth, she glanced up to see InuYasha watching her. As their eyes met, he gave her a silly grin.

"What are you thinking about, InuYasha?" she asked, smiling back as she ran the wash cloth over the top of her shoulder.

"Oh, how you used to be worried about me peeping at you when we were after Naraku." He turned back towards the fire pit, checking the water in the big kettle. Satisfied, he turned back around. "I guess things have changed now."

Kagome laughed. "Did you?" She dipped the cloth back into the water.

"You want another bucket?" he said. "Water's hot enough."

"Well did you?" she asked again. She ran the cloth over her chest, and between her breasts.

"Uh," InuYasha said. He swallowed, watching her, then moved his eyes back to her face. "You really want to know?"

"I'll take that as a yes," she said, not at all upset. "Want to wash my back for me?" She held up the cloth toward him.

He took the cloth. For a moment he just stared at it, letting the water drip on him, as if amazed by what she asked. But then he got behind her and dipped it into the tub. Moving her now soaked hair out of the way, he gently ran the cloth over her shoulders and down her spine.

"I've never done this for anybody before," he said. "Tell me if I'm doing it too hard."

"It feels good." She leaned forward to make it easier for him to reach.

He dipped the cloth back into the warm water and repeated it. "I think that's done," he said, handing her back the cloth and kissing her lightly on the shoulder.

"Thank you," she said. "I think I'm ready to get out." He helped her stand up. "Your turn, now."

After she got up and dried off, slipping on her under kosode, InuYasha stepped out of his clothes and squeezed into the tub. Kagome thought it adorable how he was still body shy around her, and how his cheeks colored as he walked to the tub. But he had nothing to be ashamed of in her opinion, his lean hard body moving gracefully even as he seated himself into the too small bath. She mixed hot water and cool, then took the bucket over to the tub and had him test it for heat.

"Yeah, that'll work," he said, pulling his fingers out of the bucket.

"Good. I know how you are about really hot water," she said, grinning at the memory of how she learned about it. "Get ready."

He lowered his ears in anticipation, but still he sputtered as the warm water flowed over his head and down his body. For some reason Kagome though his reaction to the water funny, and she giggled as he shoved the wet bangs away from his eyes.

"Just go on laughing," he said, with a look that was half a scowl, and half a grin.

She kissed the tip of one of his ears and it flicked at the contact. "I'm sorry."

"No, you're not," he said. "Did the back of my hair get wet all the way?"

She ran her fingers through the soggy silver strands. "Nope."

"You can pour some more, but just down my back this time, all right? I hate when water gets into my face that way."

"I'll remember that," she said.

She made sure that his hair was clean, then, when he was ready, washed his back like he had done hers.

As she was running the cloth over his skin, noting every little mark and mole, he turned his head a little. "So," he said, "what about you? Did you ever peep when I was out of my clothes?"

Dipping the water back into the tub, she chuckled. "Never on purpose. I did get an eyeful once when someone ran back into my room when he was running away from hot water."

He snorted. "Told you I was stupid back then. After your brother tried to cook me, I panicked. Your room was the only safe place I could think of." He grabbed at her arm that was washing the top of his shoulder. "Did you like what you saw?"

"I think I was too panicked myself to really pay much attention that time." She freed her hand and gave him back the washcloth.

"That time," he repeated. "So were there other times?"

She sat down by the fire, and dried her hands. "You didn't say, so I'm not saying."

"I guess I'll take that for a yes, then," he said, smirking, then stood up.

Kagome, laughing, threw him a towel.


	17. Chapter 17

_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 17**

After their bath, InuYasha and Kagome went outside to sit in the sun and let their hair dry.

InuYasha, a peaceful look on his face, stretched out and rested his head on one elbow. He looked up at Kagome, watching her comb her hair. "Maybe I should go hunting. There's a good place to get rabbits near here," he said. "Not the best day to get them, but not a bad day either."

Kagome carefully pulled the comb through a damp lock. "Oh?"

"I was just thinking," he said, twirling a blade of grass. "We've been eating a lot of fish since you came back. Rabbit sounds good to me."

"Hmm. We don't have much in the way of fish or meat tonight, except for dry fish to make soup," Kagome said. She grimaced as her hair caught a snag.

"Because I haven't gone hunting since you got here," he said, sitting up. "That's how we get meat to eat, you know. I hunt or fish."

"You've barely let me out of your sight since I got here," she said. She pulled up a strand of hair and frowned at it as she worked her comb through it. "Stupid knots." Finishing that lock, she worked her comb through another.

He grinned, and then moved next to her and ran his fingers through the back of her hair, separating the strands. "Been making up for lost time looking at you." In the distance, two small birds chased a crow, squawking loudly. His ear flicked at the sound.

"If you want to go hunting, it's all right, you know." With a final pull, Kagome finished her hair, and pulled a few strands of hair out of her comb, before moving to sit behind the hanyou. Picking up a long silver lock of his hair, Kagome started working her comb through it.

"It's not fair," she said, as the comb moved easily through his hair, even though it was still damp. "My hair was full of tangles."

"Can't help it. It just does that," he said, turning his head towards her. "It's not like I try or anything. You don't really need to comb it, you know."

"I know," she said, smiling, as she picked up another lock to comb through. "I want to."

"Feh." He stuffed his hands in his sleeves, but made no move to leave. "If it makes you happy."

"It does. So are you going to go hunting?" She got up on her knees to carefully comb around his right ear.

"Still don't know if I should leave you alone yet," he said. He unfolded his hands and rested them on his knees.

Kagome paused her combing and frowned a little. "You think I can't take care of myself? I even have a bow now, thanks to Kaede."

"It's not that. It's just that I don't know that those bastards down in the village might be up to. What if they came back up to cause trouble while I was gone?" He turned to face her. His content look had grown somber. "If anything happened to you . . . "

"I could go with you," she said. She brushed his ear gently with her hand, just to see it flick.

"I don't think you really want to watch me hunt rabbits, or even birds." He turned around to give her proper access to his other ear.

"Probably not. I really don't like to look at fresh kills, and I'd probably scare everything away, anyway." Finishing that side, she stood up and moved in front of him to get his bangs. "I could go to Miroku and Sango's."

He caught her wrist in his hand, his eyes studying her face, his look intense, but concerned, not angry. "You understand how I'm feeling, don't you?"

Kagome smiled at him, and gently kissed the top of his head. "I do, InuYasha. I don't like that you feel that way. I don't even disagree with you. I just hate that you feel trapped with watching me." She lifted her comb. "Let me finish." He dropped his hand and let her work her comb through his unruly bangs.

"I don't feel trapped," he said. He lifted his hand and brushed her cheek, giving her a small, cocky smile. "I want to be with you."

"But you can't do what you want to do." She gave his hair a few more strokes and sat back down.

InuYasha wrapped his arm around her and tugged her close. "I don't think you'd want to do what I really want to do out here in front of the house," he said, breathing into her ear.

A crow landed on the tree near them. Neither noticed.

Kagome laughed, playfully pushing him away, but she was smiling. "But we just got clean!"

"We could always get clean again," he said. His voice was low and sultry. His hand caressed her thigh.

Suddenly, the same hand went up to slap his neck. "What the hell?"

He opened his hand. Sitting there, a small flea youkai looked back at him. The flea bowed.

"Myouga, where'd you come from?" InuYasha asked.

"InuYasha-sama! So it is true! Kagome-sama, you look lovely as always. It's been a long time. You have been missed."

"Yes it has been, Myouga-ojisan. But I have returned to stay," she said. The flea hopped off the hanyou's hand and on to the ground next to her.

The hanyou scowled at the little youkai. "I thought you were staying with Toutousai."

"I am, but Toutousai-sama sent me here, because he sensed something through Tessaiga. He was hoping it meant Kagome-sama had returned. And," the flea continued, "it looks perhaps like congratulations would be in order."

"Yes," Kagome said, taking InuYasha's hand. "Toutousai-sama was right. On both accounts."

"What business is it of his, anyway?" InuYasha said.

"It's not, really," said the flea. "But your father left me with certain information for when you chose a bride."

"If you're here to tell me the facts of life, Myouga, you're a little late," the hanyou said, smirking. He wrapped his arm back around Kagome's waist.

"Not exactly, young master. There are some things you need to know because of your father's heritage. The ways of youkai are not exactly the ways of mortal humans." He fished in his travel bag, and pulled out a Myouga-sized cup. "This is thirsty work. Perhaps we could go inside and have a cup of tea?"

With a bit of grumbling on InuYasha's part, they went inside, and Kagome put the tea kettle on. "It won't take too long," she said, as she prepared her teapot.

InuYasha sat down next to her. "So talk, Myouga,"

"Perhaps I ought to refresh myself a bit first," the old flea said hopefully. "It was a long journey, and what I have to say is important."

"You've already got all the blood from me you're getting today, flea," InuYasha said. "And you will not bite Kagome." The tone of his voice and the look in his eye made it clear what the consequences would be.

Myouga sighed. "A flea's life is not an easy one."

For a moment, there was an uncomfortable silence.

"So how is Toutousai-sama?" Kagome said to break the quiet as she got up for her tea cups.

"The same as always," Myouga said. "Busy making weapons. Seems like with the warlords so busy across the land, even the youkai need new ones. He even made one for young master Kohaku. Still, he always has time for an old flea. It's smelly and noisy there, but it's a good place in the winter for one like myself, though, nice and warm. And Mou-Mou's blood is tasty. Not as good as inu youkai, but tasty."

Kagome poured hot water into the tea pot, and shortly after, poured a cup for her husband and gave the flea his tiny portion. InuYasha filled her cup, and they all took a sip.

"Well, Myouga-ojisan, what is it you came all this way to tell us?" Kagome said, resting her cup in the flat of her hand.

"Such good tea, my lady," the flea said, gathering his wits. First, he moved out of InuYasha's easy reach, then he turned to look at both of them.

He cleared his voice and began."Before he died, your august father instructed me to explain certain things."

"You already told us that," InuYasha said. He put his teacup on the floor. "So what did my old man tell you that you had to come all the say here to tell me?"

"Patience, InuYasha-sama. I am getting to that," the old flea said, and decided to back up a bit more.

The flea took a sip of the tea, and cleared his throat. "There will come a time," Myouga intoned, watching the nervous and slightly embarrassed hanyou carefully, "when you will experience nights when the magic in you is different than usual. It will not happen often. It is thus with most bakemono males, like inu youkai, and their hanyou offspring are not excepted. When these nights happen, InuYasha-sama, your youki will be very strong, and perhaps your youkai side will hover very near the surface."

Kagome looked at her husband. InuYasha's ear twitched, letting her guess he had already experienced nights like that. He held his head down, not letting her see his eyes. "Some full moon nights . . . "

"I'm not surprised to hear it is tied to the full moon, young master. After all, that is when your youki is naturally strongest. Nonetheless, on these special nights, and only on these special nights, if you two come together, you will make a child."

InuYasha's cheeks colored. Myouga, ignoring that, stared off into space and looked thoughtful for a moment, scratching his head. "The kami only know why some nights are like that, and not others. Your noble father did not explain that when he told me to pass this on to you."

"How will we know it's one of those times?" Kagome asked.

"InuYasha-sama will know," the flea said. "From what I have been told, there's no mistaking it. Alas, flea youkai do not experience this, not being shape-shifters."

InuYasha tensed up more, his hands closing into fists, and gave a terse nod. "What about the child?" he asked. "Will it look . . ."

"I do not know, InuYasha-sama. Your august father never mentioned anything about that to me," Myouga said, then hesitated before continuing. "But your father's blood is very strong."

"Keh." The hanyou took a deep breath. "Anything more?"

The flea shook his head. "No, that was all he told me to tell you."

"I see," say the hanyou. Not meeting anybody's eyes, he stood up and walked towards the door.

"InuYasha?" Kagome said.

Not saying anything, he stepped outside. As the door mat fluttered into place, Kagome sighed and turned back toward the small youkai.

"That was . . . unexpected." Myouga looked up at Kagome. "His father wanted him to know this. Did I do it wrong, Kagome-sama? He had the right to know." He sipped his tea. "In fact, you both needed to know."

"You were doing what you were asked to do, Myouga-ojisan," she said, staring at the door, then turning to refill his cup. "But it's been a hard day for us. He's had a lot thrown at him."

"Ah," said the flea. "Perhaps I should leave you two alone to discuss it." He hurriedly swallowed his tea down.

"That might be a good thing. I'm sorry." She stood up and walked to the door. Stepping outside, she looked for InuYasha, but he was nowhere to be seen.

The flea hopped out after her. "I'll head back to Toutousai's. If you have any questions, you know how to find me. Farewell, lovely lady."

"Goodbye, Myouga-ojisan," she said, "But come visit us again."

The flea nodded, then used his magic to fetch a nearby bird, and jumped up. She waved goodbye, but soon the bird was out of sight.


	18. Chapter 18

_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 18**

Kagome was alone. She stood in front of her house and expanded her miko senses, trying to feel InuYasha's youki, but she couldn't feel him anywhere nearby.

She walked back into the house, feeling odd and not quite sure what she should do next. "This is the first time I've been really alone since I got back," she said out loud, just to hear something besides the wind and the empty room. "I don't know if I should be happy to have a moment to myself, or feel abandoned."

Sighing, she bent over to pick up InuYasha's teacup, and felt her throat tighten and her eyes water as she looked at it. "I know he wouldn't abandon me. Stupid imagination," she said. "InuYasha has always been there for me. I guess today's been too much. Even I need to get away and think sometimes. I'm sure that's all that he's doing."

Taking care of the the tea things they had used to get them out of the way, she dried her hands. That had only taken a few minutes. Looking at the little house, she was at a loss at what to do next. "Now what, Kagome?"

First she ran her mop cloth over the floor, but that didn't take long, as small as the house was. She took the rag outside to dry, looked up at the sun, expanded her senses, and sighed.

"I'll start dinner, I guess." She went back into the house. "He'll still be hungry whenever he gets back." Going through her small stock of food, she frowned. "There's not much left. I'm going to need to talk to Kaede and Sango about that. At least there's enough here to make soup and rice."

She put some dried fish in a bowl to soak, and in another put a piece of kombu, and then washed some rice to cook for dinner. Taking the slop water outside, she peeked back at the wood pile, hoping to see him there, but nothing was there but a stray bird hopping on top of the stack. Glancing at the trees, she saw no flash of red and went back in.

It was time to start the rice cooking, so she added the wet rice and fresh water into a pot, and put it on a trivet over the hot part of the fire. "I'm so going to have to find something to do with my time, when I have free time," she said, staring at the pot, waiting for it to boil. "Now I know why Mama was always doing things like quilts."

Once the rice began to boil, she knocked the coals out from under its trivet, and put the lid on the pot. "Time to make the soup," she said, and got up to get water from the bucket. "Not enough water left to make one cup of soup for me, much less enough for InuYasha. Nothing to do but go get some. He must have not realized how low we were after he emptied all that bath water out." Sighing, she picked up the bucket, and, as an afterthought, grabbed her quiver and bow and headed down to the stream to get some water.

Kagome went to the stream and filled the bucket up. "Water weighs too much," she said as she lifted it up.

Something to the left caught her eye."Oh, look at those greens! I didn't know any of those were growing here. I'd bet they'd taste good with dinner." Putting down both the bucket and her bow, she knelt down to gather some. While she was gathering them, a smile touched her lips. Shortly thereafter, a shadow fell over her, and she looked up.

InuYasha stood there. He had his serious, why-are-you-doing-that look on his face. "Good thing I wasn't a troublemaker or a rogue youkai."

"I knew it was you. I can always tell your youki," Kagome said, flashing him a brief smile. His ear flicked, but his face stayed serious. She dropped her eyes and went back to her work.

"Feh," he said, squatting down next to her. "Glad you brought your bow with you, just in case."

"Went hunting?" she asked. She looked up, and this time, he gave her a faint smile.

"Yeah," he said. "What you got there?"

She looked back up. "Hakobera. I just happened to see it growing here when I came for the water. I thought it might be nice to have something that wasn't dried or pickled."

"Yeah," he said. "Not much fresh yet. That'll be nice." He brushed her cheek with the knuckles of his right hand. "I'm sorry I went off like that."

She met his eyes. They looked down on her with amber-colored uncertainty. "I knew you were different before I came back, InuYasha," she said, picking up the bottom of her wrap skirt to make a pocket to hold the greens in. "Nothing Myouga said bothered me." Satisfied she had enough, she stood up.

He rested a hand on her waist and looked up. "When I got back to the house and you weren't there, I got scared. I wondered if maybe you had decided to go home."

"All I did was go get some water so I can finish fixing dinner. We used almost all the water in the house when we took our bath." She brushed her fingers along the base of one ear, lightly, and felt his ear flick against her palm. "Home is where I'm going now to finish cooking. You didn't have to worry."

He got up, studying her face, and searched for the right words to say. "It's stupid . . . part of me is scared if I do the wrong thing or act stupid or something, you'll be gone, and I just dreamed you came back. And running off like that . . . "

She leaned against him. "I've been back for four days. That's a long time for a dream."

He rested his cheek on her head. "Doesn't mean anything. I was in a bad dream for three years."

"That dream's over for good, InuYasha." She looked up at him. "You want to tell me what got you so upset?"

"I never realized how complicated things could be. Today's been . . . I was scared to say something wrong, something that'd screw everything up until I had some time to think." He untangled himself from her and grabbed the water bucket. "What Myouga said. After everything this morning. I just couldn't quit thinking."

Wrapping the greens more securely in her skirt so she could hold them with one hand, she laced the fingers of her free hand into his. "About what?"

"Oh, my childhood. Stuff. About maybe having a kid who can never be accepted. About us, maybe never being accepted. What it could do to you." He looked away from her.

She squeezed his hand, but didn't say anything.

"I . . . I don't know if I want to raise a kid who has to go through what I went through."

"You won't have to raise a child who has to go through what you went through." Kagome looked up and saw the doubt and uncertainty in his eyes, tinged with the shadows of old memories. She smiled reassuringly. "We have friends here. You think Miroku and Sango would raise their kids not to accept ours?"

He sighed, and looked away again, not meeting her eyes."My mother . . . she had almost nobody who really stood with her once my old man died. She was a hime, and they treated her like an outcast. I remember how sad she seemed when she thought I wasn't looking." He took a deep breath. "I never want that to happen to you."

"That won't happen to us, InuYasha. We're not alone." She reached up and kissed his chin. "You hungry?"

"Yeah. You in the mood for rabbit?"

Later that evening, after dinner was done, and the dishes put away, InuYasha sat behind Kagome as they watched the fire. The bed was rolled out for when they were ready, and they had taken off their outer clothes, sitting there only in their light under kosodes. He wrapped his arms around her, and nested her between his legs. Her head rested against his chest.

"Hope tomorrow's not as wild as today," InuYasha said.

"It might be," Kagome said. "We've still got to talk to Kaede-obaachan, and maybe to Tameo-sama."

One of his hands slipped upward and gently cupped her left breast. A bit nervous about the fact she even let him touch her after what he had done earlier, he was happily gratified when she leaned even closer to him.

"Tameo's all right," he said. "If it hadn't been for him, I probably wouldn't have this house." He let his mouth taste the sweet skin along her neck and his thumb brush across her nipple.

She shivered under his touch, and gasped at the sensation. "That's good to know." She leaned her head to one side to give him better access. "I've never talked to him very much."

For a little while, he let his hands gently explore her body through the thin fabric, one hand slipping down across her tummy and to the top of her thigh. "He claims I saved his life one day when he was a boy. He got in the way of some stupid oni that was after the Shikon. He says I grabbed him and pulled him out of harm's way."

His hands began working on the tie that closed her kosode. "Did you?" she asked, her eyes closed as he nibbled on her ear lobe.

"Don't remember," he said, tossing the tie to the side.

Kagome pressed against him, running her fingers along his thighs. He gasped as she touched a particularly sensitive area behind his knee and she gasped in turn, then moaned as he parted the linen of her robe and found the sensitive skin of her inner thigh. InuYasha shifted her in his arms, cradling her so he could see her face. His hand cupping the back of her head, he lowered his mouth to hers, gently brushing his lips, then his tongue across the soft welcoming warmth of her lips.

One of her hands slid into his silver hair and wrapped around his neck. Her lips parted as his kiss deepened, and they drank deeply of each other's taste. One kiss led to the next, and then another.

The firelight painted them with warm highlights. Pausing to catch her breath, Kagome reached up, ran fingertips across his cheek, gazing into his darkened amber eyes. She brushed the back of a knuckle across his lips. Catching her hand, he kissed each fingertip, then picking her up, laid her on their futon, her black hair cascading like a fan behind her.

He knelt over her on his hands and legs, tossed the bulk of his silver hair over one shoulder. It teased her skin where it brushed up against it. Gazing intently into her grey-blue eyes, heavy lidded and welcoming, he breathed deeply of her scent, listened to the way her pulse quickened.

"I want you," he said. His eyes were twin pools of bronze need, his voice hungry, but asking.

"Then have me," she replied, nudging apart the white fabric of her kosode.

"Woman," he moaned.

Gently he traced the line around the neckline of her garment. He eased her up enough to remove it as his mouth brushed her lips. Throwing the garment to the side, he ran a gentle line of kisses down her throat to her collarbone.

Kagome's fingers found the knot to his obi and untied it, pulling the strip of fabric free. As the kosode fell open, she ran her hands under the soft linen, beneath his silken hair and across the strong planes of his back. He sat up long enough to remove the offending robe, tossing it to join hers, then lowered himself into her waiting arms.

"Promise me," she said.

He brushed her bangs out of her face. "Promise you what?"

"That you won't doubt us ever again. That you won't let whatever anybody says make you doubt what I want to be, where I want to be." Her eyes were intense, determined, but she slid her arms around his back, waiting.

"I promise," he said, and the kiss that followed said everything his words could not.

As his thighs settled between her legs, she wrapped her legs around him.

"Home is here," she said. And as they became one, he knew she spoke the truth.


	19. Chapter 19

_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 19**

Kaede knelt in a garden patch well away from her house. This garden bed was the one she grew most of her vegetables in. Early greens were already beginning to be large enough to pick a few carefully chosen leaves. Weeds, too, were starting to take advantage of the rich garden soil. She pulled one.

"See this, Rin-chan?" she said, showing the plant to the girl.

Rin took it from her, poked at the small, pointed leaves. "Rin knows it, but doesn't know what it is called."

"We call it azaka," the miko said. "And when it's this small, it's good to eat. If we didn't pull it, it would grow up into a bush bigger than I am, and choke out all the things we've been planting. I hear some people make walking sticks out if its stalk when it's that big."

Rin held it up, turning in her hand before she handed it back to the miko. "Funny how little things get so big."

"Just like children," Kaede said, laying the plant next to her. She looked up and smiled at the girl. "I believe you've put on an inch in the last three months. Pretty soon, we'll have to get you another kosode to do the gardening in. Can't have you pulling weeds in silk."

The girl looked at her dress thoughtfully for a moment. "Maybe Rin should ask Sesshoumaru-sama for some linen," she said, then laughed at the idea.

Kaede chuckled. "He does have good taste, your Sesshoumaru-sama, but he's not quite trained for doing this type of work." She pulled another weed. "Lords like him don't get into the dirt like this very often, at least not to weed and plant." She straightened up. "I should have brought a gathering basket. Too many of these have sprouted the last few days. Why don't you go back to the house and get one for me? There's enough trying to come up that we can cook them."

"Do they taste good?" the girl asked.

"I think so," she said, pulling another. "They'll go good in the stew tonight."

Rin nodded, then stood up, brushed off her knees and dashed across the narrow paths separating the fields. Later they would be flooded with water for rice, but now they were green with young barley. The dikes separating the fields made convenient paths back to the village, and she ran across them sure footed. But before she got there, she spotted InuYasha walking toward the village, grinning at something a dark-haired woman in a beige robe and blue skirt was telling him. The girl wondered who it could be and then she realized it was Kagome. Waving she called out to them, and then ran up to join them.

"Good morning, Rin-chan!" Kagome said, smiling at the girl as they waited for her to catch up to them.

"Kagome-obasan! InuYasha-ojisan!" the girl said, stopping, and giving a small, but polite bow. "Rin was surprised to see you. You've come down from the hill. Are you well?"

"Yeah we are, kid." InuYasha said. "You're out early. You know where Kaede-babaa is?"

"She's working in her vegetable garden this morning," Rin replied, pointing. "The one over there."

"Thank you, Rin-chan," Kagome said. "We need to talk to her about something."

"Tell her Rin will be right back!" the girl said, then headed back toward's the old miko's house.

"You've come up in the world," InuYasha said as they walked on. "Now you're an oba."

Kagome laughed. "I'm not sure, but that makes me feel older, somehow. I've never been called an aunt before. You're sure you want to be with someone old enough to be an oba?"

"Long as you don't mind being with someone who's an oji," he replied.

Kagome flashed him a smile. "I don't mind at all. Long as you're not as old as Myouga."

InuYasha snorted. "I don't think even Toutousai's that old."

They headed down the path. A couple of villagers waved as they passed, and a few, like the old man wheeling his cart into the field and the woman carrying her laundry down to the river for a good wash, gave them curious, but not unfriendly looks. Still, as they walked, InuYasha's mood changed and he began to grow tense, watching over the fields as if he were expecting an enemy to pop up.

Kagome stopped to wave back at one of the villagers then turned around to see how tensely he was holding himself. "You should relax," she said. "Nobody's trying to run us out yet. Look how everybody we meet is acting."

"Feh," InuYasha said. "They're just used to seeing you with me. Wait until something bad happens."

She rested her hand lightly on his arm for a moment. "We'll deal with that if it happens, but it doesn't look like it's going to happen today. So there's no reason to worry about what might happen later. And besides, we have friends here. We won't have to deal with any problems alone."

He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Yeah," he said, resting his hand on hers for a moment. "If Kaede-babaa and Tameo are right, that'd be good. There are a lot worse places to live. I just . . . "

Kagome studied his face, the touch of pout fighting with uncertainty and concern. "InuYasha, we don't have to do this," she said. "I'd like to let Kaede know today, but if you're unsure we should do this, we can go home and think about it some more. We're not committed."

He shook his head. "No. We decided that Tameo's offer was good, right? And I know you want to learn what Kaede can teach you." His eyes grew determined, and he gave her the ghost of his trademark smirk. " Come on. We can't stay here all day. Kaede-babaa will be done before we get there at this rate, and we'd just have to run her down somewhere else."

Kagome gave him a brilliant smile, and they continued walking, not saying much until they spotted the old miko working in her garden patch.

Kaede, reaching over some young tatsoi greens, tugged on something growing there that she didn't like, pulled it out and then sat back and looked up. She smiled as the two of them stopped beside her, taking them in with her good eye. "Ah, children, it's good to see you this morning." She tossed the weed to the side. "It is a lovely day to be out and working in the garden."

"Oh my," Kagome said, squatting down and looking at the greens that were already growing. "I didn't know things could come up so early. Your garden's so much further along than mine. Did I get started too late?"

"Not really, child. These just come up very early. There's a lot that it's too soon to even think about." Kaede pulled another weed. "But as you see, the weeds are just as early. So, you two, have you been thinking about what we discussed yesterday? We could speak some more about it if you would like to."

Kagome stood up and moved close to InuYasha. "We have," she said.

"Keh," InuYasha said, nodding. "That's why we're here." He stuffed his hands in his sleeves. His ears flickered at the sound of two birds squabbling in the field nearby, almost ruining the solemn look he gave her.

"Be easy, InuYasha," Kaede said. She shifted over a bit to reach another weed. "You know I'm here to help ease your way. "

The hanyou nodded. "Yeah." He turned to Kagome. "You want to tell her what we decided?"

Kaede turned to look at the young woman. As tense as her husband was, Kagome was the opposite. "So, Kagome-chan, what is it you have to tell me?"

Kagome smiling, bowed politely. "We talked over what you said carefully, Kaede-obaachan. My husband and I have decided the plan you told us about was a good idea."

She looked up at InuYasha just in time to see his eyes grow wide when she said "my husband." Taking his hand, she gave it a quick squeeze, and then let go. "As you said, I still have my spiritual powers, and it would be a good thing to be able to use them in a useful way. And I have always been interested in learning how to heal people." She then bowed again, and deeper, to mark the seriousness of the moment. "I would be honored to be your student, Kaede-sensei."

"Well, well," Kaede said as she slowly stood up. She smiled at the couple. "I must say you decided that more quickly than I would have guessed. Three years ago, it might have taken you a week to get through your 'talking about it,' and it probably would have been a good bit louder." Brushing the dirt off her hands first, she bowed back to the younger woman, not the bow of a superior to an inferior, but the bow of an equal. "But I'm glad, child," she said. "I look forward to working with you. But please don't call me sensei. I think," she continued, chuckling just a little, "that I much prefer obaasan."

Kaede turned to the hanyou. "And you, InuYasha, you are willing for Kagome to do this as well?"

His ear twitched, but he looked at her calmly. "It's what she wants," he said, smiling at his wife. "As long as it doesn't mean you expect her to move out of our home and pretend to be a single woman, I'm not going to stop her if she wants to do it. No reason for her not to, as long as the village can deal with it."

The old miko nodded. "Just like we discussed, InuYasha, I will not come between you and your wife." She picked up her garden hoe. "I think next, after Rin gets back, we will go visit Tameo. My cousin is very persuasive in getting the village to agree to something once he has his mind made up. And with his bringing you into our family, this will be a matter of family honor. He takes that very seriously."

After the girl returned, and was instructed once more on which plants to pull, the three adults began walking to the headman's house.

"Have you met Tameo-sama before?" Kaede asked as they headed back toward the village.

"I've seen him," Kagome said, "But I have never talked to him."

"Ah. My father and his were brothers, and their father was the village headman back in those days," Kaede said. "After my parents died, his father took me and my sister into his home, and we grew up around each other. Tameo became headman when I was about thirty. Even that young, he managed to wrap the other village elders around his finger."

They entered the village's main street. A young girl, about Rin's age, her hair streaming behind her, ran up to them.

"Kagome-sama!" she said, bowing politely. "Have you seen Rin-chan?"

Kaede bowed back. "She's in the garden, Iya-chan. If you want to help her, she would probably like the company."

"It's all right? I have some news I want to tell her," Iya asked.

"Of course, if it's all right with your family," Kaede replied. "Good news, I hope?"

"Uh-huh," the girl replied. "Thanks!"

She dashed off to go the way they had come.

Kagome watched the girl run off. "Who's that?"

"Oh, that's Iya," Kaede said. "She and Rin are very close. They are always sharing little secrets with each other."

"I'm glad to see she has some friends of her own age," Kagome said. "It's lonely when you don't."

"Yeah," InuYasha said. There was just the smallest bit of sadness in his voice. "She's too good a kid for that."

Greeting a few other people along their way, InuYasha relaxed more, until one person who saw them coming turned and went the other way. Kagome shrugged, and gave his hand a little squeeze, but was quietly thoughtful until they reached their destination. It was the largest home in the village, two stories tall, and with several small rooms attached to its walls, rooms for the family's servants. There were two other houses close by, part of the family compound. Beyond the buildings and outbuildings, a trail ran up towards the hill beyond it.

A cat ran across the path, followed by a small girl. She looked up as the three people walking up, then forgot the cat and ran up to the old miko.

"Kaede-obachan!" she said, and threw her arms around the miko.

"Well, hello, Suzume!" Kaede said, ruffing her hair. "Is your grandfather home?"

The girl nodded. "He said he was staying home today cause he was really busy."

"Go tell him I'm here, and I've brought InuYasha-sama and Kagome-sama. I think he'll have enough time to see us," she said. "In fact, I think he'll be happy we came."


	20. Chapter 20

_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 20**

Suzume ran into the house.

"So that's who lives in this place," Kagome said, looking around her. "I never knew."

"Yes," Kaede replied. "Tameo, Hisa, and his oldest son Susumu and his family. Suzume is Susumu's middle daughter." She pointed towards the right. "Tameo's younger son Kinjiro lives in that house there."

A woman, sweeping the grounds in front of the house saw the group and standing up for a moment, waved and greeted them. "That's Matsume, his wife," Kaede said.

The compound was a busy place, filled with the smells of a prosperous peasant family, compost and things fermenting, and animals and food. Children were playing around the grounds, hunched over tops and other toys, and one older man was shoveling compost into a cart. A rooster, acting if he owned the compound, strutted between buildings. A woman washing clothes in a tub shooed the rooster away as he got too close, but not until he ruffed his feathers and let her know who was king.

As they walked to the main house, a door slid open and Tameo himself stepped out on the verandah. He was about Kaede's age, gray, thick through the middle, and dressed in black and red. An eboshi cap, not quite the right size, perched perilously on his grizzled, balding head, held only there by the hat's strings, something that ought to have looked silly, but on him, gave him an air of friendly man, secure in his place in the world. Seeing the group, he gave them a welcoming bow, then held his arms out.

"Ah, friends, cousin, come in, come in," he said. He led them into the main room of the house. It was twice as large as Kaede's whole house. There was much evidence of family industry - food hanging from rafters along with protective ofuda, a spinning wheel and loom near the window, huge storage jars along one wall. Built in cabinets lined another wall. A sliding doorway led to more rooms in the back. The area around the fire pit had sturdy mats laid out for those who joined them at their hearth. An attractive young woman sat at the spinning wheel, keeping an eye out on a small toddler at play while she worked. She looked up as the group entered.

"Kaede-obasan, you've come to visit us?" she said, winding her yarn on the spindle. "And you've brought company!"

"Yes, Emi-chan. And I've brought InuYasha and his wife Kagome with us." Kaede said. "Emi is the wife of Susumu, my nephew and Tameo's eldest son."

Emi stood up and bowed. "It's good you've come to visit us," she said. "I had heard you returned, Kagome-sama, but I hadn't gotten a chance to visit you yet."

"Emi-chan," Tameo said. "Could you go find Hisa and tell her we have company?"

Emi nodded. "I'll be right back." Then she turned and slipped out of the room into the back.

The child she had been watching, looked up from the toys she had been playing with and noticed Emi was gone, and began to fuss.

"Now none of that, Aomi," Tameo said, walking over and picking the toddler up. "Your mama will be back soon. Until then, you've got your grandfather."

"Ojii," the child said. "Okaa gone?"

"That's right," he replied, swinging her onto his hip. "She'll be back with Obaasan." With one hand, he gestured to the fire pit. "Sit down, friends. I'm glad you've finally decided to come down the hill so we can get a good look at you both."

Kaede settled down on one of the mats. Taking Kaede's cue, InuYasha and Kagome took their seats next to her, and Tameo joined them in the father's seat. Aomi slipped out of his lap and looked at the newcomers warily.

"When Kaede-oneesan told me you had come back to stay with us, it made me very happy," he said to Kagome. "I never properly got to thank you for removing the monster that took poor Kikyou-sama away from us. And now destiny has brought you back to us, and," he said, grinning at the couple, "to InuYasha-sama as well."

Kagome and InuYasha looked at each other briefly, blushing slightly from the knowing tone of Tameo's voice, and from his gentle chuckle at how they reacted.

Tameo turned to Kaede. "Destiny sometimes surprises us and does the right thing, eh, Kaede-oneesan?" Aomi, a finger stuck in her mouth, toddled away from her grandfather, and toward Kagome.

"Yes, sometimes it does," Kaede replied, looking at her cousin with a calm, but amused eye. "It certainly surprised me."

"Keh," InuYasha said, looking at his wife.

Aomi stopped in front of Kagome, and shyly held out the toy she had in her hand, a carved wooden stick doll.

"Is that your baby?" Kagome asked.

The girl nodded.

"You want me to hold her?"

The girl nodded again, and Kagome took the doll from Aomi's hand, which Aomi took as a sign to crawl into Kagome's lap

"The right thing indeed," Tameo said, smiling. "And babes, they can sense the right better than even grizzled old men like me."

Just then Hisa, Tameo's wife, slid the door open, followed by Emi, carrying a tray, and a young man who looked like a less portly, less gray version of Tameo.

"Welcome, welcome," Hisa said. She, too, was not young, but instead of stout was tiny, but not frail-seeming at all. She smiled at her guests and her face lit up. "Let me offer you some refreshments! I'm sure my husband hasn't even thought about it yet."

He looked up and laughed. "That's why I married you, woman. You're the one who's supposed to remember all that stuff."

"I do my best," she said, sitting down next to Tameo.

He turned to the younger man. "Well, Susumu, I'm glad you could join us. I was afraid you'd miss this meeting, welcoming our Kagome-sama back to the village."

Susumu smiled. "When Haha-ue said I could keep chopping straw or come visit our company, it wasn't any question which one I'd rather do."

Emi sat the tray down next to Hisa, then rescuing Kagome from the attentions of her daughter by picking her up, joined her husband.

Kagome looked at Susumu, tilting her head. "I think I've met you before, Susumu-sama."

"Probably," the man said. "I remember seeing you a number of times."

Kagome's face lit up as a memory surfaced. "You're the one who thought I was a kitsune the day I first came here!"

Tameo barked out a laugh, and Hisa and Emi covering their mouths, joined in, but gently.

"My apologies, Kagome-sama," Susumu said, bowing. "But you have to admit, your coming here was a bit unusual."

InuYasha turned to Kagome. "They thought you were a kitsune?"

She nodded. "Until Kaede-obaasan got there."

"We were all rather surprised," Kaede said. "A confused strange girl popped up, and nobody knew what to make of her."

"But now we do," Hisa said, pouring tea. "She's our welcome guest." She passed a cup of tea to InuYasha and another to Kagome. "Tell me, Kagome-chan, how have you been doing since you returned to us? I only hear good things about you, you know," she said. "I hope you found the food I sent useful. I would have loved to send you fresh food, but it's a little too early."

"Thank you very much, Hisa-sama," Kagome said. "The gift was lovely, and we really appreciated it."

"Keh," the hanyou said.

"So, Kaede-oneesan," Tameo said, sipping his tea, "tell me why you have brought our young friends to visit with us today."

Kaede sipped her tea, holding it with both hands, before resting the cup in the flat of her hand. "We discussed your kind offer yesterday, cousin. Today, after thinking it over, Kagome-chan has asked to be my apprentice."

"Good, good!" Tameo said. "Welcome to our family! I was hoping you would accept. Hisa, we must have a celebration tonight."

"Ah," said Susumu. "This is why Haha-ue wanted me here. Welcome, Kagome-sama, a kitsune no more, but my cousin." He grinned at her.

"You will have to visit often," Emi said. "Another woman in the family will be a lovely thing!"

Kagome found herself nodding her thanks and blushing under the outpouring, not exactly sure what to say. She took a sip of tea. "Thank you all," she said.

Tameo turned to towards the couple. "It's been ten years at least since the last time we added a branch to our family, and never anyone quite like you."

"I bet," InuYasha said, both confused but pleased by the outpouring of good feeling aimed at his wife. "So what does it mean, becoming a branch family? I left home before I learned about stuff like that," he said, and then looking at Kagome, gave her hand a little squeeze. "And I think they did stuff differently where Kagome came from."

"It's true," she replied.

"Did they?" Tameo said. "It's hard for me to think of living any other way. Huh." He took a sip of his tea, and snatched a sweet off the tray next to his wife. Putting down the tea cup, he unwrapped the treat and popped it into his mouth.

"Let's see," he said after a moment. "Well, you'll belong to our ko, our kinship group. It's the most important thing a person can have, a ko. The kami that watches over our family will also watch over you, as will all our ancestors. When our family meets for the family festivals, three times a year, you will join us here to celebrate. When it's time to plant the rice, you help until all the rice is planted; likewise at harvest time. We in turn will stand by you, like family does, in time of need, or if one of the other families has a dispute with you. If someone tries to treat you like an outsider or outcast, they will have to deal with our family, and since more than half of the villagers belong to our ko, that will give you a good buffer in case of trouble, and a fairer position if they bring up charges to you with the village elders."

Picking his teacup back up, he took a deep drink, then gave the young woman a serious look. "When you came back, Kagome-chan, I knew that there would be people in our village who would disapprove of your choice for husband. I believe I heard one of them already tried to show his displeasure."

Kagome nodded.

"He better not come back and try any of that stuff," InuYasha said.

"He will not," Tameo said. "Or if he does, it will cost him far more than he wants to pay." He put his tea cup down. Hisa moved to refill it, but he motioned her not to. "I tried to think of a way that would protect the two of you. I could not adopt you into my family, InuYasha-sama. I am sorry. It's not that I wouldn't want to, but there are some things even an old, headstrong man like myself can't accomplish."

"But I'd love to see old Haname's face if you tried it," said Susumu. "I doubt if Tsuneo could ever calm her down."

Aomi began to fuss, and Emi stood up with her daughter, bowing apologetically. "Oh, that would be a sight," she agreed. "But please excuse me. It's time for my daughter's nap." She left.

Tameo smiled at his son. "It would be almost worth it, but no. You understand, don't you, InuYasha-sama?"

InuYasha nodded.

"But Kaede-oneesan mentioned that she believed that Kagome-sama still had full use of her spiritual powers, so I talked with Susumu and my other son, and a few other people within the family and they agreed that if she would be willing to train with Oneesan, even though she would be married to you, InuYasha-sama, then they would support her being adopted into the family."

"You agreed to this?" InuYasha asked the younger man.

"Oh yes. I want to talk to you about you joining the village guard, too," Susumu said. "Daitaro-ojisan told me we should have brought you in after you helped with the bandit attacks last year." Susumu picked up a chimaki off his mother's tray. "He was probably right. That old man has a lot of sense."

"You know, your family's weird," InuYasha said.

Tameo laughed. "Maybe so, my friend, maybe so."

"But you'll like us, cousin," Susumu said. "Welcome.


	21. Chapter 21

_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 21**

Tameo looked at Hisa and his son, who nodded, then he stood up and faced InuYasha and Kagome. "Now, since everybody here seems happy with having you two in the family, let's go and make this arrangement final. While I'm at it, I'll get your marriage listed in the village registry, and then we'll go pay our respects to the family's shrine. After that, I will leave you in Oneesan's capable hands."

"That fast?" Kagome whispered to InuYasha. "Glad to meet you, we like you, welcome to the family?"

InuYasha shrugged, but Kaede chuckled. "That's the way my cousin is. It's one of the reasons the villagers keep choosing him to be headman."

The old headman straightened his too small cap, while the others stood, then led them out of the house and headed towards a smaller building to the right of the main house.

"I like to be at home when I'm home," he said to InuYasha and Kagome. "I've moved all the official business to this building. The kitchen kami seem to be happier without people tracking in and out at all hours."

Hisa, walking beside him, said, "And your wife, too. Although," she said, turning to her son Susumu, "perhaps not everybody in the house was so happy about the idea."

Susumu refused to take the bait his mother dangled. "It's worked out well, I have to admit," he said. "Hey, someone's waiting for you, Otousan."

"So there is," the older man said, frowning. "One of Katsume's boys."

Kagome looked up at InuYasha.

"Katsume's the nephew of Haname," he said, giving her hand a little squeeze.

The young man, maybe seventeen, sat under the verandah of the building, a basket tucked in his lap, looking bored. He got up as he saw the group, and bowed low.

"Ah, Tameo-sama," he said. "I was hoping you would be here."

"You could have come to my door, Hiroki-kun," Tameo said. "You didn't have to wait out here."

The young man bowed again. "I saw your company," he said, bowing again, but with less politeness, in the direction of Kaede and the rest, "and thought it would be better if I waited until they left."

Tameo gave him a serious look, and rubbed his chin."We're still not quite through our business. But please, what can I do for you?" His voice was neutral, even mildly pleasant.

The young man let out a breath, as if he was worried about how he was going to be received. "My aunt sends her greetings and asked me to bring you these rice cakes," Hiroki said, holding the basket out to the older man. "She knows how much you like them. And on my way over here, my uncle told me that he would like to speak to you today, if you have a chance."

"Ah, Haname does make good rice cakes, it's true," Tameo said, taking the basket the youth offered him, then handing it to Hisa. "Do you know what Tsuneo has on his mind?"

Hiroki tilted his head towards the group, and looked rather uncomfortable. "I'm not exactly sure. He said something about . . . about . . . " He coughed. "Newcomers, I believe, Tameo-sama."

"Yes, I know he has some opinions about that. We discussed them already, but if he really wants to talk about it some more, tell your uncle I will come by his house this evening. I have a lot to do today."

"I will tell him," the youth said, bowing once again. "Please, I won't keep you waiting. I will let my aunt know what you said about her rice cakes." He hurried off, stopping only once to make a sign against bad luck.

Tameo chuckled, but InuYasha and Kagome exchanged glances.

"Tameo-sama," Kagome said. "Is this going to cause a problem between you and Tsuneo? I don't want us to be the cause of anything bad."

Tameo shook his head. "Nothing new that isn't already going on, child."

"When hasn't Tsuneo had something to say about what you've decided, Otousan?" Susumu said.

"He always has something to say," the older man said. "Sometimes, it's even good. If his wife sticks her nose in, it's not usually so good, but sometimes. In this case, it's nothing he has any control over. This is a family matter, and the family has agreed. And even more, since Toshiro-sama liked the idea, too. And between his family and my family we have the backing of more than two thirds of the village elders. But, as a courtesy, I'll go listen to Tsuneo and his wife whine about all the bad luck that they think will come and never does. It's a small price to pay."

He slid open the door to the office building. "Now let's get it done."

It was all actually rather simple. The group walked into the office space and sat down on the floor, while Tameo pulled out the register of his kinship ko.

He spread the document on a low table and sat down to prepare his ink. "Everybody who belongs to our ko is written down here, how they are related, and what their rank within the group is, from my family as head of the group, to the last servant." He picked up his pen. "Every year, after the new year's celebration, I rewrite the list, adding births, marking those who have gone on. It's been a good bit since we've added a fresh family. But I will put it here," he said, pointing to a place slightly below where his own family's name was written on the paper. "This will make you the same status as Kaede-oneesan. A good place for our new village miko, don't you think, Kaede?"

The old woman nodded. "A good decision. Not too high, but not low. A miko should have some rank. And it will make it clear to all that she's more than a servant-retainer. But it will probably help keep things going on the right way if Tsuneo's family can feel they are still above you, Kagome-chan. Wise as usual, cousin."

"What do you say, InuYasha?" the old man asked, looking up. "I hope this isn't too below you. I am just a villager, and can only offer you and your wife a villager's protection. I have no pretense to noble or even samurai blood. Kaede tells me that both your human and youkai families came from the nobility."

"Feh," the hanyou said. "Neither side never did me any favors." He studied Tameo, seeing how he was waiting for an answer, and sensed nothing but sincerity from the man. "I don't know anything about any of this stuff, village rank and who matters and why. But if Kaede-babaa says it's good, it's good."

Kagome nodded, then bowed. "It is not the way we did things where I came from. But we appreciate all you are doing. Thank you for being so kind to us."

Susumu chuckled. "Shame we can't adopt you as my sister. I would surely like to see how the old sour-faces would react, but Chichi-ue is right. You're going to be the talk of the village by tomorrow night, and when it's time to go drink, the gossip is going to be rich anyway without pushing the limits of who thinks they're better than anybody else. I'm looking forward to that."

Hisa stood up, and went into the back of the building, where she began taking things off of a shelf. "And then you'll have to come back and tell me all about it," she said. "Just don't let anybody get into any fights over it. We want our new cousins here to feel at home."

"There won't be," Susumu said. "But we'll know really quickly who to keep an eye out on."

"That we will," Tameo said. "But we probably already know most of that already." He put away his family's register into its cubbyhole in the wall near his table, and then pulled out another. "You are now family, Kagome-sama, and an official member of the village. As headman, I also register all marriages in the village in our record lists."

He looked up at InuYasha. "Once I do, InuYasha, Kagome-sama becomes your official wife, and that too will give you a legitimate place in the village. No one will be able to claim that she's just your concubine, and you have no true place staying here. Of course, she becomes your legal responsibility. And you, Kagome-sama, if you decide your husband is too hardheaded for your tastes, you'd have to go to one of those refuges run by kindly monks where they negotiate a settlement before you are free to choose another. Having said all that, as my duty as headman, let me give you a moment to be sure. This is the chance for either of you to change your minds."

InuYasha took Kagome's hand. His ears laid back just a little. "Feh," he said. "Just write it down, Tameo." He looked at Kagome, and his eyes studied her face. "I've been hers since the day she released me from the Goshinboku."

"I traveled an amazing journey to get here," Kagome said, smiling back at her husband. "My home can be only where InuYasha is. Yes, I'm sure."

"Well, what destiny has decided should be, is what it should be," Tameo said, and with a flourish, he added their names to the register.

Hisa sat back down next to her husband. He put the register away, and she produced a jug of sake and the cups to go with it. She poured some in each of the cups, and then handed one to Kagome.

"But I don't drink sake," she said. "Where I come from, I'm too young to drink."

"You must drink," Tameo said. "This seals all the agreements we've made here today. They're just scratches on paper unless you drink."

Kagome looked at her cup, and back at InuYasha, who nodded at her.

"You need to drink first," Tameo said, "And then InuYasha."

She sniffed then sipped the liquid, not sure if she liked the smell or the taste of it, but then tossed down the tiny amount Hisa had poured for her. It felt warm as it slid down her throat. InuYasha, smiling, drank his next.

"Congratulations, cousins," Hisa said.

"Blessings, children," Kaede said.

"To your new life with us," Tameo added.

Susumu, downing his cup, added, "And thanks for the happiness I am going to get when Tsuneo and Haname find out."

The rest raised their cups and drank down.

"One last thing and it's all over. Now to pay our respects to the kami of our family, and introduce you to him." Tameo said. "And then let people say what they want. You're ours now.


	22. Chapter 22

_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 22**

Susumu excused himself as they got up to go to the shrine, leaving the five of them to walk down the path to the garden beyond. Kagome felt a little odd, lightheaded, and let the others get ahead of her as she followed them beyond the outbuildings. InuYasha, though, noticed, and dropped back to walk by her side. It was a good thing. Taking a step wrong, she almost fell.

"Are you all right?" InuYasha asked as he steadied her.

"I think so," she said. "I feel kind of . . . well, not exactly dizzy, but odd. Maybe it was the sake?"

"Huh," he replied, looking at her carefully. "You didn't drink very much. But your eyes look funny. Let's do this quick so I can get you home."

She nodded, and as he wrapped an arm around her, she let him guide her until they caught up with the others.

The path turned to reveal the sacred rice rope with its folded paper streamers fluttering a little in the breeze, hung between two pillars to mark a sacred enclosure. There, in a small garden surrounded by trees, there was a red-roofed shrine, too small to call a house standing in front of a tall, pointed spire of rock. The others stood near the pillars, waiting for them to catch up.

"This shrine is to the kami of our family," Kaede explained as Kagome moved next to her. "They say this shrine is the oldest one in the area."

"It is the opinion of our family that ours is the most important of the shrines, even more important than the one up the hill," Tameo said. "Although the opinions of the other villagers differ on that one."

"I bet," Kagome said. She could sense the sacredness of the site. It gave off a feeling much like the Goshinboku did, a feeling of being connecting with something that had no beginning and no end. For some reason, she felt comforted by this, even as she couldn't shake the lightheadedness that made her feel slightly removed from all of what was happening. "This is a good place."

"Yes, it is," Tameo said. "And once we introduce you to the kami, you will be welcome to come here any time you want."

A small fountain that bubbled out of a slope in the ground and fell into a stone basin that stood near the edge of the shrine. One by one they washed their hands and mouths. Kaede cut some branches from the sacred sakaki growing nearby, and handed one to Kagome, Hisa, and Tameo.

"I'm not sure if you should offer one," Kaede told InuYasha.

"You think the kami'd get mad if I didn't?" he asked.

"Probably not," Tameo said. "But we've never had someone like you come to the shrine before."

"Keh," the hanyou said, putting his hands in his sleeves. "Bet there aren't many kami who've had to deal with something like this. Better to not make the kami unhappy, just in case. This is for Kagome."

"A wise choice, InuYasha," Kaede said, nodding.

The old man moved towards the door to the shrine. As he neared, he bowed, and clapped, doing this two times to draw the kami's attention. Then, having reached the front of the building, he opened the door. Inside, on a shelf, was the ancestral tablet of his family. In front of that was an offering table. He bowed once more.

Kagome felt a surge of spiritual energy as he clapped the last time.

Tameo stood tall, and something in his manner changed as he stood in front of the shrine. Instead of just being an older, if adroit, peasant, he grew stately and empowered. Kagome could feel spiritual power in him flair to life.

"I didn't know he had reiki like that," Kagome whispered to InuYasha.

"Heh. His grandfather was Kikyou's and Kaede's grandfather, too. Must run in the family," InuYasha said, just as softly.

Tameo laid the sakaki branch on the offering table, bowed once again, and took a deep breath, thinking about his words. "Dear kami of our ancestors," he said, his voice sonorous, and slipping into the cadence of a chant, "You who watches over our family, standing with us in good times and bad, I bring to you this woman for your blessing. We have asked her to join us, kin to kin. She in turn promises to serve our family, our ko, both in good times and bad, as healer and protector. In return, we ask that you accept her, guide her, and watch over her and hers, taking her under your guardianship from this day forward."

He turned to Kagome and motioned for her to come up to stand next to him. "Come, daughter, offer your branch and let the kami meet you."

She nodded and moved forward. As she moved, the sense of lightheadedness, of differentness washed over her. It wasn't frightening, but it was strange, and by the time she reached the table, she felt like she was floating. Even so, she laid the branch down and bowed.

Suddenly, as the branch touched the offering table, her world lurched and she was surrounded by light too bright to see through. She automatically closed her eyes. In the distance, she thought she heard her husband call out her name. It seemed very far away. Still, instead of being scared by what was happening, a great wave of peace washed over her.

"You can open your eyes now, daughter," a gentle male voice said. It was soft and low and reminded her of her grandfather's.

Kagome did, and found herself in a place that was all light. The only thing that she could see was the offering table. She turned slowly around, looking for a landmark, the shrine, the grounds beyond it, but saw nothing. "Where . . . where am I?" she asked.

"Welcome to the August Fields," the voice said, then it chuckled. "Or at least the tiny corner of it they let me sit in."

She faced the offering table again. This time though, she saw a man, older, white-haired, and smiling, sitting on the table itself.

"The August Fields? Who are you?" she asked.

He was dressed in a farmer's kosode of indigo blue and narrow hakama, with his leg and arm covers on, like he was about to go out to work, and held a hoe over one shoulder. Still, the indigo glowed like it was lit from within, and his skin radiated the same light. But his manner was friendly, very much like Tameo. In fact, they looked very much alike.

He chuckled again, and gave her the smallest of bows, little more than a nod of his head. "I am Kazuo, eldest and kami of the family that my great-great-greatgrandson Tameo wants you to join. I thought we ought to get to know each other a little better before I go around throwing blessings."

"You're the family kami? Then what's this place?" she said. For some reason, even though part of her mind said she was crazy not to be afraid, she still felt perfectly calm. "I'm still in the shrine then, aren't I?"

"In a matter of speaking, you are both in the August Fields, that place where many of the kami live, and in the shrine at the same time, just like the kami who are called to earth to come witness rites or to be asked to help are at both places at once. It's an interesting experience, isn't it?"

"Is that what they do when a human goes to a shrine to ask a kami something? I've met kami before," Kagome said. "They seemed all on the earth at the time, not like this."

"Yes," Kazuo said, nodding, "that can happen too. But if I were to visit you like that, it would take much more of your time. Look!" He waved his hoe.

The white faded. She could see the shrine. Tameo and Kaede were looking at her, Hisa, who had been facing InuYasha turned her head to the offering table, and InuYasha was in mid-leap, trying to reach her.

"You pulled me outside of time," Kagome said. "That's a neat trick."

"Very perceptive of you, girl." He smiled at her once again. "It's not that I'm trying to do anything bad or frighten you, you know. I thought we might have more time to talk this way." He put his hoe back over his shoulder and scratched the back of his neck. "It's not easy arranging things like this."

"I'm not frightened," she said. "Just a bit surprised."

"Good girl," he said, nodding at her again. He sat cross-legged on the table, then rested his elbow on one thigh, and his head on his closed hand. "I'm not the only one who pulls surprises. You've done a lot of things that were a bit surprising, too, granddaughter who isn't my granddaughter. It's actually rather amazing. Like coming to live in a time years before you were born. Marrying a man who is centuries older than you. Killing that awful hanyou. Having a soul that used to visit me a lot."

"Oh!" Kagome said. "If Tameo's your great-great-great-grandson, then Kikyou was your great-great-great-granddaughter."

He nodded. "Yes, she was. Such a sad life she was destined for. A lovely girl. Still, her destiny was too strong, the power of the Shikon no Tama was far more than a family kami like I could deal with, and I couldn't spare her from it. It's really hard for kami to make you humans do anything while you live your lives. We can help, but we really can't force destiny to be anything but what it is." Kazuo gave her a sad smile. "Kami aren't all powerful, even though some of us think we might be."

"That's the kind of thing my grandfather would tell me," Kagome said.

"Your grandfather will be the shrine priest for the big shrine, yes?" the kami said.

Kagome nodded.

"Maybe I told it to him," Kazuo said, scratching his chin. "Seems like something I'd do. I'm a farmer kami, after all." He uncrossed his legs and let them dangle over the edge of the table. "Planting seeds is my type of work. But even though we kami can't make people do things, sometimes we can influence things. I planted a seed when I whispered to Tameo the idea to have you get trained as a village miko. Looks like it sprouted fast. And like any good farmer, I cultivate what I plant."

He leaned forward. "As long as you stay here, I can give you some protection. But I'm not sure you're destined to always be here." He looked at her tenderly, a little wistfully. "No matter. What Kaede will teach you will help you wherever your fate leads you and that hanyou of yours. He's got a good heart. I approve of your marriage."

"Thank you," Kagome replied. "Does that mean you won't purify him if he gets too close?"

"Purify him? Hardly. I worked hard to make sure he'd be here for you." Kazuo said. "I saw him the first time he showed up with Kikyou. Even then I knew he'd be good for this village. I didn't quite realize the mess that evil hanyou would do to scramble things, but I could see the red thread that bound your soul and his."

He stood up. "You have my blessing, little miko. Probably time for you to get back to your people. But remember to come back and see me from time to time."

"I will," she promised. "Thank you."

The kami touched the top of her head gently. A burst of warmth passed through her and the white faded.

"Don't forget to come visit me," Kazuo said as he faded with the light.

Suddenly, the world lurched one more time and she found herself falling into InuYasha's strong arms.

"You all right?" he asked, brushing his fingers across her cheek.

"What happened?" she asked. "How'd you get here so quick? I thought you stayed at the shrine door."

"You laid the sakaki on the offering table, started to glow like a torch, and then started to fall." He shrugged. "I can move fast when I have to."

"Ah," she said. She reached up a hand and brushed his cheek. "The kami . . . the kami pulled me away to talk to him. He likes you." Kagome smiled at him, then yawned. "I feel so tired." Almost immediately she went limp in his arms, unconscious.

"Kagome?" InuYasha said. His ears focused on her, listening to her breathing; his youki flared a little, as he tried to sense what was wrong with her.

"Oh my," Hisa said. She rested a hand on the younger woman's hair, brushing a stray lock of hair out of Kagome's face, then looked up at her husband. "I really didn't expect that to happen."

"I've seen it before, son," Tameo said. He rested his hand on the hanyou's shoulder. InuYasha looked up, uncertain. "Sometimes, meeting the kami takes a lot out of a person."

Kaede nodded. "It's happened to me, InuYasha. Kagome-chan needs to rest a bit. The kami was not intending her evil. Sometimes, he just overpowers us a bit."

"Why don't you take her back to the house?" Tameo said. "I'm sure Hisa will be happy to help her get comfortable until she wakes up."

InuYasha nodded, gave the ancestral tablet a hard look, then stepped outside the shrine into the midday sunlight.

"I know this must seem odd to you, InuYasha-kun," Hisa said, leading him back to the house. "The first time I saw it happen to Tameo, I was shocked, too. But he does this once in a while. I don't know if it's just that he wants company, or what, but it's been happening to the people in Tameo's family a long time."

"Feh," the hanyou replied, as they rounded the bend in the path and neared the house.

"This was not so bad. After Kagome-chan rests a bit, I'm sure she'll tell you all about it. The last time old Kazuo decided to have a talk with Tameo, I didn't discover it for hours. I was frantic something had happened to him when he didn't show up for dinner, and no one had seen him since morning. I didn't know he had come to the shrine. When I finally discovered where he was, he was curled up on the shrine floor, snoring. After my sons and I brought him home, and he finally woke up, he told me he had gone fishing with the old man, and was just about to bring in a big one, when the kami sent him back. Kazuo sometimes has a sense of humor." They reached the house.

"Not sure how much I like that," the hanyou said.

Hisa slid the door open. "He watches out for us though. Once when some bandits tried to sneak in through the hills, he appeared like a ball of light twice the height of a man, and attacked them with his hoe. One didn't run fast enough and got quite a gash. My brother-in-law saw it from where he was hiding, and so did a few others. Even though he does things like what happened with your wife, we're rather fond of him. And Kagome-chan said he likes you. That's got to be a good thing."

"If you say so," he said, not quite convinced, carrying his wife over the threshold.

Hisa laid out some bedding, and InuYasha laid his wife gently down. He sat down beside her, holding her hand. It wasn't until Tameo and Kaede came in, about half an hour later that Kagome began to stir.

"InuYasha?" she asked.

He gave her hand a little squeeze. "I'm here."

Slowly, she sat up."Was I asleep?"

"You passed out after laying the sakaki branch on the offering table," InuYasha said. "You said something about the kami to me, then fell asleep."

"I remember . . . the kami told me that we would be safe in the village, and he approved of you." She looked around, saw Kaede looking at her with a calm, knowing eye, and Tameo nodding.

Hisa smiled. "Well, old Kazuo gave your husband quite a start. Can I get you anything?"

"How about lunch?" Tameo asked. "All that kami business makes me hungry."

The old woman laughed.


	23. Chapter 23

_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 23**

After a lovely lunch where Kagome and InuYasha were introduced to all of Tameo's children, in-laws, grandchildren, three servants, one aunt and two cousins, the two finally said their good-byes and headed home, but only after being loaded down with bundles of clothes and food in honor of her being taken into the family. The two of them had protested it was too much, but there was no persuading the older couple, and after an honest thanks, InuYasha and Kagome headed home.

As they left the main area of the village and began to head up towards the hill where they lived, out of earshot of most of the villagers, InuYasha shook his head. "I think I will never quite understand how everybody's related to everybody else."

Kagome laughed. "Tameo does have quite a family. And those were just the closest relatives. Wait until the festival next month, and all the relatives are there." She looked up at him. "I'm so glad he decided not to have a formal dinner tonight to introduce us to everybody."

"Keh," InuYasha said. "I don't know if I'm looking forward to that."

She intentionally bumped against him as they moved so he would slow down, and she could take his free hand. His other was carrying a largish bundle. "Maybe by that time, we'll kind of know who is who, and where they fit in the family."

InuYasha gave her hand a little squeeze. "Maybe. All this stuff sort of confuses me."

"Me too," she admitted.

They walked together for a while, quietly until they reached the point where the path forked, once branch leading off towards Daitaro's house. InuYasha's ear twitched as a cow lowed, but neither of them saw anybody around. Their only companions were the wind in the tree branches and one noisy bird who dipped low, beating her wings in anger as she fussed at them.

"We must be too close to her nest," Kagome said after they passed the irritated bird. "Birds do that sometimes."

"Don't blame'em. I don't like strangers too close to my place either."

"From what Hisa-sama told me, we might have a bit of that the next few days as people learn about today," Kagome said. "I wish . . . "

InuYasha turned and looked at her. "Wish what?"

"I wish we could just take a break," Kagome said. She shifted the basket of food she was carrying from one hand to the other. She had no idea what was in it, but something in it smelled quite delicious.

"You need to rest? We're only about halfway to Miroku's yet," the hanyou said. His eyes filled with concern as he shifted the carry cloth he was shouldering to look at Kagome carefully. He stopped and caught her wrist to slow her down, then put his hand on her forehead.

"I'm not sick, InuYasha," Kagome said, smiling. "I don't mean that type of break. I mean the type of break where you and I can have some time just for us. I mean, look how much has happened to us in such a short time. We need a moment to just relax."

"You're telling me," InuYasha said. He took her hand again, and gave her a sweet but cocky smile. "The first thing that happened to us was really good." He gave her hand a squeeze, and sighed. "But everything else . . . I wonder when my head will stop spinning."

Kagome nodded. "I haven't even been here a whole week. I found you again, I've gotten married then adopted, become an apprentice, and met a kami. I know that Kaede and Tameo and Miroku and Sango and all the others mean well, and I'm really grateful. The fact that Tameo is sending someone out to put in our garden is a great thing, especially since I don't know what I'm doing. Sango's agreed to help teach me about sewing and other housekeeping things and that too is wonderful, but so much so fast . . . "

She leaned her head against InuYasha's chest. "But I just want some time for us, with nobody trying to get us to do this or that. I'm almost ready to lock the door and pretend nobody's home when the next person comes calling."

"Yeah," InuYasha said, pulling her close. He gently kissed the top of her head. "But you know that they'd just tear the door down to make sure we were all right."

He stepped back and Kagome nodded. "You're probably right," she said as they started walking again. "Doesn't mean I can't wish we could get away somewhere. Even a day away from everybody would be nice."

They neared the path that led to Miroku's house and the small temple he had set up. One of the village men was walking up the path and away from the monk's house and waved at them. Kagome waved back.

"Let's hurry up," Kagome said. "I'm just not in the mood to talk to anyone else."

InuYasha nodded, and they hurried up the hill. When the hanyou was sure they weren't being followed, he laid a hand on Kagome's shoulder to slow her down.

"We could," InuYasha said as they slowed down into an easy walk.

"Could what?" She shifted the basket once again to her other arm.

"We could take a day off and go somewhere." He grabbed the basket she was carrying. "That's the third time you've shifted that basket. I'll carry it."

"Give me that back." Kagome grabbed her basket from InuYasha. "I can handle that. You're carrying enough."

He shrugged. "Suit yourself. You just looked like it was getting heavy for you."

"Maybe. But I want to be useful too," she said.

"Feh," InuYasha said. "You're always useful, woman. You don't have to prove anything to me." He stopped, and she looked at him.

"What?" she asked, shifting the basket once again.

"Now that you've mentioned it, I think we ought to take a break. You're getting that look," he said, but made no more moves to take the basket. "I was hoping I would never see it again."

Kagome looked at him, confused. "What look?"

"The one you used to get before you had to go home and take one of those test things, like you had to think about too much at once." He used his free hand to brush his knuckles against her cheek. "And I thought I was the only one whose head was spinning."

"It's showing, huh?" she asked.

He nodded. "I don't have to be anywhere special until market day, and Kaede-babaa doesn't want you to start training with her until three days after that."

"I don't know why Kaede wants to wait until then. She told me it was an auspicious day, and it's always best to start things on days like that." Kagome took a deep breath. "But I really wonder if she wants to give me a break before we get busy."

The hanyou nodded. "She's always been good at reading people. You might be right," InuYasha said. "It'll make it auspicious for us that way, no matter what. So you want to go?"

Kagome rested the basket on her hip, and used her free arm to take his hand again as they began walking again. "You have some place in mind? Where we can really get away?"

"There's a place I know," he said, shifting his own burden a little as he ducked around a tree limb that overhung the path. "You've never seen it. I didn't discover it until you were gone. But I think you'd like it. It's up in the high country, away from everybody. Not even a village close by."

"Sounds lovely," Kagome said, smiling at him. "Just you and me. How far away is it?"

"It took me a couple of hours the last time I went. If we walked at your pace, probably most of a day."

"Then we'll go at your rate," she said. "Let's get home and head out."

InuYasha shook his head. "Too late to start today. We'll have to wait until the morning to go."

"Too late?" Kagome asked, frowning. She stopped walking, even though she could see their house and the meadow it sat in straight ahead. "We've got about four hours of light left at least. It wouldn't take long to pack some food and go."

"Won't have that much time. Not after I heat the water for the bath and you take a nap," he said.

"A nap?" She frowned. "Why would I need a nap? I was passed out long enough at Tameo-sama's."

"After a day like today, I think we both need a nap," he said, bending close, so his breath tickled her ear. "Maybe even before the bath." His lips brushed the side of her cheek. "Think of it as the start of our break."

Realization dawned on her just what he meant, and she giggled. "Maybe so," she said. "It's been a tiring day. She reached up and gave InuYasha a quick kiss on the lips. "You think if we lock the door while we nap, they'll try to break in?"

He gave her a cocky grin. "If they do, I'll use Tessaiga on'em."

"Good idea," she said.

"So let's go," InuYasha said, taking Kagome by the wrist.

Laughing, she let her husband hurry her home


	24. Chapter 24

_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 24**

The next morning dawned bright and clear, and InuYasha made sure they were both up soon as it was light.

"Time to get up, woman," he said, leaning next to her. Already dressed in his under kosode, he tossed his hair to one side and let his lips brush lightly again hers.

Kagome squeezed her eyes tight and frowned, pulling at the covers. InuYasha kissed her again. "Unless you want me to cook the rice, you need to get up."

She cracked one eye open. "Good. You do it." She tried to roll over. "Too early."

"I'll burn the pot," he said, gently grabbing her so she couldn't get away.

She opened both her eyes to catch him grinning. "Stop laughing at me. You wouldn't do that."

"Not on purpose. But I'm not used to cooking rice," he said, giving her a quick peck on the lips. "I might do it wrong. But we really need to get started. It's a long way to where we're going."

Kagome sighed, and sat up, bringing the covers up with her. "It's barely light."

"I know," he said.

"It'd be easier to get up if you hadn't kept me up so late," she said, reaching for her kosode. "It's still cold in here."

"Feh," InuYasha said, grabbing his hakama from on top of the chest where he had laid them the night before. He gave her a satisfied smirk as he stood up, just short of a laugh. "Whose fault was it that we were up late? I seem to remember someone pouncing on me right after I banked the fire." He slipped into the red garment then moved to the fire pit, where he began building the morning fire.

Giving into the inevitable, Kagome finally let go of the covers, and slipped into her under kosode, then walked over to the clothes chest, and pulled out her beige kosode and blue wrap skirt. "So what should I bring with us? How long to you think we'll be out?" Slipping into her clothes, she fastened the ties and bent over to fold up the bedding.

"Oh, enough for lunch," he said. He tossed on one more piece of wood, and got up, brushed off his hands and picked up his fire rat. "Not too much, though. I'll probably be able to catch some fish." Slipping on his jacket, he moved over to the water bucket, and took a drink. "Might want to be sure to bring a towel or two."

Kagome looked at him. "Towels?"

His eyes betrayed his amusement, even though he tried to keep a straight face. "You never know. You might find them handy."

"You're looking much too pleased with yourself," Kagome said, as she moved to her supplies to scoop out rice to make breakfast. "It's either going to be a wonderful place or awful."

He moved behind her and wrapped his arms around her. "I think it's wonderful. Kind of like you."

She turned her head to face him."Then I'll try to hurry up and get everything ready." Giving him a quick kiss, she went back to her work.

After breakfast, Kagome shooed InuYasha out while she made their lunches. About half an hour later, he popped back inside.

"It's going to be a good day for travel," he said. "Not too cool, and I doubt there's any chance of rain."

Kagome was sitting at her work table, slowly wrapping some things in bamboo leaves. "Stupid things," she muttered, sighing. "Sango made this look so easy."

"Not ready yet?" InuYasha said, watching her cram an awkwardly shaped bundle into the basket next to her. There was a note of impatience in his voice. "I thought we'd be on our way by now."

"Almost," Kagome said, turning around to give him a frustrated glance. "I'm still not used to using bamboo leaves to wrap the onigiri in. It looked so easy when Sango showed me how." She sighed. "They're all ugly and maybe not wrapped well enough. Makes me wish I had the bento box I used to use."

InuYasha's ear flicked at that, as if feeling a bit guilty about trying to hurry her along, and he sat down next to her and took one of her hands. "This is our break, remember? I'll eat them, no matter how pretty they look."

She looked up and smiled at him. "Thanks. Let me just get everything in my carry cloth. One day, I'm going to have to make a new travel bag for things like this."

She got up and bundled up the basket and the suggested towels, and a few other items into the brightly colored cloth."I just hope everything doesn't fall apart before we get there."

"We'll eat'em anyway," he said, picking up her bundle. "What all did you put in this? It's heavy."

"Just the things I thought we'd need," Kagome said, smiling. "We better let Miroku know what we're doing. Everybody would worry and probably jump to wrong conclusions if they found us missing." She took the carry cloth from him and fit it over her shoulders, almost like a pack.

They both stood up.

"Let's try not to stay too long," InuYasha said. "We have a good way to go."

Kagome nodded, and they headed out.

As soon as they got to Miroku's, and told their friends what they were up to and got Miroku to promise to go tell Kaede and Tameo they would be gone, Sango pulled Kagome into the house, whispered something to the monk about keeping InuYasha busy, handed him their daughters, and went to join her friend inside.

Miroku, carrying the two girls, headed toward the tree he liked to sit under sometimes while he meditated. "Come, InuYasha, whatever it is they're doing, they'll do it faster if they don't think we're spying on them."

InuYasha turned to face the house, and pointed his ears towards it, but evidently the women were being careful not to say anything. Reluctantly, he followed his friend.

"So, where are you taking Kagome-sama?" Miroku asked, once he reached the tree. He handed Noriko to the hanyou before sitting down.

"Inu-oji," the little girl said, looking up at him..

"Yeah, Noriko-chan. You're up early," InuYasha said, trying to not let the child know how irritated he was. "You being good for your okaa?"

She nodded. Her sister Yusuko squirmed out of her father's hands and grabbed InuYasha's hakama.

"You have a way with the girls," the monk said, smiling. "No wonder Kagome-sama seems so content."

"And you like to use your daughters so I won't jump on you like you deserve." The hanyou's ear flicked, which, as usual, fascinated Noriko."Why are you keeping me out here, Bouzu?" InuYasha asked. She began to reach up for it, but InuYasha gently brought her hand back down. "No ears, right?"

Looking disappointed, Noriko nodded. "No ears."

"We are here because I don't want to make my wife unhappy," the monk said. He grabbed Yusuko back. "Inu-oji is going on a journey today," he told her.

"Going?" the girl asked, sticking a finger in her mouth, looking at her father, and then at InuYasha and Noriko.

Miroku nodded. "But he's not telling me where he's going."

Noriko pulled on InuYasha's forelock. "Go away? Tell Chichi." He sighed, and removed the silver hair from her grip.

"Just for today," he told her and then gave Miroku a hard look. "There's this place up in the hills west of here I know about."

"Ah," the monk said. His eyes had a knowing twinkle.

"It's quiet. No village nearby." InuYasha sat down next to his friend.

"And, I suspect, no nosy monks running interference for their wives, either." Noriko held her arms out for her father, and Miroku scooped her up. "Or cute girls who like to pull their uncle's hair."

"That, too." InuYasha shoved his hands in his sleeves, but gave the girls a soft look. "Everything's been kind of crazy. Did Kaede-babaa tell you what happened at Tameo's yesterday?"

"No, but Hisa-sama did. Sounds like you both had quite an interesting experience." Noriko wiggled out of his hold, attracted by something she saw on the ground next to him.

"See, Otou!" she said, holding up a piece of weathered quartz. "Pretty!"

"Yes it is," the monk said. Yusuko crawled out of her father's lap to look. She reached for it, but Noriko pulled away.

Miroku, well aware of what was about to happen next, grabbed the pebble, and put it in his sleeve before the two girls could fight over it. "I'll hold it until we can show it to Okaa. All right?"

Noriko frowned, but nodded. Yusuko frowned and shook her head.

InuYasha looked at the house. With no small girl to help him mask his impatience, he was growing more agitated, and stood up. "I wonder what's taking them so long?"

"I have no idea," Miroku said, corralling his daughters again, and putting them on his lap. "They keep their little mysteries. It makes them more interesting. Relax, friend. If you go hurry them, they'll be unhappy."

InuYasha leaned against the tree. "Feh."

"To change the subject, I think we've got enough volunteers to finish patching the temple roof," the monk said, catching his daughter's hand as she reached for his earring. "I've been talking with some of the men. We were thinking of having a work party in about ten days."

"That's good," InuYasha said, cocking an ear towards the house. "They're being too quiet in there."

"They probably know you would be listening. If it's supposed to be a surprise, they're going to be as quiet as possible. You will be helping on the roof, I hope," Miroku said.

InuYasha turned away from the house, although one ear still pointed towards it, listening. "You think they'll want me?" the hanyou said, looking down at the monk.

"Of course. You're my partner." He let down his daughters. "Go tell Okaa to hurry, girls."

The two girls ran back into the house.

"Then after that, we can go down to Odawara and pick up the copies of the sutras I ordered," he said smiling.

"We?" InuYasha asked. "Odawara?" He gave his friend a look, frowning. It was a rather intimidating glance, one that had stopped many people and youkai in their tracks, but Miroku ignored it.

"Wouldn't want to bring them back until the building's got a sound roof over it." The monk scratched the back of his neck as InuYasha's youki rose. "Might give old Mushin a visit as well."

"We?" InuYasha repeated. His hand made a fist. This too his friend ignored.

"Of course! We'll be bringing back a new incense burner, too," Miroku replied. "The one I'm using is totally inadequate. But it will be too heavy for me to carry. And that reminds me. Are you ready for market day?"

Suddenly, InuYasha untensed, like a spring that came unwound and found the grass beneath his foot strangely interesting. "I guess," the hanyou said. "Kagome's made a list."

"We'll talk it over with Sango when you get back," Miroku said. "It's best to get as much of it done as possible upfront."

"I -" InuYasha started, but just then, Kagome slid the door open, her carry cloth already tied on.

"Ready to go?" She gave InuYasha a silly grin. "Sorry you had to wait."

"Have a good time," Miroku said. "I'm going to see if my wife remembered breakfast, with whatever you two have been conspiring about." He gave Kagome a knowing smile, headed for the house.

"Shall we start walking?" Kagome said, giving the hanyou a coy, but satisfied little smile..

InuYasha gave her a curious look. "You gonna tell me why you had to leave me in Miroku's company all this time?"

"I will, but not right now," she said. Her smile grew just a little more smug. "Still, I think you'll like why it took us so long. You have your surprises, and I have mine." She began heading down the path.

Curious, but not willing to push the issue, he grabbed her wrist. "Wait," InuYasha said. He knelt down. "Did you forget? We've got a long way to go and we need to go at my speed. Get on my back."

"Dressed like this?" she asked, pointing to her wrap skirt.

"Unless you want to go home and change clothes," he replied. For some reason, this made him grin. "Just hike your skirt up."

With an uncertain look and a nod, she hitched up her skirts, tucking them into her obi. Climbing on, she wrapped her legs around him in a way that felt at once familiar and awkward, and InuYasha, securing his hold on her, took off.


	25. Chapter 25

_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 25**

It had been a long time since they had traveled cross country with Kagome on InuYasha's back.

After a little initial awkwardness, including learning things like how high Kagome needed to hike up her skirts, and her relearning how to hold on securely, and InuYasha dealing with the fact that she was a little taller than the last time he did this, they began run, slowly gathering more speed as the two got settled into a rhythm with InuYasha running and taking long leaps through the landscape, sailing through the trees. The miles began to pass.

Kagome squeed after a particularly wild leap. "For some reason, this is more exciting than when we used to chase after Naraku," she said. "Or maybe it's just because I can enjoy it now without looking for an attack." She brought her mouth next to InuYasha's neck, and gave him a small kiss there.

"Behave, woman," he said, giving her thigh a little squeeze. "Don't want to make me lose my footing. We might never get there. I forgot how it felt to carry you like this."

"Did it always feel this good?" she said, brushing her cheek against the side of his face.

"Yes," he said. "But back then I was kind of busy keeping us alive and chasing the bad guys and trying to behave myself all at the same time to enjoy it much." He grinned, and launched into the air again. "Still there were times it was a good thing you couldn't read my mind."

"Or you read mine, either," she said, giving him another little kiss. "We might have gotten into some serious trouble."

He laughed.

The ground began to rise, and the trees, too, as tall, stately evergreens began to dominate. After jumping across a rather narrow pass, InuYasha reached a place where a meadow opened up to the spring sun, filled with nodding white and purple blossoms reaching up above the pale green of new grass. They could hear a stream not far away, and to one side, there was a stand of trees behind a tumble of rock.

"It's a half a day's walk to the nearest village from here," InuYasha said, as he let his wife slip off his back. "I heard the locals think it's haunted, and they stay away."

Kagome took a deep breath and turned in a slow circle. "It doesn't feel haunted."

"Never seen anything up here to cause trouble. Deer, the occasional hunter. No ghosts." His arm circled her waist. "Today, just us."

"Umm. That sounds good," she said, leaning into his touch. "Getting hungry?"

"Yeah. Let's set up."

Together they gathered wood near the edge of the meadow, and InuYasha scraped the weeds off a place where the grass was thin so they could make a small fire.

"We're going to need some water," Kagome said as she untied her carry cloth. Opening her basket and taking out a small pot, she handed it to InuYasha.

He nodded, and headed to the stream. Not far from where he scooped the water, it cascaded down the rocks in a small waterfall and into a brush-lined ravine below it. The stream was swollen with the spring melt, and was noisy as the water rushed across the fall. InuYasha stood for a moment on a rock outcrop that let him watch it. Somehow, it pleased him to watch it. Bits of branches and other things flowed on the rapid current, and even a tree had been undercut and now spanned the water as a natural bridge. While the water was running this high, all the obstacles that blocked the water's flow got pushed aside, while the stream ran free in its channel.

"Kind of reminds me of destiny," he said, thinking of how when destiny was in full flow, there was nothing that could stop it - not evil jewels, or grief, or even obligations to the past. Not even centuries of time. "It has to be destiny," he said, softly. "I sure the hell don't deserve it."

"What's so interesting?" Kagome said, walking up behind him. "You do want so tea, don't you?"

He turned and looked at her standing in front of him. He smiled as he watched her standing there, dressed in the simple kosode and wrap skirt of a farmer's wife. She deserved more, he thought, but that would have to come later. What was important, most of all, was that their destiny had brought them back together, and in spite of mean-spirited villagers, and kami and even his own awkwardness, Kagome stood there, watching him, happy, warm and alive, her ebony hair stirring in the breeze. She had grown a bit in the three years they had been separated, but her blue-gray eyes still gazed at him with all the warmth they ever had, and even more. And he felt very grateful to destiny at that moment.

"I was looking at the stream. It's running really fast right now," he said. "I guess I got lost in my thoughts and forgot I had the tea water." InuYasha took a step closer, and caught her hand in his free one and laced his fingers between hers. "But I tell you what's really interesting today. Being here with you."

Kagome's smile was like the sunshine and she moved close to him, lifting a hand up to brush his cheek with her fingers. "You think so?"

"I know so," he answered. He put down the little pot and wrapped her in his arms.

Tilting her chin up with a claw-tipped finger, he let his lips brush across hers, felt her arms circle his neck as she relaxed into his embrace, and her own lips part to the gentle caress of his tongue. Together they explored each other's taste and texture. They broke contact reluctantly, meeting together for several smaller but lingering kisses until InuYasha loosened his hold enough to take a step back.

Kagome, not yet willing to let him go, kissed his chin. "If we keep this up, we'll never get to lunch."

He ran his fingers through her dark hair. "Would that be so bad?" He pulled her back for one more brief, tender kiss. "Maybe it's not food I'm hungry for."

"Oh, you'll like this," she said, pulling out of his arms and picking up the water pot. "I've got something special just for you. Sango fixed it while you were waiting."

"Yeah?" He reached out and caught her hand again.

She laughed, and reaching up, tweaked his ear, and laughed. It was a pleasant sound, not teasing at all. "She made noodles."

"Noodles?" he said, looking rather surprised. "I haven't had noodles in a long time."

"Yes," she said, nodding. "It's not ramen, but I think you'll like it anyway. And we can't get to eat until you come back. I need you to get the fire started."

"You're not the only one with a surprise," he said, following her back to their little campsite.

"Oh?" she said, turning to look at him.

"After we eat," he said. "You brought me noodles, after all. Can't let them go to waste."

InuYasha started the fire with an ease that made almost Kagome jealous. She had tried making a fire a few times already, but she found that holding the flint and steel felt awkward in her hands, and blowing the sparks into a flame made her wish she had brought some matches or a lighter with her in a pocket when she left. As he fed it with small bits of wood, she prepared her tea pot.

"So tell me, when did Sango decide to send you off with noodles?" InuYasha asked.

"She had made them yesterday for lunch today," Kagome said as she continued to prepare their meal. "When she heard where we were going, she thought it'd be nice to send our share with us, so she hurried up and cooked them while Miroku kept you company."

"Hustled me, you mean," InuYasha said. "You bring any pickles? He was trying to get me to agree to help him re-roof that little temple building of his. It leaks already. We had a typhoon blow through last fall, and it got damaged." He added a few more sticks of wood to the fire, then moved to sit next to her.

"Yes, I brought some pickles," she said, unwrapping a small covered dish, and putting it out where he could reach it. "Don't eat them all. I want some, too."

"Would I do that?" he asked as he opened the dish and took out a slice.

"Not if you want a happy wife," she replied, putting the water on to heat.

"I'll remember that," he said, chewing the pickle slowly.

Kagome handed him a rice ball, a bit battered from its wrapping and being carried in her basket and a small wooden container that had his share of the noodles. They were cold, but had a tasty sauce with bits of vegetables and fish mixed in.

"Those look good," InuYasha said.

"Tell me if you like them," Kagome said, handing InuYasha his chopsticks. "I'll get Sango to teach me the recipe."

He took a bite, and then another. "They're good," he said. "Not quite ramen, but I like them. Do people eat cold noodles a lot?"

"Sometimes," Kagome said. "People like them cold when the weather's hot, especially."

She finished her noodles long after InuYasha did, but he comforted himself with a rice ball and his share of the pickles while she did. By then the water was hot enough to make tea.

While they sipped their tea, Kagome asked, "So you've had your noodles. Now what surprise did you have for me?"

"How would you like a bath?" he said.

"Not in that river," she said. "It looks way too cold."

"What if I told you that behind those rocks and near to those trees over there," he said, pointing to the area at the edge of the meadow, "there's a hot spring. A nice one."

"Really?"

"Yeah. That's why we're here. Nobody to bug us, lots of quiet, and a hot spring, too."

They finished their tea, put out their fire, and packed back up, and then, getting back on her husband's back, they moved over the rock outcropping to find a perfect little hidden valley dominated by a warm and inviting spring.

"Oh, it's nice," Kagome said, as InuYasha let her slide off of his back.

The spring itself was half-shaded by the trees that grew near the water. On one side, through a narrow neck, the waters from the spring moved on to join the stream before it cascaded over the falls, but here, it was clear and still and rock-lined.

"I've used it before. Deep enough to take a proper soak, not too hot that we'll cook ourselves," InuYasha said.

"Considering how hot you think is hot, there's no chance we can get cooked," Kagome said, smiling.

"I'm not the one with a little brother who likes to take boiling baths," he said. "So, will this do?"

"Very much so," Kagome said.

"Good." He took off his suikan and laid it on the ground, a place where dappled shadow from a nearby tree only blocked some of the light, and laid the bundle that held the remains of their meal next to it. "Well, are you just going to stand there, or get into the water?"

They undressed and slipped into the spring. Kagome ducked under the surface and came back up, shaking her head and splashing her husband as InuYasha watched. He raised an arm to keep the splashing out of his face.

"And you complain when I shake off," he said, chuckling.

"Oh, it's been too long since I was able to slip under hot water," she said, wiping the water out of her face.

"There's a nice rock over there." InuYasha said, pointing to the far side of the spring. "It's underwater, but makes a nice place to just sit and soak."

Nodding, she made her way there, and he followed.

His hair made silver patterns floating on the water behind him, patterns that danced and shifted slightly as he slid his arms around the woman next to him and she relaxed against him.

"Is this all right, Kagome?" he asked. "Warm enough?"

She nodded, looking very content as she leaned on his shoulder. The water was almost up to her shoulders.

For a few minutes they just sat there in the warm water, listening to the wind in the trees and the sound of the stream in the distance. A bird suddenly began singing.

InuYasha pulled her closer. "Wonder what that bird's fussing about?"

"Us, probably" she said. "This is a beautiful place."

"Yeah. I don't know if many people even know it exists. It's kind of hard to get to," he said, taking her left hand in his right. He planted a small kiss in her palm. "I found it one day by accident after the well closed, and knew if . . . " He swallowed, as if the words were hard to say. "If you came back home, I'd want to take you here."

She snuggled into his arms, letting her lips brush against his neck. "Home. I like the sound of that word," she murmured. "Even though things have been a little crazy, it feels right. I came home, where I belong."

His hands threaded through her hair, tiling her face up to meet his amber gaze, looking at her with an intensity that sent a tingle through her entire body. Leaning forward, his mouth found hers, his lips brushing gently against hers in a kiss meant to signal everything he could not put into words. The kiss deepened and became hungry.

When they broke, Kagome, her eyes glittering, asked, "Ready to get out?"

"Damn ready," he said, giving her a smirk that warned of more to come. "Time to get dirty again."

She laughed as he picked her up, cradling her to him, and bounded out of the water. He laid her gently on his suikan, which he had left separate from the rest of her clothes.

"You planned this?" Kagome asked.

"Maybe," InuYasha replied. "Or hoped it."

His damp hair clung to his back, sending little droplets dripping down over his shoulder and onto his arms as he hovered over her on his hands and knees. She ran a finger down one track then slid that hand under his hair and over his shoulder blade.

"So perfect," he said, before letting his lips brush across hers.

"Perfect day," she asked, "perfect location, perfect activity?"

"All of them," he replied. "And perfect person."

He found her mouth again, and lowered his body on hers. Neither of them had much more to say


	26. Chapter 26

_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 26**

"I think I'll go see if our two lovebirds have made it back yet," Miroku said. "Want to come?"

Sango was walking by her garden bed, her two daughters in tow as they chattered to each other about something only they could understand. She bent over and pulled up a small weed.

"Not right now," she said. "Rin's coming by, I think, and it's not long until lunch. I need to get started on that once I'm through here." She looked up at him. "Maybe after lunch, if they're home. Any special reason?"

"Tomorrow's market day. I just thought it might be a good thing to make sure they're ready," he said, deftly picking up Noriko who was looking too interested in one of the daikon plants at the edge of the garden.

Sango dusted off her hands, and took Noriko from the monk. "Well, let me know if they're home. Don't tease them," she said.

"Would I do that?" he asked. Yusuko motioned to be picked up, tugging at his robe. He picked her up. "Do I tease?" he asked the girl.

She nodded yes, which made Sango laugh.

"Go on, husband, and when you come back for lunch, you can tell me all the news. I want to know how InuYasha liked the noodles." Grabbing Yusuko, she headed back to the house. "But behave yourself!"

"But how am I supposed to have any fun?" he said. Shrugging, he began the walk to his friend's house.

Miroku really expected to find an empty house, but he was surprised as he neared to hear someone shout out, "Watch out!" followed by the sound of a tree crashing to the ground.

"Surely nobody's doing something stupid," he muttered, hurrying up the path, "not with Tameo-sama putting the word out that they are under his protection."

He was rather relieved when he made the final bend and entered the clearing where he could see the hanyou's house. A small group of women were standing outside, one of them taking a peek around the corner.

The woman peeking was Matsume, the wife of Tameo's younger son Kinjiro. Already she had her wrap skirt hiked up to make room for her unborn child, due at the end of summer. She was laughing at whatever it was going on behind the house. Under the front porch, Kagome was standing next to Chime, the elderly wife of Daitaro. Both women seemed just as amused as Matsume.

Kagome, spotting the monk, got her laughter under controlled and waved.

"You're looking well today, Kagome-sama. Your little adventure yesterday must have agreed with you," he said giving her a knowing look.

To her credit, and to Miroku's minor disappointment, Kagome neither looked embarrassed nor blushed. "Yes we did. We got back just after nightfall last night. It was a good thing we got home instead of staying the night because we've been busy all morning."

"Ah," he said. "And you, fair ladies," he said, bowing. "What brings all of you outside this lovely day?"

Around the back of the house, someone shouted "Kuso!" quite loudly.

"That," Chime said. "We came over just to visit, but our husbands got an idea of something else to do this morning."

"I wonder what happened this time" Matsume said, laughing again. "That's the third kuso in the last half hour."

"InuYasha and Kinjiro-sama and Daitaro-sama decided to cut down some trees today," Kagome said.

"Is that what all the noise is about?" the monk asked.

She nodded. "The men made us promise not to go around back while they were working, but it's been rather . . . interesting . . . to listen to them from here."

Matsume went back to the side of the house and looked. "It's not fair! I can't see anything from here."

"You're looking well, Matsume-sama," Miroku said. "The blessing I gave you helped with your morning sickness?"

"That, or the ginger tea Kaede-sama had me drink," Matsume said. "I've been feeling quite well since then, thank you." She peeked around the building again. "And to think we really only stopped by to welcome Kagome-sama into the family. But then InuYasha-sama mentioned that he was going to have to pull some trees down, and the next thing you know, they've organized a work party. I wonder if they're having any trouble?"

"If anything was really wrong, we'd know it," Chime said. "One or the other men would come running to get help. Taking down trees is a lot of work. I suspect my husband will have a sore back come the morning." She laughed gently, at another round of complaints. "I'm not sure who's having the most success, the men or the trees."

"We were just about to go inside and have some tea. Would you like to join us?" Kagome asked, heading towards the front door.

Miroku shook his head. "You've made me too curious to see for myself. I'll think I'll take a peek at what they're doing," he said. "Perhaps later, ladies."

There was another shout. Miroku walked around the edge of the house while the three women went inside. The first thing he noticed was a downed tree. The second thing he noticed was a flash of red and white, InuYasha without his jacket walking along its trunk with ropes in his hands, while Daitaro and Kinjiro fastened leads to a team of oxen.

"You're sure your oxen can handle this?" InuYasha. "It was a big tree. I could limb it first."

"We already had that conversation, InuYasha-sama," Kinjiro said "Let's just get the tree out of the way. I'll be plowing here tomorrow, and I'd rather not have a lot of branches scattered where I'll be working."

The hanyou studied the tree trunk, and tied the ropes on, making sure they were secure. Kinjiro prodded the team and the tree started to move just as InuYasha hopped off. They began dragging the tree to a spot near InuYasha's firewood area to join one tree already there.

"Oi, Houshi-sama!" Kinjiro said, waving. "Come to do some real work?"

InuYasha, seeing Miroku, walked up to join him. "Yeah, Bouzu. We've got two more trees to take down today."

He walked to the water bucket next to the house, while Miroku followed. Lifting the ladle up, he took a deep drink.

"I wasn't even sure you'd be home yet," Miroku said.

"Keh," the hanyou said, dropping the ladle back in the water. "Thought about spending the night. Kagome really liked the hot spring, but we decided to come home. Glad we did - it's been a busy morning. People were dropping by to welcome Kagome into Tameo's family, and then Kinjiro and Daitaro decided we ought to go ahead and drop the trees today."

InuYasha wiped his forehead with the back of his sleeve. "It still feels strange, people wanting to do stuff for us. Is that what being part of a family is like?"

"I think so," Miroku said. "But my background's not normal either. There were only Mushin and a couple of other old monks at the temple where I grew up. After my father died, a lot of the monks moved on. I think they thought the temple might be under a curse."

He sighed, as if troubled by a memory, but didn't elaborate on it. "Still, from what I've seen from the villages I've wandered through, that this is really quite normal."

InuYasha filled the ladle again and took another drink. "Wonder if they'll realize one day what they've done, letting someone like me into their family?"

Miroku laughed. "Oh, I'm sure they already know. You and Kagome were quite the talk yesterday."

The hanyou raised an eyebrow.

Miroku smiled. "Not much bad talk, either. You can relax a bit, friend. The villagers aren't ready to run you or Kagome-sama out, not at all. Somehow, most people have decided you are luck for the village, especially when there are bandits around, and Kagome-sama coming back was more proof that the kami are happy."

"Luck can change," InuYasha said.

"True." Miroku nodded. "But not yet. And not so easily with people like Tameo-sama on your side. So," he said, changing the subject, "are you ready for tomorrow?"

"Tomorrow?" InuYasha asked.

"Market day, when we go spend your hard earned cash." He gave InuYasha a knowing and a rather gleeful smile.

"I guess," the hanyou said, shrugging. He dropped the ladle back into the water bucket.

"You want Sango to come over this afternoon and help Kagome go over the list one more time?" Miroku asked.

"If she wants. I know they talked about it a couple of days ago. I think Kaede and Chime have been giving her some advice, too. I suspect she has it all figured out."

Daitaro called InuYasha's name. The hanyou looked up, and nodded. "I have to get back to work. Going to market isn't any worse than cutting trees." He started back walking to where the two men were beginning to untie the tree they had dragged.

"Maybe no worse," Miroku said, "but it's a good bit more interesting." He headed back to the front of the house chuckling to himself. "I wonder how much I can get out of that wicked cloth merchant who took advantage of Sango last month . . . "


	27. Chapter 27

_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 27**

The next morning, InuYasha stepped out of his house, and walked around to the back. In one area there was a tangle of five trees, three smaller, two large, near where he cut firewood, waiting to be limbed and cut and split into boards. The ground behind the house and to the side was littered with small broken branches and gouged with the drag marks and ox prints where they had moved the trees, but there was more light in the spot Kagome wanted her garden.

He heard a snort, and turned around to watch Kinjiro walk up the path, leading an ox and the gear he would need to put in the garden bed. The young man waved at him, and he nodded back, moving in his direction.

"Up already?" Kinjiro nodded, patting the neck of his animal as he paused as InuYasha caught up with him. "I was afraid I'd get here too early."

"No," the hanyou said. Not sure what to do with his hands, he crossed them over his chest, sticking his hands in his sleeves. "I usually get up with the sun."

This made the younger man smile. "You sure you aren't part farmer?"

"Don't know anything about it," InuYasha said, looking at the gear Kinjiro had piled up in the cart the ox was pulling, what he thought might be a plow, and various tools on sticks, not understanding much of any of it. "Kagome's done some gardening back in her home, but mostly I know people put seeds in the ground and stuff comes up."

Kinjiro laughed. "It kind of works that way. There's a little more to it than that. But the soil up here looks good; it'll be almost that easy."

"Keh," InuYasha said. "If you say so."

They continued moving toward the back. Kagome stepped out of the house, carrying a bucket. She saw the two, and gave a little wave. "Good morning, Kinjiro-sama. You're here rather early."

"A lot to do," Kinjiro said. "And Chichi-ue was getting busy with going to market this morning himself. I thought it was was a good idea to get out of the way before he bundled me up with the other things he was packing to take there." His ox bent down and began chewing on some grass, and he patted it on the neck. "And think Kuroya," he said, speaking to the animal, "you got to avoid a long walk and instead get to help me put in Kagome-sama's garden. You'll thank me for it later."

"Sounds like more work," InuYasha said.

"But he'll get done sooner," Kinjiro said, "And won't have to haul back whatever Chichi-ue decides to bring home."

The animal lowed.

"I think he agrees with you," Kagome said.

Kinjiro petted the ox's neck again. "Of course he did. He's very wise, Kuroya." He started to nudge the animal forward when he tapped himself on the forehead. "Oops, I almost forgot." He reached into the cart and pulled out a basket, which he handed to Kagome.

Handing the bucket she was holding to InuYasha, she took it. "It smells good," she said.

"I think Matsume might come up to keep you company if Haha-ue gets settled down. She usually does once Chichi-ue gets on the road. She gave me these for you, sweet dumplings. I think she's hoping to help you eat them while I do all the work, but we'll see."

"That would be nice," Kagome said. "If she doesn't get up here, tell her thanks for me."

He nodded, adjusted the white and red cloth strip around his forehead and nudged his ox to move. "Now if you two don't mind, I'm doing to get to work." And together, man and ox moved back toward the clearing where Kagome's garden was going to go.

"He's rather something, Kinjiro," Kagome said. "I don't know if he makes me want to laugh or feel like I've been rolled under a boulder, but nicely." She hefted the basket. "I wonder how Matsume puts up with him?"

"Maybe the same way you put up with me," InuYasha said. "Yeah, he's good people. We worked well together yesterday. A bit bossy when he knows what he's doing."

Kagome laughed. "And you're not? Could you get me some water?"

"Never said I wasn't," he replied, going down to the stream. His ear turned to follow her light laughter as he walked.

As he filled the bucket up, a pink balloon floated in his direction, and he sighed. As he stood up with the full bucket, the balloon floated next to him and popped, and a small, young kitsune landed by the hanyou's side.

"Wow!" Shippou said, looking around the house grounds. Things are changing around here fast! And I've only been gone a little bit. What's up?"he asked. "Where's Kagome?"

The pair started walking to the house. "Yesterday, I chopped trees. Today Kinjiro's putting in a garden," InuYasha said. "I'm waiting for Miroku to go to market day. Kagome's inside." They stopped in front of the house. He picked up the kitsune by the shirt. "Don't be a pest. If she gets busy, leave, all right?"

"Sure, sure," Shippou said. He managed to jump onto InuYasha's shoulder and watch Kinjiro hook the plow to his ox. " They're going to make all of that open space into a garden? It's going to be big."

"Yeah, I thought so too," InuYasha said. "But that's what Tameo and Kinjiro say we'll need. They're the farmers. Not something I know a lot about."

"What do you know a lot about?" Shippou asked.

InuYasha grabbed him by the collar again. "Enough to kick you across the field, but today you're not worth my time. I can hear Miroku's staff. He's almost here." He let the kitsune drop to the ground, and set the bucket on the verandah.

Kagome chose that moment to step out of the house. "Shippou-chan, you're back!"

"Yeah," said the little fox, who jumped into her arms. "I go visit my uncle's family a lot. They're teaching me all sorts of kitsune magic."

"That's really good, Shippou-chan," Kagome said, ruffing his hair, but letting him down to the ground. "If you want to go inside, there's some soup and rice."

"Yum! That sounds good," the boy said. "I didn't eat yet cause I wanted to get here early." He went into the house.

"There goes your lunch," InuYasha said.

"It's all right," she said. "I'll just make something else. Easier for me than you." She lifted up a small bundle wrapped in a cloth. "That's why I made you lunch. I don't think the onigiri are wrapped as badly as last time."

He smiled. "They weren't bad you know," he said, lifting her chin up with a finger to give her a quick kiss. "Tasted good, too. Thanks." He tucked the bundle inside of his jacket.

"You've got the list?" she asked.

InuYasha nodded. "I wouldn't dare forget it. I don't think I could ever remember all this stuff you and Sango and Matsume and Chiya and who knows who else decided we had to have."

"It's not that much," Kagome replied. She chewed on her bottom lip, and looked up at him. "Just enough to get us started. You don't think it's too much, do you?"

"Nope," he said. He gave her a small, wry smile. "Whatever we need and can afford is fine with me. Miroku's just been teasing me."

"He's bad about that," she said. "In return, make him do all the bargaining."

"Oh, I plan to," he said. "If I tried, they'd skin me for sure. So, what are you doing to do while we're gone?"

"If Matsume doesn't show up, I suspect that Sango and I will go down Kaede's. I know Kinjiro's here to help keep an eye on me and the house, which is nice, but I don't want to stay here by myself." She looked beyond him. "Looks like Miroku and Sango are coming here first."

InuYasha turned and saw the monk leading his family towards them. He sighed, then bent over and quickly gave Kagome a small hug. "I guess we'll be back sometime around dark. Don't let Shippou eat us out of house and home. And don't let him prank Kinjiro's ox. Last time he did that, Kinjiro said something about taking his tail."

Kagome grinned. "I promise. Have a good time."

"Feh," he replied, his ear twitching. He could hear the twins running up behind him."Next time maybe you can come with us."

He turned around, picked up the twins, who squealed their greetings, and handed them to Kagome. "Hey, Bouzu, you ready to go?"

"Later, dear ladies," Miroku said, giving a small bow. "We're off to skin . . . er, see the merchants. Have a pleasant time!"

With InuYasha snorting as he fell in step next to the monk, the two headed off to join the other villagers headed for the market.


	28. Chapter 28

_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 28**

In the past, when Miroku and InuYasha headed out on market day, the villagers often gave them space, not exactly sure how to behave around either the monk or the hanyou, which usually suited InuYasha fine, although Miroku would leave his side from time to time to go speak or joke with one person or another.

Today, though, things were different. The first sign was when Shinjiro, Daitaro's son, joined them as the road left the hill.

"I thought I'd find you two on the road today," the young man said, laden under a heavy pack. He suspiciously looked like he had been waiting. "Thought it'd be nicer to travel together than alone."

"You know how it goes," Miroku replied. "Women have their wants."

"Indeed," Shinjiro said. "Haha-ue and my sister-in-law have been working making coverlets all winter, and told me this morning that today was the day they wanted it all to go to market. But neither of them wanted to carry the weight of it!" He smiled. "But they decided I'm the ox today and gave me a list of things they think my back should bring back as well. I'll be carrying as much back if not more."

"Ox, heh," InuYasha said, giving Miroku a look. "I know that feeling."

"We both have our instructions as well," Miroku said, ignoring InuYasha's look. "But it's a good day to be walking."

"True," Shinjiro replied. "And it beats shoveling out manure. Which, I think, is what Chichi-ue was wanting me to do today."

InuYasha snorted. "I don't know which is worse, the market or the bullshit."

"Oh, I can tell you," Shinjiro said, laughing. "Market is always better than shoveling shit. Take my word for it. Chichi-ue's cattle produce an amazing amount to take care of."

They began heading down the path that led to the main road. It was not long before the three men found themselves in a loose caravan of about a dozen people from their village and from points beyond heading toward the crossroads where the market was held. A few of them led animals with packs filled with goods to sell or trade.

Susumu pulled a hand cart covered with a tarp while his father Tameo walked beside him.

Tameo waved the group to come walk beside them. "So, I hope my younger son is busy at his work," the headman said.

"He was when I left," InuYasha said.

"Not driving you crazy yet?" Susumu asked.

The hanyou looked at Susumu, not sure of how to answer that.

"It's all right, cousin," the young man said, grinning. "There's no insult. Kinjiro drives everybody crazy at times. Kind of bossy, you know? He even tries to tell his older brother what to do."

This made InuYasha smile.

"Ah, so you've noticed that, have you?" Tameo said. "Of course, sometimes the older brother thinks he should tell his father what to do, too. Must run in the family."

"Me?" Susumu looked mock-shocked.

The hanyou's ear twitched. He wasn't used to this type of bantering.

Miroku, noticing his friend, spoke up. "So, Tameo-sama, tell me your opinion of a cloth merchant named Katsume."

Soon the two men were deep into a discussion of the virtues and vices of the various merchants who were likely to be there. InuYasha used the moment to walk ahead, getting several looks, some curious, one uncomfortable, as he passed them by, but no one else tried to talk to him. The looks he gave everybody might have been part of the reason, or the nervous twitch in his ear, but they were used to him, and gave him room.

It was about an hour and a half's walk to the market site. Miroku, after he and Tameo had dissected all the merchants, caught back up to his friend. Not saying much, they continued until the market was in sight. Miroku signaled InuYasha to stop for a moment, and the two of them paused, letting the other villagers move ahead.

Miroku, watching the procession, took a long drink out of his water container. InuYasha stood there, his hands stuffed in his sleeve.

"Why are we waiting?" InuYasha asked. His face had grown stonier the closer they had gotten to the site. "Let's get this done."

"Wait a moment and let the others get past us," Miroku said. "There's no real rush. You're not nervous, are you?" He capped his water container and looked at his friend.

"You know how I feel about market days. Damn merchants," InuYasha said. "You know how they look at me and act like I'm there to steal their stuff or I'm going to bring them bad luck. Didn't matter so much when it was just waiting for you to buy what you needed. But today's different. Why should I be anxious or anything, just because I have a list as long as my arm of things to buy? "

"We've done this before, you know, like when you bought the futon," the monk said.

InuYasha nodded. "Yeah. I got asked to move away from his stand while you did the trade."

"Actually, knowing you were nearby helped me cut you a better deal," Miroku said. "I kind of used you as a bargaining chip."

InuYasha snorted, a bitter short laugh. "Somehow, I'm not surprised."

"He deserved to think about his sins," Miroku said. "I suggest that we do things the way we always do. Let me do the haggling, and you do the hauling." He smiled at the hanyou. "You have your list?"

InuYasha pulled the piece of paper, covered with Kagome's neat writing. "I never knew setting up a household was so complicated," he said, looking at it. "It never was when it was just me."

Miroku took the list, glanced at it and stuffed it in his robes. "Nor for me, but things change. I have a list as well," he said. "Not quite as long, but long enough. When you have many mouths to feed, there's always something you need."

"Hn," said the hanyou. "Let's get this over with."

Miroku, his staff jingling, nodded his assent, and they started down the road.

The market site wasn't much of a place when the shop keepers weren't there. It was just a crossroads with a teashop that offered refreshments to travelers heading north to Kawagoe or west to Odawara. There was a house for the local administrator and a tiny garrison and a few others nearby. But on market days, the area swelled with merchant booths, people selling food and garments, tools and crafts, and whatever else they thought people would buy. It was noisy, smelly, colorful with banners hanging from the booths and very alive.

Heads turned as they reached the booths. A hawker, wearing a short, patched kosode walked up to the monk.

"Amulets from the yamabushi at Fujiyama," he said. "Sure to protect one from any attack, human or youkai," the man claimed holding up a small wooden plaque painted with obscure glyphs.

"Not today, friend," Miroku said. "I can handle either."

The man, noticing InuYasha, stepped back. "Sorry, dono. I see you have no need for the yamabushi's help, not if you can handle the like of him." He backed up slowly, bowing and apologizing and when he thought he was far enough, quickly went the other way.

InuYasha sighed, but another vendor, a cloth merchant hailed them. They had done business before. Shinjiro stood in front of his booth, the contents of the pack he had carried spread out in front of the vendor's stand, blue and white coverlets decorated with fine white stitching. He did not seem pleased with what the merchant was telling him.

Miroku, a wicked little grin on his face, pulled out his lists as he watched what was going on. "All right," he said. "We'll start here. Let's see - cloth for towels, white linen for undergarments . . . "

InuYasha, hearing a certain tone in Miroku's voice, raised an eyebrow. "Don't get too greedy, Bouzu. I'd like to be able to come back again."

Miroku chuckled. "Let's just say that this man owes me. Stay near, but let me do the talking."

The hanyou nodded, and watched for a moment, then bored, looked around. Nearby, a small group of musicians were singing while a third of their group danced. Two children ran down the center, begging a woman carrying a heavy basket on her back for something. A farmer bumped him, bowing apologetically, then taking a good look at him, backed away wide-eyed and praying to Kwannon. Somewhere, out of sight, he could hear two men arguing. The sounds bothered his ears and the smells his nose.

"It's going to be a long day," InuYasha said, to no one in particular.

"Deal!" the cloth merchant said.

"Thanks," Shinjiro said.

He turned back to the booth, in time to see the merchant counting out money to his neighbor and Miroku turning to meet his eyes, gloating.

"A very long day."

Hours later, as the sun grew low, InuYasha walked back through the door to his own house, carrying a large bundle. The air in the house smelled delicious and welcoming: odors of rabbit and rice and vegetables that said dinner was ready, and beyond that was the undertone that warmed his heart the most, the scent of Kagome. Taking another breath, deeper this time, he visibly relaxed and smiled.

Kagome stood up from where she was sitting by the fire pit as he walked through the door and gave him a brilliant smile. "I'm glad you're back! How did it go?"

InuYasha placed the bundle on the ground gently. "I thought it was going to be awful at first, but it went better than I expected," he said, sitting down next to her. "I let Miroku do most of the talking. Nobody can talk people out of stuff the way he does."

"He does have that talent," Kagome said, putting on the water for tea, then moving closer to the hanyou. She rested her head on his shoulder "I'd get him to bargain for me if I was shopping."

"Keh." His arm wrapped around her, pulling her a little closer. "So, you want to see what I got?" he asked, a small but eager smile touching his lips. His voice was a little nervous, a little excited. "Some stuff is coming by cart tomorrow or the next day. A big laundry tub and a chest with drawers, and some other things, but I brought the rest with me."

Kagome smiled at him. "Oh my, it sounds like you really did do well. But you don't want to eat dinner first?" she asked, looking up at him, surprised. "You were gone so long."

Shaking his head, he unwrapped his arm from around her and pulled the bundle closer, then unfastened it. "No," he said, his right ear twitching a little. "It'll wait for a bit."

Kagome leaned up and kissed his chin. "I'm sure that whatever you chose is fine, really," she said, but she turned around and moved the kettle off the flame and set the stew pot further off the heat. "But if you want to show me first, I'll be happy to see."

When she turned around, InuYasha stuck a bundle in her hand. Smiling, she opened it.

One by one, she undid the bundles he handed her, one after another, some wrapped in cloth, and others in paper and rice straw, impressed more and more by her husband's selection. A rice tub and some storage jars, not too fancy, but with a pleasant feel about them. Bowls and trays. Sewing supplies in a lovely basket. Fabric, both for basic things and a pretty length for another kimono, in dark blue and white. Some treats for when the girls or Shippou came by. Spices. Finally, nearly everything she had asked for was spread around her.

"I did well?" InuYasha asked. "Miroku helped, but I chose."

"You did very well," she replied and tried to lean in for a kiss, but he surprised her by gently pushing her back as he reached in his jacket and pulled out a final bundle.

He looked at her a little sheepishly. "I didn't want anything to happen to these. I was afraid they might have gotten messed up in the bundle."

"But . . . " Kagome said. "But it looks like you got everything on the list."

"I know," he replied, leaning close and cupping the side of her face with his hand. "I got these because I wanted to."

Kagome looked at him for a moment, the warmth in his eyes stirring feelings in her she couldn't quite put into words. Taking a breath, she quickly unfastened the carry cloth. The first thing she saw was a fine comb, and under it, another bundle. Kagome picked it and ran her fingers over the finely carved boxwood with an inlay of polished shell. "It's beautiful," she said.

"You like it?" he asked. He took a lock of her hair in his hands, twisting it around his finger.

"Very much," she replied. She leaned forward and kissed him lightly on the lips.

He smiled, and for a moment, rested his forehead on hers. "Open the other."

She undid the bundle. In it was a beautiful, soft, light blue-gray silk. It was worked with red and darker blue blossoms that cascaded in a windblown pattern. Kagome looked up at him, her mouth slightly open.

"It matches your eyes," InuYasha said, his own eyes flashing.

"It must have cost too much, InuYasha," Kagome said.

InuYasha pulled her close. "You think you're not worth it to me, Koibito?" he asked. "I ought to be able to give you more. You ought to be dressed like a hime." He sighed, but wrapped an arm around her waist. "I can't keep you like my mother lived, but it doesn't mean I don't want you to have nice things."

Kagome reached up, ran her fingertips over his cheek, then brushed his lips with hers. "I ought to be dressed like InuYasha's wife, however he can keep me. It's beautiful fabric and I love it." She kissed him again. "But I'm glad you let me have something besides silk to wear to do the laundry and work in the garden. Thank you."

"Keh," he said, and kissed her back.

Many kisses later, and after some energetic activity that involved moving things out of the way, including their clothes, Kagome was glad she had taken dinner off the heat.


	29. Chapter 29

_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 29**

It was midmorning, and Kagome walked around to the back of her house, carrying a large basket, humming. Her hair was covered in a kerchief, and she had her sleeves tied back. There was a wet spot from doing laundry on her wrap skirt that was proof of her already busy morning.

Her humming got louder as she walked to the clothes line, and she put the basket down so she could begin hanging up her laundry.

"People say that spring is here," she sang,  
>"but the wind is still too cold,<br>but the wind is still too cold  
>and the birds aren't here to sing with me."<p>

Kagome gave her spare under kosode a good shake and tossed it over the clothesline, and smoothed it out.

"People say that spring is here,  
>and the reeds are growing by the stream,<br>and the reeds are growing by the stream,  
>but I haven't heard the birds sing with me."<p>

She reached back into her basket and picked up her spare wrap skirt, looking at it carefully. "So that spot didn't come all the way out," she said. "I wish I had some of what Mama used on her laundry. I wonder if Sango knows something."

Shaking her head, she hung that as well on the line. She reached for the last item, her outer kosode.

"People say that spring is here,  
>but I have so much to do,<br>but I have so much to do,  
>Perhaps the birds have –"<p>

As she lifted the garment, InuYasha grabbed her hand.

"Come on," he said. "Let's go inside."

She looked up at him, and immediately knew something was up. He was trying to keep a calm face, but his ear twitched and there was a hint of a grin hiding around his mouth.

"What?" he said, in answer to her questioning look. "I need you to go inside."

"Wait a second," she said, raising the wet garment up. "This is the last thing I have to hang."

He sighed. "Hurry it up." He bent down and picked up her laundry basket.

"Why?" she asked, hanging it up to dry, making sure the sleeves were smooth before she turned to look at him again. "We really need to put in some poles where I can dry these on rods. They're going to be wrinkled. What's so important that I go inside?"

"I'll do that later. But first come on. You'll find out why in a few minutes. They're almost here. I can hear them." The hanyou took her hand again. "I don't want you to see until it gets here."

Kagome chuckled. "You mean the rest of the things you bought?"

"Keh." He began pulling her back to the house. "Come on!"

Laughing, she let herself be led back into the house.

Kagome didn't have to wait long. She had barely put the tea kettle on to heat when she heard the sounds of voices and the rattle of what she guessed as a wagon of some type. InuYasha poked his head back in. "Don't move!" he said, then dropping the mat door, he headed back out.

She raised her hand to cover her mouth as she laughed. "He's so excited. You would think it was him getting a surprise."

Preparing her teapot, she listened to the noises outside. Someone grunted loudly, like they were picking up a heavy weight. "Careful, careful," a man's voice said. It sounded like Kinjiro.

"I've got it," InuYasha replied. "Miroku, get the tub."

There were other sounds, grunts and rattlings. Kagome's tea water got hot, so she poured it into her pot while they worked, trying hard to make sense of what was happening.

"Here?" Kinjiro asked.

"No, no, put it there," InuYasha said. "It'll be easier to handle that way."

Something heavy hit the ground. "Watch what you're doing, InuYasha," Miroku said.

Finally the sounds of movement stopped. An ox snorted.

"Well, I'm glad that's unloaded." Miroku's voice sounded breathless.

"Bah," Kinjiro said. "At least you're almost done. I still have to get home and unload the rest of this stuff."

"If you want, I could - " Miroku said.

InuYasha growled softly. "Not on your life, Bouzu. You're the one who told me I had to handle it all gently. I can't do that on my own."

"There are people at home who will lend me a hand," Kinjiro said. "Or they'll wish they did. Come on, Kuroya, we have work to do."

There was a creak followed by a soft lowing from the ox, and a rumbling that seemed to move away from the house. "Can I come out now?" Kagome said.

"No!" InuYasha said. "Stay inside!"

Kagome laughed and poured herself a cup of tea.

After a few more grunts and growls, the door pushed open, as Miroku backed in, carrying his side of a piece of furniture. Kagome put her cup of tea down, and watch them move it into the house.

"Move the chest, will you?" InuYasha asked.

She got up, and pulled the piece of furniture and their bedding away from their spot along the wall as the two men moved their load into the place where those items had been. They carefully sat it down, and Miroku straightened up, rubbing his back and sighing as he did.

Kagome walked up and touched the piece - it was a big cabinet. It had doors for the bottom compartments, and drawers above it, and was topped with a shelf. Its dark and carved wood gleamed from careful polishing. InuYasha adjusted it to its final position, moved their chest next to it, and stood back and looked at his and Miroku's handiwork. The cabinet took up much of one wall, a bit of elegance that seemed slightly out of place in the little house, but at the same time, marked the house as more than just a hut.

"So," InuYasha said, his ear twitching a little in anticipation, "What do you think?"

Kagome smiled at him, ran her hand across the fine wood, and pulled open one of the drawers. "It's beautiful."

"It is indeed," Miroku said. "We were very lucky to find it."

"Yeah we were," InuYasha said, stepping next to Kagome. He wrapped an arm around her waist.

"But how?" Kagome asked.

"Ah, now that's an interesting story," Miroku said, smiling. "The owner of the teahouse at the market crossroads was selling it for the local magistrate. It seems that this particular worthy has been called back to Odawara quite suddenly. Evidently the man couldn't take it back with him, and for some reason or the other, didn't want to leave it at the magistrate's house for his replacement."

InuYasha snorted.

"What's so funny," Kagome asked, opening one of the bottom doors..

The hanyou moved over to the water bucket, and picked up the ladle. "Didn't want to leave it for his replacement?" InuYasha said, taking a drink."More like he wanted to get everything he could turned into silver before he heads back."

He offered the ladle to Miroku who walked across the room to take it. "Thanks."

Kagome turned around to watch them. "Why?"

Miroku shook his head, sadly as he dipped the ladle back into the water. "Thus is the way of the world. The rumor we heard from the salt merchant was that the local magistrate had been in the habit of making a little more money doing favors that he was supposed to."

"A little?" InuYasha said. "Not what he told me."

The monk drank, and dropped the ladle back into the bucket. "Ah, that was good. Moving things is thirsty work. Anyway, the merchant told us that Odawara had decided to send in a replacement to make everything right." The monk sighed. "No doubt our fine magistrate will be in need of money to smooth his way once he returns."

"And you made sure he didn't get a coin more than necessary," InuYasha said. "He must really have been desperate."

"Think of it as a dharma lesson," Miroku said. "After all, he's certainly gotten enough from the local merchants to make up for the difference. And his misfortune certainly was your luck."

"It's certainly lovely, and a lot more than I expected," Kagome said. "I was just thinking you'd get another chest."

"But no more than you deserve, Kagome-sama," Miroku said, as pleased with her reaction as InuYasha was. "It made me happy to help move it to a more fitting home. You're not a rich and powerful person taking advantage of small merchants and farmers. Perhaps it's the cabinet's good karma, getting away from that person."

"Keh," InuYasha said, giving Kagome a squeeze, then letting her go. "We're not done yet. There's some more outside." He began heading to the door, and Miroku followed.

"Well, I am sure I'll put it to good use," she said as they left, pulling each drawer out as she thought. As they opened the door, she knelt down on the floor, contemplating what to do first.  
>The two men stepped outside, where a couple of large jars, a big wooden laundry tub, a smaller kitchen cabinet and a wash stand waited for them.<p>

Miroku looked at the items, then back at his friend. "I've seen women with that look on their faces before," he said. "No doubt it was a good time to escape. Before much longer, she'd have a certain place for you to stand, much less having everything rearranged just so."

"You think she doesn't already?" the hanyou said. "Grab the wash stand, will you?" He picked up a large ceramic jar. "Tell me again why I was able to live with all this stuff before now?"

Miroku lifted the wooden stand. "Because having them makes Kagome-sama happy."

A small smile lit the hanyou's face. "Yeah, it does, doesn't it?" Carrying the items back in the house, InuYasha put the urn down in the far end of the beaten earth doma, near the firewood cradle. Glancing at his wife, he watched her tenderly running a hand over the silk cloth he had bought her and then placing it in one of the cabinet drawers. "Yeah, it really does."

Kagome looked up as he spoke, and smiled as she put the cloth away.

"Where do you want this?" Miroku asked, setting the wash stand down.

"I know just the spot," Kagome said, and walked over to them.

"What did I say?" the monk said to his friend. "I knew she'd have a place for everything soon as she saw it."

"Yeah," InuYasha said, then went back out for more.


	30. Chapter 30

_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 30**

InuYasha and Miroku sat in a corner of the house watching Kagome. She was humming to herself as she arranged cups and bowls and boxes on the small kitchen cabinet that now replaced the low table she had been using to hold their dishes and fix their meals.

She stepped back to look at her progress. "That will do," she said, and closed the cabinet door.

"She seems rather content," Miroku said.

"Keh." InuYasha said, watching her move to the big clothing cabinet. Kagome knelt down gracefully and began putting their bedding into it. The hanyou stood up. "I better figure out where to put the tub."

Stepping outside, he picked up the big wooden tub and started walking back inside.

"Your house, InuYasha-ojisan, everything's looking so different!"

He turned around to see Rin walking up to the house. For a moment she stared at the new garden and the downed trees waiting to be cut. Turning back to him, she smiled "You must have been busy. That's a big garden."

"Yeah, kid," he said, smiling at her, and then held the door open so she could come in. "Wait until you see it inside. It looks even more different."

She walked in, and InuYasha followed her. "We've got company," he said.

Kagome, closing a drawer on her clothes cabinet turned around. "Oh, hello, Rin-chan," she said. "Did Kaede-obaachan send you here?"

The girl shook her head. "No, Rin was with Sango-obasan." Stepping up on the wooden floor she turned a small circle, looking at the new furnishings, then looked back at the hanyou. "Did you buy Kagome-sama all these nice things, InuYasha-ojisan?"

He leaned the tub in the far corner of the storage area. "Keh," he said, making sure it wouldn't fall. "Think they're good enough for her?"

Rin nodded. "Kagome-sama, Ojisan must think a lot of you."

Kagome smiled at the girl, coloring a little, then gave her husband a fond look. "Maybe you're right, Rin-chan."

"So," Miroku said, changing the subject. "Did Sango need something?"

"Ah, I almost forgot," the girl said, tapping her forehead.. "She sent me to tell you that lunch was ready."

"Lunch," Kagome said, looking up from where she was working. She slapped her own forehead. "I forgot all about it!" Turning around, she picked up her new sewing basket, and pulled out a length of white cloth from one of the drawers in the clothing cabinet. "She's supposed to give me a sewing lesson after lunch."

InuYasha looked at Miroku. "I guess that means we're eating at your place. How come you didn't say something?"

The monk shrugged. "It's the first time I've heard about it." He stood up. "Plans sometimes get made without anybody telling me anything."

"Same here," the hanyou said. He turned and looked at his wife.

Kagome, smiling, walked by the two men. "If you'd pay attention, instead of wandering off to talk about who knows what, you'd have heard," she said. "We made all these arrangements this morning." She held out her hand to the younger girl. "So Rin-chan, are you joining me in my sewing lesson?" she asked, heading towards the door.

"Kaede-sama said it was a good idea," Rin replied, taking the offered hand. "And Sango-obasan said all I need is a little practice, and I'll be ready to start going to the girl's sewing circles. But I don't know very much."

"Me, either," Kagome admitted. "So we can learn together." She looked up at the two men just standing there. "You two better hurry up or there won't be anything left to eat."

And together, she and Rin went outside.

InuYasha shook his head, like he was trying to get something out of his ear. "I feel confused."

Miroku laughed. "Women can do that," he said, slapping InuYasha on the shoulder. "It's their magic. You'll get used to it. Let's go get lunch."

He moved to the door, and InuYasha hurried to follow.

Lunch was over, and the dishes put away. Naoya had fallen asleep in Rin's arms as she rocked him, and carefully she placed him in his basket cradle. Sango, just as carefully, slid the door to the sleep room and stepped outside.

"The twins are asleep," she said. "Finally."

Walking back to her place, Sango didn't sit down, but instead, picked up a piece of cloth she had sitting on her sewing basket. Unfolding it she lay it on the ground. "This will be a good time to start cutting out some towels."

Miroku gave InuYasha a nudge. "Sounds like our cue to give them room," he said.

The two went outside, just in time to see Kaede walking up the path.

"Ah, InuYasha, Miroku," she said, giving the two men a slight bow of greeting. "I assume Kagome-chan and Sango-chan are inside?"

"Oh yes," Miroku said. "We ourselves just escaped as they began to wield their scissors on an unsuspecting piece of cloth. It seemed safer out here to us."

Kaede laughed. "Well, I have no fear of scissors, so I will join them. I'm glad Kagome-chan's here. I have the miko garments she'll need to wear tomorrow."

She went inside, and soon laughter was heard coming through the windows.

InuYasha, scowling, found a seat under one of the trees nearby. Miroku joined him.

"They're going to be at this all afternoon, aren't they?" InuYasha said.

"Probably," Miroku said, settling down next to him. "They seem to like this sort of thing."

"Feh." InuYasha rested his sword against his shoulder.

Miroku gave his friend a careful look. The hanyou was sitting there, stern faced as he stared out the house. "Hmm. You were in a much better mood during lunch, friend. Something's bothering you?"

"I just need to . . . " The hanyou let his voice drop. He stood up. "Can't just sit around here and wait."

"Waiting's not what's bothering you," Miroku said.

"What do you know?" InuYasha said, slipping his sword back into his belt.

"I know enough to know when you're troubled." The monk stood up as well.

"I'm going back to the house," the hanyou said, and began to walk off.

"Wait," Miroku said. "I'll walk with you."

"Do whatever you want," InuYasha said. "I've got work to do."

The two men headed back to the little house silently, InuYasha brooding and Miroku holding his peace, knowing that his friend would break the silence when he was ready. When they arrived, the hanyou stripped off his jacket, picked up his axe and began cutting limbs off of one of the trees they had felled before the garden was put in.

Miroku found a comfortable place to sit, well away from accidental wood chips, and watched InuYasha hop lightly through the frame of the downed tree, flashing the axe, and tossing the cut branches to the side. The tree had barely begun to leaf out, so it was easy to keep track of what the silver-haired man was doing. InuYasha untangled one particularly troublesome branch, and after dragging it to the cut pile, walked into the house, and came out with a bucket of water. After dipping the water ladle into the bucket, he took a long drink.

"You can talk to me about it, you know," Miroku said.

The hanyou dropped the ladle back into the bucket and said nothing as he moved to pick his axe back up.

"You tensed up once Kaede mentioned the miko robes for Kagome," the monk said.

"What if I did?" InuYasha said, examining the tree trunk to pick his next target.

Miroku watched as InuYasha brought the axe down, a flash of silver hair and steel and white-clad arms. "And Kagome-sama starts her apprenticeship tomorrow."

InuYasha raised his axe again, cutting through the branch. It was a particularly hard blow. "Tell me something I don't know."

"You keep hitting the wood like that, you've going to need a new axe handle, InuYasha." Miroku sat up straighter. "They weren't made for your particular strength. Even after everything that's happened since Tameo decided to put Kagome under his family's protection, you're still worried that people are going to cause trouble."

"Feh." InuYasha wrestled the branch free, and walked it to the pile, tossing it on top. "Why should I have any worries? Married woman being a miko. Woman married to a hanyou dressing as a miko. Bet people in Tsuneo's family are gathering their clubs and rocks already, just in case."

"They didn't run me out when I married Sango-chan," Miroku said, standing up and moving to the water bucket. "Monks aren't normally married, either." He picked up the water ladle. "Don't you trust Kaede-sama?" He took a drink.

"Trust Kaede-babaa?" InuYasha attacked another branch, but moderated the strength of his blow this time. "Yeah, I do." He hit it three more steady blows, chips flying with each, and then the branch was off.

"The villagers trust her as well. They trusted her about me, they seem to trust her about you. They'll trust her about Kagome." Miroku dipped the ladle again and took another drink.

"Until something goes wrong," InuYasha said.

"We'll deal with that when it comes," Miroku said, letting the ladle drop back into the bucket. "You know, you're not alone. Besides my excellent companionship, Sango and Kaede and even Tameo and his sons are standing with you." He smiled. "Daitaro's family, too. And Kagome-sama herself is not to be discounted. You have a formidable wife. It's not good to be on the wrong side of her anger."

InuYasha snorted, then took a deep breath. Miroku could see that he made some mental adjustment as the tension he was holding let go. "I know that one," he said. "Maybe we can see if the women are done?"

"Good idea, friend." He threw the hanyou's jacket to him. InuYasha caught it easily. "I'd like to have my home back at least for a few hours."

"No ofuda against that woman's magic?" the hanyou said, tucking in his jacket.

"No, alas. Even the Buddha doesn't have sutra for that." Miroku shrugged. "But they're worth it, nonetheless."

InuYasha leaned his axe up against the wall of the house, and put his sword back in his obi. "Yeah."

Together, they walked back to the monk's house.


	31. Chapter 31

_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 31**

InuYasha and Kagome walked Kaede and Rin back to the village when the sewing lesson was over. Rin ran a little ahead, singing softly to herself, but clutching her sewing box like it was a prized possession.

"Perhaps I should have started that girl on her sewing earlier," the old miko said. "She seems to be rather pleased with what she was doing today. Ah well. I always found sewing rather a chore."

Rin slowed down and waited for them to catch up.

"I make my way  
>through the spring light,<br>through the spring light  
>and listen to the birds<br>in the meadow,  
>singing to each other," she sang.<p>

"That bird's not singing in the meadow," InuYasha said as he caught up with her. He pointed up. A bird overhead in the tall branches of a pine stopped, then starting calling again.

The girl giggled. "I was just singing, InuYasha-ojisan. I wasn't talking about that bird. Kaede-sama, when we get back, may I go see Iya-chan? I want to show her what I did today."

The old miko nodded and Rin once again went on ahead, continuing her song.

"I make my way  
>beneath the pine trees,<br>beneath the pine trees,  
>and listen to the wind<br>sigh through its branches  
>talking to the sky."<p>

"I never did much sewing at home," Kagome said. "Most cloth things we bought were already sewn."

"Ah," Kaede said, tilting her head a bit. "Your world, it seems, did not really prepare you for this one very much. It sounds like you will be learning a lot in the near future."

"True. And I thought I was finished with school," Kagome said. She grinned at her husband "At least I don't have math tests."

InuYasha snorted. "And you don't have to learn everything all at once," he said, lightly touching her hand. "We'll get by."

Kagome took his hand in hers, and gave it small squeeze, then let it fall, turning back to Kaede. "So," she said. "Should I bring my bow and arrows with me tomorrow?"

The older miko gave her a small smile. "I don't think we'll be needing them, child. I thought we'd start with medicines and healing. Like your husband said, you don't have to try to learn everything new all at once. One step at a time. We'll have plenty of time to work on things like your archery." She looked thoughtful for a moment. "Although, if you wish, it might not be a bad idea to set up a practice target at you home, if it's been a while since you did any serious shooting."

The younger woman nodded. She looked up at InuYasha. "What do you think, InuYasha? There's that place on the other side of the garden that might be a good practice area."

His ear flicked once, but he didn't say anything, staring off towards the village.

"InuYasha?" Kagome said again, and tugged on his sleeve.

"Huh?" he asked. His ears focused straight ahead. "Sorry. I thought I heard something."

"But not me?" she asked, curious as to what caught his attention. InuYasha shrugged, but didn't volunteer anything, so she continued. "I was saying that over by the dead tree on the far side of the house might be a good place for me to do target practice."

He nodded. "Yeah. It'd be good if we could get a target, maybe a bag stuffed with straw or something. Old tree's pretty rotten, but might not be so good for your arrows."

"I suspect," Kaede said, "that could be arranged. I think I have something in my house that might be just right."

Rin stopped again. "Someone's coming up the road," she said.

"Who is it, child?" Kaede asked.

"I'm not sure," Rin said.

InuYasha tensed. "Joben, by the sound of it," he said. "And somebody else. I'm not sure who. He's not very happy. He's griping about having to come look for you."

"Ah," Kaede said. "His wife has been sick the last couple of days. I wonder if Akina's still doing poorly. Maybe I should go on ahead."

Kagome grabbed InuYasha's hand, and holding him still, she stopped and nodded. "Go ahead." She looked up at her husband. "You're growling."

"I'd like to do more than growl," the hanyou said. "You didn't hear what he said to the man he's with." He stepped in front of her. "Just stay behind me until we know what's happening."

The older miko walked down the path to where Rin was waiting, just as Joben and his companion, a man InuYasha did not recognize, came up the path.

"Ah, Kaede-sama, I was looking for you. I was wondering if you had gone to the monk's house," Joben said, bowing.

"Yes I did," the older woman said. "Can I help you, Joben?"

"Kaede-sama, I thought you might like to meet Morio-sama, my house guest. He was studying with the yamabushi to the west."

"Ah," Kaede said, bowing politely. "Welcome, Morio. Joben here enjoys entertaining those who study that type of thing."

He returned her greeting.

"But this could have waited until I returned, Joben," Kaede said. "Is there anything else?"

"Akina," Joben said.

"She's still not feeling well?" Kaede asked. She sounded a bit surprised.

"She's doing better," he said, bowing again. "But she's run out of the medicine you gave her. I think she's going to need some more."

"Well, let's go back to my house, and I'll make up a fresh batch. But this time, make sure she doesn't use it so quickly. Too much of it can cause its own problems." Kaede motioned to Rin. "I'll carry your box, child. Hurry home, Rin-chan. You know what herbs go in the medicine. You can help me fix it."

Rin nodded, looking a bit sadly at her sewing box as she handed it over, but then moved quickly down the trail.

As the girl left, InuYasha stepped out of the shadows. Joben looking uphill, saw InuYasha standing there, his hands stuffed in his sleeves, giving the newcomers a hard look.

"That's the one - see, Morio," Joben said, blanching a little, but pointing with his head towards InuYasha. "That's the one I was telling you about. The hanyou. I need you to make me an ofuda to keep his influence off my house and family."

InuYasha flicked an ear as the newcomer looked at him. Morio gave a small nervous bow in his direction.

Kagome, still standing behind her husband, peeked out behind his back. "What . . . "

"Quiet," InuYasha whispered.

Kaede looked up. "I'll see you tomorrow, InuYasha."

He gave her a terse nod.

"Talking with that monster again?" Joben asked Kaede. He dropped his voice into a theatrical whisper, quite audible in the hillside quiet. "I know you're fond of him for some reason, but no good can come of it, having creatures like him even on the outskirts of the village."

"Joben," Kaede said with great patience as they began to head down to the village proper. "We've been through this time and again. Remember who it was that saved your sister-in-law last year from the bandits."

"I remember. Even so I still say he's bad luck," he said. "I'm glad you keep him out here on the edge."

The small group turned around and began walking down the hill.

"Tell me, is it true, what my mother told me - that the strange miko who looked like Kikyou-sama and used to visit us has returned, and is living with that beast?" Joben said, talking much louder.

InuYasha began to growl, but softly. Kagome wrapped her arms around his waist, still hidden by the hanyou's back and sleeves.

"If you are referring to Kagome-chan, yes she is returned," Kaede said. "And she has wed InuYasha-sama."

Joben shuddered. "How could you let them? She's a miko . . . and he's . . . he's a freak. An abomination."

Kaede sighed and shook her head. "How could I not?" she said. "They were meant to be together. It was the will of the kami."

"So you say," Joben said.

"And so does Tameo," Kaede replied. "If you have a complaint, you should take it to him."

Joben had no answer to that and fell silent. Slowly they rounded a bend and moved out of sight.

"Bastard," InuYasha said. "He wanted us to hear that."

Kagome moved out from behind InuYasha to stand next to him. "Joben never was a very nice person, InuYasha."

"You noticed that, huh?" he asked.

"I only talked to him a few times, but he always seemed . . . well, slimy." Kagome leaned against the hanyou and wrapped her arms around his waist. He pulled her close, covering her with his sleeves, and rested his cheek on the top of her head.

"Let's go home," she said after a moment. "After all that slime, I think I need a bath."

Dinner was a quiet affair, with neither of them saying much, although Kagome tried for a bit. Finally she gave up, laid out their bedding and got InuYasha to fill up the tub so she could take her bath.

InuYasha, his mood dark, sat down next to the fire pit while she soaked, and stared down at his hands, palms down, resting on his thighs. The hands were large, capable and showed the things he did with them. He was not sure how happy he was with what they revealed. The knuckles were callused from the use he had put them to, a fighter's hands. He wiggled his fingers and watched the rise and fall of the claw tips as they moved. Hands that could kill, and did so. A predator's hands. "A monster's hands," he said.

Kagome got out of the tub and dried off, watching him. She slipped into her under kosode and walked across the room, knelt down in front of him and took his hands in hers.

"Don't bring Joben into our house," she said, lifting his hands up. She kissed the back of each hand lightly. "These aren't a monster's hands. They're my husband's hands, who keeps me safe and happy with these hands."

His eyes met hers, troubled in their amber glow, but willing to listen to her.

She let his hands fall back to his lap, where she ran soft fingers over the roughness of his knuckles, dancing over the claws, and then picking them back up by his wrists, brought his hands to her face, giving the palm of each a kiss.

"Kagome," he said, freeing them from her hold so he could cup the sides of her face, brushing his thumbs gently across her cheeks and running his fingers into her hair.

She leaned into his touch, and let her own hands pull him close. "Not a monster's hands. My lover's hands," she said, letting her lips brush against his own.

His arms slid down pulling her into a tight embrace, returning her kiss with an intensity that was almost overwhelming.

When the kiss ended, Kagome leaned her head against his chest as she played with a lock of his hair while he ran his hands along the length of his body. "You chased that nasty man out of our house yet?" she asked.

"Yeah," he said, shifting and picking her up. He began heading for the futon, giving her a short, but promising kiss on the way. "Now I'd like to do something else."

He lowered her down to the bedding. She looked up at him and smiled. "Like empty the tub?"

"It'll wait," he said, unfastening the ties on his jacket. "Some things are more important."

Kagome leaned her head back against the bolster, enjoying watching him undress. Smiling at what he revealed, she was inclined to agree.


	32. Chapter 32

_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 32**

When Kagome awoke the next morning, InuYasha was already up, sitting next to the fire. He had brought the flames up, and was staring deep into it, the fire poker held in one hand. As she moved, his ear twitched and he turned to her.

"I didn't wake you up, did I?" he asked, watching her admiringly as she dropped the covers. "It's still early. You don't need to get up yet."

She shook her head as she sat up. "No. I just woke up. I must have slept enough. Been up long?" Grabbing her white under kosode, she wrapped it around herself and stood up.

"Not too long," he said, poking the fire one more time. "I kept busy. Finally emptied out the tub. I'm surprised that didn't wake you right there. Then I filled up the water bucket and started the fire."

She went over to the new kitchen cabinet, and opened it to take out the pot she used for rice. "Sounds like it's time to start breakfast."

InuYasha stood up, and wrapped his arms around her before she could get back to the fire pit. Giving her a quick kiss, he let her go and headed for the door. "Call me when it's ready. I've been waiting for you to get up so I could get to work on those trees. I knew that would wake you up. Sooner I get those branches trimmed, the sooner we can start building the storage building."

Kagome nodded, noting that he looked wound up, and his ear was twitching. "Won't be too long," she said as the mat closed behind him. As she went to scoop up the dry rice to wash for breakfast, she could hear his ax at work. "And I thought I'd be the nervous one today. Maybe having all that wood to chop will help him calm down." With a sigh, she went on with her cooking.

After breakfast, InuYasha stepped out to hang their futon up on the line to air out. Kagome looked at the garments she laid out to wear, thinking about how he stiffened when she had put them away the night before.

"Well, he'll just have to get used to it," she said as she began getting dressed. The linen of the hakama felt odd around her ankles. "And maybe I will, to. I wonder why these feel different from the ones I used to wear when I dressed as a miko for Grandfather?" She adjusted her under kosode in a little differently and picked up her jacket. "Definitely, these are not silk or cotton. Or even polyester. Linen just feels different."

InuYasha stepped back in as she began to slip into her jacket. Kagome looked up as the doormat rattled behind him. She watched how he looked at her as she moved, but his face was unreadable, and she didn't know exactly what to think.

"Remember the first time you saw me dressed in these clothes?" she said, tucking in her jacket and shaking out her sleeves as she gave him a crooked smile. "Funny how I thought you wanted me to get naked."

"Keh," InuYasha said, moving to the fire pit, not looking up, but he smiled. "I was a baka and really confused back then." He picked up the fire poker and began knocking the flames down from their morning fire. "But that was then, not now."

Kagome ran a comb through her hair, but decided not to tie it back. She put the comb away while InuYasha finished banking the fire, and then turned away from the drawer she slipped the comb into and held out her arms. "How do I look?"

He lifted his head and she watched his eyes studying her, but there was no real disapproval there, just a little nervousness. "Like you ought to," he said after a moment. "Like a miko." He gave her a little smile, but it didn't reach his eyes.

She walked over to where he sat and rested a hand lightly on his shoulder. He looked up and put the fire poker down as she slid her hand to cup his cheek, then let her fingers go into his hair, coming to rest right behind one ear. She gently rubbed its base, and he leaned ever so slightly into her touch.

"You could stay up here if you're worried about how people will react seeing us together with me dressed like this. I'm sure Miroku would walk with me to Kaede's," she said. "Not that I think I really need anybody to take me there."

That made him pull away and he stood up. "Forget that, woman. You're my wife, not his. It's my job." He took both her hands in his. "I don't want you going there alone yet. They're just going to have to get used to us." He freed one hand, and brushed a stray lock of hair behind her ear. "You look good. This is just something I have to get used to. Ready to go?"

Kagome nodded. "You're not the only one nervous," she said. "There's so much I'm going to have to learn. When I worked as a miko for Grandfather, mostly I had to dance for festivals or work in the gift shop."

"You're good at learning." InuYasha said, stepping to the door and holding the door mat open so she could walk through. "I know you'll do fine. So what are you going to do today?"

"I'm not exactly sure. I think to start, I'm just going to help her, and she'll start training me on how to use my powers better," Kagome said as they headed down the road. "There's a lot to learn about herbs and stuff, and how to make medicines, too." She took a deep breath. "One thing at a time. This can't be as bad as doing all that homework I worked on when we were hunting Naraku. I can do this."

InuYasha pulled her into his arms. "Of course you can." Kissing the top of her head, he said, "I didn't realize that you were nervous, too."

"My school didn't prepare me very well for this life." She took his hand and gave it a squeeze.

"Like I was telling Kaede, there's so much we didn't have to do where I come from. I bought food from a merchant. I never had to sew my own clothes or make towels or figure out how many daikon to grow in a year." She chewed on her bottom lip. "I feel like I've been hit with a brick this morning. What if I can't do it all?"

InuYasha pulled her into the circle of his arms. "What have you been telling me when I get nervous? We'll deal with that if it comes. We have friends. They'll help," he said, running his fingers through her hair. "But I know you." He pulled back a little to look at her and slip a finger under her chin. "One thing that I've learned since I met you is that you can do anything you set your mind on."

She took a deep breath, tiptoed up and gave him a quick kiss. "Thank you," she said, giving him a small, but hopeful smile. "I guess we better get going."

He nodded and they headed towards the village.

The walk to Kaede's was remarkably unnoteworthy. Takeshi, one of Tameo's nephews, was heading to the fields, hoe on his shoulder, and he waved at them. One villager they passed looked surprised, but nodded at them.

"Kagome-sama! Kagome-sama!"

Kagome turned around to see a thin, tired woman hurrying up to them.

"Yurime?" Kagome asked, her voice a little hesitant.

The woman's face broke into a smile. "Yes, that's right! You remembered Yurime!" she bowed. "I wasn't sure if you would."

"Oh, I remember!" Kagome said, bowing back. "You were going to have a baby. Kaede said it was going to be a boy."

"Yes, and she was right."Yurime said. "I had Daichi about two months after you left us. You're going to Kaede's now? I heard you were going to work with her."

"Yeah, we are," InuYasha said, stepping a little closer to Kagome.

"Well, I am happy for you both, InuYasha-sama." Yurime gave a small, nervous bow to InuYasha. "Everyone knows how much you missed her."

Kagome turned to look up at InuYasha, who seemed surprised at Yurime's comment.

She turned back to Kagome. "Please give this to Kaede-sama, please," she said, smiling at them and bowing slightly once again as she handed a small basket to Kagome. A delicious odor drifted from it. "I want to thank her for helping with my Daichi. He had such a fever, but he's much better today."

"I'll be sure to do that," Kagome said. "Won't you come yourself?"

"No, no. I have to get back home to my loom and my son. But be sure to come see me soon"

She bowed once more and left. "You must come see my boy."

As Yurime walked off, Kagome turned to her husband. "Not what you expected?"

InuYasha, a bemused look on his face shook his head. "No. Yurime and her husband have had some rough times and her husband spends a lot of time working with Joben. I guess he doesn't rub off on everybody who works for him. Maybe this is going to work out after all."

"Yeah," she said, smiling at him. "I think you're right."

As they reached Kaede's, the old miko stepped outside. A small group of children and a couple of the older women gathered at a respectful distance, curious.

"Ah, children, you made it," Kaede said. "Are you ready to start your training, Kagome-chan?"

Kagome bowed respectfully, the way she had been trained to bow to all her teachers. "I am, Kaede-baachan."

"Good. Today, Daisuke-sama has the chest cough. We'll go over how to make medicine to help him with that." She looked at the hanyou, who seemed ready to follow the two women into the house. "You can have her back at lunch time, InuYasha," the old miko said. "It'll be easier for her to learn if she has some space away from you."

The younger woman looked up at her husband. She sucked on her lip a moment, looking at him, seeing his discomfort, and tilted her head. Reaching out, she rested a hand on his arm. "Kaede's probably right."

His ears laid back for a moment, but he took a deep breath, and nodded, stuffing his hands into his sleeves.

"You can check my firewood supply if you need something to do in the village, InuYasha. Or go keep an eye on Rin. I sent her out to work in the garden."

Kagome smiled at her husband. "It'll be all right, InuYasha. And the smell of the medicine would probably bother your nose anyway."

"Yeah," he said, not quite convinced.

Kaede went to the door of her house and lifted the mat, turning and waiting for Kagome. Touching his hand briefly, the younger woman turned to follow Kaede into the house.


	33. Chapter 33

_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 33**

Rin, wearing an old and worn hemp kosode, patched and faded blue, instead of one of the bright silk ones that Sesshoumaru provided for her, walked along the rice paddy dike, heading back from one of the garden plots Kaede used for her own needs. She had dirt smudges along one cheek and stains on her knees, looking very much like a farm girl, carrying a hoe over one shoulder and a partially filled basket with her free hand.

It was a nice spring midday. The paddy lands she was walking by didn't have rice in them, but instead were green with young barley plants, not yet old enough to turn golden. She had managed to pull up enough wild plants that she knew were worth eating to take back, and she was ready for lunch. It had been a pleasant morning.

"Some days the sun shines bright  
>some days the clouds grow dark,<br>some days the rain falls soft,  
>some days the snow falls hard," she sang, not noticing at first that someone had spotted her.<p>

A boy was walking along another dike that met the path she was taking. He was about twelve, and like her, dressed in indigo blue clothes, marked with the dirt of his morning's work. Looking up, he saw Rin walking and waved.

"You sing nice," he said as he drew nearer. "Where are you going?"

She saw him and smiled, then quickly looked down. She knew him. His family was related to Toshiro, the head of the second most important family in the village. "Hello, Nakao-kun," she said, smiling. "Rin was working in Kaede's herb garden, but now is going back home for lunch."

"Ah," Nakao said, nodding. "I'm going back to the village too. Can I walk with you?"

She looked up at him. He wasn't much taller than she was, but he had an open, friendly face and a soft and pleasant smile. She had seen him working and playing around the village. Once in awhile, he would do an errand for Kaede.

She chewed her bottom lip. Outside of Kaede and Miroku and Sango, she didn't have much to do with the villagers. They were uncomfortable with the girl who was under the watchful eye of such a powerful youkai as Sesshoumaru. Even though he didn't appear often, he had made it clear that she was under his, and his hanyou brother's protection, even if she lived with their beloved miko. Iya and a few other girls had befriended her, but boys for the most part, like their parents, gave her a wide berth. But Nakao looked at her with a pleased, waiting smile.

For some reason, she didn't want to make that smile go away. "If you want to," she said. "Rin is tired of pulling weeds."

Nakao nodded again. "I don't blame you. I had to do that yesterday morning for Haha-ue's garden. Today, I was helping to mend one of the dikes. That's why I have so much mud on my legs. But that's done, and Chichi-ue let me go do what I want for a while. I was thinking about going down to the river."

Rin looked down and saw that his legs were indeed mud streaked. He wiggled his mud-caked toes as she looked, and she giggled a little, softly, behind her hand.

When she looked up, she gave him a tentative but definite smile. "Kaede-sama let me go do whatever I wanted today, too. I wanted to work in the garden," Rin said, adjusting the basket she was holding.

"You wanted to pull weeds?" Nakao asked, amazed at her revelation.

She nodded, chewing her lip to avoid giggling again. "Kaede-sama has been very nice to me, and gave me a part of the garden to grow flowers in. It hurts her, some days, to work in the garden."

"My obaasan's like that, too," he said, looking down, nudging a rock with his toe.

"But now I want to get back," the girl said. "Kagome-sama started training with Kaede-sama today, and Rin wants to say hello to her before she goes home."

"That's that woman who likes the hanyou? Who was gone for so long?" Nakao asked. "Chichi-ue, he's kind of scared of him. Doesn't like that we have a hanyou living in the village."

"That's stupid," Rin said, frowning. "InuYasha-ojisan is a good person. He saved me more than once."

"Really?" Nakao asked. He chewed his own lip for a moment. "Did you ever see him use that sword of his? I heard it gets really big when he takes it out."

"It does! And - "

"Nakao!" a voice shouted.

The two children turned to look as a boy in his mid-teens came walking up. "That's Sukeo, my brother," Nakao said. The boy sighed. "I bet he's thought of something else for me to do."

Rin shifted her grip on the hoe she was carrying as she watched the older boy join them. He looked much like his younger brother, but had a worried, out-of-breath look about him. He was about fifteen, and unlike Nakao who still wore his hair in a boy's cut, Sukeo wore his tied up tea-whisk style, like an adult.

"There you are!" the newcomer said. He avoided looking at Rin, but tugged on his brother's shirt. "Haha-ue's been looking for you!"

"Oh! I guess I have to go, then" said Nakao. "I'll see you later. Maybe you can sing the rest of your song to me."

She nodded. "Maybe so."

She started walking again, as the two boys took the other path, but was not quite out of earshot when she heard the older boy saying, "What do you think you were doing? Don't you know she's that youkai's girl? Be glad Chichi-ue didn't see you. No telling what would happen if you got too friendly with her. Haven't you heard the stories about Sesshoumaru-sama?"

Suddenly, Rin felt very lonely and she stopped, turning to watch the two walk off, the older boy slapping the younger one in the head. Sighing, she turned around to walk home, when she almost bumped into a wall of red fire rat.

"Hey," InuYasha said, looking down on her.

"Hello, InuYasha-ojisan," she said, not meeting his eyes.

"Did you hear what that baka said?" the hanyou asked.

Rin nodded.

InuYasha rested a hand on her back for a moment. "Sorry you heard that, kid. Sukeo's father's a jerk. He tried to chase me away when I was after those bandits last year, and it took Susumu bopping him a hard one to get him out of my way and let me get to work. He still gives me evil looks when he sees me. Looks like Sukeo's taking right after his dad. The kid though, Nakao, he seems all right." He took the hoe from Rin's shoulder. She looked at him as he settled it over his own. "Wanna go see if they're ready for us yet? I'm getting hungry."

"You're always hungry, InuYasha-ojisan." Rin finally looked up at him, and smiled a little.

"That's so I can keep up with you and Sango and Kagome and Kaede-babaa," he said. "It takes a lot of energy."

This time, the girl laughed.

Abruptly, InuYasha turned his head, and his nostrils flared as he picked up on a scent. Straining his ears forward as he listened for some sound, he rested his hand on the girl's back again. "You go on ahead, Rin. There's something here I need to check out."

She looked up at him, and into those amber eyes she thought were so like yet not like her Sesshoumaru's. His brows furrowed in concentration as he sniffed again. They were busy scanning the forest beyond the fields.

"Should Rin tell Kaede-sama you've seen something? Is it dangerous?" Rin asked.

"Nah, just something I need to take care of. I'll catch up with you." He handed her back the hoe and bounded off to the woods. "Don't let'em eat all the food!"

Rin watched him as he dashed off, until he moved into the edge of the wood. Shaking her head, she headed home.

InuYasha entered the woods carefully, his senses on high alert. The scent trail was still clear, but knowing who it belonged to, he suspected he had missed his prey. Leaning back against a tree, he took a deep breath.

That unmistakable scent was still there, lingering but dissipating. He could smell it on the bark of the tree.

"Listen, bastard. I don't care what you do to me, but that girl deserves better. She's lonely, and still doesn't fit in. You need to come visit her, and not just hide on the fringes. Either do that or get the hell out of her life." He spit. "I know you keep watch on her. Bet you saw all of what just went on. What she sees in you is way beyond me, Sesshoumaru. Don't you make her life as miserable as you made mine."

He punched the tree once, which made it sway and drop a broken branch. Still clenching his fists, he headed back the way he came.

From a vantage point not really that far from the tree, a white robed youkai watched. Staring at his brother but not revealing either his position or his emotion, he took off into the sky.


	34. Chapter 34

_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 34**

Kagome was kneeling in front of a small table, her forehead creased as she concentrated. Dishes and pieces of paper held various herbs in front of her. The air was filled with the slightly bitter and spicy fragrance of their scent.

"Balloon flower root," she said, pointing to the dried root laying on a bit of brown paper right in front of her. Picking up a blue dish to her right, she looked inside to study a different root. "Poria," she said. She named several in quick succession, pointing to each. "Pinella tuber, ginger, mondo grass tuber, orange peel, forsythia." She studied the last one, in a flat little bowl, thought for a moment as she chewed her bottom lip, and said, "Licorice."

"Very good, Kagome-chan," Kaede said. "These mixed together make a very good medicine for the cough. First," she said, picking up a sharp knife, "we'll cut the roots up into smaller pieces so we can grind it up more easily. Some people just chop it a little, and make their tea that way, but I like to at least bruise them in the mortar once I do, if the person's going to use it right away. I think it gets the good of the herbs into the tea faster. But if they are stockpiling it for later, it's better to not even cut it too much. The virtue can go out of the roots."

Kagome nodded.

The door opened up, and Rin entered. The two women looked up.

"Hand me the balloon flower root, Kagome-chan," Kaede said, but smiled at her ward. "Finished in the garden?"

Rin nodded and looked at what the two miko were doing. "Is Rin back too soon?" the girl asked, putting down her basket. "Rin picked some greens while she was in the garden. Nakao-kun stopped to talk for a little bit."

"Maybe a little," Kaede said. "We're just finishing up Daisuke-sama's cough medicine." The old miko began to cut the balloon flower root into small chunks. "So you talked to Nakao-kun? Seiji-sama's son?"

The girl nodded, and came and sat down next to Kaede. "He seems nice."

Kaede nodded. "He is. Much different from his father. I've always thought he must have taken more after his mother. That's why I let him do little errands for me."

Rin rested her chin in her hand. "But while we were talking, his brother came by and made him go home." She sighed. "I don't think he was supposed to be talking to me."

Kaede rested her hand on the girl's shoulder. "I'm sorry Rin-chan. I know Seiji-sama doesn't think much of you being here." She put the herb cuts into her mortar, then picked it up. "I must say that even with that father of his, he has a good heart, to stop and talk anyway."

Kagome, free for the moment, took Rin's hand and gave it a little squeeze, which got a small smile out of the girl. Turning back to Kaede, the young miko asked, "Why doesn't Seiji-sama want Rin here?"

Kaede handed Kagome the mortar. "Here, you try using this, child. Your arms are younger than mine."

Kagome took the stone bowl from Kaede and began to work the pestle.

"Hold the bowl more upright. It'll work better that way," the older miko said. She picked up another paper of herbs from the group in front of Kagome, and started slivering a root. "Seiji is somewhat like Joben, hateful to things out of the ordinary, and I am sad to say, he does not like your husband, Kagome-chan. Last year, when the bandits came, he actually tried to stop InuYasha from chasing after them, even though they had kidnapped two of the children here."

"But why?" Kagome asked. She frowned down at the mortar while she ground the herbs. "InuYasha is faster than any of the other villagers."

"I'm not sure, exactly," Kaede said. "When you've gotten that well bruised, pour it in the big bowl, and we can start on the next."

Kagome nodded, and gave the mix another two grinds, then showed the mortar to Kaede. "Is this about right?"

"That'll do, child, that will do." Kaede reached for the licorice root. "I think Seiji feels that having InuYasha help with the village hurts the village's honor some way. Anyway, Susumu was quite unhappy with him. I don't think Seiji's really forgiven my young cousin yet."

Kagome poured the crushed herb into the bowl, and pulled the next batch toward her. "That's just stupid," she said as she refilled the mortar. "This root smells." She wrinkled her nose.

"I know," Kaede said. "That was one of the reasons I sent InuYasha away." She looked up from her work. "I'm not sure why things have worked out that way between Seiji and Susumu. Those two always were competing with each other. Perhaps it's not even Seiji disliking Rin and InuYasha for their connection to youkai things as much as it's Seiji being contrary because Susumu is tolerant of both them and Shippou-chan."

"He doesn't like Shippou-kun very much either," Rin said, getting up gracefully and going to the water bucket to get a drink. "Shippou said that Seiji-sama threatened to call an exorcist over if Shippou came near his house again."

As Rin drank, Kagome started grinding again. "He sounds like an unhappy man."

Kaede nodded. "He wasn't always. When he was young and just married, he went off once when the Houjou were having some fight with another lord. He came back with a large scar on one arm and a dark, bitter attitude. He never talks about it. I don't know what happened."

They grew silent as they focused on their work. Kaede began slicing the ginger. As if the pungent, spicy smell reminded her of something, she looked up at Rin, who was drinking a second ladle of water. "Rin-chan, please go bring in some firewood. It's almost time to fix lunch."

The girl nodded and headed out of the house, leaving the two older women working with their herbs.

"Let's think of something more pleasant than bitter men," Kaede said. "I want you to practice using your spiritual powers, but not as tools for purification."

Kagome looked up as Kaede. "I don't know much more than that." She poured the contents of her mortar into the bowl.

"There are ways to use your powers for healing," Kaede said. "This is what I want you to do."

While the two women discussed Kagome's practice, Rin stepped out of the house to find InuYasha perched on the fence post across the street from Kaede's house. She waved and walked over next to him. Tilting her head, she studied how he was balanced in a squat on the fence post that looked much too small for that task. He squatted there effortlessly, perfectly balanced. He watched as she studied him, his face uncertain whether to smile or scowl.

Rin looked up at him, amused. "InuYasha-ojisan, how do you manage to stay up on that post? If Rin tried to squat on it like that on something so small, she would fall."

InuYasha shrugged. "Don't know. I just do it," he said. "I like it because it lets me keep a good eye on the house and who's coming up the road." He hopped down. "They done in there yet?"

The girl shook her head. "I don't think so. They were making a medicine when Kaede-sama asked Rin to get some firewood. But they must nearly be done with that, because Kaede-sama was talking about making lunch." She smiled at the hanyou. "Rin didn't get to eat all the food, so you'll get to eat your share."

InuYasha chuckled. "Yeah. Let's go get that wood. I need to see if Kaede-babaa needs more wood chopped."

They walked around to the back of the house, where InuYasha took an armful of wood and put it into the girl's arms. "You and Kaede-babaa go through a lot of wood," he said. "I'll need to come by tomorrow maybe and chop some more."

"It looks like a lot to Rin," the girl said, staring at the pile. It was neatly stacked into a rick, protected from the weather by a low overhang. To the side, there were some large logs ready to be cut, but there was no near shortage of wood ready for the fire pit.

"Not as much as you think," the hanyou replied.

"Hmm," Rin said. "Maybe InuYasha-ojisan wants something to do while he waits for Kagome-obasan to finish her training."

"Feh," InuYasha replied. "Just taking care of things."

Giggling, she started back to the front of the house. "Did you find what you were looking for in the forest?"

He shook his head, then hesitated before speaking, then took a breath. "No. Whatever I thought was there was gone already." His right ear twitched. "Tell Kagome I'm out here, all right?"

Rin nodded. InuYasha lifted the doormat for her, and she walked back in. She dropped the wood in its box and looked up to see Kaede pouring the medicine the two women had been preparing into some paper that she wrapped into a neat bundle.

"So there's Daisuke-sama's cough medicine," Kaede said. "I'll take it to him after lunch, so I can see how he's doing. His cough was stubborn this winter." She placed the paper bundle to the side, while Kagome got up to put the remaining herbs back in their containers.

Kaede turned toward the girl. "Well, Rin, shall we fix some of those greens you brought home with our lunch?"

Rin nodded.

"Should I go with you to see Daisuke-sama?" Kagome asked.

"Not this time, child. You've learned enough for one morning," Kaede said, patting her on the hand. "Besides, Daisuke-sama is not good company when he's had the cough. I'll take care of it. You'll have enough complaining patients soon enough." She got up, and moved to get the basket of greens. "But tomorrow, I'm going to see Sayo-chan. It's not long before her child is due, and you can come visit."

Kagome got up and started putting the herbs back on their shelf. "Yes, please."

"Have you seen InuYasha, Rin?" Kaede asked, as she began picking through the greens.

"InuYasha-ojisan is waiting outside," the girl said. She moved to the area where the cooking things were stored. "He asked Rin to tell you he's waiting." She opened a chest, and took out a set of bowls.

"I suspect we've worn his patience thin today," the older miko said. "And I suspect he's ready for his lunch as well."

Kagome turned from her work, looked at the older woman who sat there with a knowledgeable smile, and laughed. "I believe you - on both accounts."

"Go home to him. He'll get used to things soon enough," Kaede said. "And don't forget what I told you to practice."

"I will," she said, smiling. "Oh, he'll probably like that one a whole lot more than waiting."

And with a polite bow, she went out to join her husband


	35. Chapter 35

_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 35**

InuYasha smiled and slipped off the fence post as Kagome stepped out of Kaede's house.

"Hi. Ready for lunch?"she asked. "I made onigiri before we left this morning."

He nodded. "Sounds good. You need to come back later?"

Kagome shook her head. "No. Kaede thinks I did enough for today."

Some tension he didn't even realize was there drained out of the hanyou's body after she said that. He nodded. "Good. Let's go home."

They walked quietly for a few minutes, passing the last house on the main street of the village. The path turned and headed up the hill toward their house.

"So how did it go?" InuYasha asked.

"It was interesting." Kagome looked around to be sure they were out of eyesight of any of the farmers in their fields or in the woods and took her husband's hand in hers. "A man named Shigeru came in with a wounded arm. You know him?"

InuYasha nodded. "He's a cousin or something of Toshiro. Maybe a family retainer. Sneaks off to take naps when he thinks he can get away with it. But he'll follow Miroku around like a puppy sometimes, especially if he thinks there's a meal involved."

"Huh" Kagome said. "Maybe that explains Kaede-sama's attitude. Well, this time he had been working on repairing some fences and had managed to get a big cut on his arm. He claimed his knife slipped."

"Hn," the hanyou said. "Maybe."

Kagome gave her husband a look. "You think he might have done it on purpose?"

InuYasha shrugged.

She just shook her head at that, and went on with her story. "After Kaede had gotten the wound cleaned up, she had me wrap it. That's one thing I already knew how to do, seeing I had so much practice with you." She looked up and gave him a wry grin.

"Keh," he said and gave her hand a small squeeze. "Hope those days are gone."

"Me, too." Kagome said, squeezing back. "Anyway, Kaede gave him something for pain and told him to come back tomorrow to change the bandage. After that, she started telling me about the herbs to use for coughs. We were making it for one of the older villagers who hasn't shaken off his winter sickness."

"Must be old Daisuke," InuYasha said.

Kagome nodded. "How'd you know?"

"Kaede-babaa got me to cut wood for him this winter," InuYasha said. "He was really laid up for a while. That daughter of his kept his house as warm as a bath house, and they went through a lot of wood. I was beginning to wonder if he was going to make it to the spring."

"Ah," Kagome said. "So that was my morning. What did you do?"

"Checked on Kaede-babaa's woodpile," he said. "Talked to Miroku when he came down to see one of the villagers. Susumu stopped by and we talked for a while. Checked on Rin."

"Nobody said anything bad?" she asked. "Nothing bad happened?"

He shook his head no. "Maybe the word hasn't gotten around yet."

"Or maybe nothing's going to happen." She looked up at InuYasha. "Kaede doesn't think it will. Tomorrow I'm going to meet Sayo-sama, Toshiro's daughter-in-law. She's going to have a baby soon. Kaede expects me to help."

InuYasha fell quiet for a moment, his face unreadable, and Kagome, not certain what else to say, said nothing. They turned the last bend toward their house, which was resting peacefully in its clearing.

"Sango said Sayo makes the best pickles in the village," the hanyou said, breaking the silence.

Kagome turned to him, saw the ghost of a grin on his face and arched an eyebrow. "I'll remember that. Maybe she'll send me home with some. You ever had any?"

He shook his head. "I never get over there for some reason. Don't think it's cause Toshiro disapproves. It just never happened."

"Maybe tomorrow," Kagome said, giving his hand a squeeze.

"Maybe." He looked at her. "You have some pickles for lunch?"

Laughing, she nodded.

The first thing Kagome did when they got home after slipping off her sandals was to walk across the room to where her clothes were stored. Once there, she pulled her jacket out of her hakama and began to change clothes.

As she slipped the jacket off of her arms, InuYasha looked at her oddly. "Why?" he asked.

"Why what?" she said, as she folded the garment. Next she unfastened her obi, then reached for her hakama ties. "Stir up the fire, will you? I could use some tea."

InuYasha nodded, and knelt next to the fire pit, uncovering coals from the morning's fire. With a practiced hand, he blew on the coals, adding kindling to bring up a small flame. "Why are you changing clothes?"

"Back where I come from, we only wear miko garments when we're doing miko work." She stepped out of her hakama. Folding them as well, she put the garment on top of the other one. "Now that I'm home, I'm not doing miko work. Do I have to be a miko all the time?"

"I don't know," he said. Adding a few larger pieces of wood, he set up the tripod for the kettle. "I never thought about it. I guess since Kaede always wears her miko clothes, I just expected it. Kikyou did, too."

"Kaede doesn't have a hungry hanyou to take care of," Kagome said, opening a drawer in the clothing cabinet. She took out her beige kosode and blue wrap skirt, and put away the red and white miko outfit. "When I am home, this is how I want to dress, like a wife." She pulled out a scarf and tied it around her head, then closed the drawer. After that, she slipped on the kosode, and pulled the skirt around her waist.

InuYasha walked across the room as she began fastening the skirt but he took the strings and tied it for her. "I like you better this way," he admitted, pulling her against him. "I'm kind of scared to touch you in those other clothes."

Kagome leaned back against him. "Can't have you scared of that."

He nuzzled her neck. "No, you can't. You wouldn't like it nearly as much."

"Neither would you," she said smiling. "You do know I'm still the same me, no matter what clothes I wear."

"Heh," he said, giving her a quick kiss, and then a longer one for good measure. "Maybe I like you best when you're not wearing any clothes."

Kagome pulled away. "You might like me better that way," she said, laughing, "but I don't think I'd like to fix lunch dressed that way. You hungry?"

Lunch was actually quick to prepare. They had onigiri stuffed with bits of fish that Kagome had made that morning, and she sliced pickles to eat with them. While they ate, she explained what Kaede had asked her to do.

"So let me get this right," InuYasha said, eating the last of his pickles. "Kaede told you as part of your training you have to practice touching?"

"That's right," Kagome said, nodding. "Touch is one of the ways we tell why someone's sick. When she examines someone, she looks for clues about what's wrong with their body through her hands. There are some things she learns by the way the skin feels, the muscles underneath, and other things. But more than that, she can use her own spiritual powers through her hands to sense what's wrong inside. I'm supposed to be able to extend my powers not just to purify, but to sense what's going on inside a person, and help heal them by my reiki. But first I have to learn what the touch is telling me."

"Sounds weird," InuYasha said. "You sure you won't purify me?" He picked up his teacup, and began eyeing the last two pickle slices on Kagome's plate.

She quickly popped one of them in her mouth. InuYasha sighed. "You can have the last one if you want it," she said. He grabbed it. "Kaede said touch is the sense we're usually worst at using well. Right now, she doesn't want me probing with my spiritual powers, but to concentrate on what I can pick up. She told me how to practice until I learn to use my sense of touch as well as I do my eyes."

InuYasha took her hand by the wrist and held it up. His face, as he studied her hand, was hard for Kagome to read, but she caught the small smirk on his lips as he gently ran a finger lightly along the outside of her first finger. He could feel her aura. It tingled, feeling sensual where he brushed his finger across her skin.

"Touch, eh?" he said, then rounded the tip of her finger, down to the cleft where the finger joined the hand. She shivered a little. He then interlaced his much larger, claw-tipped fingers with hers, letting her hand drop.

"I think," she said, taking a deep breath, "that we'll wait until it's later to practice this."

"Maybe so," he said, waggling his eyebrows. "So, what do you want to do this afternoon? Go back to Sango's?"

Kagome nodded, then finished her tea. "It's a good time of day to get stuff done for her. The twins usually take a nap, so we can actually get things accomplished. I want to show her what I sewed last night." She sighed, then put her cup down. "I'm not sure I like how it came out. I can tell it's going to take some practice."

He reached for the teapot to refill her cup but she shook her head. "Not as much practice as your math class took," he said, putting the pot back down.

"I hope not," she said, picking up their cups so she could wash them. "Today, she said we might start making an under kosode. I could use another one." She went over to the wash basin, and wetted a cloth, which she used to wipe of their food trays. "So what will you do?"

"I ought to keep working on the wood stack. I'm about half done. I want to get those logs ready to season. But I might go hunting." He got the fire poker, and began knocking down the fire. "Rin going to join you again?"

"I think so," Kagome said, filling a bowl with water to wash dishes. "Why?"

"I heard some smart ass telling his brother to stay away from her today, because of Sesshoumaru. She heard it too. I think it bugged her a lot." He looked up from the fire pit. "I'm not sure how many friends she has in the village, kids her own age. She might like to know some people don't think she's weird."

"Ah," Kagome said, frowning. "I'll remember that, although why anybody wouldn't adore her is beyond me."

"Cute's not enough when people are scared," he said, his eyes going far away, like he was remembering something. Then his amber eyes met hers again. "And my bastard brother's enough to make any villager nervous."

"Does he come around a lot?" she asked, washing a dish.

"Sometimes. And then he'll go weeks or months without stopping in. But I sense him around the area even if he doesn't stop in to see her. I've picked up his scent and his youki a lot." Satisfied with his work banking the fire, he dropped the poker in its place and sat back, crossing his legs. "It's enough to keep her marked as his and not allow her to become just another kid in people's minds. Some of the villagers get uneasy around her." His face knit into a scowl, clearly disapproving.

"I thought he gave her into Kaede's care so she could become comfortable around humans again," Kagome said. She washed the last dish and began to dry them.

"That was the idea," InuYasha said. "But he never stays away long enough for them to forget. Worse, she doesn't want him to, either. She lights up whenever she sees the bastard." He sighed and shook his head. "And there's something in him that's different when he's around her, too."

Kagome put the dishes up on their shelf. "What's meant to be, will be, I guess. I remember how attached they were when we were fighting Naraku," she said, then moved over to the big cabinet, opened a door to one of the compartments and got a length of white linen cloth to put in her sewing basket. She turned around and looked at her husband. "I guess that hasn't really changed. But for now, what's meant to be is for me to go to Sango's. Want to walk me there?"


	36. Chapter 36

_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 36**

It was mid-afternoon. The attempt at a sewing lesson had been postponed for a bit by two active and curious little girls, but eventually, at first Yusuko and then Noriko finally fell asleep.

Sango picked up her sleeping daughter out of Kagome's lap. "I didn't think she'd ever go to sleep. Noriko you're a little stinker." She looked back at Kagome. "I'm sorry she was such a bother. Maybe now you can get some work done."

"I don't mind," Kagome said, smiling up at her friend. "Noriko's such a sweet thing. Same thing with Yusuko. I enjoy playing with them"

"Enjoy being able to give them back while you can," Sango said. "I imagine from the way InuYasha is hovering over you, it won't be long before you have one of your own that you can't give back."

For some reason, this made Kagome blush.

"Can Rin come babysit for you when you do, Kagome-obasan?" the girl sitting to her left asked.

For a moment, Kagome was at a loss for words. "I...I guess, Rin-chan."

"I'd take her up on it when the day happens," Sango said, chuckling a little. "Rin-chan is very good with the twins. She's getting lots of practice with my three." She moved towards the sleeping room, to lay her daughter down with her sister. "If one of you want, put on the tea kettle while I put her to bed."

Rin grabbed the pot before Kagome could move and went to the water bucket to fill it up. "It's nice you're working with Kaede-sama," she said, moving back to the fire pit where she sat the cast iron pot on a tripod. With practiced ease, she had a small, but hot bit of fire under the pot, and sat back to examine her work. "This way, Rin will get to see you nearly every day."

"Has Kaede-obaachan been teaching you, too?" Kagome asked, grabbing her basket and unfolding the towel she had been hemming. She looked over her stitches with a critical eye.

The girl nodded. "Rin has been learning a lot about herbs, how to grow them and what they're good for. Sometimes Kaede teaches how to make medicines, too."

"Kaede tells me you are good with her garden." Kagome sighed. "I've never done a lot with gardening. Maybe you could come help me sometime. The garden Kinjiro started for me looks so big. I'm not sure how well I'll be able to handle it."

"Rin would like that. It's nice helping things grow up." Rin picked up her basket and began to take out her sewing. "Rin would also like learning to sew better," she said, sighing as she looked over her work. In one corner of the towel she was hemming, there was a red stain. "Needles don't seem to like Rin as well as flowers do."

"We'll get better," Kagome said, resting her hand on Rin's shoulder. "Some things just take practice."

Rin smiled. "It's the same with gardening."

Kagome nodded. "I hope so."

They turned as the door to the sleeping room opened. Sango carefully slid the door to the sleeping room closed, then walked over to the big shoji door and slid it open. "With the girls asleep, we might as well get the best light," she said.

The air from outside felt cool to Kagome's cheeks, but welcome.

"Let's get more comfortable," Sango said, after making tea. She grabbed her sitting mat and moved it away from the fire pit and nearer the light. Rin and Kagome did the same. Soon, the room which usually seemed snug and homey was transformed as they reorganized and pulled out their needlework. Sango set up a tray with the tea and rice cakes, then opening up her own work basket, she took out and spread out a long white piece of cloth.

"Give me a look at what you've done, and then I'll show you how to cut out a kosode," she said, finally taking her seat and pouring the tea.

Kagome handed her towel to Sango to inspect, as Sango handed her a cup. "I'm not sure if it's good enough," she said. "It seemed to take forever, too."

"It can seem that way sometimes," Sango said. She passed Rin a cup of the hot liquid, then examined Kagome's work, running her finger over the neatly stitched edge. "I don't know why you thought your towel hems were done badly, Kagome-chan," she said, handing it back. "They look lovely and neat."

"Nicer than Rin's," the girl said, looking at her work, spread across her lap. Besides having a small blood stain, the edge of one of her hems had gotten out of alignment, and was wider at one end than the other.

Sango patted the girl's shoulder. "That's not bad for just getting started, Rin-chan. It takes some practice following the guide thread," Sango said. "You'll get it with a little more practice."

The girl nodded, then took out her needle and threaded it. Sango picked up her own work, and quickly began sewing a seam.

"You make it look easy, Sango" Kagome said, with just a touch of envy in her voice. She sipped her tea. "Did you learn this when you were young?"

"Not a lot," she said, adjusting the cloth she was working on in her lap. "I had a really different upbringing than most girls. I spent more time doing weapons practice than sewing practice. My father gave me a sword for my coming of age present." Sango's face grew sad for a moment, but then she shook it off. "But my mother and aunts made sure that I learned at least some basics." Putting down her sewing, she picked up her tea cup and rested it in the flat of her hand. "I'm glad they did. I've had to use that information more than my sword or Hiraikotsu since I've gotten married. The little ones are always growing."

"I learned a little when I was growing up," Kagome said. "Sewing wasn't considered a very important part of my education. My okaasan taught me how to hem and make some repairs, but we really didn't make much where I came from. We'd go to the merchants and buy it already made. Everything. Towels, clothes, bedding. If we sewed, it was for doing fancy work, like embroidery, because we wanted something special or just for fun."

"You lived so much like a noblewoman," Sango said, sighing at the idea. "How nice not to worry about all of this. I bet you didn't do your own laundry, either."

"We did, sort of. We had special devices to put the dirty laundry in. It did all the hard work, beating and wringing it out." Kagome threaded her needle. "But our life really wasn't like being in a noble family. We weren't rich, and we didn't have servants. My mother cooked all the meals herself and did her own cleaning, even if she didn't grow her own food. It was just the way everybody lived."

She examined her towel, and found the place she left off sewing. Securing the thread, she began to stitch. "By the way, what did you do with Hiraikotsu? InuYasha said they put it up in the shrine."

Sango covered her mouth and laughed a little. "There's a story about that. When I was carrying the twins, I had the most awful mood swings. Thank goodness it wasn't so bad when I was carrying Naoya. I would be radiantly happy one minute thinking about how lovely my life had turned out, and then horribly angry the next, and weeping uncontrollably the minute after that."

"Kaede-sama was worried about you," Rin said.

"I know," Sango said. "And so was Miroku, who had to put up with it the most. Once, my poor husband had gone to see Toshiro-sama and for some reason, I got horribly upset about it. I don't even remember why. We had a really bad argument when he got back. After that, Miroku decided that he needed to be sure that Hiraikotsu was out of my hands. I had actually picked it up, as big as I was, and threatened him with it. It must have been a wild sight, me a month from the twins' birth swinging that big thing at him. He turned white as a sheet, afraid I was going to fall. Somehow he calmed me down, but the next day, he had Kaede lock it up at the shrine."

She took a sip of her tea, looking a bit wistful. "It was just supposed to be until the twins were born, but I've never been back to get it." She picked up her own sewing once again. "It seems happy enough. I go there once in a while and touch it, pick it up. But it doesn't seem right to be doing weapons practice with it now. Perhaps when the girls are older."

"Ow!" Rin said, sticking her finger into her mouth.

"Needle?" Sango asked.

Rin nodded. "Do the needles hate Rin?"

"I did that a lot when I learned to sew," Sango said. "I still do it sometimes. I think I'd still rather use a sword instead of a needle."

"It would make big holes when you tried to make a kosode with it," Rin said.

Sango snickered. "It would indeed."

"Speaking of Miroku," Kagome said, "I'm surprised he hasn't popped in to see what we're doing."

"Or InuYasha-ojisan," Rin said. "Oh, another blood spot!" She ran her finger over the cloth and frowned.

"InuYasha said he wanted to work on chopping wood," Kagome said. "Maybe Miroku went up to see what he was doing."

"Maybe," Sango said. "At least this way, we don't have to worry about him eavesdropping on us."

"Sango!" Kagome said, a little shocked.

"Well he does," the older woman said, smiling. "You must have forgotten what he was like. He can't stand to not know what's going on."

"You're right," Kagome said. "I forgot how he would sneak in the woods sometimes when InuYasha and I were trying to talk. Maybe we should enjoy it while it lasts."


	37. Chapter 37

_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 37**

While Kagome and Sango wondering about what he was doing, Miroku was walking up the path towards InuYasha's house. While he walked, his staff beat out a rhythm, the brass rings that adorned the staff's tip jingling with each step, which he put to use as he began humming, then singing a song he was fond of, but didn't like to sing around his wife:

"Do not wear white  
>do not wear white<br>when you step outside  
>and walk that path,<br>do not wear white.

"If you wear white  
>if you wear white<br>when you step outside  
>to walk that path,<br>someone might see.

"Under the moon, white  
>under the moon, white<br>could shine and give you away  
>as you walk that path<br>that leads to my gate.

"So much talk at night - "

There was a crunch in the woods to his left. Miroku swung around, his staff at the ready, only to see the graying head of Daitaro peek out from beneath a pine branch.

"Now that's a fine song for a monk to be singing," Daitaro said as he stepped forward and let the branch swing back into place. The old man's eyes looked at him with amusement as Miroku regained his composure.

"Ah, Daitaro-sama!" the monk said, bowing a bit. "And here I thought only the sky and the kami would be here to witness."

"Maybe the kami got tired of you making a spectacle of yourself," the old man said, with just a touch of a grin. He adjusted the straps of a large basket he had on his back.

"Or they're warning me that my singing's not that fine," Miroku sighed. "My wife, she reminds me often enough. So what brings you into the woods this fine day?"

"My Chime, she's busy right now, plotting something with Takeshi's and Susumu's wives," he said, unstoppering his water jug. The smell that wafted out of it smelled stronger than merely water. He took a sip and offered it to Miroku. "Something about Takeshi's daughter's wedding. Got too noisy and decided to go see if any mushrooms were up yet."

"I understand that one. My home is filled right now with women chattering over their sewing." Miroku accepted the jug, and brought it to his nose, breathing the scent of fine saké. He took a small sip - Daitaro was known for the fine quality of the saké he brewed, and as he swirled the liquid around his mouth, he wasn't disappointed.

"Ah, that is good, friend," he said, handing the jug back.

This made Daitaro grin. "The kami blessed this last batch, if I say so myself. Easier to appreciate how good a job they did out here in the quiet than at home listening to women talk about weddings." He hung the jug's cord back over his shoulder. "So where are you headed, Houshi-sama? Off to meditate?"

Miroku shook his head. "Not this time," he said. "I'm off to go see InuYasha-sama. After all, part of the reason I have no quiet at home right now is his wife is there. It seems fitting that I go suffer in the quiet of his home, since my home has none."

"Sounds like a reasonable trade, if you ask me," Daitaro said, nodding as he chuckled. "Doubt if he'll talk your ear off. He doesn't seem to have a lot to say, most days."

The two men began walking up the trail.

"True, true," Miroku said.

"Still, he seems to be a good man in a pinch," the older man said, looking thoughtful. "I know young Masu's glad to have his children back, thanks to him. Not afraid of my bull, either. "

"There's not too much he's afraid of, I suspect," Miroku said, "after everything he's been through."

"Except maybe that wife of his," Daitaro said. "I seem to remember back when she was here the first time that she could give as good as she got. Maybe a little better."

"I could tell you tales," the monk said.

Daitaro laughed once again, and nudged him with his elbow. "One day when my Chime is out visiting instead of being visited, you'll have to come by and tell me the stories. Maybe I'll have some even better saké."

"I'll remember that," Miroku said. "Although maybe we should find a day with InuYasha's also busy elsewhere."

"Maybe so," Daitaro said, still highly amused. "I'm going to head off here. There's a good place on the other side of the Goshinboku that had the best mushrooms last year. Going to go see if there's any up yet. And if not, there's a tree there just perfect for taking a nap. Take care, Houshi-sama. May you get your peace and quiet! I'm off to find mine!"

"Enjoy," Miroku replied, as he watched the old man leave the trail, and cut cross country to find his secret spot.

Faintly, as he stood there, he could hear the sounds of axe chopping wood. It only took him a minute or two more before he saw the hanyou's house in its clearing, and the sounds of wood cutting, and the occasional curse grew stronger.

He arrived to find his friend working there without his jacket, and his kosode was clinging to his lean frame damply. Having cleared the limbs off of one the trees he had cut, the hanyou was rolling it out of the way to get it ready to season. The pile of limbs waiting to be cut up for firewood was growing quite high. InuYasha ignored them though, and began working on the next tree. Looking up, he saw the monk, and nodded, then went back to his work.

"I thought you were staying at your house," InuYasha said as Miroku walked up and leaned his staff against the wall of the house. The hanyou studied where to cut next. Hopping on the tree trunk, he grabbed a protruding branch.

Miroku turned and faced him."Weren't you doing this the last time I came by?"

InuYasha brought the axe down in a flash, and there was a small crunch as the branch, almost cut through broke off, leaving a jagged edge on one side. The hanyou hit the broken wood once more to smooth it, and then wrestled the limb free from where it was entangled with other branches and tossed it on the pile.

"Yeah, well some of us have a lot of work to do," InuYasha said, studying what he should cut next. He picked a branch and moved in. The axe flashed down again.

"Yes we do," Miroku said.

InuYasha looked up at him as he hauled the branch off to throw on the stack. "We? What's that supposed to mean, Bouzu?"

"A man came to the village today from Kagemura, that village just past the market day inn. Seems the locals have a problem they think is a youki or ghost." Miroku bent over and picked up a broken branch, and tossed it on the pile. "They've been seeing dancing flames in the garden and shadows on the wall, but no one there to cast them. And people who've seen it have gotten sick."

InuYasha took aim at another branch and let the axe fly. The wood gave with a resounding crunch. "Sounds like a ghost to me."

"It could be a bakeneko. Cat youkai can do things like that." Miroku walked up to the veranda. "Of course, they think they've been haunted by a black kitsune. Some yamabushi told them so."

"They always think it's a kitsune," InuYasha said, swinging the axe again. "But kitsune don't make people sick." He broke the branch free and tossed it to the side. "Ghosts do, though."

"Neko do, too. Some of them can drain the life right out of a person. And that's not the only type. Some of the spider youkai can do it. And there are others. But," Miroku said, "we won't know until we get there."

InuYasha tossed the last cut with the others, then turned to his friend, scowling. "You're expecting me to go with you, I guess." He walked over to the side of the house, leaned his axe against the wall, and grabbed the water bucket resting there.

"I was hoping. Neko can be tricky things to deal with alone. I'm sure you remember what they can be like." He looked up at his friend. "I don't really want to do this one alone."

InuYasha's eyes were unreadable as he lifted the dipper out of the bucket, but Miroku took that as a sign he was considering.

The hanyou lifted the dipper to his lips. He took a long drink of water, wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and put the dipper back in the bucket. "Can't go tomorrow, and maybe not for a few more days," InuYasha said. "And I don't think I'm ready to leave Kagome alone yet, especially overnight."

Miroku nodded. "I can understand that, but we're close enough that we shouldn't be there all day," he said, grabbing the bucket. "Maybe a three hour walk there, three hours back, an hour or two to do the exorcism. Kagome-sama can be with Kaede or Sango the entire time we're gone. You'll be home in time for dinner." He picked up the water ladle and drank. "Not nearly as good as what was in Daitaro's jug," he said, dropping it back in the water to get another scoop.

The hanyou gave him an odd look.

"I'll think about it," he said. "Good thing that it's too late today, and we can't go tomorrow, either. Kaede-babaa told Kagome to do some training that she wants me there to help her do. That's enough wood for today. Think I'll go hunting while she's still busy."

"What's Kaede-sama want you to help her with? Archery?" the monk asked, taking another drink.

"No," InuYasha said, pulling his jacket on. "Touching."

Miroku started to choke. It took him several minutes before he could catch his breath and leave.


	38. Chapter 38

_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 38**

While Miroku recovered from his choking fit, Sango rummaged through her sewing basket, looking for something. "I know it's in here somewhere," she muttered.

Little Naoya began to stir in his basket cradle next to her. She stopped what she was doing. "Not yet, little one," she said and tucked his blanket in a little more snugly. "Don't go waking your sisters up."

Kagome, smiling at her friend, put the last touches on her towel. Cutting the thread, she examined it carefully, then folded it and put it away into her basket. "That'll do, I guess," she said.

Rin, still working on her first one, sang softly as she stitched.

"I saw a monk  
>a monk with a shaved head<br>buy a hair comb  
>from a lovely woman<br>selling pretties for the ladies  
>at the bridge at Harima<br>at the bridge at Harima  
>one bright moonlit night.<p>

"I saw the monk  
>the monk with shaven head<br>turn into a fox  
>who combed his large and fluffy tail<br>then ran into the woods  
>near the bridge at Harima<br>near the bridge at Harima  
>one bright moonlit night."<p>

"Oh, my mother used to sing a song like that to me when I was little," Kagome said, picking up another piece of cloth waiting to be turned into a towel, and laid it across her lap. She started the next part:

"I saw a man,  
>a man with no feet<br>buy a pair of geta,  
>wooden garden geta<br>to walk the muddy ground  
>at the bridge at Harima<br>at the bridge at Harima  
>one bright moonlit night.<p>

"I saw the man  
>the man with no feet<br>turn into a tanuki  
>who put his geta on,<br>and walked down to the riverside  
>by the bridge at Harima<br>by the bridge at Harima  
>one bright moonlit night."<p>

Rin giggled. "Rin didn't know you knew that song."

"I haven't heard that one in a long time." Kagome said, cutting a length of thread. Focusing carefully, She threaded her needle. "I don't know if I'd sing it around Shippou-chan, though. It might give him ideas."

"I wouldn't be surprised if Shippou's done something like that already," Sango said. "The kitsune he's been studying with has been teaching him all sorts of things." She finally found what she was looking for in her basket, and pulled out a ball of string.

The taijiya got up on her feet. "Come here, Rin-chan. I think we'll start cutting your kosode out first. Sesshoumaru may keep you in pretty kimono, but Kaede told me your under kosode were wearing out." Sango said, unrolling some string. "You've been having a growth spurt. I need you to stand up so I can get a measure of how tall you are now. I don't want to cut the fabric too short."

Rin put her sewing down. "Rin is getting taller?" she asked, standing up.

Sango walked around to her back and used the string to measure her from the back of her neck to the floor. "Yes, you are. I noticed the other day how your work clothes are getting closer and closer to your knees."

"Soon, you'll be wearing the kosode of a grown-up woman, Rin-chan," Kagome said, smiling as she looked up, watching them.

Cutting, the string, Sango said, "That will do it," then sat back down, picking up one of the bundles of white cloth she had laid out earlier.

The girl smiled, looking at Kagome, but sighed as she took her seat and picked up her sewing. "Rin sometimes wonders if she'll ever be that tall."

"There was a time I wondered that, too," Kagome said. "But eventually I grew up, so I must be wearing a grownup's kosode."

That made Rin laugh a little. She started stitching, then gave a small cry as she stuck her finger again. "Rin should not laugh and sew at the same time," she muttered.

Sango looked up at Kagome. "You don't mind if we cut Rin's out first, do you?"

Kagome shook her head. "No, not at all. I'm not sure if I'm ready to start sewing one yet." She gave her friend a slightly embarrassed smile.

"I'm not surprised, considering all you're trying to learn at once," Sango replied, unfolding the cloth and laying it out on the floor. Using the string as a guide she folded a section of it in half longwise, and in half once again.

The miko sighed. "And I thought I was through with school." She picked up her teacup and took a drink. "Seems like I came back here to start a whole different type of school."

Rin sighed. "Rin's not sure if she's ready, either. But Iya has already made an under kosode and a nice blue outer one, too. It has pretty flowers printed on it. Maybe Rin can do it after all?"

Sango looked at her friends sympathetically. "That's all right, Rin-chan. You can help if you feel ready, but I'll probably do most of the sewing on this. I want you to keep working on your towel right now," Sango said as she deftly made the first cut. "Iya-chan might be a little ahead of you, but you'll catch up."

The girl nodded and went back to work, humming as she worked. Things grew quiet as everybody concentrated on their work.

After a few minutes, Kagome picked up her teacup and drank the last of it, making a face as she swallowed the last of it down cold. "So, Rin," Kagome asked, putting the cup down. "What did you do while I was busy with Kaede?"

"Rin went to Kaede's garden patch," the girl said."Weeds are already trying to grow there." Her eyebrows creased at the mention of the morning, and she frowned. She put her sewing down.

"It was a good time for working in the garden," Sango said, not noticing the change in the girl's behavior. "Not too hot or sunny. I worked some in mine, too. " She lay the sleeve fabric on the side and began on the collar. "Now for the sleeves."

Rin looked at the sewing in her lap, but didn't pick it up. After a moment, she lifted her head, but instead of looking at either woman, she stared off at the scene outside as she chewed on her bottom lip. Taking a deep breath, she asked, "Sango-obachan, do people in the village like Rin?"

Sango looked up, surprised. "Of course they do. What made you ask that?"

"It was just . . . " Her voice dropped off. "Nothing. Rin is being silly." She picked up her sewing and began to stitch rapidly.

"Are you sure, sweetie?" Kagome asked, touching Rin's arm. "InuYasha told me a boy was rude to you today while you were coming back from the garden."

"Someone was mean to you?" Sango put her sheers down.

"He wasn't trying to be mean to me," the girl said, sighing. "He was telling his little brother not to talk to me."

Kagome shook her head and frowned. "You shouldn't let what rude boys say get to you."

Sango gave Kagome a hard look. "You're a fine one to talk."

"That was different!" Kagome said.

"Maybe," Sango said, not sounding convinced. "He upset you a lot back in those days. And you just didn't shrug it off."

Rin looked at them both questioningly. "Who was mean to you, Kagome-obachan?"

This time it was Kagome's turn to chew on her bottom lip while she thought how to answer. Shaking her head, she gave the girl a wry smile. "Sango is teasing me, Rin-chan. When InuYasha and I first met, he was rude to me for a while, until we got to know each other better," she explained.

"For a long time," Sango muttered, putting all the pieces she had cut out into one stack. "Well, that's done."

"InuYasha-ojisan was mean to you?" Rin asked, surprised.

"Yes he was, but we learned to like each other more as we spent more time together. Sometimes people just take a while to know they can be friends. But just because that happened to us," Kagome said, "that doesn't mean you should let what the boy said bother you. Everyone who knows Rin-chan likes Rin. Maybe they're nervous that they might make Sesshoumaru-sama displeased if they do the wrong thing around you, but that doesn't mean they don't like you."

"But Sesshoumaru-sama isn't bad. He has always been kind to Rin." The girl stabbed her needle through the cloth.

"Oh, Rin-chan," Kagome said, giving the girl a hug. "I know. But he's very powerful and that makes people nervous."

"Things that are different sometimes make people behave not so nicely," Sango said.

"We're a funny bunch of people. I'm from a different world, and married to InuYasha, even though Kaede's training me to be a miko, Sango is a woman taijiya, trained to fight, and you have Sesshoumaru. We all have problems sometimes because we're different." She ran her hand over the girl's head. "But that doesn't mean we're not good and worth knowing, or that people don't like us. Does Kaede like you?"

Rin nodded.

"And Tameo-sama and Hisa-sama?" Kagome asked.

The girl sucked on her bottom lip."Rin . . . guesses."

"And what about Iya and Suzume? And Tazu?" Sango said. "Don't they like you?"

She nodded. "But Tazu likes to tease me."

"Miroku teases you," Sango said. "But he likes you."

"I think Miroku-sama likes to tease everybody," Rin said. "He even teases Kaede-sama."

"See?" Kagome said. "Even though we're different and all have something in our lives that make people see us as different or unusual, we all have friends and people who like us. You too, Rin."

The girl gave them a small smile, and nodded.

"I tease everybody?" Miroku said, stepping into the house. "Me? Who would say that type of thing?"

"I didn't hear you come up. Eavesdropping?" Sango said, settling down to start basting the long center seam on the back of the kosode. Kagome and Rin gave each other a knowing look, and Rin covered her mouth with her hand as she giggled.

"Alas, dear Sango, not this time, although I am sure there were things I would have loved to overhear," he said, smiling. "I went up to visit InuYasha, and arrived just in time to hear that I tease everybody. Such an accusation!"

"Yes, you do," Sango replied.

He collapsed on the floor. "I do not tease everybody. I don't tease Chiya-sama."

Sango arched an eyebrow.

"Well, not often," Miroku said.

"Did InuYasha come back with you?" Kagome said, looking out of the open door, searching.

He shook his head. "He's gone hunting. I think he had a touch too much wood chopping. But I was rather touched by how hard he had been working on getting the trees ready to season. He must want to get that shed up soon."

The door to the sleep room slid open, and a drowsy-eyed Noriko stumbled into the main room. "Okaa!" she said, as she made her way into her mother's arms.

"You little hard head. You didn't sleep very long," Sango said, running her hand through her daughter's hair.

As she did, Naoya began to wake up, and started to whimper, soon followed by a cry. Kagome put her sewing down, and scooped up the baby, trying to sooth him.

"I guess we'll be cutting out your kosode tomorrow, Kagome-chan," Sango said apologetically. "Naoya is probably hungry and I imagine Yusuko will be up any moment now."

"It's all right. Some things are more important," Kagome said, bouncing Naoya in her lap. He looked at her for a moment, then started to cry again.

"Touching," Miroku said, with a knowing smile.

Handing Naoya to his father, Kagome gave the monk an odd look, and began packing her sewing things up so she could go home.


	39. Chapter 39

_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 39**

Kagome had just put on the rice for dinner when InuYasha came home. She looked up as he walked through the door, and gave him a warm smile. "I'm glad you're back."

He returned her smile, then knitted his brows, not quite a scowl, as if irritated to find her home, then walked over to the fire pit. "You left Sango's earlier than I thought," he said, revealing a freshly cleaned rabbit carcass in one hand. "I caught something for dinner."

"Rabbit sounds good," she said.

"I wanted to walk you back from Miroku's," he said, moving toward the kitchen cabinet. "Thought I could go hunting and get back in time."

"It's all right, InuYasha. It's only a little walk from her house to ours." She lifted a piece of pickled daikon out of a dish that Sango had sent home with her, and rinsed it in a bowl of water.

"Still," he said.

Kagome looked at him. "It's not like the old days, InuYasha. I don't have any shikon shards to attract youkai. Sometimes, I just like a moment alone. It lets me get my thoughts together."

He frowned, but knew from experience that it wouldn't be worth pushing the issue. Instead, he held up the rabbit. "Where do you want this?"

"Could you put it on a platter?" she said, pointing to the cabinet. "There should be one on the top. Anyway, we broke up early because the girls woke up from their nap early, or at least Noriko did. Somehow she managed to wake up both Yusuko and Naoya, so we decided to stop, or at least I did. With everything that happened today, I think I'm a little tired. I didn't mind coming home early at all."

"Keh," he said, getting the platter down from its shelf in the cabinet. He put it and the rabbit on Kagome's work table so she could prepare it, and then walked over to the wash stand to rinse his hands. "Not surprised. Today's been busy." Picking up the towel she had hung next to it, he examined it carefully, then dried his hands. "This the towel you were working on? Nice work."

"Thank you," she said, a bit surprised he noticed. "I'm not the only one who's been busy. Looks like you got a lot done on your trees." She picked up the rabbit, and thought for a moment, and began cutting it into chunks.

"Some. Soon as the wood's seasoned enough, we'll be ready to get the boards for the storeroom made." He came over, looked in her water bucket, and picked it up.

"Just in time, too, I suspect. We'll be needing a place to put miso once it's time to make our own. Sango says it smells strong when it's fermenting." She looked up at him as she reached for some bamboo skewers to slide the meat on. "If she thinks it smells bad, can't imagine how you'd react."

"Feh," he said. "That smell doesn't bug me. All that perfumy stuff like in incense sometimes does. Too much orange or vinegar, maybe. And whatever Sango puts into her anti-youkai stuff - I can't even describe how that stuff messes with me. But not miso." He looked down at the water bucket he was holding. "You're almost out of water. I'll go get some. Want enough for a bath?"

She nodded and began sliding chunks of rabbit onto one of the skewers. "A bath would be lovely."

He headed out the door.

It wasn't quite sunset, but the day was fading fast. To get enough water for a bath took about four trips to the stream. On his last trip back, the shadows were growing really deep. It wasn't a problem for the hanyou, but not everybody was so lucky.

As he neared the house, InuYasha heard something crashing through the brush, but the wind was blowing the wrong way to get scent of whom or what it was. He put the buckets down, and froze, flexing his fingers waiting to see what it was.

Some wood snapped followed by a curse.

"Stupid branch," a familiar voice said. "Should have started back sooner - or brought a lamp."

"Hey, Daitaro, what're you doing sneaking around my house?" InuYasha asked. "A person could get hurt doing that." He cracked his knuckles, just for effect.

The old man, after a huff and a sharp word for a root or two, cleared the wood and stepped out into the clearing. "Not sneaking," he said. He grinned at the hanyou "Just on my way home. Having a half-youkai neighbor's not going to do much to change that. Been walking through these woods since before you got stuck on that tree. Sometimes," he said, brushing a bit of greenery off his arm, "I'd eat my lunch under that same tree watching you. Didn't scare me much then, either." He swung his carry basket to the ground. "Didn't the monk tell you I was in the woods today? I saw him on my way out today."

InuYasha, not sure whether to smile or scowl, did neither and shook his head. "He didn't mention you."

"Ah, well, I was mushrooming. Too many women at my house today. Sometimes a man just needs to get away from all the womenfolk in his life, and head out to where he can think without a lot of woman noise," he said, giving the hanyou a careful look.

InuYasha crossed his arms.

Daitaro shook his head. "Don't think you've reached that point yet, though. Knowing what I know about you, old young one, I suspect you've been alone enough for a while. And a new wife makes up for a lot of needing to get away." He chuckled to himself.

Although the old man was steady on his feet, InuYasha could smell the saké on him. "Feh," he said. "You're lucky nothing tried to eat you while you were out."

Daitaro shrugged. "I know these woods better than any bandit. Think I saw an oni going down the road to Edo, but might have been mistaken. Must not have wanted any of old Daitaro today." He dug into his carry basket, and pulled out a handful of mushrooms. "Pickings weren't too bad today. Give these to your wife. Figure she might like a few. Once they're cooked, you'll like'em, too. They say they help keep the stamina going on long nights." He gave InuYasha a grizzled, knowing grin.

InuYasha felt himself coloring a little at Daitaro's look, but he took the mushrooms. "Stamina?"

"Ah, I forget - newlyweds, they have all the stamina in the world. You enjoy these days, man," Daitaro said. "I remember my time with Chime. What sweet times we had when it was our springtime. Ah, she was a looker, like your lady is." He sighed. "Sweet as spring sunshine, too, and as eager as a puppy. Still as sweet as spring sunshine, but well, time did something to that eagerness. Mine too."

"Something wrong with your wife, old man?" InuYasha said.

Daitaro shook his head. "No, not really. Just what time does to us all." Daitaro swung his carry basket onto his back and gave InuYasha another grin, wistful and sad at the same time. "Don't mind this old man. Too much saké while I was out thinking in the forest. Got my tongue ready to ramble, and you're the first person to get the full effect. Still, enjoy your time while it's here, and don't let an old fool of a man spoil your evening. Hope you two like the mushrooms. I did in my day." Humming a tune without words, he headed down the way toward his house.

InuYasha left the water buckets where they were for the moment and headed back into the house, not exactly sure of what to make of his older neighbor.

Kagome looked up from where she was slicing pickle. "No water?" she asked.

"I have to go back and get the buckets. Daitaro stopped by, and gave me these," he said, putting the mushrooms on Kagome's work table. "Is there anything wrong with Chime?"

"Not that I know of," Kagome said, looking up. "Why?"

"Not sure. It was something that Daitaro said. He kept talking about time, and the way things used to be between them."

"Sometimes, when people get older," Kagome said, "things remind them of their younger days. Ojiisan would do that, especially if he had been drinking saké."

"Daitaro smelled like he'd been drinking," InuYasha said. "Maybe that was it. But he thought you'd like the mushrooms."

"That was kind of him," she said. "Oh, I do like these." She picked up one and turned it over in her hand. "This variety of mushroom cost a lot back at my mother's. We didn't get to have them very often." She looked up at him. "Daitaro-sama knows where to find them?"

"Keh," InuYasha said, adding some wood to one corner of the fire pit. He set a tripod over the wood, knowing it would burn hot, and moved their biggest pot to rest on it, then poured water into it to start to heat for their bath. "Doubt if he'll tell you though. Mushroom hunters don't like to let everybody know where they find their stuff. Afraid everybody else will pick them."

"That makes sense." She picked out three of the mushrooms, and put the rest into a bowl. "Want some with dinner?"

He thought about what else Daitaro said, and a sly smile touched his lips. "Sure. Sounds good. I'll go finish getting the water."

Finally done, and with nothing else to do for the moment, he sat down on his mat by the fire. The house smelled delicious and the hunger he was trying to ignore refused to be ignored any longer. "Dinner about ready?" he asked.

"Just about. Check the meat," Kagome said, picking up the rice pot from where it sat on the edge of the fire pit. Steam rose from it as she lifted the lid. "You were right earlier today," she said as she scooped rice into their bowls. "Rin was upset by what that boy said. She asked Sango and me if people liked her."

"Keh," he replied, checking the doneness of the rabbit roasting on skewers in the fire pit. Deciding it was done, he carefully lifted them up out of the ash and put them on a plate. "Not her fault people are scared of Sesshoumaru. Not the first time I've heard that somebody pull a kid away from her. They don't do it much anymore, and never around Kaede, though, so she might not know it's going on."

"It's possible," she said, putting dishes of pickles and mushrooms on both their trays next to small bowls of sauce to dip their meat into. "Although I don't think there's much that Kaede doesn't notice." Dividing the meat between the two of them, she handed InuYasha his tray.

"Yeah, you're probably right." He picked up his chopsticks and began eating. "But when you're marked as different, it can be hard. Especially when you're a kid."

"If anybody would know, you would," she said softly.

He didn't answer. Kagome looked up at her husband, but he was far away, lost in thought.


	40. Chapter 40

_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 40**

After dinner, and dishes, InuYasha poured Kagome's bath water, and bit by bit, watching his wife pull up her hair and pin it to her head with a stick and then drop her clothes and slip into the warm water, his moodiness dropped away, and a playfulness emerged.

"You're sure you don't want me to pour some water over your head?" he asked as he squatted next to where she crouched in the tub. He found himself staring at the back of her neck. It had a lovely shape to it, and with her hair worn down, he almost never got to see it. At that particular moment, he found it more interesting than the rest of her nakedness, and lifting up his hand, he gently ran a finger from the base of her neck to her hairline.

Kagome shivered a little and jerked away. "That tickles," she said, turning toward him. "You could pour some water down my back if you need something to do. I just don't want to have wet hair. We still have to do that touch practice, remember?"

"I forgot," InuYasha said, turning to pour some hot water warming on the fire into a partially filled bucket. Testing it for temperature with a finger, he added a little more hot water, then poured it over her back, and across her shoulders. He liked watching how it cascaded down her curves.

"Feels nice," she said, closing her eyes. "Hot water after a long day feels so good."

He leaned close enough that she could feel his breath. "Not as nice as something else I could think of."

This made her laugh, but with a little splash she shoed him away. "First things first," she said.

After soaking for a little while, she reluctantly got up before the water got too cool. InuYasha, who had stripped after she chased him off, handed her a towel before stepping in the water himself. Carefully, he edged his long hair over the edge of the tub and settled down.

"You want some hot water?" she asked, pulling on her white under kosode.

"No, it's fine," he said. He scooped up some water and let it fall across his chest.

Kagome picked up the clothes she had been wearing earlier, folded her wrap skirt and outer kosode and put them away to wear again, but looking in the drawer in her clothes cabinet, she pulled out a clean head scarf. Standing there looking at it, she said, "I guess there's no more excuses to put off practicing what Kaede wanted me to."

"Keh," InuYasha said, tilting his head back on the edge of the tub and closing his eyes. "Homework. Could be worse. You could have a test to study for, instead of just practice."

"You're right," Kagome said as she looked around the room, thinking. "Maybe we should roll out the futon and sit on it do to this. It'd be easiest." She got their bedding out, and unfolded it, smoothing the cover over it.

Putting the scarf down on the blue fabric, she turned around to looked at InuYasha, who was still sitting in the washtub, his knees close to his chest, the tub far too small for him to stretch out in. For some reason, seeing him squeezed into the tub, looking at her with solemn eyes as she got things ready amused her. His ear twitched. Trying not to let him see her fighting off a giggle, she picked up his hakama and jacket, and lay them on the chest next to the clothing cabinet, but walked back to him with a towel and his white kosode.

"Not going to get out of helping you do this, am I?" he asked.

"Nope," Kagome replied, smiling, giving one of his ears at gentle scratch.

"So what am I supposed to do," he said, freeing his ear from her hand and standing up.

Kagome smiled, and let her finger trace the path of a water trail that ran down his chest."After you get dried off and take the tub outside, you have the easy part," she said, handing him the towel. "All you have to do is sit there."

"That doesn't sound too bad," he said, taking the towel and stepping out of the tub.

He dried off to her approving looks, but quickly got back into his kosode before they got sidetracked. From her scent he could smell her nervousness and something under it that beckoned to him. He could tell if he wasn't careful, he would let that other smell interfere with what she was supposed to be doing.

"Maybe Daitaro was right about the mushrooms," he muttered, picking up the tub and heading for the door as Kagome bent down to wipe up the water they spilled getting in and out.

A few minutes later, the floor dried, the tub emptied, the door secured and his composure regained, he sat on the futon in front of her.

"So now what, woman?" InuYasha asked, not sure if he were quite comfortable with the little smirk forming at the corner of her lips.

"Kaede suggested that you blindfold me, so I can practice seeing with my hands. Once you've done that, sit back in front of me, and I will see how much I can tell just by touching you." She was trying to look at him with calm, serious eyes, but the novelty of it all was putting her on the verge of a giggle. "If you feel my aura flaring up, you tell me. I'm not really supposed to be using my reiki to do this."

"You're sure this'll help you be a better healer?"he said, his voice doubtful.

Kagome nodded. "Kaede said you learn a lot about a person's health by how their skin feels, what their pulse is like, and how the muscles and abdomen feel under your touch. She wants me to become really aware of things like that. After I learn that, then she'll teach me more about reading people's auras for what it says about their problems."

"If the babaa says so. It's out of my league," he said with a little shrug. "I know more about fighting than healing." He took the cloth she held up and scooted behind her to fasten the scarf around her eyes, gently moving her black hair to keep it from getting pinned to the knot.

"Can you see?" he asked.

"No. That's good." She ran her hands across the fabric.

"Now what?" InuYasha leaned forward, breathing in her ear. Her excited scent was still teasing him, and he couldn't resist letting his left hand brush the top of her thigh lightly.

Kagome's head and shoulder jerked a little at the sensation, and she lifted his hand away. "That tickles!" she said. "No fair. Come sit in front of me."

He shifted back around, sitting cross-legged in front of her, his kosode riding up almost to his hips. "All right, I'm in front of you."

Reaching her hand out gingerly, Kagome lightly touched one of his knees. She pulled back a moment, and chewed her bottom lip. "I better not start there," she said, smiling and holding her left hand out. "Give me one of your hands."

InuYasha, not saying anything, but a little glad she couldn't see the grin on his face, lay his right hand gently on hers, covering it totally.

Kagome softly took her right hand and cupped his between the two. She turned his hand sideways and raised it between her two. For a moment, he could feel her reiki flare up a little, enough to tingle, and then as she concentrated, it calmed down until it was only the normal touch of her hands on his.

"Kaede said I should start with your hand, and try to see what it tells me," she said as she smoothed her palms and fingertips along both sides of his larger hand. Turning his hand palm up, she rested the back of his hand over her left and began tracing her right index finger along the lines of his palm.

"You're not going to try any of that Miroku palmistry stuff, are you?" InuYasha said, watching how her fingers brushed along the callouses just below his fingers, danced along the long line circling his thumb.

That got a giggle out of her. "I see a beautiful miko in your future, who's traveled a long, long way to meet you," she said, mocking Miroku's fortune telling spiel, then she gave a true laugh, a light, sweet sound. "No, I don't think I'll be doing that." She ran her finger up the length of his first finger, and then more carefully along the length of its claw tip, then back down to the palm. "I wouldn't even know how to begin." She concentrated for a moment, sucking on her lip, and then wrapped her right hand across his palm. "Your hands are so much larger than mine."

"No, your hands are so much smaller than mine, fine and delicate, like my mother's." He dropped his voice into a soft murmur. "Maybe too fine for a hand like mine to hold."

"Don't say that." Kagome frowned at her husband. "I love your hands. Yours are so strong," she said. "I can feel their strength, just touching them." She danced her fingers across his palm once again. "They make me feel safe and protected." She closed his fingers over his palm. "I feel the callouses from your sword and the claws on your fingertips, and how the skin over your knuckles is thick from use. These are the hands of someone who will never give in."

Once again, she let one hand trace his fingertips. "But they are sensitive, too. You know when to strike, and when to caress." Her words were soft and warm and sincere, and as she spoke, she brought the hand to her mouth, and kissed the tip of his first finger, lightly.

InuYasha swallowed, feeling a shiver go through him that had nothing to do with her reiki. Smiling at him, as if she could sense his reaction, she said, "These are the hands that keep me safe and happy."

Next, Kagome leaned forward, taking both of his hands, then letting her own hands move up his arms, sliding into the sleeves of his kosode past his elbows. "I can feel the strength in your arms, how the muscles move under the skin. So strong. How many times have you lifted me out of trouble?"

His arms clasped around Kagome and pulled her into his lap. "You can touch better if you're closer," he said.

Giving him another smile, Kagome freed her hands from his sleeves, and swept across his upper arms and shoulders, trailing her fingers to the dip of his collarbone, where she let them rest as he supported her arms in his hands. "I love the set of your shoulders," she said. "So determined, ready to take on whatever needs to be done, when other people might give up."

Next her hands went up to his face. She ran her fingers along his jaw line, sweeping across his cheekbones, exploring his forehead, then down his nose and across his lips.

His hands clasped her hand, and offered her fingers a small kiss. "I love your hands," he said. "These are the hands that brought me back to life." He kissed them once again. "The hands that taught me I was worth something. That touched me in spite of me being a rude baka."

"InuYasha," Kagome said. She leaned against him, exploring a little more, her hands cupping the sides of his face where his ears would be if he were human. "Different yet so right," she said, slipping her fingers through the silk of his hair, making her way to his ears, where she gently scratched their bases. "Even your ears. Before you woke up, when you were still pinned to the tree, I had to touch your ears."

For a moment, neither of them spoke, but the air grew charged. InuYasha's youki flared just a bit, and her reiki shimmered just a little in response. A light glinted in his eyes, feral and hungry. She almost pulled away, sensing the change, but before she could, he turned her around in his lap, so her back was against his chest. "You know, Kagome, you can feel with more than just your hands." He nibbled at her ear lobe, and her shoulders came up as she laughed.

"Your left ear feels just fine," he said. Still holding her around her middle with one arm, he pushed the hem of the kosode with the other, revealing the white skin of her upper legs. "I bet your thigh understands touch, too." He grazed the bare skin ever so lightly with his claws, watching the goose bumps rise on her skin, and smelling the growing touches of excitement in her scent.

She moved to pull away. "Stop that, InuYasha!" she said, wiggling in his hold, between giggles. "I'm supposed to be practicing."

Her laughter and the feeling of her wiggling in his lap made sure he didn't let go. "Uh-uh. I can't let go. I'm supposed to help you learn more about touch. Kaede-babaa said so." He ran his nose along the side of her neck, breathing deeply of her special perfume and what his touch was doing to her.

"Not this way!" she said leaning forward, but was unable to budge his hold on her. Something warm and wet snaked over her neck, followed by gentle light kisses.

"I'd say your neck feels just fine as well." He breathed over the skin he had just tasted, just to see how she would react, then ran his tongue over the outer edge of her other ear. "Isn't this a more fun way to practice?" She began to melt against him and a soft gasp left her lips. "Right ear works as good as the left one, too. Wonder what else you have that can feel as good as your hands do?"

Kagome gave up and relaxed into his arms when she felt him fumble for the knot of her obi. "Do I get to take off the blindfold?"

"Nope," he said as he pulled the obi loose from her waist and parted the fabric of her kosode. "But you were smart to lay out the futon."

"Maybe I knew something like this might happen," she said as she stretched out a hand and clasped his thigh, and began making little patterns on his skin with a fingertip.

"Keh," he said. He ran his lips lightly over her shoulder as he nudged the kosode down and his hand slipped under the fabric to feel the weight of her breast. "Don't know. But we're going to keep up your touch lesson until I'm sure you've learned it. I want you to feel."

Feeling the warm wetness of his tongue follow the fall of her robe, she sighed, giving into the sensation. "I thought I was the one supposed to be touching," she murmured.

"You're touching my hand just fine," he said, sliding it down to her hip.

Somehow, as she felt InuYasha lower her to the futon and his hand slide between her thighs, and then felt him crawl across her body, taking her mouth in a deep, hungry kiss that she returned just as enthusiastically, she suspected this was not what Kaede had in mind. But as her hanyou intensified his demonstration of touch, nudging her to wrap her legs around his hips, she really didn't care


	41. Chapter 41

_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 41**

The next morning, InuYasha and Kagome sat next to the fire pit, with their meal trays in front of them. Kagome had just set InuYasha's soup bowl on his plate and was reaching for the rice when he grabbed her hand.

"So, what does your touch tell you this morning?" InuYasha asked, with an amused, slightly wicked look on his face.

Kagome laughed a moment, then let her fingers interlace with his. "Let's see," she said, closing her eyes. Her thumb caressed his much larger one, and she slid her fingers up until they surrounded his wrist, feeling his pulse. "Hmm, you have a strong, but slightly quick pulse, but your skin feels normal. I would guess, you're either thinking that you wish didn't have to walk me to Kaede-baachan's or that you are plotting to steal my pickles while my eyes are closed."

She opened her eyes to see his free hand halfway to her plate, and she smacked it with her ladle.

"Uh," InuYasha said, a little sheepishly, pulling his hand back. "Both actually. But I bet you didn't have to feel my pulse for that."

"No, not really," she said, handing him his bowl of rice. "So what are you going to do this morning?"

He took a sip of his soup. "Susumu wanted to talk to me about working with the guards, so I thought I might try to find him while I'm down in the village. Or maybe I'll just come back and work on finishing the tree I was limbing. I'm going to need to find someone who knows what they're doing to get going onto making boards."

"I suspect Miroku knows who to go to. You might ask Daitaro-sama," Kagome said, eating one of her pickles.

"Keh," he said. He picked up his rice bowl. "Yeah, I'll talk to Daitaro. He seemed to know what he was talking about when we cut the trees down."

Kagome nodded. "Kaede told me we're going to go talk to Sayo-sama today."

"At Toshiro's?" He chewed on one of his pickle slices thoughtfully as she nodded.

"Kaede wants me to help with the birth of Sayo's baby. I think she's due really soon." Kagome picked up her soup bowl. "That kind of makes me nervous, but I get the impression that's a lot of what Kaede does, so I probably need to learn everything I can about it."

InuYasha nodded."Let me know how they treat you there," he said, downing the last of his soup. "I've never been able to figure out of Toshiro is happy about me being here or not. Seems nice enough, but . . . "

"I will," Kagome replied. "But I'm sure that with Kaede there, nobody will treat me badly."

"Yeah." He ate his rice. "Just tell me, all right?"

"I will." She lifted up one of her dishes."You want my last pickle?"

As he grabbed for it, Kagome laughed.

Not long after that, Kagome found herself walking into a large farmhouse. It was a busy place, the home of Toshiro, the head of the second most important family in the village. A woman, doing laundry in the shade of the house sang softly to herself as she scrubbed her clothes. Children were playing in the yard and around the outbuildings. They ignored the men who were moving a cart full of compost out to the fields, although a rooster crowed at them if they got too close.

A girl of about twelve who was sweeping the verandah looked up, and saw the two women.

Leaning her broom against the wall, she bowed. "Ah, Kaede-sama. I'll go tell Sayo-sama you're here."

"Thank you, Asami-chan," Kaede said, returning her bow. "How is she doing?"

"Still waiting," the girl replied, and ducked into the house.

"Toshiro's wife was my cousin Tameo's sister," Kaede said as they waited. A boy, about ten years old, who had muddy knees and a dirt smear across one cheek, ran in front of them, chasing a chicken. "Sayo married his son Yasuo."

"So they're your cousins?" Kagome asked.

Kaede nodded. "Yasuo-sama looks a lot like Kinjiro. But he's not nearly as, well, determined to tell everyone the correct way of doing things."

This made Kagome chuckle. An older girl saw them, bowed, and hurried after the boy. "Daiki!"

"Sayo, on the other hand, is more determined to see things run smoothly," the old miko said. "And with her brood, she needs to be. Toshiro is actually rather glad. He had a hard time once Cho passed on. And a houseful of children needed a strong hand. Although perhaps, with her so near her time, things are getting a little out of hand."

Asami came back and led them into the house. Kagome looked around the main hall. The roof was supported by massive beams that gleamed darkly. Baskets and bundles and ofuda hung up along the walls near the rafters, and other goods, farm tools and things she didn't recognize hung from the posts supporting the beams. There was a large stove in the beaten earth area, the domo, in front of the raised floor, where a boy watched the fire as rice was being prepared. There were long tables for food preparation surrounding the stove. An older woman Kagome didn't recognize was chopping vegetables on one of them for the midday meal.

Sayo, a pleasant looking woman of about thirty-five was sitting like a queen from her place by the fire pit, working on some stitchery. She looked at them both and smiled. "Come in, come in!" she said, putting down her sewing, and bowing slightly from where she sat. "Welcome, Kaede-obachan, Kagome-sama. I am glad you were able to come by today."

Kaede returned her greeting, but as the two miko took off their shoes and stepped up to the raised wooden floor, there was a loud squawking, and the boy they saw earlier followed the bird he had been chasing into the house.

The woman chopping vegetables gave a loud squawk of her own. "No, no, Master Kintori, there are no hens in here!" she said, turning around and shooing the bird. "Out, out, before Sayo-sama decides you're more useful for dinner than for crowing. And you, Daiki, you know better!"

"Sorry, sorry, Nanami-obasan," the boy said. "I tried to stop him!" Taking the whisk he carried, he shooed the bird to the door. Squawking one more time, as if to save his dignity, the bird headed back outside.

Sayo sighed. "That's enough!" Sayo said, rapping the floor with a large ladle. "Kaede-sama is here. All males out!"

"Me too, Obasan?" asked the boy who was tending the stove.

The cook turned and looked at Sayo. Sayo nodded.

"You, too, Eiji-kun. I'll call you when it's time. Go find Matsu and Ishi."

He nodded and left as well.

"That was a bit more chaotic than I was hoping for," Sayo admitted. She motioned to Asami, who helped her stand up. "Thank you, Asami. Could you go keep an eye on Daiki? He's obviously getting bored." The girl nodded and bowed. She then turned to the woman cooking, who had not yet gone back to her vegetables. "Nanami-obachan, would you make us some tea?" Sayo asked. "Are there any chimaki? Or rice cakes?"

"Both, I think," Nanami said, and turned back to her kitchen and reached up on a shelf for her teapot. Kagome was not sure she was happy to see all the commotion.

"What a way for you to make your first visit, Kagome-sama," Sayo said. "Daiki has a way of making such an entrance. Even when he was born, he had to cause a fuss during our family's festival. Things get a little crazy sometimes." She closed her eyes for a moment, and took a deep breath. "But I hope that won't keep you away. I'm sorry Chichi-ue and Yasuo aren't here to meet you, but they've already gone to the fields. But I've been wanting to have a chance to talk with you. Kaede's told me much about you."

"I understand crazy," Kagome said, smiling. "My life feels that way sometimes, too. Especially this last week."

Sayo laughed. "Oh, I imagine so. Understanding crazy makes us sisters. I never got to talk to you the last time you were here, but I heard a lot about you. I knew I would like you once I got to meet you, and I do. Come sit down, both of you." She very carefully lowered herself back to her seat.

"So," Kaede said, settling down next to Sayo, and taking her wrist so she could check her pulse, "how are you feeling, Sayo-chan? I don't think it's going to be much longer."

"Oh, tired and ready for it to be over," Sayo said. She rested a hand on her swollen belly. "I hope this child makes up his mind soon. He wakes me up too much at night."

"Well, let me check you out," the miko said, resting her hand on Sayo's abdomen.

After examining the woman and explaining what each thing meant to Kagome, as well as having the younger woman feel Sayo's abdomen herself, Kaede helped Sayo get settled back in her place. "It could be any time now. The baby's head is moving into position."

"That is good news. I hope he is less contrary than his big brother," she said, straightening her robes. "I think, after that, I am ready for some tea."

Nanami brought the tea over, along with a small plate of chimaki. Sayo's oldest daughter, a girl of about 12, had sat under the window, spinning thread on a large, well-used wheel while Kaede had done her examination. It made a pleasant rhythm in the background as the girl spun it forward, pulling out the thread, then winding it onto the spindle. The wheel stopped as Nanami brought the tray over. Sayo, as if just remembering the girl was still there, turned to face her.

"Umi-chan, would you stop for a moment, and pour tea for our guests?" Sayo asked.

The girl, a pretty thing in a bright red and blue dress, acted unsurprised at the request, and walked over, smiling shyly at the two miko. Shaking out her sleeve, she gracefully poured the tea into fine brown cups, and handed them out. Last, she handed a cup to her mother, who smiled at her in approval.

"So, Umi, do you remember Kagome-sama?" Sayo asked, brushing her hand over her daughter's hair. "It's been three years since she was here last. She's going to help Kaede-sama bring your next brother or sister into the world."

Umi smiled at Kagome, then dropped her eyes. "Maybe," she said.

Kagome smiled back, then sipped her tea. "It was a while ago, and I dressed a lot differently in those days. I always wore white and green, and the skirt was rather short."

"Oh!" Umi said. "Were you the girl who used to walk with InuYasha-sama?".

"Yes I was," Kagome said, reaching for a chimaki. She slowly undid the bamboo leaf wrapper.

"I used to play sometimes by Kaede-sama's house," Umi said. "I always wondered what you were doing. But then after that horrible youkai was destroyed, I heard all about it."

"Did you? I hope it was good things," the younger miko said, popping the sweet into her mouth.

Umi nodded. Before she could say more, a toddler stopped at the front door and peeked in, followed by an out-of-breath young woman.

"Come in?" the child asked.

"There you are, you little runaway," the young woman said, following him in and picking him up.

"Ishi got away from you again, Matsu-chan?" Sayo asked.

She nodded. "I'm sorry, Sayo-sama."

"Well, I can tell he's Daiki's brother," Sayo said. "Bring him over here." She rested a hand on her swollen middle. "I hope this one will be a girl. There are enough boys in this family already."

The little boy struggled in Matsu's arms as she walked over until he saw his sister, and reached for her. "Nee-chan!" She reached out her arms. "Play?" he asked hopefully.

Matsu handed the boy to his sister. Umi ran her fingers through her brother's hair, and he reached up to tug at hers. "In a moment, Ishi." She turned back to Kagome. "After you left, I used to think InuYasha-sama looked so sad when I would see him," Umi said. "Now maybe he'll be happy." She stood up with her brother. "I'll take him outside for a bit."

Sayo nodded, and the two headed out of the door, past Ishi's nursemaid. "Now, Matsu-chan, go find Eiji, who was supposed to be looking for you, and send him back."

Matsu nodded, and followed Umi out.

"She's been such a help these last few months," Sayo said, reaching for a sweet. "So, Kagome-sama, have you ever attended a birth before?"

"No," Kagome said.

"Well, I've done enough for both of us, and attended a few others myself. It won't be bad, you'll see," she said, patting Kagome's hand.

"All of Sayo-chan's births have gone well," Kaede said. "Even Daiki's."

Sayo smiled once more. "Let's just hope it's soon.


	42. Chapter 42

_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 42**

While Kagome was drinking tea with Sayo, Kinjiro walked up the trail to her little house on the edge of the village. He balanced a hoe over one shoulder, a trowel was stuck in his waistband, and he had something tied in a carry cloth which he carried in the other hand.

As he walked up the trail, he could hear the sound of an axe striking wood. The sound evidently pleased him because he smiled to hear it. He made his way into a clearing where he spied the small house, and the sound of the chopping got louder. Walking around to the side of the house, he spotted a flash of red and silver, and a loud resounding chop.

"Kuso!" he heard a voice say, "I didn't need that."

There was a rattling of branches as he walked up, as the silver-haired man dragged a branch to throw on the brush pile."Ah, InuYasha, those trees still giving you a rough time?" Kinjiro said.

The hanyou, standing there without his jacket, but with a rip in the left sleeve of his kosode, finished tossing the branch into the pile with the other ones, and turned to look at his visitor. "Not so much me as my shirt," InuYasha said, picking up his axe. "What brings you up here, Kinjiro?"

"I have some more work to do on Kagome-sama's garden," he said, holding up his hoe. "Can't plant everything at the same time. If you do, everything gets ready to harvest at the same time. So it's time to plant some more."

"I'll take your word for it," InuYasha said. "That's something I don't know anything about."

"We all have things we're better at," Kinjiro said, walking up to the tree InuYasha was working on. The farmer looked behind him at the tree already limbed. "Like you with wood chopping. You're making good progress."

"Keh," the hanyou said, staring at the bole of the tree in front of him. "Promised Kagome a storage shed. Seems like there's going to be a lot of work involved. I thought I'd better get busy on it."

Kinjiro looked thoughtfully for a moment. "You're going to need to cut those trees into smaller logs once you get them limbed before you can get to the next step. Chichi-ue's got a saw, which we'll need to cut them to size, but I'm not very good at making boards."

"You're not, eh?" InuYasha said, walking along the length of the tree while he decided where to make the next cut. There was just a touch of sarcasm to his voice, which Kinjiro didn't pick up on.

"No. A man can't be good at everything. I'm better with oxen and growing things." He walked over to the water bucket, and put his hoe down, leaning it up against the side of the house. "If your tree was a field of rice or barley, maybe I'd be able show you how to do it. You mind?" he asked, looking up at the hanyou. "Thirsty walk here."

"Go ahead," InuYasha replied. Having selected his target, he lifted his axe and let it fly. There was a crunch as the branch separated from the trunk and rested against the ground.

Kinjiro lifted up the water ladle, and took a drink. Wiping his mouth, he let the ladle drop back into the bucket. "Shinjiro, Daitaro-sama's oldest, he's good at making boards, if he can get away from the fields. My brother, not so good. Best in the village is Chojiro, but he's not part of our ko. He might do it if we paid him."

InuYasha wrestled the branch loose and started to drag it away. "I thought he worked for Joben."

"He's not one of their retainers. He'll work for anybody who can hire him," Kinjiro said. "Joben hires him a lot, but he's a free person. Doesn't belong to any of the three families." He drank again.

"I thought everybody here belonged to one family or another," InuYasha said, tossing the branch with the others, "except for Miroku."

"There are a few. Chojiro's father brought their family here after the Houjou took over this area. Don't know the story, but my grandfather let them stay. His family's been here ever since."

InuYasha walked over to the water bucket. "Huh," he said, as Kinjiro handed him the water ladle. "Think he'd be willing to work for me?"

Kinjiro scratched the back of his head. "A good question. I know he doesn't think badly of you. He leases his farmland from Chichi-ue, so he might owe us the favor, but Joben's his main employer, and we know how Joben thinks. I'll have to talk to him. Maybe." He gave a friendly tap to the hanyou's arm. "If not, I know we can get somebody. Your wife home? I'd like to show her what I'm doing."

"No," InuYasha said, dipping the ladle into the water bucket. "She's been working with Kaede-babaa in the mornings." He drank.

"Ah," the farmer said. "So they've started that. I guess I'll have to find her later, then. Sooner I get started, the sooner, I'll get done. I've got to do some work in my own vegetable patch today. If you don't mind, I'll get started." He picked up his hoe.

"Have at. You're the expert," InuYasha said.

Chuckling, Kinjiro walked around the back to the garden.

InuYasha took down another branch, put it away, and looked at the tree he was working on. He could hear Kinjiro working on the vegetable garden. He looked at the ax and shook his head. "I'm tired of fighting this baka tree." He went over to where he had laid his jacket and his sword. "Maybe I'll go hunt."

Putting his jacket on, and tucking his sword in his belt, he walked to the back to let Kinjiro know he was going, and headed into the woods.

"We all have things we're best at," InuYasha said, repeating what Kinjiro had said as he moved silently through the trees. "This must be one of mine." He stopped near an area he knew was a favorite place for rabbits, and scented the air and ground. "And no people to complicate things, either."

About midday, InuYasha had finished his hunt and walked at a leisurely pace up the path to Kaede's house. A group of children hurried by him, returning from the river, carrying poles and baskets.

"Been fishing, Akemi?" he asked. He'd seen this group before, when he had done his own fishing. They had been amazed how he fished without line or net. "Any luck?"

"Oh yes," Akemi, a boy about 13, said. "Jiro got a big one!"

One of the boys, small but bright-eyed, held up his catch, which still flapped a bit as he held it. He grinned widely, showing two missing front teeth.

"Good for you," the hanyou said.

"Excuse us, InuYasha-sama, but we have to hurry." Akemi bowed a little. "My mother said she'd cook what we caught and we're hungry."

The boys hurried off.

"They aren't the only ones hungry," InuYasha said.

When he reached Kaede's house, he found Rin hanging laundry up along the side of the house. She smiled when she saw him. "Hello, InuYasha-ojisan." She hung the last bit of linen up on its rod and began to walk inside with her clothes basket. "If you're looking for Kaede-sama and Kagome-obachan, they're not back yet. They went to check up on Sayo-sama. She's going to be having a baby soon."

"Yeah, she told me about that," he said. "I'll just wait out here." He headed for the fence.

Perching on one of the fence posts, he looked at the village in front of him. A few men were heading back from the fields, coming in for their lunch. Somewhere, a woman was calling her children to come home. One boy was leading an ox out to the far side of the village. Everything was calm, the way it was supposed to be in spring before the wheat harvest and the hard work of getting the fields ready for rice planting. And the smells of food cooking were everywhere. He sighed.

Rin came back out, carrying a basket and a mat. She unrolled the mat, sat down, and pulled a piece of cloth out of the basket. "Rin is still trying to finish the sewing that Sango-obachan gave her to do," she said to the hanyou. "It's too nice out here to work on it indoors."

"Keh," he answered, watching her pick up the cloth and begin stitching.

She began humming, a wordless song that seemed to match the rhythm of her sewing until after one particularly high note, she let out a loud "Ouch!"

Putting her finger in her mouth, she picked up the thread from where she dropped it and found the needle. "Needle, stop sticking Rin!"

InuYasha chuckled a little, watching her pick up her work again, and resume sewing, this time without singing. But soon he heard a different music, the sound of the rings in a monk's staff heading his way. Turning to his left, he saw the black and purple form of Miroku walking up towards him.

"So," the monk said, "This is where you are. I was looking for you. I stopped by your house, but you weren't chopping wood this time."

InuYasha shrugged. "You didn't get there early enough. I got tired of it and went hunting instead. Man's got to eat."

"True, true," Miroku said, leaning on the rail next to the hanyou. "Kagome with Kaede?"

"Yeah," the hanyou said. "They went to Toshiro's house, to check on his daughter-in-law. Waiting for them to get back."

"Ah, no doubt that will be an interesting experience," Miroku said.

InuYasha flicked his ear as a bird landed on Kaede's roof and began singing. "Why?"

"You haven't been there, have you? I end up going there at least once a week." He leaned his staff against the fence post, and watched Rin as she lifted up her sewing to check how her stitching was progressing. "Rin seems to like doing her needlework, it seems."

"Seems to," the hanyou replied. "Toshiro's place can't be that bad if you keep going back for more."

"All I'll say is that they're a bit . . . well, noisy." Miroku scratched at the back of his head. "Generous but loud. Toshiro's got some rather energetic grandchildren."

"Your girls aren't?" InuYasha said, hopping off the top of the post he was sitting on to land lightly on the ground. He leaned against the railing, looking away from the house and at the fields in the distance. The growing grain waved in the breeze, making interesting patterns.

Miroku smiled. "Daiki makes them both look like quiet nuns. Not that he's bad. He's just got a lot of . . . spirit. And a knack for doing the things in the noisiest fashion. The girls aren't as bad, but still, it's a lively place to be. People are always running in and out."

"Kagome'll probably like it," InuYasha said. "She likes people."

"Oh, I have no doubt she and Sayo will hit it right off," Miroku said. He gave his friend a careful look. "You though, look like you ate sour plums."

"Just thinking," InuYasha said. "Kinjiro came up to work on the garden while I was there, and was telling me what I needed to do next, and who to help with the wood, and Daitaro came by yesterday and gave us some mushrooms. People doing stuff like that for me . . . feels strange."

"You lived alone and on the edge of things too long, friend," Miroku said. "It means they accept you."

"Maybe," the hanyou said, his voice uncertain. "Just not used to it. Things were simpler the way they used to be."

"But you were lonelier."

InuYasha took a deep breath, and didn't say anything, but his ear twitched. They fell silent a few minutes. Across the street, Rin began to sing to herself again.

"If you ask the blossoms,  
>Sakura petals falling<br>in the breeze of spring  
>to tell you of the winter,<br>winter with its snow,  
>they'll say that they are petals,<br>blossoms in the wind.  
>Ask the trees about the snow."<p>

Miroku got a very unmonk-like grin on his face, and broke the silence. "So how did your . . . training go last night?"

InuYasha got a dreamy look on his face, then, as he realized what his friend was saying, his ears and cheeks started to redden. "Fine."

"Ah," Miroku said. "I thought so."

"Thought what, Bouzu?" He swung to give his friend a hard look.

"Nothing, nothing. Just that the training would go well," Miroku said, shaking his head and holding up his hands. "I was just wondering. It sounded like an interesting . . . approach."

"Feh," InuYasha said, then turned around to look in the direction of Toshiro's house.

Miroku tapped his fingers on the fence rail. "There's still that exorcism to do in Kagemura."

"I don't know," the hanyou said. "Not sure if I'm ready to leave her here alone. I keep feeling like something's going to go really wrong. What if I'm not here if it does?"

"Kagemura's only a couple of hours away. Kaede and Sango would be happy to keep an eye on Kagome for you. The messenger's still here, waiting to hear our answer."

InuYasha turned away, shaking his head. "I have to think about it."

The monk nodded, as if not surprised, then looked back towards the road. Something caught his eye and he frowned. "I wonder who those two are? I don't remember seeing them before." He grabbed his staff from where it was resting on the fence.

InuYasha turned around to look. "What?"

There were two people heading towards them, a teenaged boy carrying an even younger girl on his back. The boy had tied a carry-cloth around the girl, like a mother does with babies, so she wouldn't fall off. Her hands dangled limply at her sides, and her head rested on his shoulder.

"Huh," InuYasha said. "Wonder what's wrong with the kid? She just asleep?"

"We better find out," Miroku said, and the two of them began walking to meet the strangers. 


	43. Chapter 43

_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 43**

As Miroku and InuYasha moved in to meet the newcomers, Rin looked up from her sewing just to see all four of them heading for the front of the house at the same time.

The boy, about fourteen, looked quite weary, but the girl tied on his back was several years younger, about eight or nine. She was quite pale, with dark circles under her eyes, breathing shallowly.

Putting her sewing down carefully, and getting up, Rin walked over to the boy "She's not awake?"

He shook his head no. "No, she's sick. Do you know - " but then noticed the two men walking his way. Seeing InuYasha, he blanched. "Youkai! Run!"

"Don't worry," Rin said. She started to smile, but saw how frightened he was. "That's just InuYasha-ojisan. He lives here, and helps protect the village."

"Ojisan?" the boy said, surprised at the term of respect. "Is he really your uncle?"

"Not really," Rin said. "Rin just calls him that to be polite."

"Maybe I . . . " He almost turned away, but seeing the monk with him, took a deep breath. "He travels with a monk?"

"Yes," Rin replied. "That's Miroku-ojisan. The Houshi-sama and his family live in the village, too."

The boy shook his head at the situation, but as the two men drew close, he bowed toward the monk. "Excuse me, Houshi-sama," he said. "My father told me that was a miko in this village who was good at healing. Do you know what house is hers?"

"You've reached the right house," Miroku said. "But she's out of the house for a moment. What's wrong?"

The youth sagged, and shifted the weight of his sister slightly. The girl didn't stir. "Is there someone who can send for her?"

"Keh," InuYasha said. "We can, if you let us know why."

The boy chose not to look at the hanyou. "My father sent me here. I've been walking half the day. Something's very wrong with my sister."

Miroku looked at the girl, and ran a hand just above her hair, not touching. "There's some magic affecting her. What's been going on?"

"Youkai magic," the boy said, nodding. "She can't stay awake more than an hour or two and she's been getting weaker and weaker each day. No one in our village can help her." He sighed, and bowed his head, looking at his feet. "Our headman thought it might be a fox possession, but nothing he tried helped. Then my father remembered the miko here. Once, she healed my father after a youkai attack when everybody thought he might die from it. He couldn't leave himself, so he sent me. Do you think she can help her?"

"Maybe," Miroku replied. "I'm sure she'll do her best. She's a very good healer. Rin-chan? Will you go get Kaede-sama?"

The girl nodded and ran off.

"Let's get her inside," Miroku said, opening the door. "What's your name, boy?"

"I'm Hiseo," the youth said. "My sister Yume's not the only one in our village like this, but she's the worst. Our elders have sent for help, but nobody's come who can do anything yet."

Miroku pressed his hand on the girl's forehead. She was cool to the touch, with no fever. "Where did you say you were from?"

Carefully, Hiseo unfastened the knot that held the unconscious girl to his back, while Miroku helped lower her to the ground. "We live in Kagemura, just past the marketplace. You've heard of it?" Hiseo said.

Miroku looked at InuYasha, and the hanyou sighed. "Yes, boy, we've heard of it," Miroku said. "I suspect we're going to hear even more about it before your sister goes home. Let's get her comfortable."

It did not take Kaede and Kagome long to return. Seeing the girl on the floor, she quickly had InuYasha and Miroku build up a straw pallet to move the girl onto, and after that began her examination.

Being shooed away from the girl's bedside, the two men retreated to the wall of the hut where they sat as Kaede did her work, although the miko kept Kagome close, explaining to the young woman what she was doing every step. InuYasha watched through hooded eyes, his sword propped against his shoulder, his face emotionless, but his ears revealing his unease. Miroku, sitting next to him, was less withdrawn, but still thoughtful. Hiseo, though, looking up anxiously from time to time, sat next to the small, unconscious body, while the miko used gentle hands to try to understand what was wrong.

Rin watched them all as she tended the fire pit, poking at the flames under a kettle of water, ready to help the older miko make whatever medicine she thought would be useful. "She's going to be all right, isn't she?" she asked.

Kaede, her examination over, took a deep breath. "I expect so, child, if we can get to the cause of why she's like this. Kagome-chan, there's a coverlet in the chest to the right. Could you get it?"

Kagome nodded, and went over to the chest, and carefully pulled things out until she found it. As she repacked the other items, the older miko pursed her lips, then looked up at the youth sitting next to his sister.

"She's weak, but there is no wound or injury that I can find, and she has no fever," Kaede said. "I can feel that she has been touched with some magic, but I can't quite make out its source, except that it has drained her energy. You were right, getting her away from the village, I think. It could have killed her if she stayed near whatever has been doing this."

The boy gave her a nervous smile. "But she'll get better now?"

"If we can keep her away or shielded from what is doing this to her," Kaede said. "So, Hiseo-kun, tell me again how she got this way."

Kagome gave him a small smile, and Rin an encouraging nod of her head.

The boy chewed a bit on his bottom lip as he looked at her, then around at Kagome who was unfolding the cloth to cover Yume, and then at Rin and finally, turning towards Miroku, who also gave him a nod.

"It really will help," the monk said.

Hiseo found he found his voice. "It started, maybe three weeks ago. Strange things started happening in my village at night."

"Like what?" Miroku asked. "Tell us everything unusual, even if you don't think it's important."

"At first it was stuff like jars and baskets left outside getting tipped over at night," Hiseo continued, looking at his sister. He brushed a wisp of hair out of her face. " The elders got all the boys together and gave us a hard talking to, sure it was one of us. I thought the headman was going to give us all a beating, especially after one of his storehouses got broken into." He crossed his arms, and held them close, rocking almost imperceivably. "But then eerie things started happening. One of the old men said he heard strange noises at night by the well, like growls, and my cousin Aya said she saw a floating light moving between the houses. She swore that nobody was carrying it. Other people saw stuff like that too. Yukio-ojisan said the light chased him from one end of the village to the other."

"Then what happened?" Kaede said.

"Animals began disappearing - my neighbor's rooster, a dog the headman had, and then a few days later an ox was found who too weak to get up. It died that day." He sighed. "My uncle really was upset when he found Mika. Now he has to get another ox to plow his rice fields."

"That is sad," Rin said, adding another stick to the fire under the kettle. "Rin would hate it if anything happened to Ah-Un"

Hiseo gave her a curious look, but continued. "After that, Osamu-sama the headman called in a Yamabushi he heard was good at chasing off bad things. He prayed over the village. He said it was it was a black kitsune."

"Feh," InuYasha said, snorting.

"Kitsune get blamed for many things. So," Miroku said, "what did this fine yamabushi have your village do?"

"The holy man gathered everybody in the center of the village and burned a lot of incense around us all. He had us give him a pile of clothes and food as a sacrifice to the fox spirits, and then danced around the village, chanting and sprinkling salt and drawing signs on all the houses. My father wasn't impressed, and thought we were wasting our stuff, and he wasn't the only one. But he added stuff to the pile just like everybody else. The next day, the offerings and the sage were gone."

"Did it help?" Kaede asked.

The boy shook his head. "When the sun went down, the lights at night grew stronger than they ever had been before."

Hiseo watched Kagome as she finished covering the girl. The younger miko brought the covers up to the girl's armpits, laying her hands gently on the cloth. "There. That should keep her from getting too cold," Kagome said.

"Thank you," the boy said.

"Sounds like your yamabushi just make the youkai mad," InuYasha said, scowling. "Probably wanted to let your people know what it thought of the guy."

The boy shrugged. "Nobody would go out after dark after that, because they were afraid they'd see the fox fire dance through the streets. And the sickness - this time it wasn't just animals getting weak - people did, too." He rested a hand on his sister's arm. "About four days ago, we had trouble waking my sister up. Three days ago, she wouldn't stay up much more than an hour at a time. The priest in the next village came over and prayed over her and put an amulet around her neck, but it didn't help."

"So," Kaede said, "How did you end up here? It's a good long walk from Kagemura, especially with such a load on your back."

"My father grabbed me this morning before I went out to the fields, and put my sister on my back and tied her on so she wouldn't slip off, then sent me here." He bowed towards Kaede. "He said to tell you to remember Masuo, and how you healed him when he had a run-in with the Spider Woman."

Kaede thought a moment, and then her face lit up as she recalled the incident. "Ah, I remember that. There was a spider youkai luring travelers to her lair by the river about an hour's walk from here. A young woman got caught by her trap, and your father was very brave, but almost died saving her."

"That was my mother," Hiseo said.

"I was wondering what happened to her. I never heard. Your father was very ill for a while, because of the spider's venom, but she stayed with him until he could walk back. I wondered if they ever wed." Kaede rested her hand on the girl's forehead and looked back up at the youth. "Now to figure out what is afflicting your sister. Has anybody died recently in your village?"

The boy shook his head. "Not recently. About three months before all this started."

The old miko rested her hand on the girl's hair. "Probably not a ghost then, or at least not a recent one. Angry ghosts can manifest as lights and also drain life, but I suspect it would have started soon after the death. Well, if it's an attack by some sort of local youkai, she'll get better just being away from your village. If it's a possession, we'll have to see."

InuYasha had been tilting his head to one side and sniffing. He got up from his place by the wall and knelt down next to Kagome. "She doesn't smell like she's been fox-touched at all."

"Well then, what do you smell?" Kaede asked.

InuYasha looked up at the boy, who despite his reluctance to meet the hanyou's eyes, looked up at him curiously, then he turned back to Kaede. "The only thing not human on her that I can smell is cat."


	44. Chapter 44

_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 44**

The small group in the miko's house turned their eyes to the hanyou. Kaede looked at the girl resting on her pallet, then back at InuYasha.

"Cat?" the old miko said.

InuYasha nodded. "It's pretty strong on her, too. The yamabushi they brought in must not have been any good. Couldn't tell the difference between cat and fox."

Hiseo looked first from Kaede then to InuYasha and then back to the old miko, frowning. "But we don't have a cat," said Hiseo. "They make my mother sneeze. How can you tell that, anyway? She doesn't smell any different to me."

"InuYasha has an extremely sensitive nose," Miroku said. "It's one of his youkai bloodline gifts. And hearing to match."

Hiseo looked at InuYasha again, and tilted his head to the side, finally getting a good look at the hanyou. InuYasha looked back, solemn faced but not threatening, and flicked an ear. The boy, his face coloring slightly, suddenly decided his own hands were rather interesting.

"Was there any way a cat could have gotten to your sister in the last few days? Maybe one she pets when she goes out to play?" Kagome asked.

The boy shook his head. "She's been home and in bed."

"It's not that type of a cat," InuYasha said.

Kagome touched her husband's hand, and he turned to look at her instead of Hiseo. "A bakeneko?"

InuYasha nodded. "That's what it smells like, youkai and cat."

"A demon cat?" Hiseo said. "But nobody's seen anything like that- just shadows and weird lights."

"You wouldn't necessarily catch them in demon form. They can shift their shapes. A bakeneko could look more like a pet cat or even a kitten when they are trying to blend in," Miroku said. "Or even take a human form."

Kaede looked down at the unconscious girl. "That might explain some things."

"True, true," Miroku said. "Some bakeneko are known for draining people's life energy."

"And others eat people," InuYasha said. "Remember that temple with the nun and the bakeneko we ran into?"

Kagome nodded, rubbing her arm. "I still have the scar from it. That one had been eating people a long time."

Hiseo looked up at the hanyou, his eyes grown huge. "A demon cat in a temple? A cat that eats people? You people have seen some strange things."

"We have indeed, my young friend, some even more troubling, but the bakeneko we dealt with that time was a bad one. It had a lot of tricks." He rubbed the base of his chin. "Still, if it were a spirit kitsune possessing Yume-chan, you might not notice the scent, InuYasha."

"Feh," InuYasha said, folding his arms. "Never heard of a kitsune and a bakeneko working together for something like this."

"True," Miroku said. "That would be an odd combination."

The hanyou nodded. "And yeah, I might not smell a youkai who possessed someone and stayed in hiding," InuYasha said. "Long as that bakeneko at the temple hid in the nun, I didn't catch its scent. But I didn't have any trouble when it showed itself. The smell overwhelmed the human smell. Yume smells like human covered with cat."

Hiseo dropped his head into his hands. "I'm confused. Does . . . does that mean my sister is possessed?"

"No, child," Kaede said, returning to her seat with several packets of herbs. She spread a small cloth on her work table and began measuring some of the herbs out on it. "It merely means that whatever gave her this scent has come in contact with your sister's body. If she were possessed, InuYasha probably wouldn't smell anything at all."

"Keh," the hanyou said. "Kaede-babaa's right." His voice was not unkind. "The fact I can smell it means you did the right thing getting her out of there, away from that youkai. A bakeneko needs to be near its victim to feed. She'll be safer here."

"This is true," Kaede said. She looked up at the younger miko. "Hand me my mortar, please, Kagome-chan. We'll prepare a tea that I know of that's good for people who're fighting off the aftereffects of this type of attack."

"How soon does it work?" the boy asked.

"I believe we should see some real change by morning," Kaede said. "But it may take her a few days to get back up to strength."

As Kagome got up and retrieved the mortar and pestle, Hiseo looked down at Yume and covered his sister's left hand with one of his. "Then I'm glad I walked all that way today, even though it was hard." He gave her hand a small squeeze. The girl took a deep breath, but made no other reaction.

"You'll get better, little sister," he said.

"Yes she will," Kagome said.

After a moment, he let her hand go, and rested it gently on the small girl's chest. A thought struck home and he snapped his head up, looking at the adults around him with panicked eyes. "I want my little sister to get better. But . . . but what about the other people back home? Some of them were almost as bad off as Yume-chan. And what about the rest of my family? Are they safe?"

"Maybe InuYasha-ojisan and Miroku-ojisan can help you," Rin volunteered. "They're very good at taking care of bad youkai."

InuYasha took a deep breath and coughed. Miroku, on the other hand, sat up straighter. "Perhaps we can - "

The monk was interrupted by a knock at the door. Kaede nodded to Rin who went over to open it.

"Is this the miko's house, little one?" an older male voice asked.

Rin nodded. Bowing politely, she stepped back to let the visitor in. Kaede stopped preparing her medicine for a moment and looked up. A middle-aged man dressed in crisp blue and brown linen, came inside. He looked like a prosperous villager, and even had a short sword stuck in his obi, but she didn't know who he was.

"May I help you, Dono?" she asked.

"Miko-sama," he said, bowing politely, "I was told that perhaps I might find the houshi here, the one who does exorcisms? He wasn't at the temple or at his home."

"Yes, yes, he's here," Kaede said. "Come in."

The boy, still sitting next to his sister, looked up, surprised. "Ryou-sama?"

The newcomer walked further into the house, and was surprised himself to see the boy sitting on the raised platform. "Hiseo-kun? Didn't expect to find you here. Is that your sister?"

He nodded. "Chichi-ue had me bring her here today."

"Not any better?" the older man asked.

Hiseo shook his head and hung it low "No. She got much worse after you left."

Miroku, who was blocked from view by a large storage jar leaned forward. "Can I help you, Ryou-sama?"

"Ah, Houshi-sama, there you are. I was just . . . "

Ryou caught sight of InuYasha sitting near the two miko, and he froze. The hanyou met his gaze patiently, but said nothing. Ryou looked around the room and seeing that neither Kaede nor the monk was nervous at all, took a deep breath, swallowed, then found his voice again.

He turned to look at the monk, and bowed. "I was just coming to find out when you plan to come to our village, Houshi-sama," the man said, "so that I can tell the elders when to expect you. They will be worried if I don't return tonight."

Miroku gave InuYasha a questioning look. The hanyou glanced at Kagome, the small girl on her pallet, then down at his hands for a moment, then nodded. "We will be leaving in the morning, I believe, if that's all right with my partner over there." He nodded at InuYasha.

Ryou's eyes widened briefly at the word partner. He gave the hanyou a nervous smile and a small nod of his head.

"Keh," InuYasha said, not meeting anybody's eyes. "Tomorrow."

The monk got up. "Before you leave, Ryou-sama, I want to ask you some questions and talk to you about what we'll be doing."

He walked over to the entryway.

Ryou turned to Hiseo. "I'll tell your father you made it to Miko-sama's."

"Thank you," the boy said, bowing. "I'm sure he'll be worried."

"So," Miroku said as they left the building, "just how many people are there in your village?"

"You didn't tell me Miroku had talked to you," Kagome said.

InuYasha shrugged, but didn't meet Kagome's eyes. "He just mentioned that someone was looking for a youkai extermination to me in passing. It was kind of up in the air. I guess he didn't know how bad it was."

Kagome gave him a questioning look."Maybe stopping the bakeneko will help Yume-chan get well faster," she said. "At any rate, it means it'll be safe for her to go back home when you're through."

"Yeah," the hanyou said.

Rin moved closer to the girl's bed. "She looks nice. Rin hopes you can stop whoever's making her sick, InuYasha-ojisan."

InuYasha gave Kagome a glance, but didn't say anything. "We'll do our best, runt."

Kaede put the herbs she prepared into a cup, and poured hot water over them. "Soon as this tea steeps long enough and it's cool, we'll try to get her to drink some. Until then, perhaps I should start lunch. Rin, can you get me the dried kelp?"

As Rin and Kaede began to prepare soup, Hiseo looked up at InuYasha once again. "You're really going to kill the monster?"

"That's what we do," InuYasha said, and stood up. "I need some air." His hands shoved into his sleeves, he walked out of the house.

Kagome, who was putting away the herbs Kaede had used, looked at the older woman, surprised by InuYasha's reactions. "What was all that about?"

"I'm not sure. Perhaps your husband isn't quite ready to leave your side, Kagome-chan," Kaede said. "Why don't you go to him?"

The younger woman nodded, and got up to follow him.

As the door mat closed, Hiseo turned to the older woman. "You have a miko who's married?"

"Yes we do," Kaede said, adding some mushrooms to the soup pot.

"And she's married to . . . a youkai?" He sounded amazed.

"Hanyou, actually," Kaede said, giving the pot a stir. "His brother, though, is the most powerful of youkai, and he is the guardian of Rin-chan here."

"Sesshoumaru-sama comes and visits Rin while she's learning from Kaede-sama," Rin said. "And there's Shippou-kun. He's a kitsune who stays here sometimes."

Hiseo shook his head. "Your village is strange."

"Maybe so, son, maybe so," the miko said, reaching for her mortar. She stood up to put it away. "But it seems to work. After all, we have the people here who can save your village."

"Hn," the boy said, and bent over his sister, and brushed a stray hair out of her face. "If it makes her well, you can be as strange as you want to be."


	45. Chapter 45

_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 45**

Kagome stepped out of Kaede's house, and the door mat swished closed behind her.

InuYasha was across the road, sitting on a fence post, watching her. His face at the moment was solemn and unreadable, but his youki seemed calm, and there was nothing about him that revealed his feelings.

She closed her eyes for a second, took a deep breath, and shifted the basket she was carrying, and opened them again, then quickly looked around. It was a beautiful spring afternoon. Miroku and Ryou were nowhere in sight. Erime, Takeshi's daughter was coming back from the fields with a carry basket on her back. Seeing the miko, she waved. Down the street, two boys were chasing each other, laughing, as a dog running at their heels, barking playfully. Someone's chicken crowed. Everything seemed so . . . normal. Taking that as an omen, Kagome gave InuYasha a bright smile and walked across the road to stand next to him.

"Hi," she said, resting a hand on the fence rail as she looked up at him. The neutral look he had when she first saw him melted into the one he used when he felt uneasy, but didn't want to talk about it, a controlled hardness in the set of his jaw and eyes, a slight scowl on his lips.

"Are you all right?" she asked.

"Keh," he said, jumping down. "Hungry. Ready to go home?"

She nodded. "Kaede said that's enough for today. I guess she's not going to have any problem with Yume right now. If she needs me, I suspect she'll send Rin to come get me."

"Probably won't," the hanyou said. "She knows how to deal with this stuff."

"I know," Kagome said. "I'm sure she does it better when she's not explaining everything to me. I only expect she'll call me if it's time for Sayo's baby. Where's Miroku?"

The hanyou shrugged. "Probably took Ryou to that building he calls a temple. Or maybe to Tameo's. The headman has a guest house where people can stay, not exactly an inn, but visitors here on business stay there a lot."

"Ah," she said. "If they went there, I suspect Hisa-sama's hovering over them both with tea and cakes."

"Feh," he said. "Don't know what he had to discuss. We're going to go there. We're going to kill the youkai, and come back. What's to discuss? He can't be talking about fees. They can't have a lot left to offer, after having given that worthless yambushi all that stuff."

"You'll have to ask him," Kagome said. "Maybe it's just about what to expect when you two get there. A grownup's point of view about what's been going on."

"Yeah, I guess," he said. He stuffed his hands back in his sleeves. They began walking.

"Sayo-chan sent me home with some of her special pickles," Kagome said, hoping to lighten her husband's mood. "I was told that they're considered the best in the village. Want to have some with lunch?"

"Keh," he said. His ear flicked, and his face softened a little. "Pickles are good."

"So what did you do when I was at Sayo-sama's house?" Kagome asked.

"Cut wood for a while. Kinjiro came by to work on the garden. After that, I went hunting and got a couple of rabbits," he said. He looked at her. "You want to make stew? If you don't want that, I could go fishing."

"Stew sounds good," she said. "I'll see what I have to put in it. Or maybe I'll fix that tomorrow. I suspect you'll be getting back late. I can keep it warm until you get home."

His ear flicked again. "Yeah. If we don't end up having to spend the night there."

"Is that why you tensed up?" Kagome asked.

InuYasha stopped and looked at her. "What?"

"You tensed up after Ryou-sama showed up at Kaede's, and you and Miroku already seemed to know why he was there." She tilted her head to one side. "You already knew someone was looking for someone to take care of a youkai problem. Why didn't you tell me anything about it yesterday?"

"There was nothing to talk about then," he replied. "Like I told you, Miroku mentioned it yesterday while you were at Sango's. We didn't make any decision about going. We weren't even sure it was a youkai. I thought it might even be a ghost." He shrugged. "Today, we learned more about what's going on and how bad it is, and how it's important to do something about for that village. So tomorrow, we'll go and take care of it."

"Ah," she said. "I saw how Miroku signaled you before saying anything. I was wondering if you had already turned him down."

InuYasha began walking again. "Didn't tell him one way or the other, really. We were talking about it again when the boy and his sister walked up. That kind of changed things. You saw that girl. Someone's got to do something about what's happening there." He turned back and looked at her. "If I don't go, Miroku'll go by himself, and Sango would have my ears if anything happened to him. He thinks we can get it done in an hour or two, but I'm not so sure. You coming?"

Kagome hurried to catch up to him. "Then why did you hurry out of Kaede's house like that?"

He laughed, a short sound almost like a bark. "Is that what you're worried about? I told you - I needed some air. I don't know what Kaede-babaa was using in her potion, but something in it made my nose burn. I had to get out before I started to sneeze."

Taking his hand, Kagome gave her husband a careful look. "I was just wondering."

"Keh," the hanyou said. "I'm hungry. Let's get home."

They continued on quietly, but bit by bit, the tension Kagome sensed in InuYasha faded. Once they left the main road and headed up the hill, the only person they ran into was Daitaro, leading a young cow as he headed towards his place. He waved at them, then went on his way.

Once Daitaro was out of earshot, InuYasha turned to Kagome. "Heh, the old man's bull looks like he's going to get lucky today or tomorrow," he said, giving her a wag of his eyebrows. "Maybe the bull will stay in his pen for a while without trying to get out, having such a nice young cow to keep him company."

"Huh?" Kagome said, not understanding at first. But as the realization of what he meant dawned on her, she giggled.

"It is that time of year," InuYasha said. "Bull has a good time in the spring and early summer."

Kagome slapped his arm playfully. "That time of year, huh? Maybe that explains why I haven't been getting enough sleep."

He gave her a knowing, satisfied smirk, the seriousness of his earlier mood totally gone. "Best spring I've ever had. Want a ride? I know it's not far, but we could get home faster."

She nodded and he got down to let her get on his back.

"Ooh, I think I'm out of practice doing this," she said as she wrapped her legs around his side and he slid his hands under her thighs. She shifted, trying to get more comfortable."I must still be sore from the other day when we went to the spring."

"You're sure it wasn't from last night?" he said, grinning as he balanced her weight as he stood up.

She reached up and flicked his ear. "I could walk, you know."

This made him chuckle. "Just hold on. We'll be there before you know it. Ready?"

She pulled his hair to one side so she could rest her chin on his shoulder. "I'm ready. This is a lot easier to do in miko hakama than just hiking up my kosode."

He took off at an easy lope, just running, not jumping.

"I really missed doing this while I was gone," she said, leaning her cheek against the side of his head. "We need to do it more often. I have three years to make up for."

"It was more fun for me when you wore those short skirts," InuYasha said, giving her thigh a little squeeze.

She flicked his ear again, but laughed, and leaned her cheek closer against his neck. "More fun for me, too." Her lips found the skin there and gave him a little kiss.

"I know," he said. "I remember how sometimes your scent would change in interesting ways."

"Oh did it?" she asked.

He gave another squeeze to her thighs. "Yeah, kind of like it is now."

She laughed and InuYasha began to run faster. After a few minutes, they arrived in front of their house, and he let Kagome slide down his back.

"That was too short," Kagome said as she reached for the door mat. "Could you go get some water? I'll get started - "

The hanyou grabbed her arm gently and pulled her back to him.

"InuYasha?" she said.

His eyes were warm and intense, and his face was lit with a wicked grin. "Don't think you can just get me to carry you like that and just walk into the house," he said. He cupped her face with his hands, the tips of his claws disappearing into her midnight hair. "You owe me something."

Kagome smiled, amused at his reaction. "But it was your idea."

"Doesn't matter." InuYasha brushed his thumb lightly across her cheekbone before lowering his face to hers. "I still want to get paid." His lips moved lightly at first across hers, then his arms slid down and pulled her close and he intensified the kiss, letting his tongue dance across her bottom lip. Her mouth opened up in return, inviting more, and her arms wrapped around his neck. They stayed there for a long moment, then slowly pulled apart.

"I'm hungry," he said, resting against her forehead.

"Well, if you let me loose, I'll go start lunch." Kagome reached up her hand and slid it into his hair, but made no movement to get away.

"Lunch can wait. I think I'm hungry for something else," he said, and pulled her back into another kiss.

Before they had gotten much more than started, though, something caught his ear's attention. His left ear swung towards the source of the noise, and he pulled away rather abruptly.

"InuYasha?" Kagome asked, surprised. "Anything wrong?"

"I hear someone. We're about to have company. Miroku from the sound of it." He reluctantly let her go.

She took a deep breath. "Well. I need to fix lunch anyway," she replied, smoothing her hair. She lifted the door mat, but turned to him before going in. "We're still going to need water."

Nodding, he followed her inside and grabbed the bucket. By the time he got back out with it, he could see the purple and black robed figure of his friend walking up to the house.

"I better get a chance to at least eat lunch," he said, then walked down the path to find out what the monk had to say


	46. Chapter 46

_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 46**

InuYasha, seeing Miroku walking up to the house, lifted up his water bucket and motioned towards the stream before heading that way. Miroku, returning his nod, followed him to the water's edge, a stone-lined bank where InuYasha had cleared off the weeds to make it easy to use. The hanyou got down on one knee, and laid the wooden bucket on its side to fill up.

"I was wondering when you'd show up," the hanyou said, looking over his shoulder at the monk. "But you're here sooner than I expected."

"Didn't interrupt anything, did I?" Miroku said, a small curious smile on his face.

InuYasha's ear swerved as a bird landed in a tree overhanging the water nearby. He turned back to the stream. "Just my lunch."

Miroku leaned on his staff, watching the hanyou watch his water bucket."I'm heading home for lunch myself. Maybe there'll be something besides cold rice when I get there."

"Nobody's stopping you," InuYasha said. After the monk made no move to leave, InuYasha stood up. "How'd things go with the man from Hiseo's village?"

"Quite well, actually," Miroku said. "He's very pleased we've agreed to go. I learned some more about what's been happening."

"Yeah?" InuYasha said. A leaf floated down the stream heading towards the bucket, and he bent over to flick it out of the way.

"Hiseo-kun was a good witness," Miroku said. "Ryou-sama didn't add much more. There are about three or four other people showing symptoms like Yume-chan, although she seems to be the worst off."

"Three more sick? Cat's been active," InuYasha said.

"It sounds like it," Miroku said, nodding. "But Ryou-sama was in a hurry to go home. Perhaps," he said, looking directly at InuYasha, "with youkai problems in his own village, he was nervous to know there are people like you that live here. It's a good thing Shippou's not here right now. I'm not sure how he would have reacted to seeing a kitsune, no matter how young the kitsune is."

"Couldn't blame him if he did react bad," InuYasha said. The bucket being full, he lifted it out and set it on the grass to drip off before he carried it home. "Kitsune are . . . well, kitsune."

Miroku chuckled. "We talked while I escorted him down the road for a time, then I headed back here. Thought I'd stop and check with you before I went."

InuYasha looked at his bucket, and decided it had dripped enough. He bent over and picked it up. "I guess it was a good thing Hiseo's father sent him here."

"That was the Buddha's blessing," the monk said. "They probably should have sent for us two weeks ago."

InuYasha nodded and started walking back to the house. "Maybe they heard you were expensive. After what you charged them that last extermination . . . word gets around."

"Heh, funny, friend. You saw how well off the manor was and how not as well the nearby village was doing. It was karma," Miroku said, leaning on his staff. "I doubt, in this case, if we would have wanted to charge the village any more than that the person they hired first. And we would have made them happy. We, at least, get results."

Miroku began to follow InuYasha toward the house. "Besides, Ryou-sama seems quite relieved to know we're coming. No doubt part of it is knowing he'll be home for dinner at his own house, but I got the impression the villagers were upset when the headman brought in the yamabushi and nothing good happened." He followed his friend back. "I think he might have been doing some relative a favor, but Ryou-sama didn't exactly say. Still, I don't suspect we'll make anything on this job, but it needs to be done."

"Feh," InuYasha said. "Too many crooks and cons in the exorcist business. Pretending to chase away youkai, pretending there are youkai to chase away. And too many people willing to believe whatever they say." He gave his friend a telling look. "This is what happens when there's a real problem."

Miroku laughed. "Don't lump me with those fakers. I'll have you know I always made sure the house had a proper blessing and left protective sutra behind. Ofuda that worked." The monk shook his head. "It was a fair trade, and it got them good karma. More than I can say for other people."

"Keh," InuYasha said, ready to change the subject. After all, he had benefitted from his friend's method more than once. "We'll want to get an early start," He stopped in front of his door. "Rather catch a bakeneko by daylight. They can be nasty at night."

"Don't I remember," the monk said. "I'm hoping we'll be on our way home before sunset."

"You and me both. I'm not ready to leave Kagome out here alone." InuYasha set the bucket down next to the front door of his house. " I still don't know if I trust all the villagers, even with Tameo keeping an eye on things."

"Have her come over to my house after she's through with Kaede tomorrow," Miroku said, reaching into his robes. He pulled out a small cloth-covered bundle. "You can pick her up there, and she won't have to stay alone at all."

"Yeah, good idea," InuYasha said. "I'll talk to her about it."

Miroku handled the bundle to InuYasha. "Sango sent this for Kagome. I forgot to give it to her with all the excitement about Yume-chan. She wasn't sure if Kagome would come over this afternoon. I think it's something to do with their sewing sessions."

InuYasha nodded, took the bundle, and picked up the bucket. "I'm not sure what she's planning to do, but I'll give it to her. You better get home and let your woman know what's going on. Don't think she'll like it if you spring it on her tomorrow morning."

"True, true. Sango really doesn't like it when I don't let her know what's happening." He turned towards the way home. "But it might be nice if Kagome could come over. Sango sometimes starts fussing over me, wanting to know if I need this or that. I'm sure she'd really rather be going, but with the children. And I really need to prepare for tomorrow. If Kagome's there, it'd be easier for me to get ready."

InuYasha nodded. "I'll tell her."

"See you in a while, then. Go eat your lunch." Miroku turned and left.

Lifting the door mat, InuYasha walked inside. The house smelled invitingly of food.

Kagome sat in front of the low table she used for kitchen work, and was slicing pickles. She looked up as he entered. "Did Miroku leave already?" she asked as InuYasha carried the water bucket to its place.

"Yeah, he stopped by on his way home, but he's gone now." He walked over and sat down at his place by the fire pit and pulled the bundle Miroku had given him out of his jacket. "He told me to give you this. Sango sent it over."

She wiped her hand on a towel and took it from him, and ran her hand across the blue wrap cloth."Did he tell you why Sango sent it over?"

"He didn't know. Said he thought it might be sewing stuff." He reached over Kagome's shoulder and picked up a slice of pickle. She covered the pickles with a towel, and gave him a look.

"Wait. You'll get your fair share," she said. "But I want some, too." Ignoring his pout, she unfastened the bundle and lifted up rectangles of cloth. "Ah, she got it cut out. The girls woke up too soon the last time I was there for us to get it done."

"What is it?" he asked, looking at the lengths of cloth, and then at their food trays already loaded with onigiri and soup.

"It's going to be a new kosode," she said, folding it back up. "For you, if you stop stealing my pickles. But I won't start on it until I go see her next."

"For me?" he asked, honestly surprised.

She nodded, putting pickles on his tray. "You need another one." Kagome handed him his food tray.

"But what about you?" he asked. "I thought I got that cloth for you."

"You did, but I think you need it more. That's what wives do, you know," she said, smiling at him. "They take care of everyone in their family. That, and give away extra pickles when the time is right at lunch." She reached out and put two more pickle slices on his plate, and then moved her tray in front of her, and popped a pickle into her mouth. "Plus, I already have two under kosode. I'll just make another one after I get through with yours."

He picked up one of the onigiri and began eating. "Maybe you're right about the kosode," he said. "Branch on the tree today snagged my sleeve and it got a rip."

"You'll need to let me look at it after we eat, and I'll see if I can fix it," Kagome said, drinking her soup. "If it's really bad, though, I might need Sango's help."

Nodding, he continued to eat. Neither spoke for a few minutes.

Kagome frowned, then reached over and touched InuYasha's arm."You're not upset that I wanted to make you a shirt out of that fabric, are you?"

He shook his head as he picked up his soup cup. "No. Just surprised. I was thinking. You can work on it tomorrow while we're gone," he said. "You ought to stay at Sango's until I get back."

"That's probably what I'll do," she said. "I suspect she'll enjoy having a hand with the kids with Miroku gone."

"Yeah. This is the first time we've gone out when she's had three to take care of. You might be right," InuYasha said, eating his last pickle slice. "The twins can be a handful, even without the baby."

"So I've noticed. And that was with me and Rin helping." She got up, and put her dishes into a wash bowl, then turned back to her husband. "You're finished?"

He nodded, and as she reached for his tray, he wrapped his hand around her wrist Kagome looked up at him. His right ear twitched, and he took a deep breath. "You could stay at Kaede's, too, if you'd rather. Promise me. Don't stay here alone."

Kagome set the tray back down. "InuYasha?"

He looked down at her hand and let go. "I just . . . I just don't know what some of the people here who don't like us . . . what they might do if they know you're here by yourself. By now, everybody in the village knows Miroku and I are going out of town."

She moved the tray, and moved next to him. "But you and Miroku have left me before, back on Market Day."

"Yeah, we did," he said, and wrapped an arm around her. "But Tameo had people up here. No way someone would have done anything. And you weren't being trained by Kaede yet, and wearing these clothes." InuYasha pulled her close and brushed the pad of his thumb across her cheek. "I hate it when I can't protect you myself."

"I could go with you, if it'd make you feel better," Kagome said, reaching up to cup his cheek

"I wish, but now's not the time," he said. "You have your training with Kaede, and she's got one sick kid and Sayo ready to drop any time now. You need to stay here. I just don't want anything happening to you."

She leaned up and kissed him lightly. "If it worries you that much," she said, "I promise. Now let me wash these dishes and you take off your jacket so I can see what the tree did to your kosode." Pouring water in the wash basin, she gave him a little smile.

"Poor kosode's going to have a battle scar," he said, unfastening the ties to his jacket.

"That's what happens when you get into fights with dead trees," Kagome said, washing out a soup bowl. "Was it a hard battle?" she asked.

"Not really" he said, shrugging out of the red garment. "Caught me off guard while I wasn't looking."

"Some dead trees are that way," she said. "Just sneaky."

"Feh," he replied. "But I won the fight.


	47. Chapter 47

_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 47**

Kagome put the last of the dishes away on the shelf in her kitchen cabinet and then stacked the trays on top. Hanging up her towel to dry, she walked over to InuYasha, who had folded his jacket and laid it on top of one of their chests.

"Well, let me see where your sleeve got torn," she said, smiling.

InuYasha stood up, and looking a little sheepish, held out his arm. The tear was L shaped, about two inches long. "Not that bad," he said.

Kagome poked her finger along it and sighed a little. "Not that bad, but yes, your kosode will definitely have a scar," she said, looking up at him. "First though, you'll have to take your shirt off for me to fix it."

"Won't be the first scar," he said, unfastening the garment and pulling the kosode's tail out of his hakama. "Last one Sango fixed for me."

Kagome went over to the clothes cabinet and opened the door where she kept her sewing basket. "That was nice of her. How'd you rip it that time?"

His ear flicked. "Uh," he said, looking a bit embarrassed as he handed her the garment.

She smiled at him as she took the shirt from him, then sat back down. "You don't have to tell me if you don't want to."

He shrugged. "Might as well. It was stupid," he said, with a little sigh, as he sat down next to her. "It happened one new moon night last summer. I was over at Miroku's house, and it was hot. I was down to my kosode and fundoshi. Went outside to use the latrine, and tripped over a root." The hanyou looked at her, something between a grimace and a grin on his face. "Skinned my knee, tore my kosode. Miroku laughed about it for weeks."

Trying not to laugh, Kagome covered her mouth with her hand. "Trees seem to not be liking you as much as you like them."

"Feh," he said, crossing his arms in front of him. "I get my revenge when it's time to make firewood."

"Maybe so," Kagome said, trying to keep her voice neutral as she went through her sewing basket, looking for needle and thread. Finding what she wanted, she unwound a length of thread and ran it through the eye of the needle.

"This will take a few minutes," she said. "I doubt it will be as good a fix as Sango's, but it should least work while you're taking care of business at Hiseo's village."

He nodded, watching while she ran her hand into his sleeve and began stitching the tear closed. "It's all better than I can do."

"Well, at least Miroku doesn't have to know about this rip," Kagome said as she worked. "I really ought to patch it, but I'm not sure the best way. I'll talk to Sango when you get back, maybe after I get your new kosode made."

"Keh," he said, nodding.

"But I'll make sure he's not around when I talk about it," she said, looking up at him. He was watching her hands intently, as she whipped the rip closed.

"You're good with a needle," he said. "Don't know why you talk like you don't know stuff about sewing."

"I know a little," Kagome said. "Mama taught me. I just never had to make anything serious before. It was all for fun. There's a lot I'm sure I don't know." She knotted the thread, then finished it off. Putting her needle back in her pincushion, she held it up. "Maybe not as good as new, but it'll keep until you get back."

He took it from her, slipped it on, but didn't fasten it yet. Instead, he ran his finger over where she had sewn it closed. "For fun, huh?"

"Yeah," she said, nodding. "To make special items, things you couldn't buy at the market, maybe to show someone how much you cared."

InuYasha looked up at her, his eyes intense, but warm. "Everything you do shows how much you care." He reached up and cupped her cheek. "There's been times I'd been lucky to have a single shirt."

Her pulse picked up at the intensity in his eyes. "All that's changed now, InuYasha."

"Still doesn't mean it's not special to me," he said. "Changed doesn't begin to describe it."

Before she could pull away, his hand slid up to her neck and pulled her down into a kiss, tender at first, but quickly escalating. Her hand in turn, found the bare skin beneath his unclosed shirt, and slid around to his back. He began to fumble with the tie to her wrap skirt

There was a knocking on the door, faint at first, and then louder. "Kagome?" a small voice called from outside.

"Dammit," InuYasha said, pulling away. "Where did Shippou come from? Is everybody out to interrupt us today?"

Kagome sighed, and gave her husband a small, bittersweet smile. She stood up. "I guess we're destined to have other things to do," she said, rubbing his ear briefly. "That's my promise for later." Then smoothing her clothes, she began walking to the door.

InuYasha, scowling, fastened his kosode, and grabbed his jacket. "He must have come back from his training. Wonder if Kaede-babaa sent him up here?"

She lifted up the doormat, to see the small kitsune beaming up at her.

"Kagome! You're still here," Shippou said, leaping up into her arms. "Miroku said you were, but I was still afraid you had left."

"Of course I'm here," she said, ruffing the boy's red hair. "This is where I live now. It's you who's always coming and going. I never know where you're at."

"I've been learning more kitsune magic," he said, smiling up at her. "There's a lot to learn."

"I bet," she said.

"Feh," InuYasha said, fastening his obi. "You might need to learn it, but better be careful who you use it on around here."

Shippou ignored the hanyou. "Did you see the two people who Kaede-sama has at her house?" Shippou asked. "Kaede sent me to Miroku's when the guy almost ran out when I walked in."

"Did he really?" Kagome asked.

The kit nodded. "And I didn't even do anything yet. I just walked in."

"Doesn't surprise me," InuYasha said, walking next to Kagome. He rested his hand on her shoulder. "Doubt if he's ever seen a kitsune up close."

"He kind of shrieked when he saw me," Shippou said, "and threw himself over the girl's body. Then Rin started to giggle. He wasn't too happy about that."

"That's Hiseo-kun and his sister Yume. I helped Kaede with them earlier."

InuYasha took a deep breath and moved back to his seat by the fire pit. Kagome watched him move off, then chewed her bottom lip as she thought about what to say next.

Shippou spoke first. "What's their story anyway? Kaede-sama was too busy sending me off to tell me."

"Poor Yume-chan. InuYasha and Miroku think she's been attacked by a youkai, which is why Hiseo-kun was so nervous." She looked around the room, glancing at her husband, who was staring into the fire, poking at the ash with a stick, and then spied her washtub. "So, Shippou-chan, are you here just for a visit? If so, you can help me do the laundry."

The kit took a glance at the wash tub, which although unfilled, had several pieces of cloth in it, and shook his head. "No thanks. I came by because Miroku sent me. He wanted to ask if you were coming over for your sewing lesson this afternoon."

Kagome let the kit down. "I don't know," she said. "I really was thinking about doing laundry today."

"Maybe you should go," InuYasha said, throwing the stick into the fire and standing up. "The laundry can wait."

She tilted her head, surprised at his response. "Are you sure?"

InuYasha nodded.

"Well then," she said. "Shippou-chan, go back and tell them I'll be there in a little while. I've got a few things to do first before I go." She smiled at the kit. "Unless you want to help."

Shippou shook his head. "I'll go tell him. Sango said she was making some sweet dumplings."

He gave her a big smile. "If I don't get back, the twins might eat them all. See you there!" The young fox hurried out of the door.

Once the doormat closed, InuYasha walked over to Kagome and turned her around. Sliding his hand into her hair, he gave her a quick, chaste kiss. "You were right about us having other things to do today."

"I'm surprised you want me to go," Kagome said, frowning slightly as she looked up at InuYasha. "You certainly didn't seem that way before Shippou showed up."

"Keh," the hanyou said, shrugging. "I got distracted and forgot. Miroku asked me to ask you if you would come over today."

"Did he tell you why?" Kagome went over to the clothes cabinet and got her latest sewing project out. "I probably won't get started on the kosode today, even if I have Sango to help me. I'd like to finish the last of these towels."

InuYasha nodded and bent over and picked up her sewing basket and handed it to his wife. "I think Sango gets anxious before he goes on an extermination. He says she fusses over him too much sometimes. And he told me he needs to do some stuff to get ready. Maybe he needs to make some more ofuda."

"Ah," she said, tucking the unfinished towel into the basket. "I guess that makes sense. She probably wishes she could go, too. I can understand that feeling." She frowned a little. "This has been an aggravating afternoon. Nothing seems to be going the way I was hoping today. I can't even get the rabbit stew started."

He moved behind her, and kissed the back of her neck. "I know. Not what I wanted, either." His hands slid around her waist, and drifted lower.

Kagome turned around and looked up at him. "I guess we'll have a lot to do this evening."

He let her go, and watched as she put a few more things into her basket. "At least that's something to look forward to. Maybe it'll make the time go faster."

Having gotten everything she wanted in one basket, she gave InuYasha a quick peck on the cheek and a rub to his ear. "Maybe. Let's go. The sooner Miroku can get his preparations done, the sooner we can come back and get back to what we really were planning."

Moving to the door, she gave him a smile, slipped on her sandals and stepped outside.


	48. Chapter 48

_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 48**

Kagome, having finished putting the last touches on the towel she had been working on, sat in Sango's hut, stitching a long seam in two pieces of white linen. Or she was trying to. Shippou tugged on her sleeve to emphasize a point in the story he was telling, wanting to make sure she was watching.

As he spoke, his voice grew louder and louder. "And then my cousin snuck up on the farmer and tugged his cap off and - "

Sango stopped what she was doing and rested a hand on the kit's shoulder."Shippou-kun, if you can't be quiet, why don't you go and see Kaede-obaachan?" Sango said.

"You were getting a bit loud, Shippou-chan," Kagome said, pulling affectionately on his hair bow.

He looked up at her with surprise. "But I thought you wanted to know what I had been doing."

"It's not that," Sango said. She knelt next to an open storage chest, carefully lifting out clothes that had been neatly folded and putting them to the side. "If you wake up the twins, I won't rescue you when they try to pull your tail."

"I can't go to Kaede's right now," the kitsune said, jumping onto the chest lid. "Kaede said not to come back until dinner time, because of the sick kid she has there. And I can't even play with Rin, because Rin's helping her. That's why she didn't come over today." He peered over and looked into the box. "Did you lose something?" he asked.

"No," she replied. "It's just at the bottom." Lifting one more folded garment out of the way, she pulled out a pair of deerskin tabi. "There you are! I knew I put you in there."

She laid them on the side, and started carefully replacing the folded clothes, leaving out a set of things for Miroku. Shippou scurried off the box as she removed the stick that propped it up and slowly lowered the lid.

Kagome looked up from her sewing and smiled at the kit. She tucked her needle into the fabric and rested the cloth in her lap, then patted the floor next to her. "Shippou-chan, come back and sit down by me, and let Sango do what she needs to do," she said. "She needs to get things ready for Miroku's trip tomorrow. It takes more to get him ready than it does InuYasha."

The kitsune walked over to where Kagome sat in the light from an open window and plopped down, resting his cheek in the palm of his hand. "Do you want to hear the rest of the story?"

"You can tell me later," Kagome said, picking her needle back up. "I bet we'll have lots of time to talk tomorrow."

He sighed. "If you say so. So, what are you making?" He gently touched the white linen.

.

"A kosode," she said. "InuYasha needs another under kosode."

"InuYasha, huh? When you're done, will you make me one?" he asked, looking up at her blinking big bright blue eyes.

Sango put the clothes she had laid out on a cloth and put the bundle on top of the chest. "I thought I made you one three months ago, Shippou-kun. Did something happen to it?"

He looked up at the taijiya, and chewed on his bottom lip for a moment. "Uh, it's at my uncle's."

"Oh?" she asked, picking up her own sewing basket. "I didn't think you were wearing the one I made you."

"Well, there was this oni my cousins woke up, and we ran away from it before my uncle could find out. But while we were running, I fell into the river and this kappa grabbed me," he spoke very rapidly, moving toward the door. "And he ripped my shirt. My uncle's daughter is going to fix it." He looked up and saw Sango's displeased look, and swallowed. "And I think I'll go see what InuYasha's doing." And with that, he bounded off.

"That boy," Sango said, sitting next to Kagome. "He's so hard on his clothes. I wonder if Naoya's going to be as bad?"

Kagome giggled. "Well, at least Naoya's not a kitsune, and won't be getting into the same type of trouble," she said, picking her sewing back up. "But it's always been my impression that boys are hard on their clothes, compared to girls. I know my brother was. Still is, probably." Her face shadowed briefly, thinking about him, but then she smiled. " Speaking of brothers, how's your brother doing?"

Sango opened up her sewing basket, and pulled out the garment she was working on, the under kosode for Rin. "He's very busy with his sensei, from what I hear. We found another group of taijiya. My father knew and respected the leader, and he liked my father. Once he heard our story, he agreed to take Kohaku on as an apprentice." She sighed. "But I don't know if Kohaku's just busy or avoiding us, to be honest. He doesn't come by often, but the last I heard, old Toutousai had made him a new scythe and chain."

"Really?" Kagome said. She tugged her needle, and the thread refused to pull through. Looking at it, she frowned. "Thread, how did you get that tangled up?" As she worked to untangle it, she said, "That's impressive about your brother. A taijiya using a youkai-forged weapon to fight rogue youkai - and by a smith as good as Toutousai. Funny how that works."

"It is, isn't is?" Sango said, spooling off a long length of thread, and then threading her needle. "He must be doing well. And Kirara is with him, so I know he's in good hands. I miss him, but this is what he wanted."

"You don't think he's still feeling to blame for everything Naraku made him do, do you?" Kagome asked.

Sango sighed and began stitching. "I'm not sure. He knows he's not really to blame, but I think he still feels like he owes something, to do what he can do to make things right. Well, his sensei is a good man. I'm sure he won't let Kohaku feed on guilt. Besides, this is what he was raised to do." She looked up and gave Kagome a little smile. "If Naraku had never come by, that's what he'd be doing, anyway, exterminating troublesome youkai."

"That's true," Kagome said, nodding.

The two fell silent for a time, working on their sewing. The quiet was peaceful, but began to stretch out too thin, and Kagome looked up.

"It feels so long since we finished fighting Naraku," she said. "We had some interesting times. Do you miss it, being able to go out with Miroku?"

"Yes and no," Sango said, pulling the thread through her fabric. "There are days when Miroku is getting ready to go on a youkai extermination that I wish I was going, and the walls of this house just seem so small. It was what I was raised to do, too. And then I look at my girls, and know I need to be here for them as well. Perhaps, as they grow up, they'll want to learn. And if they do, I'll teach them."

Sango smoothed the fabric over her lap, examining her work, then picked it to continue her stitching. "I still do my practice routines, so I stay in shape and don't lose my edge. But I don't miss all of it. I don't miss sleeping in the woods, or the pain of what it feels like to get hurt, and the bad food on the road. I certainly don't miss all the strange looks from old peasant men who don't think women should wear armor. Mostly though, I stay too busy to think a lot about it."

Kagome nodded. "At times, after I went back home, it seemed almost like a dream, what we went through. Sleeping out of doors, traveling all day, and all the being scared and fighting and being tired and still having to study for my next test." She put her sewing to the side. "I don't miss most of that, especially all the tests I had to take. But while I was stuck back on the other side of the well, I really missed having you to talk to. My friends back home, they had no idea of what I had been through, and there was no way I could really tell them." She gave Sango a wry smile. "Even the little bit I did tell them, it seemed like a fairy tale to them. It wasn't real to what their life was like."

Sango reached out and touched her hand. "I missed you too. The village women are nice, and they mean well, but none of them have had the type of life I've lived. I think I scare them sometimes."

"You're sure it's not Miroku doing the scaring?" Kagome asked, smiling.

Sango giggled, covering her mouth. "No, no. I don't think he could ever scare the women that way. They aren't frightened of him at all. But they all know I was a taijiya, and now I'm married to a monk. I don't think they even know what to think about me. Like you and InuYasha, we're doing things that just aren't the usual way."

"That makes us more like sisters than ever," Kagome said, continuing her sewing. "We shared so much during the quest. It's so good to have someone here that I can talk to about things, and who knows what it was really like." She held up her work to examine the seam she had been working on. "And who understands that I have a lot to learn about sewing. Does this look all right?"

Sango ran her finger down the seam. "That'll do. Although on the other piece, you might want to make your stitches a little smaller. You'll be repairing it less often."

Kagome frowned. "Should I take it out and do it again?"

"No, I don't think so. That seam doesn't get much stress anyway. Let me show -" Suddenly there was a soft crying from the wicker baby's bed next to Sango, which began to ramp up into a loud wail. "Hush, hush baby," she said, picking him up. "Okaa's here. You're wet and hungry, huh? But you don't want to wake up your sisters do you?" She turned to Kagome. "Could you hand me that basket over there?"

Kagome handed her the basket, and Sango changed the baby. Even before Naoya calmed down, there was a noise at the back of the house

"Okaa?" said a small girl's voice. "Noriko pushed!"

"Well, I guess you didn't want to wake your sisters up after all, little boy," Sango said. "Sounds like they were already up." She got up and went to the back to see what the twins were up to.


	49. Chapter 49

_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 49**

Miroku sat under a tree near his house. In front of him was a low table, covered with stacks of blank and used papers, along with brush and ink. Dipping his brush in the ink, he quickly moved his brush over the paper, his face smooth as he concentrated on his work. InuYasha stretched out on his side, facing the monk, but not really watching him.

"So," the hanyou said, plucking up a piece of grass. He twirled it between his thumb and finger. "How many of those you need?"

"Enough," Miroku said, dipping his brush in ink before carefully writing on a fresh square of paper. "Better too many than not enough."

"Keh." InuYasha tossed the grass away. "I was just wondering."

"Any particular reason why?" Miroku looked at his friend, who had rolled over on his back, clasping his hands behind his head. "Thinking about chopping wood?"

"Maybe. Or something. Watching you write's not the most exciting thing to do." The hanyou's right ear flicked, and sighing, he sat up. "Maybe not quite yet. Sounds like we're about to have company."

Miroku, lifted up his pen and carefully moved the piece of paper aside. "Shippou?"

"Who else?" the hanyou said as the small kitsune came bounding out of the house.

"I could think of several someone elses," Miroku replied. "Most of them are female."

"Keh," InuYasha replied. "Don't think Naoya's old enough to come join us on his own."

"True, true," Miroku said. "So make that all female."

InuYasha snorted.

As foretold, Shippou popped out of the monk's house and scampered over to the two men. He quickly jumped up on Miroku's shoulder, peering at the stacks of paper. "What're you doing?" he asked.

"Making ofuda," Miroku said. "I'm not sure you want to be so close when I charge them up."

The kitsune jumped down. "You could have told me," Shippou said, moving closer to InuYasha.

"I just did." Miroku held the piece of paper between his hands, and it glowed briefly. He picked it up, and put it with the others he had completed. "So my young friend, did you manage to irritate my lovely wife?"

"No," Shippou said, sitting down. "Not exactly."

InuYasha flicked an ear. "That's not what it sounded like to me. Why else was she asking if you were sure that Kaede-babaa told you to stay away?"

Shippou shot a dagger look at the hanyou. "Maybe she just didn't like my story."

"Or how loud it was," InuYasha said. "She'd really have been mad at you if you woke up the twins before their nap was done."

The little kit crossed his arms in front of himself, and gave a quite audible "Feh."

Miroku chuckled. "You've been hanging around InuYasha too long, Shippou-kun," he said, picking up another square of paper. "You need to find better excuses."

"Hey," the hanyou said. "I don't say that as an excuse."

"Anyway," Shippou said, ignoring InuYasha's reaction. "That's only part of why I came out. Sango told me you were going after a bakeneko tomorrow."

"Yeah," InuYasha said, stretching back out on the ground. "That girl at Kaede-babaa's, she reeks of one."

"That made me think of something," Shippou said. "I want to go with you and Miroku tomorrow."

"Why?" InuYasha asked.

"Because," Shippou said. He jumped on the hanyou's head.

InuYasha sat up quickly, reached up and pulled the boy off his head, and dropped Shippou on the ground. "You have to do better than that, brat. Bakeneko are hard enough to deal with without kitsune games."

Shippou got up off the ground and glared at the hanyou while dusting off and fluffing his tail. "Maybe I know something about this cat," Shippou said.

InuYasha bent over and looked him in the eye. "What would you know?"

The kitsune plopped down. "My uncle told me something."

"The guy who's training you?" InuYasha asked, straightening back up. "The old kitsune to the east of here?"

Shippou nodded. "Remember when I was gone for almost a week last month? One of my uncle's grandsons got attacked by a bakeneko. He was living in an old Inari shrine, and the cat beat him up and chased him out."

Miroku, who had been enjoying the bickering the two were doing, stopped his writing and looked up. Putting down his brush, he looked at the kitsune. "You think this might be the same bakeneko?"

"Maybe," the boy said. He bounded back over to Miroku. "Can I go?"

InuYasha crossed his arms and stuffed them in his sleeves, giving the monk a stern look. Miroku ignored him. Shippou jumped up on Miroku's shoulder. "Please?"

"Tell me what happened, why you think it's the same youkai, and why you want to go, and we'll see," he said, picking the boy up and putting him down. "And no exaggeration, all right?"

Shippou nodded. "After my uncle found out about my cousin, we all went to the shrine the next evening and ganged up on the cat. One of my cousins even bit off its front paw. But there weren't enough of us to kill it. It's very old and crafty. The bakeneko fought us and ran off. My uncle, though, has promised a special reward to whoever can bring him the cat's tail."

"Why the tail?" Miroku asked.

"Ojisan says they carry special magic in their tail," Shippou said.

"Feh," InuYasha said. "Bet the old fox got a special plan for that magic. I've heard some of the things he's done."

The kit looked at the hanyou, giving him a dark look. "Don't talk bad about my uncle. Anyway, once you take their tail, my uncle told me they turn back into normal cats."

"You believe that?" InuYasha said.

"That's what Ojisan says." Shippou said. He stared directly at the hanyou. "Ojisan knows more than you."

Miroku reached out, and turned the kitsune around. "I'm sure your uncle does, Shippou-kun. He's a very wise, old kitsune. But tell me, while all this was going on, did you see the bakeneko?"

"Yeah," the boy said, shaking his head affirmatively. "It was a big cat, and scary, and it looked like it could have eaten any of us. Bigger than Kirara. It's white and black and brown." Shippou pointed to his forehead. "There's two big brown and one black splotch right above its eyes."

"So what makes you think it's the same bakeneko?" InuYasha said. "Lots of cats everywhere."

"Uh . . . " Shippou scratched his head. "Cause it happened near here?"

"Where's the shrine?" Miroku said.

"It's on the mountain about half a day's walk from Kagemura," Shippou said. "Isn't Kagemura where you're going?" He chewed on his lip. "I think Kaede's hut smelled a little like it, maybe from that girl, but they didn't let me stay there long enough to be sure."

Miroku glanced up at InuYasha, and the hanyou shrugged. "It's quite possible it's the same bakeneko. It showed up at the village about the same time Shippou's grandfather took it on. If it was wounded, it might not have been strong enough to take on humans yet." He gave Shippou a thoughtful look. "You do realize, Shippou-kun, that if it's the same bakeneko that you and your family chased off, he's going to be particularly unpleasant to any small kitsune he finds before we get rid of him" He scratched the back of his head. "I imagine, being a cat, he could think off all sorts of interesting things to do, since they like to play with their food. Bite off his tail, use him as a ball, play pounce the kitsune . . . "

Shippou took a deep breath, and stood up tall. "I'm not scared."

"I know that, Shippou," Miroku said. He leaned on his table and rested his cheek in his hand, thinking. "I was rather hoping, though . . . "

"Hoping what?" the boy asked.

"I was rather hoping that you would stay here to keep an eye on Sango and Kagome. If something happened, only you could be fast enough to come tell us," Miroku said. He picked up his ink brush. "Or if we were late coming back - you'd be the only one from the village who could find us fast and see if we needed help." He wet his brush in the ink. "Of course if your honor, your obligation to your uncle won't let you help us that way, I'll have to figure something else out. Perhaps I could convince Sango to bring the children."

"Why would you need to bring Sango?" Shippou asked.

Miroku just shook his head, not answering.

InuYasha, with a half-concealed smirk, gave Miroku a knowing look and a slight nod of his head as he went along. "Feh," he said. "I know what Sango'd say to that. Remember what happened the last time you tried to travel with the girls?"

"Don't remind me, InuYasha. I had a headache for a month." Miroku began writing another ofuda. "But there's nothing else but to do that. I hate putting the girls in harm's way, but what else can I do? We might need backup. Sango's still staying in practice, even with the girls." He looked up at InuYasha. "But what can we do? If Shippou has to go, he has to go."

"Uh," the kit said. "But . . . but Sango always . . . "

The monk sighed. "All because of a cat's tail. Something that perhaps we could even bring back." Holding the slip of paper, he took a deep breath, and charged it, before adding it to the others.

InuYasha laid back down, his hands behind his head, looking up at the sky. "Don't know what Kaede-babaa will say. She's not going to be happy if I have to drag Kagome all over the countryside when there's a baby on the way and a sick brat to take care of, but I don't want to leave her like that. If Sango has to go, Kagome has to, too. No way I'd leave her in the village with nobody to keep an eye on her, and Kaede-babaa has her hands full right now."

Shippou turned and looked at both the men, who looked at him with serious faces. "Wait a minute," Shippou said. "Are you two trying to pull something on me?"

"Whatever gave you that idea, my fine young kitsune friend?" Miroku said. "We just wish that you would stay here in case Sango or Kagome needs us, or in case we get delayed. We could even bring you back the trophy that would make your uncle happy. But if you have to go with us . . . "

The kit crossed his arms, and gave them both dark looks. "All right, all right, I'll stay. But if you're not back by breakfast time the day after, I'm coming to see why. I better not need to save you two. And you better not blow up that cat's tail."

He turned himself into his pink balloon form, and drifted over them. "I'm going to see if it's late enough for me to go to Kaede's. She might chase me away, but I know she won't be telling me stupid stories like that." And with that, he was gone.

"That was good," InuYasha said, stretching back out. "I wasn't looking forward to dealing with both cats and foxes."

"I just hope you won't need to use a Kaze no Kizu on the cat," Miroku said.

InuYasha turned on his side and faced Miroku. "Why?"

"If we don't get to get that bakeneko's tail, we'll have one rather irritated kitsune on our hands. No telling what he'll think of to get back at us. Who knows? He might even bring in his relatives. I'd rather not have my house turned into a repeat of the Kitsune Inn."

"Keh," the hanyou said. "I'll remember that. Tameo'd probably kick us out for sure if that happened."

"And Sango would probably help him." Miroku. "And, if it were your fault, I'd probably help her."

"I thought you were my friend," InuYasha said. "Fine way for a friend to act."

"I am, I am," Miroku said, writing another ofuda. "But a houseful of kitsune can strain the best of friendships."

The hanyou lifted his head up and snorted."Sometimes, one is more than enough."

Miroku chuckled and charged the next ofuda. "True, true."


	50. Chapter 50

_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 50**

Not long after Shippou left, Miroku used his last sheet of paper. "That should do it," Miroku said, putting his pen down. Closing his eyes, he charged the last ofuda.

"About time," InuYasha muttered, standing up.

"Indeed. But it might have taken longer without your and Kagome-sama's help." Miroku gathered his new ofuda and stuck them into his sleeve. "I'm as ready as I can be before actually getting to the village. And I suspect by now, Sango needs an extra hand with the girls if I ever want to get my supper." He put his ink and pen away in their case.

"They've been up for a while now," InuYasha said, picking up Miroku's writing table. "Kagome's been telling them a story, something about two dragon girls."

"I forget, sometimes, just how well you hear. I hope it's been a good story," Miroku said, heading back to the house.

"I wasn't trying to overhear or anything," InuYasha said. "But it sounds like the girls like it. Or at least they're being quieter."

Miroku slid open the door. "I wonder what else you've heard over the years that you never let on about."

"You don't want to know," the hanyou said, then followed him inside.

"You're probably correct, my friend," Miroku said.

In the middle of the room, the two little girls were sitting one on each side of Kagome, looking up at her with surprising attention. Sango sat nearby, working on her sewing.

"And the dragons danced around and with the little girl, happy at last to be free of the ugly oni," Kagome said. "Afterwards, taking the oni's treasure, they flew back to her village. The little girl used the treasure to take care of her parents, and the dragons made their home on the mountain overlooking the village. No one was ever able to threaten the village again."

"Yay!" Noriko said.

"Dragon girls!" Yusuko said. She got up and started turning in circles. "Dragon girls!" she chanted as she danced across the room, until she spied her father. "Daddy!" She ran to him, and was quickly followed by Noriko.

Miroku caught them both up. "You've been good while Daddy was working?"

Tucking her needle into the fabric securely, Sango put the garment she was working on in her sewing basket. "They have. But can you take them out for a while? They could use some fresh air, and I need to start dinner."

Miroku nodded. "So tell me all about the Dragon girls," he said to the twins as he headed out the door.

InuYasha put the table Miroku had used on the raised floor and looked up at Kagome. She nodded in return, then picked up her sewing basket. "I need to get dinner started, too."

Sango nodded, standing up and moving to her place near the fire pit, where she began to stir the coals to get the fire going to cook. "It is that time of day. I'll have to remember that story you told the girls. They really seemed to like it."

"It's a cute one. My grandfather used to tell it to me when I was little, but there was only one dragon girl when he told it . . . " Kagome's voice dropped off, and her smile dropped for a moment. Taking a deep breath, she smiled again. "I'll see you tomorrow, Sango, and you can show me that sewing trick you were telling me about."

"I'll make lunch," Sango said. She fed a few small bits of sticks to the coals and then added a larger piece. "I've got a recipe you might like to try out."

"Sounds good," Kagome said.

With a few more words about their plans for the morning, and a wave to Miroku and the girls, Kagome and InuYasha headed home.

As they were walking back to their house, someone off the path shouted a loud "Kuso!"

It was quickly followed by, "I told you they didn't get this far, old man," said with a great tone of satisfied smugness.

"If I get my hands on the brats who did that . . . " the first voice said. It sounded old and very frustrated.

Kagome looked up at InuYasha. "Daitaro?"

InuYasha nodded. "And Takeshi, by the sound of it."

"I wonder what . . . " Kagome said.

About that time, the unexpected pair stepped onto the path InuYasha and Kagome were taking. Daitaro was carrying a heavy hoe that he was using like a walking stick, and Takeshi, a handsome man about twenty years younger, carried the broken wooden lid to something large, at least the size of a washtub. Seeing the hanyou and the miko, Takeshi bowed politely. Daitaro, obviously still angry, merely gave a small nod.

"InuYasha-sama, Miko-sama, how pleasant to meet you here," Takeshi said.

Kagome gave a polite bow. "Takeshi-sama. It's been a long time since we last spoke."

"It has indeed. I hadn't had a proper chance to pay a visit to you yet. My daughters, though, keep wondering when you will come by and visit us."

"Things have been so busy since I've returned," Kagome said.

Takeshi nodded, and was about to say something but Daitaro tapped his staff impatiently on the ground.

"Pleasantries later, Miko-sama. My friend here is impatient." Takeshi said, smiling at Daitaro, who merely glared back.

"So what brings you up here, old man?" InuYasha said. "You didn't sound too happy as you were walking up here."

"Scoundrels," Daitaro said. "If I find them . . . " He tapped his hoe hard on the ground in emphasis.

Kagome and InuYasha exchanged glances.

"You haven't seen anybody run up the trail, have you?" Takeshi asked.

"No," Kagome said. "But I've been at the village or with Sango all day." She looked up at InuYasha.

"Keh," InuYasha said. "Been at Miroku's all afternoon, since lunch."

"Bastards threw dirt into my latest batch of brewing. Threw the mash onto Chime's laundry, too. And while we were in the house, too. " He lifted his hoe again, striking the dirt. "Found the lid to the mash halfway here."

"Heavy thing for a boy to carry," InuYasha said.

"They were rolling it like a wheel," the older man said. "Or at least that's what the tracks looked like. Making a game out of my sake." He got ready to slam his hoe-staff back into the ground.

Takeshi grabbed it as Daitaro started to lift it back up. "Stop that. It's not going to magically make them appear." He looked up at InuYasha. "There were at least two boys. We got a glimpse of them but they dropped the lid and ran deep into the woods before we could really see who it was."

"Pretty sure who it is," the older man said. "But I'm going to have to catch them red-handed before I can go complaining. It's not the first time they've pulled a prank."

"And you're not the only one they're bothering," Takashi pu down the heavy piece of wood he was holding and shook out his arm. "Someone plucked the tail feathers off of one of Toshiro's roosters, I hear."

"Bah. Knowing that family, wouldn't be surprised if it was one of their own who did it. But still, they seem to like getting over here often enough, whoever's doing it. Got into Chime's big pickle jar a few weeks ago." Daitaro spit. " It's a good thing she didn't catch them. As mad as she was she probably would have pickled them."

"I doubt if they would have pickled as well as her turnips," Takeshi said.

This made Kagome giggle. Daitaro smiled at her.

"No, but after all the stink about how they ruined her pickle mash, it would have been worth seeing the end result." Daitaro shifted his hoe into his other hand. "Don't think they'd make a good malt rice, though. Would definitely spoil the sake." He tapped the ground again, and sighed, before resting the hoe over his shoulder. "Probably have to wait until fall before I can make another batch now. Hope I made enough to last."

"Ojisan made plenty," Takeshi said. "He's always generous with it."

"Not the same. Tameo's got to be generous to get rid of it," the older man said. A thought struck him and he gave InuYasha a hopeful look. "You've got a better nose than I do. You scented anybody not supposed to be around here?"

The hanyou's ear flicked at the question, but he shook his head. "Nothing up here that's not supposed to be here. And nothing recent, except for you, old man."

"They're probably on the other side of the village by now," Takeshi said. "They'll get caught eventually. Whoever it is, is getting bolder. I heard Choujiro complain about how someone trampled his vegetable patch a few days ago."

"Vegetables can be replanted," Daitaro said, sighing. "But my sake mash . . . "

"Well," Takeshi said, picking up the wooden lid. "We ought to go back, old man. Nothing else to find here."

"Please tell Erime and Tama that I'll be sure to stop by soon," Kagome said.

"Heh," Daitaro said. "If you don't go and visit them soon, you'll have to come to my place to visit Erime. Although I don't think Shinjiro will mind too much."

"She's marrying Shinjiro?" Kagome said. "She told me she was getting married, but didn't tell me who it was."

"That's why I was down at Daitaro's house," Takeshi said. "Our women are busy getting everything ready. Plots and plans and sewing. They're better at that sort of thing, it seems."

"Or noisier about it," Daitaro grumbled.

Takeshi laughed. "That too. Come on, old man. Let's see if they put their sewing down long enough to think about dinner."

Waving goodbye, the two men turned and left.

"That was . . . interesting," Kagome said, as they watched the two men head down the road. "So someone's going around and doing mean pranks to people."

"Keh," InuYasha said. He began walking again.

Kagome followed. "How come you didn't mention about what happened to us?"

"Maybe for the same reason Daitaro didn't mention any names. If I don't catch them red-handed, who's going to believe me?"

"Tameo did, I think, from what Miroku told us," she said, catching up to him and taking his hand.

"He may have believed us, but there's not much he can do until they catch the brats in the act," InuYasha said. "Aki's the grandson to one of the chief village elders. That makes it tricky. Do the wrong thing, and there might be a village feud."

"I guess," Kagome said. "Doesn't seem fair, though."

"Lots of things aren't fair. Like me spending the afternoon watching Miroku write when I really wanted to . . . "

Kagome tugged on his hand, and he stopped and looked at her. She reached up and gave him a quick kiss on the lips.

"What was that for?" he asked.

"My promise for later. When we won't be interrupted."

"Now that is something that sounds fair." He kissed her back, as quickly as she kissed him. "But dinner first?"

"Dinner first," she agreed.

An hour later, while Kagome was finishing her cooking, InuYasha knelt by the stream, filling up his water buckets for their bath water.

His ear flicked as a twig crunched coming towards him, but outside of changing out buckets, he didn't move. The scent that came with it was a familiar one that had no threat.

"That a good water hole you made there," Daitaro said. He stood next to the hanyou, his grizzly head nodding his approval.

"Keh," InuYasha said. "It does the job." His bucket filled, he hauled it up and stood. "Still looking for the brats?"

"Hoping, hoping, but they're long gone," Daitaro said. "I hear you and the monk, you're going over to Kagemura tomorrow."

"Looks that way," InuYasha said. They began moving toward the house.

"I'll get my boys to keep an eye on things. I don't like leaving her here alone, with those brats running loose."

InuYasha put his buckets down. "Thanks. She's going to be spending the time with Sango until we get back."

"Just as well," Daitaro said, nodding. "We'll catch those brats one day and knock some sense into their heads. But until then, we'll keep an eye out and be ready for trouble." He got a rather silly grin on his face. "So, how'd you like the mushrooms? My old woman, she says they're almost as good as that special grass I give the old bull."

As it dawned on InuYasha what the old man meant, he blushed, but instead of getting upset with embarrassment, he grinned back. "They were . . . good." His grin faded, and he looked at the old man with something close to wonder. "Daitaro, why are you being so nice to us?"

He patted the hanyou's arm. "Heh. Let's just say you're a good bull-catcher. That's worth a lot in my eyes." He chuckled. "You and the monk, take care. The cows'll be dropping soon, and that old bull, he'll be ready to roam. You'll be getting plenty of time to pay me back for that."

And laughing quietly to himself, he headed down the path hom


	51. Chapter 51

_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 51**

Kagome stepped out of the house. "Was that Daitaro-sama? He came back?"

"Yeah," InuYasha said, still trying to wrap his head around what the old man said. "But he's gone already."

She held the doormat open while InuYasha walked into the house with the water buckets. "Does he always walk through the woods like this?"

"I guess." InuYasha put the buckets down near the fire pit. "He told me that when he was younger, he'd sneak into the woods to pick mushrooms, even though Kaede was telling people it was forbidden."

Kagome smiled at that. "It sounds like the type of thing he'd do. He seems to like to do things his way."

InuYasha poured water into the big pot to heat for their bath, then put it on the fire. "Yeah, it does. But I think he's still really angry about the kids who messed with his saké. He might be walking around to blow off steam. That's something I know he takes seriously."

"He does, doesn't he?" Kagome went to her place at the fire pit, and lifted the lid to the stew pot that held their dinner. The aroma of the food, rich with onion and rabbit, filled the room. She stirred it, and tested a piece of the meat with her cooking chopsticks. "Almost ready," she said.

"Good," InuYasha said. "I didn't realize how hungry I was until I walked back in here." He knelt down and put some extra wood under the big pot then sat down at his place by the fire. "Said he was going to send one of his sons around to keep an eye on things tomorrow."

"With someone going around vandalizing things, that's not a bad idea," Kagome began scooping up their dinner rice.

"I was wondering . . . " the hanyou said. His eyes looked at Kagome, questioning.

Kagome put a bowl of rice on his tray. "Wondering what?"

InuYasha watched Kagome dip up the stew while he tried to get his thoughts together. "People confuse me sometimes, the way they act. But it seems like Daitaro, well he likes us."

She handed him a bowl. "He does, doesn't he?"

The hanyou picked up his chopsticks. "I can understand that Tameo feels some sort of life debt, because he thinks I saved him when he was a brat, and that he wants to do right by you because Kikyou was one of his relatives. But why is Daitaro doing this? He keeps coming by."

Kagome smiled at her husband, and passed him some pickles. "Could be that he just likes talking to you. Or that he's kind of adopted you as a son, maybe. People do that sometimes."

"Son, huh?" He shook his head. "I...that just feels . . . " His voice drifted off as he tried to find the words.

"He probably thought well of you all along," Kagome said. She lifted a pickle slice off her dish and passed it to him. "There, so you don't have to steal one."

He snorted, but then his face grew questioning again. "How come I never noticed it before?"

"You weren't looking," she said, picking up her rice bowl, but didn't start to eat. She chewed on her lip thoughtfully, then put her bowl down to touch his hand. "The last three years weren't all that easy for us. I know I didn't pay as much attention to people as I used to for a long time. I was busy just trying to keep things together and finish school. I bet it wasn't any easier for you."

His ear twitched, and he stared down at his stew. "Not easy. Yeah, that's one way to describe it."

She picked her bowl back up and nodded. "I bet there was a lot you didn't notice. Maybe my being here gave him more excuse to come visit. Maybe, since everything's different now, you're just paying attention more. But I think you have a friend, and one who doesn't tease you like Miroku does."

"Yeah," InuYasha said. He fished a slice of mushroom out of his stew, and what Daitaro had told him about them, and why the old man had given him some. "Although I'm not so sure he never teases . . . "

Kagome looked up at him. He merely gave her a smile, then put the piece of mushroom in his mouth.

They didn't talk much more during the meal, and talked even less while they bathed. Afterwards, as Kagome sat by the fire pit and combed out her hair, he took the tub of water outside to empty it, something he did every night after they bathed. She heard him pour the water out and then rest the tub against the side of the house. She expected him to come in, but for some reason he took longer than usual.

She put her comb away, and curious about why her husband was taking so long, she slipped on her shoes and walked outside. Kagome found him staring up at the moon, his back towards her as he stood just beyond the verandah of the house. The moon was full and very bright, just a day past full. The silver light spilled over his hair, touching it in places with a color that was beyond white or gray, a glowing silver. The shadows, though, made his red garments almost black. She could feel his youki rising a little as he stood there looking up at the moon, but she didn't know if it was from the pull of the moon or his uneasiness about what was going on in their lives, or even something he was sensing in the cool evening air.

His ear flicked as he heard her, but he didn't turn, so she walked up next to him, resting her hand on his shoulder.

"The moon's so bright," she said. "We never saw it this bright back home."

"Yeah." His arm wrapped around her, the fabric of his sleeve draping across the thin fabric of her white kosode. Unlike InuYasha, she hadn't bothered getting fully dressed after getting out of the tub. It felt good; the night air was still chilly. "Hard to believe how noisy and bright this place'll get in the future." He pulled her a little closer. "And stinky, too."

That made her smile, and she rested her head against him. "So is that why you're still out here? Thinking about the time I came from?"

InuYasha shook his head. "No. Other stuff."

"Like what?" she asked. Off in the distance she could hear an owl call. InuYasha's ear flicked at the sound, tracking it, but he didn't move.

"About today, and tomorrow. About what happened all those years I was stuck to the Goshinboku." He leaned over and gently kissed the top of Kagome's head. "Daitaro told me that when he was young, he'd come up here while I was still pinned to the tree and tell me thanks for keeping all the other mushroom hunters away," he said after a moment. "Sometimes, he said he'd even eat his lunch at the base of the tree."

She looked up at him. His eyes were still fixed at the moon, now high above the trees."How did that make you feel?"

Finally, he turned and looked at her, and gave her a small, wry smile. "Strange. I have no idea what happened during that time. One minute I saw Kikyou's arrow coming at me, and the next moment, I saw you. Makes me wonder what else happened all those years I was just stuck there."

"I know Kaede would come up here sometimes. She told me." Kagome leaned back against his shoulder.

"Yeah, well that was kind of her job, making sure the bakemono didn't get loose and come after the village," he said. There was an edge of bite in his voice.

"Is that what you think?" Kagome said, moving a bit away so she could see his face better. "She came up here to make sure the seal wasn't loosening? I kind of think it was to keep an eye on you, and make sure nobody did anything to bother you, even more than checking on the seal. I think she had a bit of a crush on you."

This got a bittersweet guffaw out of the hanyou. "No way," he said, shaking his head. "She was too young when . . . when I got pinned."

"You don't know girls very well," Kagome said, smiling. She reached up and kissed InuYasha's chin. "You were gorgeous and exotic and dashing. She might not have known about Naraku yet, but she knew there was some dark magic that got involved with Kikyou's death and your sealing. She knew that Onigumo's cave was empty. And you know she was surprisingly kind to you after I released you. If she really thought you were the real killer of her sister, would she have treated you like that?"

"Feh," InuYasha said, pulling her back into his arms. "She put the beads on me quick enough."

"You kind of earned that one," Kagome said, settling back into his arms. "But think - it's not like she went from little girl to old woman. They say when she was young, she was as beautiful as Kikyou. Young men did court her, but she refused them all. And she was the one who tried to make sure that people were kept out of the area around the Goshinboku, even if Daitaro would sometimes sneak up here. Maybe there was a reason beyond just being the village miko. Maybe it was because she felt that watching over you was her duty, like Kikyou's was the Shikon no Tama." She rested a hand on InuYasha's chest. "Or maybe it was something more."

The hanyou shook his head. "Losing those fifty years makes things weird."

"You think fifty years is hard, try juggling as many years off as I am," she said

He sighed, and kissed the top of her head. They fell quiet for a few moments more. "Daitaro said because I was good at catching bulls, he knew I was worth knowing. That felt even stranger."

Kagome laughed. "You can really tell what matters to him."

InuYasha snorted. "You can, can't you?" he said and pulled her in front of him. "Saké and cattle."

He wrapped his arms around her. "You want to go in? You feel like you're getting cold."

She leaned back against his warmth, covered by his sleeves. The flare of his youki calmed and wrapped around her like a warm, comfortable blanket. "Not quite yet. The way you're holding me makes me feel nice and warm," she said. "It's so beautiful tonight."

He brushed his cheek against the side of her head. "Beautiful."

"Nobody to make us worried or confused." She laced her fingers into one of his hands, and rested it across her waist. "Just you and me and the moon."

As they stood there, he freed his hand and pulled her closer. After a few moments, his hands began moving from Kagome's waist upward to cup her breasts. She took a deep breath as his thumbs brushed across her nipples. His voice was warm on her ear, sending little shivers down her spine. "Really beautiful."

Shivering a little at his touch, she turned around to face him. "Let's go inside."

"I thought you wanted to stay outside," he said.

She tiptoed up and kissed him, a short but passionate kiss that promised much more. "I just remembered that I owed you something. Remember what I told you when Shippou interrupted us?" She reached up and tweaked his ear. "Want to join me?"

"Never forgot, woman," he said, kissing her back. It was a long kiss, with intricate play of tongue and lips, combined with gentle exploring hands and the heat of his body pressing hard against hers. As she began to melt in his arms, and the sweet perfume of her arousal washed over him, he broke the kiss. "I was just waiting to see if you remembered, too."

"At least this time we won't be interrupted," she said.

"Won't be responsible for what happens if they do," he said. And catching her beneath her legs, he lifted her up, and walked her into the house.


	52. Chapter 52

_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 52**

InuYasha carried Kagome back into the house, stopping just long enough for her to kick of her shoes, and then he leaped onto the wooden floor, .not letting her down until they stood next to the fire pit, and then only to let her feet touch the floor while he captured her lips in another kiss.

"It's a shame," Kagome said as he kissed his way to the side of her neck. She tilted her head, but still shivered at the attention.

"What?" he asked as his hands slid to her waist, looking for her obi.

She managed to step back. "I didn't lay out the bedding before I stepped outside."

He looked around him, then kissed her one more time. "I guess that means I need to let you go, right?"

"It would help," she said, touching his cheek with her hand, then slid it up to tweak his ear. "I promise not to run away."

His lips ghosted over hers, and brushed her ear. "Promise there won't be any monks or kitsune, either."

She looked up at him, her eyes sultry and heavy. "None - not if I can help it."

InuYasha sighed. "I guess I'll go take care of the fire while you do that." Reluctantly, with one last caress, he let his arms drop. Kagome took a deep breath, nodded, and headed toward the cabinet where she kept their bedding.

"So what do you and Miroku do when you're on one of these exorcisms," Kagome asked as she pulled out the folded bedding.

"Feh," he said, as he walked to the fire pit. "Not what I want to talk about right now."

"I just was curious," she said, rolling the white fabric out. With a sure hand, she smoothed the fabric, the placed the pillows.

He picked out some wood to bank the fire with. "Not much different from what we used to do." He knelt down and placed the wood where he wanted it, then picked up the fire tongs. "We walk there, Miroku and I find where the youkai is, he flushes it out, I kill it. Afterwards, we collect our payment and walk home."

She looked up at him as she spread the coverlet. "I'm glad."

The room darkened as he worked the fire, the growing darkness casting shadows over his face. Kagome, working by the lamp, knelt in a pool of light. He looked up at her, slightly puzzled. "You're glad about how we take care of youkai?"

She shook her head and chuckled. "Not that. I'm glad that you're only going to be gone tomorrow," she said, giving him a small, slightly wanton look. "I don't think I'm ready to let you go away overnight yet."

He smiled back. "You think I'm ready for that either? Not sure when that's going to happen."

"Miroku seemed to think you ought to be," Kagome said, turning back the covers.

InuYasha covered the coals with ash. "Shows what he knows."

Kagome laughed. "Bet he never snuggles up next to you like I do."

"Feh. He better not try." InuYasha stood up, brushing his hands off. He walked over to the futon, put Tessaiga down near the bed where he could grab it if necessary, then unfastened his jacket.

Kagome stood up and slipped her hands under the red fabric, sliding the garment off his shoulders. "Just don't take any time more than you need to get back home." She kissed the base of his throat, and looked up at him.

The red fabric slipped off and landed on the floor behind him, unheeded. He slipped a finger under her chin, his face intense. His amber eyes caught the lamplight, glowing in the dimly lit room. "Nothing out there worth wasting time over." He brushed his lips across hers. "Nothing."

His hands slid down to her waist. This time, his fingers found her obi, and untying the knot, he let the strip of fabric also flutter to the ground.

Shrugging, Kagome let the white fabric of her kosode fall to the ground, then she bent over, picked it and InuYasha's jacket up, and laid them on the chest while InuYasha stood there, watching the light and shadow dance across her backside. He reached out a hand and lightly touched, and she turned her head and smiled, but didn't stop what she was doing. Instead, she slipped under the cover. Propping her head on one hand, she gave InuYasha a heavy-lidded look and a wicked smile. "Aren't you going to come to bed?"

"I thought you'd never ask," he said, then moved to put out the lamp.

Kagome shook her head. "No, don't put the light out. I want to see you."

"Oh, do you?" He turned back toward her, his eyes almost predatory, a small but knowing smirk touching his mouth.

She sat up, letting the covers drop to her waist, not to be intimidated. "Not fair that you have better vision in the dark. You're not the only one who likes what they see."

That made InuYasha laugh, and he quickly slipped out of his clothes and laid his hakama on the top of the stack and joined her on the futon.

Laying on his side and facing her, he cupped the side of her face gently. "So, woman who wants to see, want to tell me what you like?"

"Hmm," she said, letting her hand slide into his hair and up to the top of his head, where her fingers gently brushed a furry triangle, "the way your ears focus forward when you're paying attention to whatever you're doing to me."

His eyes closed as she rubbed, and he shivered just a little at the sensation before planting a tiny kiss on the tip of her nose. "And?"

She leaned forward and brushed her lips across his forehead. "The way you watch me when you think I'm not looking."

He made a wordless noise, and she kissed the base of his chin, and down the length of his throat. He gasped softly and closed his eyes. His arms wrapped around her, pulling her close and stilling the progress of her mouth, but not her hand. Her hand brushed ever so lightly down his side, drawing patterns where his thigh met his torso, wrapping at last around the hard length pressing against her tummy.

His eyes flew open, and she smiled like she had won a prize. "I like watching you when I do that too," she murmured.

"Woman," InuYasha said, rolling her over, silencing her protest with a hungry, devouring kiss. Slipping his arms under her shoulders, he pulled back enough to search her eyes, their blue gray dark and wanting. "This is why I'd rather be with you than on the road."

"Better than a campfire listening to Miroku's jokes?" She reached up and kissed his shoulder as she wrapped her arms around him, sliding them under the white silk streaming down his back resting them on his shoulder blades.

"Always," he said. "And why I'll never waste time getting back home."

He ghosted his lips down her throat. She arched up, eyes closed, making a small needy noise as his lips and tongue ran a line down to her collarbone. "You were right. I like to watch," he said. Her eyes met his, amused. "You're so beautiful like this. I can't even describe it."

One hand slid between her thighs, gently touching the velvety skin there, pulling more sounds from her that set him on fire. His mouth found a breast, and then the other.

Their eyes met, unexpectedly, and InuYasha grinned. "So you do like to watch."

"I want to do more that watch," she said, wrapping her legs around his hips, grinding herself against him.

"Me too," he said, sliding home.

Their eyes met off and on as they rocked together, but neither seemed to be able to watch for long. He tried to watch as she reached her peak, but it was too much for him, and he followed her right after. Rolling off of her, he lay there, boneless, and let her pull up the covers.

When she sat up, he grabbed her hand. "Where're you going?"

"Time to put out the lamp," she said. "Enough watching for a little while."

He nodded, and closed his eyes, as the room darkened. Coming back to bed, she gave him one tiny kiss, and they cuddled, drifting off into a comfortable sleep.

It didn't last.

Sometime in the middle of the night, InuYasha bolted up. He looked around him, and in the moonlight, made out the contours of the room, and the warm body laying next to him.

He brushed a lock of hair out of her face. "Kagome?"

Kagome opened sleepy eyes and watched him looking down at her. There was just enough moonlight spilling into the room to make out the twitching of his ears, the upset look in his eyes.

She pushed herself up, the blanket falling to her waist, revealing her bare skin. Before she could say anything, his arms wrapped around her. His cheek nuzzled her neck and shoulder, and his arms held her firmly against his chest as he planted butterfly kisses from her ear to the top of her shoulder.

"InuYasha, is something wrong?" she asked.

He rocked her gently to him. "Bad dream."

"It was just a dream," she said as she leaned into the warmth of his chest, skin against skin.

"Promise me," he said, holding her closer.

"Promise what?" she asked, looking up at him.

"That you won't do anything careless tomorrow." He rested his chin on the top of her head.

The neediness in his voice shook her, and she turned in his arms until she faced him. In the pale moonlight, he seemed so otherworldly, a creature of silver and shadow, beautiful, intense, eldritch, and not someone who should be clinging to her like he saw a ghost.

"Nothing's going to happen tomorrow, InuYasha," she said, wrapping her fingers into his.

"I'm not sure what I dreamed anymore," he said. "I just know it scared the hell out of me, enough to wake me up. Something happened to you and I was left alone, and I couldn't do anything about it." He gave her a sheepish smile.

"You know I'm going to be with Sango or Kaede all day tomorrow, probably. And Daitaro would help if I needed it."

He kissed the top of her head. "Stupid nightmares. Maybe I'm just not ready to get back to business or something, but I need to. So be careful tomorrow."

"I promise," she said. "So let's go back to sleep."

He nodded, then kissed her fiercely. Breaking the kiss, he breathed, "You better. Without you, I am just lost the dark."

"Heh," she said. "You won't get lost. And tomorrow will be over before you know it."

"Keh," he said. With a soft kiss to her forehead, he laid them back down. Listening to her heartbeat, he stared into the night for a while, and thought of the irony of monsters fearing monsters, and fell at last into a dreamless sleep


	53. Chapter 53

_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 53**

The next morning, Kagome, InuYasha, and Miroku stood in front of Kaede's house. It was still early. A few farmers were heading toward their fields or garden plots and one ambitious wife was already hanging up some clothes to dry, but most of the village was at breakfast still.

InuYasha rested his hands on Kagome's shoulders. "So, you'll wait at Sango's until I get back?"

"Yes, InuYasha. If I'm not there, I'll be with Kaede," Kagome said, smiling at him. "Don't worry about me. I'll be safe. And you even told me Daitaro's going to keep an eye on the house. Everything'll be fine here."

A rooster nearby crowed, as if agreeing with it.

Miroku rested a hand on the hanyou's back. "We should be getting started, InuYasha."

"Yeah, I know." InuYasha let his hand slip off his wife's shoulders, but he took her hands. He was about to say something, but then the bamboo mat door to Kaede's house lifted, and Shippou bounded out.

"It's all right, InuYasha, I'm here," the kitsune said, jumping onto InuYasha's shoulder. "I'll make sure everything's all right."

"Right, brat," InuYasha said, lifting him up. "You stay where Kagome can find you."

"Indeed, Shippou-chan," Miroku said. "We're depending on you in case there's a problem."

The kitsune jumped into Kagome's waiting arms, beaming. "I promise."

"But, if all goes well, we should be home somewhere near nightfall, maybe a little later," Miroku said.

Kagome ruffed the kitsune's head, but looked at InuYasha."You have your lunch?"

InuYasha patted a little bulge in his jacket. "Right here." He gave a nod to Miroku. "I guess we'll be going."

"InuYasha-sama! InuYasha-sama!"

The hanyou turned.

Hiseo, coming out of Kaede's house, ran up to InuYasha.

"InuYasha-sama! I was afraid you had left," he said, bowing. " Are you really going to take care of the youkai that made my sister sick?"

InuYasha looked at him, both curious and impatient. "Yeah, kid. We talked about that yesterday, remember? That's why I'm going."

"Here," the boy said. "Take this. My father gave it to me to keep me safe on the way here. I'm thinking maybe it'll help you when you get there." He held out his hand. It was a small carving of Kintaro, the strong boy who was able to kill monsters and bend trees like they were twigs.

InuYasha ran his fingertip over the little figure. It looked like a fat child dressed only in a long bib with the word for gold written on it in black paint. "Kintaro? He was my favorite story when I was a kid," InuYasha said. "You're sure you want me to have it?"

"Yes," the boy said, bowing again. "He's my favorite too. Maybe he'll bring you luck. He made me feel safe enough to do the walk here." He looked up at the hanyou. "Yesterday, I was rude to you. But you're doing a good thing, trying to save my village. I hope the same luck I had getting here will be with you when you go there."

InuYasha, a bit surprised, nodded and stuck it in his jacket. "I'll bring him back to you."

The boy nodded back. "I can feel it's going to be a good day. My father's name is Masu. Please let him know that my sister is doing better. She's been up this morning and eating breakfast."

"That's good," InuYasha said. "We'll make sure it's safe for her to go home again."

The boy nodded, then bowed, and hurried back inside.

"That was a surprise," Miroku said. "I think somehow, you've become someone's hero. I wonder if anybody told him something?" He looked at Shippou.

"Not me," the boy said, shrugging. "I told him a story about my uncle and a greedy merchant. Maybe Kaede said something."

"Whatever," the monk said. He leaned on his staff. "We really need to get going."

"Shippou, go tell Kaede I'm here," Kagome said, letting the boy down.

"But -" the kitsune protested.

"Just do it, runt," InuYasha said, giving him a look that made the kitsune sigh, but he turned around and went back into the house.

Kagome took his hand. "Hurry home, and be safe."

He squeezed it back. "I will." Turning to the monk, he said, "What are you waiting for, Bouzu? We've got a monster to kill."

"Take care, Kagome-sama. Have a quiet day. I'll get him home as soon as I can," Miroku said, then bowed. Lifting his staff, he tapped InuYasha. "Who's slowing whom?"

Together, they headed down the road. Kagome stood there watching them for a few minutes, until they reached a bend in the road, and then picking up the workbasket she had brought with her so she wouldn't need to go back to the house, she headed inside.

"Good morning, everybody," Kagome said as let the bamboo door mat fall shut and she slipped off her shoes.

The room she entered was almost crowded. Rin sat by her place at the fire pit, eating her rice and soup. Shippou sat next to her, eating his own breakfast. Yume, Hiseo's sister was indeed sitting up, using her bedding for a sitting mat as she ate a bowl of rice porridge. For someone who wouldn't come fully awake the day before, she looked amazingly alert. Hiseo was sitting cross-legged next to her. His empty bowl rested on the floor in front of him, and he had his elbow propped on his knee, resting his cheek in his hand as he stared into the fire.

Yume tugged on her brother's sleeve "Who's that?" she asked.

"You missed a lot when you were asleep," Hiseo said. "She's the wife of the youkai guy I told you about, the one who's going to kill the monster so you can go home again."

Yume's eyes grew big. "And she's a miko?"

"Yes, Yume-chan," Kaede said from her place by the fire pit where she was lifting a bunch of herbs out of a pouch. She smiled at the girl "Kagome-chan is my apprentice."

"A good one, too," Shippou said. "She took care of me after my father died, when I was a little kit."

"You're still little, Shippou-kun," Rin said, laughing.

"Not as small as I used to be," he said, crossing his arms and sticking his nose in the air.

Rin giggled again, and this time, Yume giggled as well. "I was always told kitsune were scary. I never knew they could be funny too, Shippou-kun," she said.

"Feh," he said in perfect imitation of InuYasha, which made Rin giggle even more. With a sigh, he went back to his breakfast.

"Good morning, Kagome-chan. The men get off?" Kaede said. She put the herbs into a mortar, and began crushing them.

"Yes, they did," Kagome said, kneeling down by the older woman. "That smells familiar, Kaede-baachan. Mint?"

The old miko nodded as she took the lid off of a small pan sitting near the edge of the fire and began to slowly add the herbs into it.

"We will go up to the shrine in a little while and say a prayer that all goes well. But first," she said, handling Kagome a wooden paddle, "stir this pot while I finish adding the ingredients. Hisa-sama's joints are aching again, and we are almost out of the ointment I give her for them."

"What goes in it?" Kagome asked, taking the paddle and scooting to where she could stir the pot more easily.

Kaede said, taking out another container of herbs which she measured out and put into her mortar. This time it was pieces of dried root. "Mint, meadowsweet, angelica root, marsh parsley, orange peel." She crushed them. "After we get all the herbs in, we'll keep the pot on the edge of the heat until this afternoon. Later, we will add camphor and wax and put it into jars."

"Haha-ue makes something that smells like that," Hiseo said. He looked into the fire and sighed.

Yume rested her hand on his. "Like what she makes when we have colds."

"You'll get to go home soon," Rin said. Having finished her meal, she began going around the room and picking up the empty dishes.

"When?" Yume asked, pulling on Rin's sleeve.

Rin looked at Kaede, who smiled their way. "You'll get to go home soon as Miroku-sama and InuYasha-sama take care of the monster who made you sick. If you went back right now, the monster would start making you sick again."

"Oh," Yume said, letting the older girl's arm go. "I miss my mother. Will she be all right?"

Rin gave her hand a little squeeze. "InuYasha-ojisan and Miroku-sama are very good at what they do."

"That they are, child," Kaede said. "I would imagine you might get to go home in a day or two."

Shippou handed his bowl to the girl and scampered over to where Kagome was. He climbed up on her shoulder, looked into the pot while Kaede added the herbs she had just crushed. Suddenly, the kitsune sneezed.

Kagome turned her head, trying to see the kitsune. "Are you all right, Shippou-chan?"

"That stuff smells," he said. "It makes my nose itch." He sneezed again.

"Perhaps, Shippou-kun," Kaede said, looking up from where she was crushing dried orange peel, "you might need to go outside and get some air until we're finished."

He sneezed, and wiped at his eyes. "Makes my eyes water, too. Maybe you're right. Getting crowded in here anyway." With one last sneeze he jumped off of Kagome's shoulder and headed outside.

Everybody heard him sneeze one more time when he was outside.

"I didn't know kitsune could sneeze like that," Hiseo said.

"Oh yes," Kagome said. "I remember one time when we were in a place covered with flowers. He started sneezing as soon as we got there."

"My obasan does that in the fall," Yume said.

For a moment, the little house was quiet. Rin had put all the dishes in a tub and was washing them, humming quietly to herself as she worked. Kagome stirred the pot as Kaede poured in the orange peel. With a small oomph, the older miko got up and began putting her herbs away. Outside, two boys yelled for Shippou to go play, but he refused. A woman nearby called for her daughter.

Yume sat there, hugging her knees watching the two miko work but then got up and walked up to where Kaede was putting her medicines on a shelf. "Can I go outside, Miko-sama?" Yume asked. She looked up at Kaede with big, hopeful eyes.

"You know, yesterday, we couldn't even wake you up," Kagome said. "You've certainly started to get better."

Hiseo followed her, and tugged on her sleeve. "You sure you feel up to it?" he asked giving the girl a hard look. "Miko-sama's right. Yesterday, you were totally out of it. You think you're strong enough?"

She nodded. "Please? Just out in front of the house?"

"It's nice outside," Rin said, drying a bowl. "Rin would like to go outside, too."

Kaede looked at Yume with a calm, skilled eye for a moment, judging how well the girl actually was. "If you feel well enough to, child, it might do you good to get some sunshine," she said, smiling gently. "But I don't think you should push yourself or play too hard. And you'll almost certainly get tired after a little while."

Hiseo, frowning, had his arms crossed, not happy with the idea.

"That's where you come in, Hiseo-kun," Kaede said, giving the boy an encouraging nod. "Please, stay with her. Don't let her run off. Bring her back in once she seems too tired."

The boy sighed, knowing he had lost, and nodded, then stood up. "Come on, Yume. But you tell me if you feel bad."

"Wait a moment, children," Kaede said.

The two siblings turned to look at her. "And you, Rin, you go with them, too. While you're out, you can take some medicine to Hisa-sama. Why don't you take Yume and Hiseo over there with you? I was going to go there today, but this will save me a few steps."

The girl, wiping the last bowl dry, nodded.

Kaede plucked a small jar off the shelf. Rin stood up, and took the jar from the old miko, smiling. "Maybe Hisa-sama will have some of those rice cakes she gave Rin last time."

"She might," Kaede said. "But if she doesn't, don't bother her. She wasn't feeling well yesterday. You don't have to stay there, but you three, don't go further than Tameo-sama's house. "

The girl nodded, and joining the others, headed out of the house. Not long after the door mat rattled closed after them, Kagome could hear Yume laughing and Hiseo yelling at her to slow down


	54. Chapter 54

_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 54**

With the children out of the house, the room was suddenly quiet. For a moment, Kaede closed her good eye, and took a breath.

"Well, that worked out nicely," she said after a moment. "Peace and quiet for a bit. There are more people at Tameo's house to watch bored children than we have, and if I know Hisa, she'll keep the children there an hour, maybe longer if her grandchildren are around and not out in the fields. She enjoys a full house." Kaede sat back down by the fire, and let out a contented breath. "Time, I think, for a cup of tea."

Kagome stopped stirring the medicine pot, and looked at Kaede as if she just realized something. Chewing on her bottom lip as she watched the older woman settle down, she began to giggle, and finally burst into a laugh.

Holding a jug of water in her hands, Kaede stopped pouring water into the tea kettle and looked up at her apprentice with curiosity. "What's so funny, child?" she asked as she put the jug down and leaned forward to set the tea kettle on the fire.

The younger woman, still chuckling, covered her mouth with her hand. "It just struck me - all the noise and chatter and even fights we had here during the quest for the jewel shards. You must have said that about us a lot of the time. I know we certainly weren't the quietest company you ever had, especially in the beginning. I bet you looked forward to the times we went out searching."

Chuckling a little herself, Kaede sat back, and poked the fire under the kettle. "Oh, I'm sure I said it a time or two early on, especially if you and your hanyou had been having an argument. Oh, and you and he had such . . . interesting . . . ones there at the beginning."

She put the fire poker down. "But it was a price I was more than willing to pay. After all, it was I who set you two off on the quest. Taking care of the Shikon no Tama mattered. And after we learned about what Naraku had done, there was the matter of avenging my sister, and trying to stop him from hurting anybody else."

Patting Kagome's hand, Kaede smiled at the younger woman. "My sister is at peace, the jewel is no more, Naraku is gone - it was all worth a little noise to me. And to be honest," she said, "after living alone a long time, I enjoyed the noise and company - most of the time." She picked up a wooden pot lid. "Let's put the medicine pot on the back of the fire too warm. I think you've stirred it enough."

Kagome carefully wiped the oil off the stirring paddle on the edge of the pot, and handed it to the old miko. Kaede wiped it with a cloth, and put it aside near her mortar. Next she covered the ointment pot with its heavy wooden lid, and moved it to the edge of the fire, nestling the base in the ash and sand. "The secret with making a good ointment is to keep the oil warm, so it gets the good from the herbs, but if it smokes, you need to pull it back further," she said. "You never want to let it get too hot. It could catch fire." Looking at it one more time, she nodded, satisfied with its placement. "Now we just have to wait for it to warm long enough for the herbs to give up their medicine before we add the wax. Could you get the tea and the tea cups off the shelf?"

Giving Kaede a nod, Kagome stood up and got the cups and handed them to the older miko, and then the teabox, gaudy in its blue and red paper. Kaede began to prepare her teapot. "After we have a cup of tea, and I'm sure the ointment's not getting too hot, I thought we'd go up to the shrine and say a prayer to the kami for Miroku and InuYasha, and then, when we come back, it would be a good time to review what we can use to help people with aches."

"Are there a lot of medicines to use?" Kagome asked as she sat back down.

"Different ones for what causes the pain. But pains are common. We'll be asked for these many times," Kaede said. "Many farmers, and their wives, too, as they grow old have problems with that. Years of working the rice put a strain on the back. Do you know Tatsuya-sama?"

Kagome shook her head.

Kaede sighed, as she poured hot water into the teapot. "Sadly, child, he's an example of how bad it can get. He lives in a hut by himself on the far end of the village. Poor man has outlived most of the people who used to care for him, although his grandchildren check up on him from time to time. They would take him in, but he's hardheaded. I try to get over there every two or three days. He gets to where he can hardly move because of his back, especially if the weather has been cold and damp, or he tries to do too much." She looked at Kagome thoughtfully. "Maybe he would behave more and take his medicine like he was supposed to if someone like you were to bring it."

"You think so?" Kagome asked.

"We can try it, if it doesn't bother your husband too much," Kaede said, pouring the tea. "He certainly hovers over you now. I was surprised he even left to go with Miroku. If the children hadn't shown up, he might not have."

"I think you're right," the younger woman said. "He wasn't really that happy about leaving."

"Well, new husbands are like that, I've noticed." Kaede said. "But as a rule, they get over it."

"I'm not so sure about InuYasha," Kagome said.

The old miko chuckled. "You might be right."

While Kaede's house emptied of young people, and she and Kagome got to work, InuYasha and Miroku headed down the road. The way out of town led them back towards their side of the village, and then by Daitaro's fields.

Shinjiro, Daitaro's oldest son, was busily hoeing in a patch of vegetables not far from the path. He looked up as the two men walked by.

"You two are up and about early," he said, tossing a weed to the side. "I've been hearing talk about a youkai problem over near the crossroads."

"It seems so," Miroku replied. He headed toward the fence that marked off the vegetable plot. "We're off to see what we can do about it."

"That's what Haha-ue told me this morning," Shinjiro said, nodding. "She was going to head over to your house to see if your woman needed any help with those young ones of yours." He dug his hoe into the earth and popped out another weed. "Life's hard enough without ghosts and other creatures trying to make our lot here harder. I feel sorry for them. Getting over the damage that damned youkai that tried to kill us all a few years ago was bad enough."

"Keh," InuYasha said, joining the two men. He leaned against the fence.

"Yes, Naraku was bad news. The world's a better place with him gone," Miroku said.

"One of his shouki bombs almost took out Okuro. Don't know what Chichi-ue would do if something like that happened to his stupid bull." Shinjiro leaned on his hoe. "I think, sometimes, he cares more about that animal than his children. You did a good thing, taking that monster down like that." He bent over, and tugged a weed out with his hand. "This youkai you're going after, it made the little girl sick?"

Miroku nodded.

"I'm glad you two know what to do. And while you're gone, we'll keep an eye on your places," the farmer said. He raised his hoe, and grubbed up a rock, and tossed it away. "You heard whoever's pulling pranks hit Chichi-ue's sake brewing yesterday?"

InuYasha nodded. Miroku's eyebrows rose. "Someone's living dangerously."

Shinjiro laughed. "I'd say. Doubt if he'll rest now until he finds out who did it. I imagine he'll be running circles around both your places today, just to be sure. One less thing for you two to worry about."

"He's a good neighbor," Miroku said.

"Or just determined." He picked up his hoe, put it over his shoulder. "You two need to stop by when you get back and tell me all about your adventure. I'll break out some of Chichi-ue's not dirty sake. Although if you take too long, all the good stuff will get drunk at my wedding. Good journey to you both."

Turning, he headed to the other side of the field.

"Huh," Miroku said. "Shinjiro's getting married?"

They began to walk down the road again. "Yeah," InuYasha said. Takeshi's daughter . . . Erime, I think."

The monk gave the hanyou a strange look. "How come you knew that before I did?"

"Feh," InuYasha said. "You spend too much time talking to the women around her, Bouzu. You need to talk to the men more often."

For a moment, Miroku just stood there, watching InuYasha walk ahead. Shaking his head at the strangeness of the hanyou learning village gossip before he did, the monk took a deep breath then hurried to catch up


	55. Chapter 55

_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 55**

After a few words of farewell to Shinjiro, the monk and the hanyou headed down the road. They soon left sight of the last of the village fields as the road headed into the forest. The road, being in a rather backwater part of the country, was for the moment empty of all but them as far as they could see. The only life along the route were a few birds. Evidently one was nesting near the road because it squawked noisily and flew at them as they passed. InuYasha gave it a hard look.

"Feh, stupid bird," he muttered. "Why would we want to mess with your nest anyway?"

"Oh, I don't know," Miroku said. "Why would a youkai want to mess with a village of farmers? Although I must admit I believe that bird was more aggressive in getting rid of us than they have been about their problem."

"Yeah," InuYasha said. "I guess."

They both fell silent. After about a quarter of an hour of walking quietly, they surprised another group of birds pecking at the road. The birds, spotting them, flew off. Miroku, struck by something in the birds' actions that amused him, began softly singing in time to his walking.

"Hungry birds, I see you there  
>flying on the mountain<br>Hungry birds, I see you fly,  
>across the cold, cold sea.<p>

"Hungry birds, why don't you work  
>crying on the mountain,<br>plant the rice and you will eat  
>across the cold, cold sea.<p>

"If we work to plant the rice,  
>crying on the mountain,<br>we'll get too dirty to go and fly  
>across the cold, cold sea.<p>

"Hungry birds, why don't you wash  
>crying on the mountain,<br>We'll get too cold to go and fly  
>across the cold, cold sea.<p>

"Hungry birds, go sit by the fire  
>crying on the mountain<br>We'll get too hot to go and fly  
>across the cold, cold sea."<p>

"Feh," InuYasha said. "Stupid birds. Stupid song. Sounds like something you'd sing to your daughters."

"It is, actually," Miroku said, laughing. "But it got you to say something. It's a good day to travel. Don't you think so? It's not hot, the sun is shining, and nobody but me and the birds are here bothering you. It's much nicer than on market day."

InuYasha stuck his hands in his sleeves. "Some people have the good sense to stay at home."

"Traveling is good for a monk's soul." Miroku looked at his companion. "I love Sango and my children, but sometimes, it feels . . . well, better to be going somewhere else, at least for a time. Who knows what's around the next corner?"

"If you say so, Bouzu," InuYasha said, his voice disagreeing. "But I wouldn't tell that to Sango if I were you."

Miroku chuckled. "You're probably right about that." He rubbed the top of his head, as if remembering past experiences with the wrath of his wife. "Still, sometimes I miss all the days on the road, seeing what was over the next hill or in the next village."

"Or who you could hustle," the hanyou said. "I remember all those rich houses we stayed in."

"You wound me, friend," Miroku said. "I only approached those who took more than their fair share from their fellow man, or whom the luck gods had especially blessed. Charity towards wayfarers is a good deed, and they gained merit for doing it. And I always left a real blessing behind. They always benefitted."

"If you say so," InuYasha replied. "I was always on the move. I like having a place to stay."

"And it seems that some people at the place you like to stay like having you there," Miroku said.

"Maybe," InuYasha said, taking a deep breath. His ear twitched.

The road rounded a bend. The first traveler they met on their way was walking towards them. He was a peddler, an older man carrying a large wooden box on his back. The man leaned forward, as if the weight or the size of the load was almost too much for him. He had a printed hand towel around his head and wore the clothes of a poor trader, indigo and brown. For a moment, he didn't notice them, but then he saw Miroku and smiled, then waved.

"Houshi-sama! Houshi-sama!" the peddler said, drawing near them. "A blessing to see you."

"Hope he's not trying to sell you anything," InuYasha muttered.

Miroku stepped forward, his staff jingling, ignoring the comments of his friend. He bowed his head in greeting. "What can I do for you, Dono?"

The peddler smiled at him, and bowed his head as much as he could with his load. "You're the first monk or other holy person I've seen on the road since I left home yesterday. When I leave home to do my circuit of visits, I always give the first holy person I meet a donation for luck in my sales." He held out a small pouch to the monk, and bowed his head again. "Will you accept this, Houshi-sama, and say the Heart Sutra for me?"

Looking surprised, Miroku accepted the package. "Of course, of course."

InuYasha sighed. The monk turned to his friend. "It's just a short prayer. This won't take long, and perhaps, it's for our own good fortune as well."

He turned back to the traveler, who stood there waiting patiently, and made a sign of blessing over him and began to chant the words in a deep and sonorous voice. "Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva, when deeply practicing prajna-paramita . . . "

InuYasha, waiting for Miroku to finish, went over to the edge of the road, found a log that wasn't too rotten, and sat down while Miroku talked of form and emptiness. He picked up a stick, twirled it for a moment, and frustrated at waiting, snapped it in half, just as Miroku finished up.

The peddler on the other hand, seemed very pleased. "May Kwannon of the thousand eyes bless you on your journey, Houshi-sama" he said, adjusting the strap of his pack as it pulled on his shoulder.

"And you as well," Miroku replied. "What are you selling?"

"Spices and dyes and threads for sewing," the peddler said, leaning forward on his walking stick as he prepared to walk on.

"Do you know the village where Tameo is the headman?" Miroku said.

The man nodded.

"Be sure to stop there," Miroku said. "The old miko who takes care of the village might be wanting some of your stuff, and perhaps some of the other women, too, especially one named Sango. Tell them I sent you."

"I will, Houshi-sama. I will be sure to on my way back. Thank you for your prayers. My name is Hajimi."

"And I'm Miroku. And my companion over there, anxious that we get on our way, is InuYasha."  
>"You travel with a youkai?" the man asked, surprised, as if he were just getting a good look at the hanyou. "I've heard of that before, but I don't think I've ever seen it actually done." He nodded to the hanyou, smiling politely, then back at the monk. "He must be a good one, to travel with a monk like you."<p>

"Yes he is," Miroku said. "A prosperous journey to you."

"And a good one for you, too." He gave a brief bow of his head, and started back on his way.

Miroku turned back to InuYasha. "That didn't take long."

"Long enough," the hanyou said, standing up. "A monk like you, eh? If he only knew."

Ignoring InuYasha's jibe, Miroku looked thoughtful at the pouch. "His name was Hajimi, the beginning. First we have Shinjiro tell us that he and Daitaro will be keeping an eye on things for us, and now this. I'm going to take all of that as a good omen for our journey." He opened the small bag. Inside were two small silver coins. "At least we're going to get something for our troubles. The way Hiseo talked about the yamabushi cleaning them out, I doubt if there'll be much of a fee."

"Probably not much different than our village," InuYasha said. "If they don't have any rich manors or merchants, there won't be a lot to spare."

Miroku tucked the pouch into his sleeve.

"Well, I've never turned my back on someone too poor to pay," Miroku said. "We'll do what we have to do. Still, this feels like a good sign."

"Or Fate playing games with us. Hurry up, Monk. We've got a long way to go." And moving quickly, at a pace Miroku found challenging to keep up with, he headed down the road.

As Miroku hurried to catch up with InuYasha, back at his house, the air was filled with the sounds of two small girls giggling.

"So you think it's funny, do you?" Sango asked.

"Again!" Yusuko said, nodding. "Do it again, Okaa!"

She smiled at her daughters as she sat in front of her house in front of a large tub of water, doing laundry. Her son was strapped to her back while she worked but she kept a running line of chatter and distraction going to keep her two girls out of mischief.

This strategy, she knew, worked. Several items were hanging on her clothesline already. As she wrung out a towel over the tub, the two girls turned in a circle, hand in hand, while she sang to them:

"The cat chased the rat,  
>they ran here<br>they ran there  
>they ran down<br>they ran up,  
>then the cat jumped<br>next to the sea.  
>Both went splash!"<p>

When she said "splash," both girls clapped their hands and tumbled to the ground, giggling.

"Again, Okaa," Noriko said, running to where her mother knelt down by the wash tub.

"Again? That'll be the third time!" Sango said, shaking the twist out of the cloth and the last drops of water. The girls nodded as she stood up. "Well, we'll do it again. Just let me finish hanging this up first."

She walked to the line, about to throw the clean towel over it when Yusuko said, "Look, Okaa, Look. Someone coming!"

Throwing the wet towel on the line with the other freshly washed things, she moved beyond the clothesline to see Daitaro and his wife Chime walking up the path to her house.

The girls hugged her legs as she wiped her hands dry on her wrap skirt. "Now be good, girls. We're about to have company," she said, curious as to what brought the elderly couple to her house.

Noriko grew brave and walked toward Chime as the older couple got close. She stopped, looked up at the older woman, who smiled at her. "Hi," the little girl said.

"Well hello, little one. Which one are you?" Chime asked.

The girl chewed on her lip, suddenly shy again, and moved back towards her mother.

"That's Noriko," Sango said, amused. "And this one," she added, putting her hand on her other daughter's head, "is Yusuko."

Chime shook her head. "How do you tell them apart?"

"Practice," Sango said, laughing. "But sometimes, it's not always easy for me to, either."

Daitaro chuckled. "But they're pretty chicks, your girls. Must take more after you than that husband of yours. Speaking of which, I hear that he and InuYasha-sama went out on business today."

"It's true," Sango said, picking up Yusuko. "Although if all goes well, they expect to be back this evening."

"That's why we've come over," Chime said. "I thought that with three little ones, you might find it a bit busy."

"And I just thought I'd take a walk around the forest," Daitaro said. "There not a lot of us on this side of the village, and some of the local brats have been enjoying themselves seeing what mischief they can get into." He scratched his chin, and adjusted his cap. "One day, I'm going to catch them at it."

His wife looked at him, and tried to look properly serious as he spoke, but couldn't quite do it. "That's right, husband. You'll catch them someday." She turned back to Sango. "But I thought if you'd like some company for a while, you wouldn't mind having this old grandmother help you watch your girls."

"Company would be nice," Sango said, smiling "They can be a handful. Rin-chan comes up and helps a lot, but I think Kaede must be needing her today. Let me go make some tea." She wiped her hands on her wrap skirt again.

Noriko reached up to Chime, pulling on her sleeve. "You Obaachan?"

Chime bent down and laughed. "Oh yes, Noriko-chan. I have three grandchildren. None of them are girls, though."

"No girls?" Noriko frowned.

"No," Chime sighed. She took the girl's hand. "But maybe with Shinjiro getting married, there'll be granddaughters in my future."

"Shinjiro's getting married?" Sango asked, lifting up Yusuko.

"Yes, yes. In five days," Chime said. The women and the children began moving toward the house.

"I'll guess I'll just head up towards InuYasha's house," Daitaro said.

The women continued in their discussion of the wedding. Chime waved at her husband, but didn't stop what she was saying.

Chuckling, the old man headed up the path. He was still laughing when he turned around the bend that took him out of sight of the house.

Suddenly though, he heard something crashing through the woods, followed by a scream.

"Help!" a young voice yelled. "Don't let it get me!"


	56. Chapter 56

_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 56**

Kaede finished her cup of tea and put it down. "Now let's check on how the oil is doing. If it's just right, we'll go up and say a prayer for InuYasha and Miroku and their work today."

Kagome, drinking the last of hers, nodded, and watched as the older woman lifted the lid to the oil pot where it sat in the warm ash.

"Ah, just right," the older miko said, touching the pot, lightly with a finger. "Warm, but not too warm. Come feel, child."

Kagome scooted over to Kaede's side and gingerly reached out and touched the small container. It was very warm, almost too hot to touch, but not quite.

"When it feels this warm, the oil will get the good of the herbs, and you never have to worry about it burning," Kaede said. "And it's safe enough to leave. But when it's warmer than this, you have to be sure to keep a close watch to make sure it doesn't start to smoke."

"I understand," said the younger woman. She brushed a bit of ash off her fingers. "How many ways are there to make medicines?"

Kaede replaced the lid and stood up. "Several. Teas are probably our most used type, but we can get different strengths out of different preparations. Some herbs work better if we boil them. Sometimes, we soak things in strong sake. And some we burn, because the smoke's the good of it."

"So much to learn," Kagome said, standing herself. She gave the older woman a small, nervous smile. "This is going to take a long time to know enough, isn't it?"

The older miko chuckled. "You're doing well, Kagome-chan," she said, moving toward the entry. "This is the easiest way to learn, by doing. Sometimes it's better to not look at how long the journey is but where your feet need to step right now." She stepped off the wooden platform and slipped into her sandals.

"My grandfather used to tell me something like that," Kagome said as she joined Kaede and put on her shoes.

"Maybe that's something we older folk learn it from experience," Kaede said. "I think it comes from looking for the journey's end too often when we were young."

That made Kagome laugh a little. "You think it's going to take me a long time to learn that lesson myself?"

"Maybe all of us do," Kaede said, and she opened the door and stepped outside.

As they were getting ready to leave to walk to the shrine, a girl walked up to them, and bowed.

"Excuse me, Miko-sama, but have you seen my brother?"

"No child, I'm afraid I haven't," Kaede replied, returning her bow. "Have you stopped by Tameo-sama's house?"

The girl nodded and sighed.

"Gone missing again?" a man's voice said. The three of them turned to see Kinjiro walking toward him. He was carrying a hoe across one shoulder and a bag strapped across his chest, and his knees were muddied like he had been kneeling in the dirt. He gave the three women a small bow. "Sorry, Setsuko-chan, don't know where he is now, but I saw him earlier with Isao-kun when I was going out to my vegetable patch. I think they headed down to the river, but no telling what they're up to now."

"I was afraid of that," the girl said, sighing. "Obaasan sent him out for water this morning, but he took too long, and she sent me out to find him. And if he's gone off with Isao, she's going to be angry."

Kinjiro raised an eyebrow. "I didn't think he could do any wrong in your grandmother's eyes."

She shook her head, looking quite sad. "No. I'm afraid she'll be angry at me. I was supposed to keep an eye out on him. He and Isao. I'm supposed to keep them apart, you know. Ever since he . . . "

"If your grandmother thinks a girl like you can keep a boy determined to get into trouble under control . . . " Kinjiro said, spitting.

"Hn," Kagome said. "That doesn't sound fair, either."

"Thank you, Miko-sama," she gave Kagome a small, sad smile. "But that's the way it is. I knew I should have gone with him, but I was busy with my sister and chose not to go. I'm sorry for bothering you. I have to keep looking." She bowed again, and dashed off, this time towards the river.

The three of them watched her walk away. Shippou took the opportunity to jump off of Kaede's roof, where he scrambled up Kagome's shoulder.

"I think I feel sorry for her," the kitsune said.

"Who is she?" Kagome asked.

"Setsuko-chan is Joben's oldest daughter," Kaede said. "And there are times that I too feel the same way, Shippou-chan."

"She's the nicest one in that whole family," Shippou said. "Sometimes she gives me sweet dumplings."

That made Kinjiro laugh. "I've heard kitsune are fond of sweets, although I think it's true of most boys." Ignoring Shippou's glare, he nodded. "Yes, somehow or other Setsuko ended up taking after her mother instead of that father of hers. I hope when it's time they find a good husband for her, but knowing Tsuneo, it'll only be someone who'll bring that family more money."

"So, Kinjiro, what brings you to my house this time of day?" Kaede said to change the subject.

"Ah, Kaede-obasan, I was just heading up to the hill. I wanted to do some more work in our little cousin's garden." He bowed slightly in Kagome's direction.

"My husband told me you were there yesterday," Kagome said, returning his bow. "It's been very kind of you to do this."

"Eh, I like to see a job done right," the young man said, shrugging. "You're busy. Chichi-ue asked me to make sure it was done well. Plus, if nobody's home, then there are fewer people to bother me while I work."

"You mean InuYasha doesn't talk much," Shippou said.

"He's a wise person," Kinjiro said. "Knows the value of when to let those who know what to do work."

"Feh," the kitsune said, crossing his arms. "You don't know him very well."

Kagome laughed.

"You, young kitsune, could learn a thing or two from him." Kinjiro shifted the hoe on his shoulder. "Sometimes silence is the best way."

Shippou made a glaring face at the farmer. "That's enough craziness. I'm heading back up to the roof." He hopped off the young woman's shoulder and turning into a pink balloon drifted back up.

"Well, I want to plant some burdock today," Kinjiro said. "I better get going."

Saying their goodbyes, the two women headed up to the shrine, and Kinjiro headed down the path that took him up to InuYasha's house. Shippou, still irritated, reached into his vest and pulled out a bamboo-wrapped treat.

"Sweet is good, " he said as he unwrapped it and popped it into his mouth. "What does Kinjiro know?"

Chewing noisily, he turned around so he could keep an eye on the shrine's staircase.

Kinjiro had made almost to the hanyou's house where he spied something that didn't belong. As he neared, he heard a small bird was twittering, noisily, agitated to his right. When he turned to look, the bird was flying at a young cow, peacefully grazing in the open field in front of InuYasha's house. It was an animal he knew well, having sold her to her current owners.

"Didn't expect to see you here," Kinjiro said. "Aren't you a long way from home?"

The bird, seeing the farmer, decided scolding the cow wasn't worth it, and flew off. The cow, on the other hand, looked up when she heard Kinjiro talk. She shook her head a bit, the light flashing off her horns. She was a handsome animal, a fine reddish brown with no white or black splotches, well cared for and well fed.

Kinjiro leaned on his hoe. "Masami," he said, talking to her like he would talk to a wayward village child. "You know Chime will be worried once she sees you're gone."

The cow looked at him and flicked an ear at the farmer, the metal in her nose ring glinting, and the red and white rope tied to it adorning her cheeks and neck. She snorted, then bent back down to the grass.

"Masami, does Daitaro-sama know you're out of your pen?" Kinjiro said, scolding. "You're really not supposed to do this to him. And what about Okuro? Don't you think that old bull will be looking for you?"

This time, the cow ignored him. Not willing to be treated so lightly, Kinjiro walked up and grabbed the cords to lead her back down the hill. "I hope you haven't been walking in Kagome-sama's garden," he said softly, patting the animal. "I've been working hard to get that garden put in." He gave the rope a little tug. "In fact that's why I came up here, pretty girl. But first, I suspect we had better get you back home."

He began to lead the docile, if somewhat reluctant cow toward the path when he heard a loud groaning.

"That's enough out of you, young fool," said a familiar voice. "Hey, get back here!"

A young boy, about thirteen, with mud smeared across the left side of his face popped around a tree, running right into Kinjiro.

The farmer grabbed him by the collar. "Going somewhere Aki? Your sister's been looking for you. Where's Isao?"

"Out cold in the monk's hut," Daitaro said, huffing up to the path. He leaned heavily on his staff. "Cow there evidently had the good sense to kick the stupid kid who was goading her. I knew Masami was a smart girl."

"She always was," Kinjiro agreed, shifting his hold around the boy and deftly avoiding getting kicked. "That's why I charged so much for her."

"Worth every penny," Daitaro said, walking up and patting her on the neck. The cow lowed in return.

Aki, grunting and straining in the younger man's arms tried hard to bite, kick and break free, but Kinjiro dropped his hoe and the cow's lead and held own to him with both hands, wrapping his hands under the boy's armpits and lifting his feet off the ground. "You really need to calm down, boy."

"Let me go," the boy yelled. "My ojiisan will be really unhappy."

"And my Chichi-ue will be really happy, I think," the farmer said, "if you've done half the things people are mad about lately. I'd calm down if I were you."

Daitaro looked at the boy struggling in Kinjiro's grasp. "I've got to admit, cousin, you're a sight for sore eyes, cousin, finding both my cow and this runaway brat. I'm going to owe you one."

"You can pay me later. In sake, I think." Kinjiro said. "I like yours better than Chichi-ue's. But first things first. What shall we do with this wiggling and rude ball of mud?" Kinjiro asked.

"Bring that bag of stupid home to my place," Daitaro said, taking up the cow's rope. "I'm going to send Shinjiro over to get his grandfather. And your father, too. Time we put an end to this."

"That's what you think," Aki said, spitting in the old man's direction. "My ojiisan . . . "

Daitaro tapped Aki on the head with his staff.

"Your ojiisan is a wise man and will know the right thing to do. Don't know if you'll ever learn. But one thing's for sure, you won't mess with my cows or my brewing again."

He gave the cow a nudge and headed down the road


	57. Chapter 57

_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 57**

Unaware of the flurry of activity taking place near their homes, InuYasha and Miroku hurried on their way to the village of Kagemura. Miroku worked hard to keep up with his friend who was setting a hard pace, even as the ground grew rockier and steeper and the trees thinned out. It was getting harder for the monk to keep up, and he was growing irritated and tired. Spotting a large flat slab of rock near the roadside, he stopped.

"Wait, InuYasha," the monk said. "I have a rock in my shoe."

InuYasha turned around, his ear flicking, and frowned. "That's what happens when you wear shoes."

Miroku sat on the boulder and slipped off his sandal, watching the offending pebble fall to the ground. "Unfortunately, not all of us have feet gifted with youkai toughness.".

The hanyou said nothing, but crossed his arms as he watched the monk put his sandal back on.

"Now that's better," Miroku said. He fumbled for his water container, then unstopped it and drank deeply.

InuYasha stared at his friend, impatient to get further down the road.

"How much further do you think?" the monk asked. "We must be nearly to the marketplace crossroads by now."

"Not much further," InuYasha said. "If we keep it up, maybe we'll get to Kagemura in less than an hour. We've made good time." He frowned as he watched his friend give him a small smile, then drink again. "You done yet?"

"No," Miroku said. "You've been setting quite a pace this morning. Ever since we met that peddler, I've barely been able to keep up."

"Feh," the hanyou said. He looked up at the sun, trying to gauge the time. "We have a job to do and I just want to get it done."

"Well, if we keep at this speed, I'll need to take a rest before we get started." He restoppered his water container. "I really don't think I want to tackle a bakeneko while exhausted. I know Sango expects me to get home in one piece."

InuYasha let out a long breath, knowing when he was going to have to give in. "Keh," he said, and sat down next to the monk and nodded; from the way he tapped his fingers on the rock, it was obvious that he was really not ready to stop.

"Relax, my friend. I know what your problem is, but there's nothing to worry about. Kagome's in the best hands. You know that Kaede, nor Sango, nor Tameo will let anything happen to her. I imagine Daitaro's patrolled the area at least twice, hoping to find his troublemaker."

"I know that." The hanyou's ear twitched again as a bird landed in a tree across the road. "Yeah, I know it. But I just have this feeling."

"A feeling about what?" Miroku stretched his right leg, and rotated the ankle.

InuYasha looked off into the distance. "I don't know. Something. It just feels like something's not right."

"All the more reason we should continue at a reasonable pace, InuYasha." Miroku drew his leg up and rubbed the calf. "We'll be there soon enough. But I really need to take a break first."

A man, his head covered with a conical rush hat, walked towards them, leading a horse laden with bundles and baskets. Spotting the couple, he gave InuYasha a hard look. InuYasha met his eyes with an equally stern look, but made no move as he watched the man. The traveler nudged his horse to the far side of the road, chanting something about protection from monsters. Neither of them spoke until he cleared the area.

InuYasha bent down, and picked up a pebble then tossed it across the road. "Stupid merchant," he muttered

"Some are," Miroku said, rubbing his other leg. "I've always found that to be handy. Wonder where he's coming from?"

"Who knows? Smells like he's packing fish," InuYasha said. "Maybe he came from Edo."

"Could be," the monk said. "A good bit different from the peddler we ran into this morning. I for one don't want to catch up with him. If you spooked him that badly just sitting here, it could alert whatever youkai we're going to find in Kagemura that something unusual's coming. Let's sit here a bit longer." Miroku pulled out his travel bag. "Good time to eat lunch, even if it's a bit early."

"You sure you're not just using him for an excuse?" the hanyou asked.

Miroku laughed. "Well, this way we'd get three things done at once - let an unpleasant person get down the road, let me rest, and give you something to do while you're waiting."

InuYasha snorted at Miroku's analysis, but stuck his hand in his jacket for the bundle Kagome had sent him with for lunch. As he grabbed it, the small carving Hiseo had given him to carry fell out and landed near the monk.

Miroku stopped spreading his own lunch bundle out as he watched the little carving land by his foot. He bent down and picked it up, then ran his fingers over the little item. It was carved like a chubby boy dressed only in a long bib garment. The work looked amateurish, but it was clear who the figure was meant to be.

"Here's your Kintaro toy," the monk said, handing it back to InuYasha. "I wonder why Hiseo thought you ought to have it."

"Luck, he said." He held it for a moment in the palm of his hand. "You know the Kintaro story, don't you?"

"Sure," Miroku said, opening the carry cloth that held his lunch. "The way I heard it was that Kintaro was the son of a samurai and a woman who became a Yama-uba. He was really, really, strong, and the children who lived on the mountain where he grew up would have nothing to do with him, so he made friends with the animals, He learned their language and had many adventures."

"Yeah, that's sort of the way my mother would tell it to me," InuYasha said, putting the figurine back in his robe. "It was my favorite story when I was little." He unfolded his own lunch bundle and began to unwrap an onigiri. "It's kind of funny. I think I kind of felt we were a lot alike. I was the strong boy nobody wanted to play with, and my father was a youkai, while his mother was. But I never had any good adventures like he did." He took a bite of his food.

Miroku put down his own rice ball for a moment. "And, Mushin said, that after all these adventures, a samurai found him and took him back to the world of people, where he became a famous warrior."

"Yeah, well nobody ever came and rescued me," InuYasha said, frowning. "Instead, I ended up being chased by everybody until I was strong enough to hit back."

"Sorry, my friend," Miroku said. "I didn't mean to bring up bad memories."

"Keh," the hanyou said. "It's all done now anyway. It was just kind of interesting that the brat wanted me to have his toy." He finished his rice ball. Kagome had packed some pickle slices with his food, and he slowly chewed one.

Miroku stared thoughtfully while he finished his onigiri, but then smiled as an idea struck him. "Yet, InuYasha, in an odd way, you still parallel his story. It wasn't a great samurai who found you and brought you to civilization and made you a heroic warrior, true. But look what happened when Kagome-sama showed up. She freed you, and as you began searching for the shards, you definitely became a hero. Now you have a home, and respect, and a place to belong. Funny how that worked out."

"Huh," InuYasha replied.

Miroku ate the rest of his meal in silence. InuYasha, finishing his pickles, wiped his hand on the carry cloth then, pulled the toy out one more time.

"Never thought of it that way before," he said. "Me and Kintaro." Then stuffing the toy and the cloth he carried his food in back into his jacket, he stood up. "Get up, Bouzu. We've got a youkai to take care of."

Miroku got up. "Sounds good. Long as we don't try to walk there at your top speed."

While the men walked, Kagome and Kaede returned from the shrine and got seriously to work as Kaede pulled out various healing herbs used to help people with pain. Soon the space around them was filled with jars and packets of fragrant and not so sweet scented items.

Shippou popped back in once, but started to sneeze and went back out.

"Ginger can help reduce the swelling and make the pain more bearable," Kaede said, handing Kagome a piece of the root. "It's usually better to try to relieve the cause of the pain than just deaden the pain itself, although sometimes we have to do that for a while when the pain is great. Grind this up for me, please."

Kagome took it and began grinding it in the mortar. She sang as she worked the herb.

"My sister went to Edo.

One two three

She bought a box of candies

one two three

and gave them to my brother

one two thee

and let me have the box."

"You have a good voice, child," the older woman said. "Although there are better things to sing when making medicines, songs that actually help them work better."

Kagome looked up at the older woman, surprised. "It's not going to hurt anything, is it? It's just a little children's song I would sing when I was young and doing chores" she asked, dropping the pestle. "I could start another batch."

"No, no," Kaede said, patting the younger woman's hand. "It's fine. It's just your voice is good, and I think we'll add learning about word magic to your training." She smiled at Kagome. "Not everyone has the talent, and it takes more than a good voice, but a good voice makes it much easier. I don't want to try to drown you in too much to learn too fast, though. If Tameo-sama finds out, he might try to have you sing the blessing for the rice planting. If he asks, don't - "

Before she could finish, the door mat blew open and a breathless Shippou ran into the house, scattering a pouch of dried angelica as he hurried to stand next to Kagome. His eyes were wide and panicked. "She's coming! She looks really mad, like she wants to hurt someone." Taking a deep breath, he sneezed.

"Who is, Shippou-kun?" Kaede asked.

Kagome put down her mortar and held out her arms to the small kitsune, and he bounded into her lap.

"I was on the roof when I saw her headed this way. It's -" He sneezed again, and rubbed his nose.

Suddenly, there was a banging on the door frame. "Kaede, are you there?" a woman yelled. It was an unpleasant voice, bitter and angry.

"Ah, I know who this is. Let me take care of it." Kaede put the herb basket she was holding down, and with a grunt stood up and walked slowly to the door.

"Kaede!" the woman called again.

"I'm coming, I'm coming, Haname," Kaede said


	58. Chapter 58

1_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 58**

Tameo stood in front of Sango's house, his arms folded and his eyes carefully assessing the situation. His lips pursed together, he stared at the boy kneeling in front of them, trussed up in a heavy rope. He was flanked on by Tsuneo and his son Joben.

"Let Tsuneo-sama hear what you told me," the headman said.

"Ojiisan," the boy said, not meeting his grandfather's eyes. "Please . . . "

Tsuneo ignored him. Keeping his face solemn, but not giving away what he thought, he looked up at Daitaro and Kinjiro. Daitaro was scratching his cow behind the ears, while Kinjiro met Tsuneo's gaze straight on. "So, what happened?"

"I had come here to walk my woman to visit Sango-sama, and was heading up to check up on InuYasha-sama's place," Daitaro said. "You know that he and the monk are off to get rid of the youkai plaguing the village where those children came from."

Tsuneo nodded. His son Joben, standing behind him muttered, "Monk ought to be taking care of his own village."

The older man turned to his son with an angry look. "Be silent. Man should be taking care of his own children." He turned back to Daitaro. "And then?"

Daitaro dropped his hand to the cow's harness."I saw this young one running like all the ghosts at the Bon festival were running after him," Daitaro said. "Someone's been coming over here and doing pranks for the last three or four weeks. The day before, someone ruined my last batch of sake. Knowing he shouldn't be here, and definitely not running like that, I chased after him." The cow lowed, and he turned back to her and gave her head another rub. "Lost him in the woods, but his trail was easy to follow."

"I had gone up to the hanyou's house to work on Kagome-sama's garden," Kinjiro said, jumping into the conversation. Joben spit at the mention of InuYasha, and his father gave him a hard shove. "When I got there, I found Daitaro's cow. As I was leading her back, your grandson there, ran into me, Daitaro-sama fast on his heels."

"So," Tsuneo said, "How do we know it just wasn't your cow getting out on its own?" he asked Daitaro.

"I backtracked. About halfway down, I found Isao-kun knocked out cold and brought him back here so the women could check him out. At the cow pen, I found a vest hooked on the gate," Daitaro said. He held it up. "You recognize it?"

Tsuneo took the garment, opened it up, and ran his hand across the blue and red fabric. "Haname made it."

"So now the question is what do we do with this boy?" Tameo said.

Tsuneo took a deep breath, looked at his son, and then his grandson. "Maybe even more important - what are we going to do when Haname finds out?"

Daitaro lifted the strap to a flask suspended from his shoulder, and unstoppered it, taking a drink, then offered it to the others. "Have a drink," he said. "I told Shinjiro to tell her when he went for you, but to wait until you had time to get up the hill. I suspect she knows by now. I gather we're in for quite a storm."

While the men deliberated, Kagome looked up at the doorway. "Haname?"

Shippou jumped on her shoulder, trying to hide behind her hair. "She doesn't like me," he whispered. "Once, she almost put an ofuda on me, but Miroku stopped her."

"Why?" Kagome said.

"She said I got her laundry dirty after she hung it up. But I swear I didn't. It was her grandson. He hid behind a tub and threw mud clods at it." Shippou dropped his head. "Nobody wanted to believe me, either."

Kagome pulled him in her lap and ruffed his hair. "I'm sorry, Shippou-kun." She watched curiously as Kaede lifted the door mat to reveal the angry face of an older woman.

Haname was no taller than Kaede, and much thinner, but carried as much presence as the old miko. Even in her work clothes of stained brown wrap skirt and faded head-scarf she carried herself with the aura of a woman who expected to be respected . . . or else. And this was one of those "or else" moments.

"It's all your fault, Kaede," Haname said, her voice loud and shrill. "Letting that strumpet of a girl live up the hill with that . . . that . . . thing. I hear she's parading around in miko clothes, too, even while she lives with that silver-haired monster. I'm amazed the kami haven't given us the plague yet."

Kagome could feel her cheeks start to burn and her anger rise. She moved Shippou off of her lap, but before she could stand up and say anything, Kaede stepped outside, and dropped the door mat behind her. Still, she could hear them just as clearly. Her hands clenched, and she had to fight to keep from standing up.

"Is she talking about you and InuYasha?" Shippou asked, his voice still quite soft. "She shouldn't say stuff like that." He tried to stifle a sneeze but couldn't.

"Be quiet, Shippou-kun," Kagome said.

"What do InuYasha-sama and Kagome-sama have to do with what's wrong, Haname?" Kaede asked, working hard to keep her voice a neutral tone.

"If it hadn't been for them, none of this would have happened!"

"What happened?" Kaede said. "InuYasha-sama is with the monk, Haname. I know he didn't do anything that could give anybody any problem today."

"Daitaro caught my grandson at that monster's house and Shinjiro just came by and told me Tameo got my man out of the fields and they all are going up to Daitaro's to decide what to do to him, and it's all your fault. My poor Aki-kun!"

"Don't believe her," Shippou whispered. "He's always doing mean stuff."

"Aki-kun got into trouble up at InuYasha-sama's house?" Kaede asked. "Doing what?"

"I don't know . . . Shinjiro said something about one of Daitaro's cows. And Isao-kun got hurt. I didn't catch it all. But if you hadn't been so adamant about having that youkai stay - "

"Hanyou," Kaede said. "InuYasha-sama is a hanyou. He is half human."

"That doesn't matter," the angry woman said. "If you hadn't convinced Tameo that he ought to have a house here, he would have moved on and none of this would have happened. You know how Aki is. A high-spirited boy. And now what will happen to him?" She paused for a moment. "It does us all no good, having youkai around the village. It's bad luck. Look at what's happening to my family! What will we do?"

"High spirited," Kagome said. "Is that what she calls it? All that work in the garden - Kinjiro's going to be so mad."

"Be calm, Haname," Kaede said. "What's wrong with Isao?"

"He got kicked by the cow, I think," Haname said. "Maybe if he's hurt badly enough, Aki-kun will stop playing with such a wild thing."

"She's lying," Shippou said, and sneezed again. "Isao never gets into trouble when Aki's not around."

Kagome stood up, her fists clasped to her side and started walking to the door, not sure of what she was going to do but knowing she needed to do something, when Kaede stepped back in. She took one glance at the young miko and took her by the shoulders.

"No child, just no," she said, her voice soft and low. "Listen to me. I know what you want to do, to give her a piece of your mind, but now is not the time. Haname is the wife of the man who leads the third most important family in the village. Don't give her the opportunity to make life hard for you. Take a deep breath."

Slowly, Kagome's hands unclenched and she nodded, taking deep breaths as she looked up at the miko. Unable to vent her anger where it belonged, she felt it turning into the need for tears and her eyes grew damp. Kaede sighed.

"I am going to go up to Daitaro-sama's with Haname so I can see if that poor boy needs any help, and we can find out what really happened. Haname's an unhappy woman. Life has made her bitter in many ways, but after her anger dies down, she is usually fair. Right now she's panicked for him and frightened. She'd twist anything you say now into something hurtful."

The younger woman nodded. "But what she said - does she really blame you?"

Kaede shook her head. "She has a biting tongue, and always has," the older woman said, and gave her an encouraging smile. She picked up her bow and her emergency basket. "I'm used to it. Sometimes, I can even pay it no mind." As she moved back toward the door, she told the younger woman, "Put away what you can, and leave the unfinished medicine where it is."

"You think it'll be all right to go to Sango's house?" Kagome asked. "And what about the children? They ought to be coming back from Tameo's soon."

"Why don't you go there yourself?" Kaede suggested. "You're more likely to hear what really happened there anyway. And you can keep an eye on Yume and Hiseo."

"You think there'll be any problem?" Kagome asked.

"Not really," Kaede said, lifting the door mat. "But because Tameo put you under your protection, Tameo's honor is involved here, and the village elders will treat it seriously."

"InuYasha's going to be so upset if they did much damage while he was gone. He's been worried about this." Kagome said.

"Well, let's hope we can get it worked out and taken care of before he gets back," Kaede said. "With luck, it will all work out."

And with that, she left.

_**Author's note:**_

_Someone said they were having trouble knowing who belonged to whom in the families I've talked about._

_This is a list of not quite everybody, but of the most important people I've mentioned so far and who they are related to:_

_**Tameo**__ (village headman) He is Kaede's cousin._

_ his wife, Hisa_

_ son: Susumu who is married to Emi - they have several children, including Yorime, Suzume, and Aomi_

_ son: Kinjiro who is married to Matsume. Matsume is expecting._

_Other families:_

_**Toshiro**__, one of the village elders and head of the second most important family. He is a widower_

_ Son: Yasuo. Married to Sayo. She is due to give birth in the very near future. They have several children_

_**Takeshi**__, nephew of Tameo _

_ Daughters: Erime and Tama_

_**Daitaro**__, cousin of Tameo_

_Wife: Chime_

_Son: Shinjiro, who is a widower and soon to marry Erime_

_**Tsuneo**__, village elder and leader of the 3rd most important family. This family does not like InuYasha being in the village._

_ Wife: Haname_

_ Son: Joben (married to Akina. Aki and Setsuko are his children.)_

_Daughter: Chiya (Chiya is married to Michio, who is a cousin of Toshiro's. They have Nori, Masato and Asuka as children)_

_Other villagers:_

_**Choujiro**__, one of the poorer villagers, who is not related to any of the three main faimilies. He is married to Yurime, and has a son, Daichi_

_**Daisuke**__, one of the oldest villagers_


	59. Chapter 59

_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 59**

Kagome watched the door mat swing and the miko and Haname walked away from the house. For a moment, she didn't do anything, torn between wanting to scream and wanting to run after the two women. Instead, she felt her throat tighten and her eyes sting.

"Do you want me to go find InuYasha?" Shippou said, looking up at the young miko.  
>"No, I don't think so," Kagome said, dropping to the floor. Shippou hopped into her lap.<p>

"Why not?" the boy asked.

"They need to take care of that youkai," she said. "Plus, if you told InuYasha, he'd run back here angry. It'll be better to let him come back later, after Tameo and the village elders figure out what to do. But there's something you can do." She moved Shippou off her lap.

"What is it?" Shippou said, sitting himself more comfortably on the floor.

"You can go tell Sango that Rin and I may be late getting over to see her after lunch. Let her know I'll be at Tameo's. Will you do that for me?"

"Sure thing, Kagome," he said.

"And Shippou, if you go by my house," Kagome said, "don't let the Haname see you. It doesn't sound like she likes youkai very much."

"She doesn't." Shippou looked up. "She threw salt at me the last time she saw me by myself. I'll be careful. I'll wait a few more minutes to let them get up the path before I leave."

Kagome nodded, and then moved back to where she had been making medicines. Carefully moving the ointment pot further away from the fire, she next began picking up the bags and boxes of herbs she and Kaede had been using and putting them back where they belonged.

"Are you going to be all right, Kagome?" Shippou asked. He handed her a packet of a particularly fragrant herb, and, and as she took it from him, he sneezed.

"Better than you are, Shippou-chan. At least these herbs don't make me sneeze." She took the packet and put it back in a wooden box, then placed it up on a shelf.

"If you're sure," he said, sneezing again. He wiped his nose on his sleeve. "I'll go tell Sango."

She ruffed his hair, and gave him a hug. "Thanks, Shippou-chan. I'll see you when you get back."

The kitsune nodded and, left, sneezing once more as he passed through the door. She bent down to pick the last of the bundled herbs up and put them on the shelf with the others, then sank to her knees by the half-prepared medicine they had been making for Daisuke.

"It's just not fair," Kagome said, slapping her hand on the floor. The herbs in the mixing bowl danced a little at the vibration. "I had just got our garden in, too. Kinjiro worked so hard to get the ground ready." She picked up the mixing bowl and the mortar with the half-ground ginger root on Kaede's work table, then knocked the fire down so she could cover it. "I hope InuYasha is having a better day with Miroku. And that Tameo and the elders get things taken care of before he gets home. He's going to be so angry when he finds out."

With a final look around the old miko's house, she grabbed her workbasket, and stepped outside

As the door mat to Kaede's house closed behind Kagome, up on the hill at Sango's house, a door slid open, and a small girl ran to see the visitors standing in front of her house.

She was quickly followed by her mother.

"Noriko!" Sango said.

The small girl heading towards the cluster of men standing around Aki stopped. Sango scooped her up before she actually made it to them.

"I'm sorry," she said, bowing a little bit to the gathered men. "She got outside before I could stop her."

Daitaro laughed. "Spirited girl. I like that. How's Isao?"

"He's still out of it," Sango said, bouncing her daughter on her hip. Noriko crawled up in her arms and pointed at the group. "He's got quite a bruise on his forehead and another on stomach."

"Cow," Noriko announced.

"Yes, yes, baby," Sango said, then turned to go. "I hope Kaede gets here soon. I'm pretty good at treating injuries, but that bump on his head has me worried."

Tameo nodded. "Head injuries are serious." He watched her walk with her protesting daughter back to the house and sighed.

"Maybe we should send word to Katsume," Kinjiro said, looking up at his father. "His father ought to be here when things like this happen."

"After four years gone, who knows where he is or even knows if he's coming back?" Daitaro said, spitting. "Shinjiro will return with Amaya. At least the boy will have his mother here."

Tsuneo knelt down behind his grandson. "Haname gets word from time to time. She and her nephew, they grew close after the attack that took the rest of their family. Last I heard he was off fighting for the Houjou somewhere." He began working loose the bonds that held Aki in a kneeling posture. "You owe Isao much, boy." The knots came loose. "I'm letting you stand up because of how your grandmother would react if she saw you tied up. You will not run off. You will stand here and answer our questions. You will not lie."

Aki slowly stood up, rubbing his wrist. A tear track crossed a dirt smudge on his face, and his kosode was ripped on his shoulder where it had gotten snagged on something during his run. Standing slump-shouldered, he did not yet meet his grandfather's eyes.

"Is . . . is Isao going to be all right?" he asked, his voice barely audible.

"We don't know yet, boy," Tameo said.

Joben, looking at his son, stood there clenching his fists."We know why there's bad luck over here."

"Because stupid boys did stupid things," Daitaro said, giving the man a dark look. Taking a deep breath he scratched his cow's ear one more time. "What I want to know," he said as he regained his composure, "is why? Why did you let Masami out of her pen? If my bull was still with her, you two could have been hurt even more."

Aki shrugged. "I...don't know."

Tsuneo gave his grandson a small shove.

"I mean Isao and me, we . . . " Aki swallowed. "Chichi-ue and Obaasan say the kami cursed this side of the village. We . . . we . . . wanted to see how people act when they think the kami are mad at them."

Daitaro shook his head.

Joben muttered something that the others didn't hear, and Tsuneo slapped him hard. Turning to Tameo and Daitaro, his eyes were angry, but his look was resigned. "Well, what do we do with these boys?"

Miroku and InuYasha had no doubts about what they were going to do as they continued their journey. Their pace was easier this last leg of the journey; the ground was flat, the road was good, and InuYasha, even as he scowled set a slower pace. The road was even deserted. The merchant who had passed them earlier had either gotten a large head start or had turned off somewhere, and there was no one to ask favors or give them strange looks as they continued.

But it was rather quiet. InuYasha was in no mood for conversation. As they moved along, at one point the silence got to Miroku and he began to hum a song as he walked, beating out the rhythm with his staff, and began to sing, very softly:

"That girl who works at the teahouse,  
>I hear her walking, walking, walking,<br>Her pretty white feet in black geta,  
>While her customers are talking.<br>She should come sit down next to me."

InuYasha stopped for a moment and looked at his friend. "Damn it, Bouzu," he said. "Do you sing trash like that around Sango? I don't know what's worse, the children's songs or this."

"Was I singing out loud?" Miroku asked as he stopped, looking surprised.

"Loud enough for me to hear," the hanyou said. "You forget how good my ears are?"

"I must have," Miroku said, smiling. He began to walk again. "But you shouldn't make fun of that song. My father taught it to me when I was a boy."

InuYasha snorted. "For some reason that doesn't surprise me."

Miroku shook his head. "Mushin always told me I was a lot like him. But you're right. I don't sing that version to my lovely wife," said the monk smiling. "I sing this one:

"That girl who fights like a whirlwind,  
>I hear her walking, walking, walking,<br>her pretty feet in black geta.  
>While her children they are sleeping,<br>she should come sit down next to me.

"Sango seems to like it. It makes her laugh. You should try singing to Kagome-sama some time."

InuYasha shook his head. "I don't think so. But I'm still amazed that Sango doesn't brain you sometimes," he said. "If you have to sing, shouldn't you be singing something holy, instead of about women? Even if you are a bad monk, you're still a monk."

"I could, but those songs aren't the best things to walk to," Miroku said. "I could chant the Heart Sutra again, if you'd like."

"I think I'll pass," InuYasha said. "Once a day is enough."

The monk laughed. "The ladies, they are more pleasant to contemplate than emptiness. I'll give you that."

InuYasha gave him a withering look which Miroku, as usual, ignored. "Just be quiet, Bouzu. We're getting close and I'd like to keep my ears open just in case."

"In that case, all right," Miroku said, and kept his song and thoughts to himself.

They reached their turnoff not long after. The road to the village ran along the base of a rock wall that cast a shadow across the road and into the woods on the other side. But as they rounded a bend, they could see the village spread out in front of them, fields green with barley, waiting to ripen before it would be harvested and the fields flooded to plant rice.

As they neared, they could see a small group of men waiting for them under a large tree that overhung the road. Ryuu, the man who had hired them, spotted the two and waved, and the others with him stood up.

"It looks like we have a welcoming committee," Miroku said. "They look rather desperate."

"I'm not surprised," InuYasha said, resting his hand on Tessaiga's hilt, and taking a deep sniff of the air. "This place reeks of bakeneko."

Miroku took another step, his staff jingling. "Ah, I see Ryuu-sama is with them. Seems he's going to be the middle man here, too."

"I hope they know what they're in for," InuYasha said.

"I hope we do, to." Miroku said, as he moved forward to meet the waiting men.


	60. Chapter 60

_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 60**

Kagome had barely gotten out of the door of Kaede's house when she was met by Susumu, Tameo's eldest son. Today, he had a brightly printed headband tied around his head, and over the blue and white farmer's kosode, he was wearing the padded chest protector she had seen him wear the first time she met him, although he carried no weapon.

"Hello, Susumu-sama. Doing guard duty today?" she asked.

"Ah, cousin," he said, giving her a small smile and a slight bow. "I was hoping to find you. It must be our lucky day."

Shippou, who had been waiting on the roof instead of hurrying to Sango's house, jumped down and ended up on Kagome's shoulder. "Why'd you want her?" the kitsune asked, crossing his arms in a very InuYasha-esque manner. Kagome turned to look at him, half-expecting him to say "feh!" at any moment.

"I thought you had gone to see Sango, Shippou-chan," Kagome said, looking at the kit. "Behave yourself. Susumu-sama is my new cousin. I'm sure he's only here for good reasons."

"Indeed, Master Kitsune," Susumu said, nodding."My father sent me here to keep an eye on her."

"And InuYasha told me to watch her," Shippou said, giving him a hard look, which, although stern, seemed funny for a small child sitting on a woman's shoulder. "I wasn't going anywhere until I was sure she was safe."

Susumu worked hard not to laugh, and managed to keep his amusement to a small grin. "And no doubt you are doing a good job, Shippou-kun, but I, too, have to obey, since my father is the village headman. I am sure we both can share the duty, unless you would prefer my brother to do it. I can assure you, I am better company, tell better jokes, and do not like to hunt foxes like he does."

"Hunt foxes?" Shippou said. His stern looked melted and he gave Kagome a big-eyed look.

She lifted him off her shoulder, gave him a reassuring smile, and let him slide to the ground. "I'm sure Kinjiro-sama wouldn't hunt a kitsune like you, Shippou-chan," she said, ruffing his hair.

"True, true," Susumu said. He knit his brow in a mock look of sternness. "Unless you're the one getting into my father's store rooms. Yesterday, I went there and someone had spilled miso on the ground. There were tracks in it that looked rather fox-like." Turning his head to the side a little and crossing his arms, he gave the kitsune a sharp look.

Shippou shook his head. "No, that's not me. Must be field foxes." He looked down, scuffing the ground with his foot. As if suddenly realizing that his feet were also fox-like, he looked up. "They aren't youkai, anyway. They just cause a lot of trouble."

"So I've heard. But it's not just foxes that can cause trouble, I'm afraid. That's why I came looking for you, cousin," Susumu said to Kagome. He had lost his smile, and had turned more somber. "There's been a bit of trouble. Let's go to my father's house. He wanted you there anyway, just in case this becomes . . . well, noisy."

"It's already gotten noisy," Shippou said.

"That's where I was headed," Kagome said as they began walking down the street. "Kaede-obaachan sent me. Does the trouble you mentioned have to do with the story that Haname-sama came running to complain to Kaede-obaachan about?"

Susumu sighed, and rubbed his hand over his forehead. "Haname came to find Kaede-obasan?"

"Oh yes. She wanted to blame Kaede-obaachan for everything," Kagome said, sighing.

"I told you it was noisy. Haname turned so red," Shippou said. "I don't know if I've seen anybody but InuYasha turn that red before."

"She does have a temper," Susumu said, nodding. "But Shippou-kun, you haven't seen her daughter Chiya when she gets mad. She gets even redder. So you've heard about the incident, then, cousin."

She nodded. "But not really what happened," Kagome said. "You know people here much better than I do. Do you think there really will be a problem?"

"Probably not. But since this involves Daitaro, one of our cousins, and possibly you, whom everyone now knows is under Chichi-ue's protection, this is something that can't quite be hushed up, and Haname knows it. Still, it's better to be ready when dealing with squeaky wheels, and Aki is Tsuneo's oldest grandson," Susumu said. "Spoiled rotten and a brat, but someone who might be important some day, if he ever grows up."

"What happened?" Kagome asked.

"According to Shinjiro, Aki and his cousin Isao let out one of Daitaro's cows. The cow ended up at your place," Susumu said. "Hope the cow didn't trample up your garden. That would make my brother very unhappy. He does not like his handiwork destroyed."

Kagome shook her head. "He's not the only one. InuYasha . . . "

"I bet he's going to be mad I didn't go get him," Shippou said. "You're sure I shouldn't, Kagome?"

"I'm sure, Shippou-chan," she said, laying a hand gently on his shoulder. "He's got important work to do, too. And we're in good hands."

"And there's that," Susumu said. "We don't want anything to reflect badly upon you and InuYasha-sama. It's going to take some delicacy. And your husband not overreacting."

"Fat chance," Shippou muttered as they walked past the gate that marked the entrance to Tameo's family's compound.

While Susumu and Kagome talked, away in the village of Kagemura, Ryuu, the villager who had come to hire InuYasha and Miroku, walked ahead of the cluster of older men waiting for the two of them.

InuYasha took a deep breath. "Let's get this over with, Bouzu."

"All in good time," Miroku replied. "Let's figure out what's going on first."

"Feh," the hanyou said. "Just don't take too much time." Steeling his face into a neutral mask, he followed the monk to meet the village elders.

As they walked, Miroku's open, cheerful face changed. The hanyou had watched this happen many times before, as the monk put on what InuYasha thought of as Miroku's "make the money" face - slightly haughty, slightly otherworldly, carrying himself like a man of authority who could be trusted to have the answers to their spiritual problems - the type of manner that evidently villagers associated with serious holy men. His aura heightened too, as he pulled on his own spiritual powers, just enough to give the hanyou a slight tingle as his own youki brushed the monk's reiki.

InuYasha didn't understand why people fell for it, but they always did. It had gotten them into more than one rich man's home or inn when they were on the quest for Naraku. Now it got them respect, and often, larger fees when they went on a youkai extermination.

It seemed to be working this time as well. The men waiting for them began talking among themselves as they neared. A boy who had been sitting near the men while he played with a top was called over, given a tap on the shoulder, and sent running into the village.

"Well, we're not going to be a surprise," InuYasha said.

"Doesn't look that way." Miroku took another step, his staff jingling. "Nice that Ryuu-sama is going to be the middleman here. We seemed to be comfortable together back at the village."

Ryuu, walked up to them, bowed formally, and quite deeply. "Thank you for coming so quickly," he said.

"Keh," InuYasha said, flicking an ear and crossing his arms. "We said we'd be here, didn't we?"

"My friend is exactly correct," Miroku said, returning the bow, but not nearly as deep. "Have things changed since the last time we talked?"

"Things are no better," Ryuu said. "In fact, while I was at your village, they've gotten a bit worse. We've had a couple of other people get the sleeping sickness, just today, like young Yume." He bowed again. "Nothing like this has ever happened to our village before. Please, if you can, remove this scourge from us. We will do what we can to pay you for your troubles."

Miroku rested a hand on the man's shoulder. "We are ready to do just that. InuYasha and I will make sure you are relieved of this pest."

InuYasha, not paying much to Miroku's professional banter, studied the scene before him. Just past the tree where the village elders gathered, he noted the group of houses and fields beyond. The village was in a valley. Beyond it, there was a large, rocky hill, its face too sharp for more than shrubs to grow on. It was smaller than his own village, and there was forest where the fields ended.

"Not much room for fighting," he said to himself.

He turned next to the small group of elders, not yet ready to move forward as Miroku and Ryuu continued to speak. There were six of them, none younger than forty, and they were watching him in return.

One man, dressed in a red and black striped kosode, nudged another, nodding to his friend. "I told you this monk had a tame youkai," he said in a whisper, but still loud enough for InuYasha to make out. "He's got to be very good. We should have never wasted time on that yamabushi."

The hanyou resisted rolling his eyes, and instead merely gave the men a solemn look and stuffed his hands in his sleeves. It was an old story when they did youkai exterminations.

"Always the inugami," he muttered.

Miroku shot him a look that said sorry, then shrugged. "Shall we get started?"

About the same time that Miroku was discussing business with Ryuu, Tameo the village headman stood in front of Miroku's house, and looked down at Aki. He scratched the back of his head. "We need to do this right. I think," he said, "that perhaps we should talk to Toshiro before we decide what to do next." He looked up at the boy's grandfather. "What do you think Tsuneo?"

Before Tsuneo could say anything, Joben stepped in front of him. "Why bother?" the younger man said, crossing his arms. "You know you'll do whatever you want to my son, anyway."

Tsuneo shoved his son back beside him. "Be silent," he hissed. "Do you really want to make things worse than they have to be?"

Aki looked up at Joben with huge eyes. "Otousan?"

Tsuneo gripped his grandson's shoulder, sighed, and looked at the boy regretfully. "You will have consequences, boy. This is how a man lives." He looked up at his son. "If you do wrong, you pay the price and learn from it. You don't blame others for your bad luck. And you take it like a man, without complaining."

"Otousan . . . " Joben started. The anger in his eyes reflected in his voice.

"Enough," the older man said.

Daitaro, being sure not to look at the father and son, instead looked at the headman, raised an eyebrow, scratched his head, then thinking a moment, nodded. "That makes good sense. That way, no one can say our family is being unfair." Taking a quick glance at Joben, he turned back to his cow, patting her neck. "Unlike some people I know, we value fairness."

"And Toshiro was always one who could figure out how to make something good out of a pile of shit," Kinjiro said. He took a sip out of Daitaro's flask, the last of the group to do so. "You really need to teach me to make saké like that, old man." He handed the flask back to him over the back of Daitaro's prize cow.

Daitaro laughed as he took it back. "Come see me after rice harvest. Toshiro's a gifted one. He always was the best farmer of the lot of us."

Kinjiro sighed, as if it were a sore point. "Maybe."

Tsuneo unhanded Aki, and looked at Joben who was standing there, clenching his fists, then nodded. "This affects more than us," he said to Joben. "If you're going to take my place some day, you need to learn to put the good of the village ahead of your pride."

The younger man spit.

He turned to Tameo. "Yes, let's get Toshiro." He put his hand on his grandson's shoulder once again. "Give him something to do besides be in that house full of women waiting for the new grandchild."

Tameo sighed, relieved. "I suggest then, we head back to my place, where we can discuss what to do," Tameo said. "We'll figure out what to do with Isao after Kaede-sama decides he's well enough."

With a murmur of assent, they began heading toward the path leading them back to Daitaro's house and the village beyond. They were about halfway to Daitaro's farmhouse when Kinjiro stopped the group.

"Wait," he said. "I hear something."

"What is it?" Tameo asked.

"Trouble," Kinjiro replied.

A moment later, Kaede, Haname, and Isao's mother Amaya crested the rise that let them get a good look at the group of men. Haname, looking at all of them, but especially Aki's dirty clothes and tear-stained face began to hurry toward them.

"What have you done to my grandson?" she demanded.

Kinjiro looked once again at his father. "Like I said, trouble."

Tameo nodded. "Let's get this over with. We have work to do." He moved forward to intercept her.


	61. Chapter 61

_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 61**

Susumu, followed by Kagome and a Shippou who was busily complaining under his breath about stupid humans and their stupid human ways, reached the gates to Tameo's compound

As they passed the entry gate, an old woman, leaning heavily on her cane, walked up to the two of them. She once must have been a beauty; even though time had creased her face, Kagome could still trace the lines of it. But there was more there that time couldn't fade - she had a mischievous twinkle in her eye as she stopped in front of them. She nodded a greeting.

"Ah, young Miko-sama, it is nice to finally meet you," she said, as Kagome returned her bow. "And you, Susumu-kun, causing trouble like normal?"

"Ah, Hisako-obaasan, you know me," Susumu replied, "As much trouble as possible. How is Daisuke-ojiisan doing?"

"Complaining, like normal. If Chichi would actually do what he was supposed to, we'd both get more rest." She squinched up her nose and made a face. "Be careful, young man, or you're going to end up like him, old and complaining."

Susumu chuckled. "If I'm that lucky."

"You're Daisuke-sama's daughter?" Kagome asked.

"Yes, yes," the older woman said. "I have that privilege." She gave Kagome a thorough look, judging what she saw. After a moment, she smiled, as if pleased by what she saw. "So you're the young woman causing so much talk. A little thing you are for all that. I like it."

Kagome tilted her head a little, surprised. "Am I, Obaasan? People are talking about me?"

"Oh yes," the older woman said. "Haname-sama has been talking nonstop, as well as her daughter Chiya. But we don't pay her much mind. The medicine Kaede-sama said you made for my father is working well. I believe you have the healer's touch." She gave Kagome a bright smile. "People will talk. It doesn't mean we believe the gossip!"

Kagome looked up at Susumu.

He shrugged. "People do talk. Usually nonsense," he said. "Most know the story about how you were Kikyou-sama's reincarnation, and how you avenged her with InuYasha-sama's help. Most who've said anything are glad you're back. Some think you're lucky, and are going to be good for the village. You know how Chichi-ue feels about you. Most are following his lead, but some aren't. It's just the same way they talk about InuYasha-sama."

Hisako nodded. "Much nonsense. Still, be polite and keep your ears open, child." The old woman gave Shippou a nod, pursed her lips and pointed a finger at him. "Now you, young kitsune, I've been hearing stories about you, too. Don't you come around trying to trick my otousan. I've put ofuda on the door and windows. He's told me how he's seen fox fire in his yard."

Shippou looked sincerely surprised. He sputtered. "But . . . but . . . I never - "

Hisako chuckled and patted his head. "Then you have nothing to worry about. Now I have to go home and see if my father took his medicine today. Take care."

Bowing once more, she walked slowly out of the gate.

"That was . . . interesting," Kagome said, turning to watch the older woman slowly make her way back to the street.

"I've never gone over to Daisuke's," Shippou said, pulling on Kagome's sleeve. "Never. Well, maybe once with some of the kids. But I didn't do anything wrong!"

"Oh, I believe you, Master Kitsune," Susumu said, laughing. "Hisako-obaasan has the talent of knowing just what to say to fluster people. Some of us wonder if she isn't part kitsune herself."

Shippou turned his head and looked at the old woman, then back around. "Don't think so."

"But I can understand why they might say that," Kagome said.

This made Susumu laugh more. "Let's get you to my mother, cousin, before she comes out looking for us herself."

As usual, there was a lot of activity around the house. One of the older women was hanging up laundry, and two young men were busy pounding mochi rice in a large pestle. The air was alive with the smells of lunch cooking.

In front of the big house, Rin was playing with several children - Yume, the girl from the neighboring village, who was looking surprisingly not tired, Yorime, Susumu's eldest daughter and Mitsuo, his son. Hiseo, Yume's brother, sat on the ground, watching the younger children. They were standing in a circle around Rin, tossing a ball back and forth to her while she sang:

"There are some who dance,  
>there are some who sing,<br>there are some who watch,  
>yoi, yoi, yoi.<p>

"There are some who pull  
>there are some who push - "<p>

At that moment, Yume tossed the ball and Rin missed it. It rolled toward Kagome and Susumu. Shippou darted ahead and picked it up.

Rin spotted the group. "Shippou-kun, there you are!" she said. "And you, too Kagome-sama, Susumu-sama." She gave them a little greeting bow. "Throw it back, Shippou-kun, or we can't finish our game."

Emi, Susumu's wife, who had moved her spinning wheel outside was sitting on the verandah to keep an eye on things. Hearing Rin, she looked up and wound a length of thread on the spinning wheel's spindle.

"Welcome, Kagome-sama." That done, she stood up, and bowed a greeting. " Please come in. Haha-ue's been expecting you."

"No escaping now, cousin," Susumu said. "I'll leave you in my wife's care. Back to my duties." And with a brief bow, he turned and headed back out, but before he left, he said, "Once Chichi-ue and the others get back, the afternoon promises to be interesting!"

"It's already more interesting that I think I like," Kagome said, then walked to the house to join Emi.

Susumu's father Tameo was not having as an amusing time as his son, although it was rather interesting. The headman stood in front of Aki, his arms crossed. To the right, his son Kinjiro stood, hoe resting over his shoulder.

Haname looked past them, craning to see her family behind the two. "What are you doing with my grandson?"

Kaede and Amaya, Isao's mother reached the knot of people.

"Where is Isao?"the younger woman asked wringing her hand. She looked tense and worried. "Is he . . . all right?"

"Ah, Amaya-sama, he's at the monk's house," Tameo said. "He had taken a nasty fall or something and hit his head. The monk's wife is taking care of him."

Amaya turned whiter, and swallowed hard, like she was having trouble breathing. Kaede reached out and patted her hand. "You hurry there, child. I'll be right behind you."

She nodded at the miko, and quickly walked around the knot of people and headed towards Miroku's house.

Haname looked at Amaya a moment, and then looked back at Tameo. "Don't play games with me, Tameo. What are you going to do with my grandson?"

"Haname," Tsuneo said sternly.

She ignored him and tried to push through the two men.

Aki sniffled. "Obaasan," he said. "I . . . I . . ."

"Let me through," she demanded, as Kinjiro shifted his position to block her.

Tsuneo stepped up and grabbed her by the shoulders. "That's enough, woman."

The woman looked at her husband, wide-eyed with surprise. "You . . . you are standing with them?"

"This is village business now, Haname," Tsuneo said. "Our grandson let out Daitaro's cow, and Isao-kun was injured because of it. Maybe seriously. He's done other harm to the people here."

"But . . . he's your grandson!" she said, breaking free of his hold. "There's no telling what those people will do to him."

"We will do nothing more to him than he has earned, woman," Tameo said.

"Haname," Kaede said, coming up behind her. "We should go."

Haname whirled around. "You're one of them, too," she said to Kaede. "You may be a miko, but you're Tameo's kinswoman." Her surprise at Tsuneo was turning quickly to fury. She turned back to the group of men. "You're all bewitched. Did that little witch you let in the village put a spell on all of you? How dare you lay hands on my grandson." She struggled again, trying to reach him.

Aki began to sob. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, Obaasan." He rubbed his eyes. "I didn't mean . . . "

"Enough!" Tsuneo said, grabbing his wife again. "Joben, take your mother home. We are going down to Tameo's, where we'll sort this out like men."

Joben, even more angry than earlier, gave his father a hard, cold look, clenching and unclenching his hands.

"You will do this now. The two of you will go down the hill and let us do what we must do, or so help me, you both will find yourself without a home to go to," Tsuneo hissed.

Joben bowed stiffly. "Yes, Otousan. You are head of the family, and I must do as you say. Yes, we know that you and your friends will do whatever you want to. There's nothing I can do that will make a difference. But we will not forget whose side you chose." He moved past the men and gently took his mother's hands. "Come, Okaachan. We'll let Morio say a prayer and cast the sticks. Maybe he can remove the blindness from the eyes of these old men. With a spell this strong, it's going to take a lot of work."

Together, slowly, they headed down the path, with Haname looking back over her shoulder until the path led them out of the line of sight.

"That was . . . " Daitaro said. He scratched his head. "Interesting isn't the right word. Who's Morio?"

"Intense?" Kinjiro said.

"Maybe," the older man said. "I think you're going to be eating cold rice a long time, Tsuneo my man. And have a cold bed."

"At least a month," Tsuneo said, nodding. " Morio's some sort of yamabushi want to be that has my son's ear right now. Don't think much of his abilities, but my son's paying for his feeding, not me. Let's get this done. Even if I don't have much of a home to go back to, I want to make a future for my grandson."

While Joben and his mother walked away, in the village of Kagemura, InuYasha, Miroku and Ryuu, the villager there who was acting as the middleman for their youkai extermination, were joining a different cluster of men.

After introductions, Osamu, the village headman, turned to Miroku. He was a stout, haggard looking man, wearing a straw hat against the sun. He, like several of the other men, was very fatigued, as if he had not been sleeping.

"Thank you for coming, Houshi-sama," he said. "Ryuu tells me you think our problem is a bakeneko. But are you sure it's not a black kitsune? That's what the yamabushi who tried to get rid of it said it was."

"You are welcome, Dono," Miroku said, giving the headman a sympathetic look. "Finding and removing youkai can be a difficult business, but I believe the yamabushi who tried to aid you was incorrect about your problem. Perhaps that is why his spiritual powers did not drive the youkai off." Lifting his staff and dropping it down to make the rings jingle, he continued. "Listening to Ryuu and young Hiseo tell the tale of what had happened here, I decided that it was clear that your problem was most likely only one of two things. One could have been an avenging ghost, a yurei, but I was informed no one in your village had died recently. Am I right?"

"Alas, my mother passed away two weeks ago," Juro, one of the youngest of the group, said. "I think the curse of the village reached her."

Two of the men nodded their agreement.

"I am sorry for your loss, Dono," Miroku said, making a blessing sign with his hand and bowing slightly. "I will say a sutra for her, if you wish before I leave. But no one died around the time things began happening?"

"No, no one," said the headman. "That's what the yamabushi asked us, too. But he couldn't find a trace of a ghost in the village."

"Then that eliminates the first type of being that could be causing you all this trouble," Miroku said. "But when the girl from your village arrived at our miko's house, she smelled strongly of bakeneko. My friend there," he said, nodding in InuYasha's direction, "will vouch for that. He and I have had experience with these monsters before. There are other youkai that can drink a person's life spirit, but kitsune do not, as a rule. Some bakeneko prefer to kill and eat their prey, but others, like yurei, will drink down their life essence. That was what had happened to Yume-chan."

The elders nodded and whispered to each other, giving InuYasha some questioning looks.

"Is he a dog youkai?" one of them asked Ryuu.

InuYasha's ear flicked, and he gave a soft growl. Two of the men jumped back at the sound.

"That answers that," the questioner said.

"He is of the bloodline of the Inu no Taisho, the silver Inu youkai," Miroku said, tapping his nose. "He knows what he smells."

The elders looked impressed. That youkai was a legend from their childhood. "Nothing like a dog against a cat," the headman said.

"Exactly," Miroku replied. "Let's head toward the houses and get to work."


	62. Chapter 62

1_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 62**

Miroku and InuYasha began moving toward the nearest house, and the group of men followed, but they made a point not to get as close to the two as they had stood before.

As they moved, some children playing tag stopped, and watched them walk down the street towards the first house. Miroku stopped in front of it, but turned toward Osamu. "Little Yume-chan, who was brought to my village was too drained to stay awake. I hear there are others like that here," he said. "Am I correct?"

"My Chou," said Hotaka, the man who had whispered earlier. His face was lined with worry as he spoke. "She couldn't get up today."

"Mikio, too, my niece's husband." Ryuu looked up at Miroku. "What does it mean?"

"That the bakeneko has been feeding," the monk replied. Turning back to the building, Miroku slapped an ofuda on the house. The lettering glowed bright red briefly, then faded back to black writing. "Ah, the youkai has been here, but has left," he said.

The men muttered among themselves at the flash of magic.

InuYasha nodded. He rested his hand on Tessaiga's hilt. "Smells like it. Fairly fresh, too. Maybe early this morning."

"Houshi-sama, that's where Mikio lives," Ryuu said. "So the monster has been here?"

"Yes," Miroku said. "Yes it had. But anybody in that house should be safe now as long as the ofuda is not disturbed."

The doormat lifted, and a sad-eyed woman peeked out. "Are you sure? He will get better?"

Miroku nodded. "The youkai will not be able to get to him to drain him anymore, as long as he keeps the ofuda on the house." He smiled at her. "By tomorrow he will wake up and see your lovely self fixing breakfast. Fortunate man."

The woman covered her mouth with her hand, and her cheeks colored just a little, but whether she was hiding a smile or a frown, it was impossible to tell. She bowed, and dashed back inside.

Ryuu looked at InuYasha, and whispered, "Does he always talk to women like that?"

The hanyou nodded. "Mostly."

Before Ryuu could say anything else, Miroku turned back to the elders. "People like to blame kitsune when youkai attacks happen. It is true that they are often to blame for many. But kitsune, when they attack, either possess the person, trouble the person by magic attacks, or impersonate someone the person knows. They might be bothersome, or sometimes really cause serious trouble, but they are by nature tricksters. They don't hide and drain the life out of people."

"Ah," the head man said. He walked up and looked at the ofuda, nodding at the monk's words.

"Let's move on to the next house," Miroku said. "We need to put ofuda on each and every building, or at least until we flush out the monster." He walked down the street towards the next house.

InuYasha sighed, and rolled his shoulders, already tired of the show, then followed his friend. The little group of men hung back a few steps as they walked, afraid of all the magic they were seeing, but wanting to be sure to witness each and every move.

As they reached it, a man, about thirty years old, stepped out on the verandah. He held a knife and a partially carved block of wood in his hand. Sitting down on the ground, he began to work on the wood. He looked up once, then went back to carving. "About time you did the right thing, Osamu-sama," he said.

"Pardon us, Takumi-sama. These are the persons who are going to get rid of the monster for us," the headman said.

"Heh," he said, flicking a chip of wood in the general direction of the elders. "I told you what you should do the first time."

The elder shrugged. "Well, we're doing it now."

Miroku placed an ofuda on the wall of the house. Nothing happened this time. "No youkai stopped at this house," he said.

"Merciful Kwannon," Takumi said. "I should hope not."

Miroku gave the man a look, tilting his head as recognition hit him. "I've seen you at the market."

"Yes. I made the comb that you gave your wife last year. And sold another to your friend there," pointing to InuYasha, "one a few days ago." Miroku shrugged as the wood carver lifted up the piece of wood, and held it up at eye level to examine it closer. "Don't remember? Must have been that pretty dancing girl who came by that distracted you."

The monk grinned. "The one with the green and orange kosode?"

This made the woodcarver give a loud laugh. "Ah, I see. You remember her, but not old Takumi." He shrugged.

"So how come the youkai hasn't bothered you?" InuYasha asked, stepping up behind his friend.

"Ah," Takumi said. "Soon as I realized something uncanny was going on, I put blessed sutras at all the doors and windows. They might not have listened to me, Houshi-sama, or sent for you before hiring that useless yamabushi, but that didn't mean I was going to let the monster get me or mine."

"Very wise of you," the monk said.

"Tell that bunch," he said, giving the elders a hard look, then stood up. "I'm busy now. Go chase your monster." He got up, and went inside.

The men surrounding the monk stirred uncomfortably.

"Perhaps," Miroku said, "We should try another house."

Hotaka audibly sighed.

"Let's do that one," Osamu suggested, pointing to a house on the left. The elders headed that way.

As they walked off, InuYasha grabbed Miroku's arm before he could join them."How many of these are we going to do?" he said. His voice was quite soft so the village elders wouldn't overhear. "You know I could run it down in a lot less time. We'd get home sooner."

"As many as it takes," Miroku said. "I have my reputation to maintain. They have to feel like they're getting their money's worth."

"I thought you thought they couldn't pay us anything." InuYasha let Miroku go and crossed his arms.

"Even if they can't, they'll talk. And that will get us even more business." Smacking his staff to the ground hard enough to jingle the rings, he headed for the cluster of men waiting for him.

InuYasha scowled, but then giving in to the inevitable, just shook his head and followed.

InuYasha wasn't the only one unhappy with the way things were going. Back at Tameo's house, Kagome shifted as she at, staring down at the teacup she turned idly in her hand.

Hisa, Tameo's wife, gave her a soft smile and gently touched her arm. "Ah, Kagome-chan, you know there's nothing really to be nervous about," she said. "Have one of the rice cakes. Aki-kun isn't the first boy in the village who's acted up and gotten into trouble. I could tell you stories about my boys. Especially Kinjiro, who would no doubt deny it, and go find something serious to do if he overheard me talking about it." She chuckled.

The young miko looked up at the older woman. "I'm sure you're right. It's just that . . . "

"That your husband was worried about something happening while he was out, I bet," Hisa said. She reached over and patted Kagome's hand.

Kagome nodded. "And waiting. And the anger in Haname-sama's voice when she came to talk to Kaede. And the being told to stay here." She gave Hisa a sheepish smile. "I'm better at doing than waiting."

"I'm sure you are," Hisa said, nodding. "I've heard stories about your doing when you were here before. People don't always realize that staying behind and waiting is sometimes a lot harder and takes more bravery than running into trouble."

Something about Hisa's little speech made Kagome grin. "You sound like me talking to InuYasha when he's ready to run off and do something when he really needs to wait. I've known him too long! I'm beginning to sound like him."

Hisa refilled Kagome's teacup. "That's what happens when two people are meant to be together, child. And I don't know any two people more fated to be together than you two seem to be. Although," she said, "I wouldn't have guessed that when you two first showed up here."

Kagome laughed a little, and refilled Hisa's teacup in return. "We did argue a lot those days."

"And loudly. Sometimes, we'd come out to watch, afraid that someone might get hurt before it was over. At first I was particularly worried that InuYasha-sama might hurt you, but after I saw what type of magic you had over him, I'm afraid that I peeked more than once to see how long it would take before you used it."

The miko blushed. "We were young . . . "

"And he was rude and angry," Hisa said, nodding. "I must say, though, he's turned out rather well since those days. Perhaps the magic knocked a little sense into him."

"Or maybe," Kagome said, "we just grew up." She sipped her tea.

"That, too. Everything you and your friends went through, it made sure you grew up quickly, I believe. And even though things might seem a little overwhelming from time to time, as I'm sure they do, I and many others are glad you're here with us. Tameo and I were hoping you would settle down in our village even before you destroyed that horrible youkai. You and your husband didn't just avenge Kikyou-sama; you avenged our family for a great wrong done to it, and to the village as well. Most of the people here know that."

The door opened up, and Hisa's grandson rushed in. "Obaachan! Suzume-neechan took my horsie and won't give it back!"

The two women turned to look at the little boy. About five, he was angry, his bottom lip trembling, but he had a tear streak down one cheek. Hisa opened up her arms and he ran into them.

"Did she, Mitsuo?" Hisa asked. "Took your horse?"

He nodded.

"I thought you were playing ball with the other children," she said.

He shook his head. "I kept dropping the ball. Stupid game. Yorime told me to go away. So I was playing with Horsie."

"Hmm," Hisa said. "Maybe I should go see what was happening. Didn't you tell your mother?"

"Haha-ue took Horsie from Suzume-neechan but wouldn't give it back!" the boy complained.

Hisa laughed a little. "And so that's why you came to tell me?"

Chewing his thumb, the little boy nodded. "Horsie gets sad if I'm not holding him."

"Does he?" Hisa said, ruffing her grandson's hair. "Maybe I could go see what really happened. Might be time to pick another game or do something else. Would you like that?"

Mitsuo nodded.

The older woman stood up, holding her grandson's hand. "Would you like to come, Kagome-sama? If they're leaving the little ones out, it's probably time to give them something else to do. I'm sure Emi might like a break from trying to keep an eye on everybody right now."

Kagome nodded and stood up. "I hope having Rin-chan and the two other children drop in on you wasn't too much."

"Not at all," Hisa said. "There are always plenty of people around the house, and it's a good way for them to get to know each other better. And to be honest, I like having them here. Everything seems so quiet when all the young ones are gone."

As they stepped out of the house, Emi stopped her spinning. "Haha-ue, Mitsuo didn't go bother you did he?"

"No, no," the older woman said. "I think he's just a little bored. Sometimes the little ones need a different type of attention than the older children do."

"He must," Emi said with a sigh. "So much like his father! He was trying to ride his toy horse all over his sister's back and head, and wouldn't take no for an answer."

"Ah," Hisa said, looking at her grandson. "So is that why your okaasan has your horsie?" she asked the boy.

The boy buried his face in his grandmother's wrap skirt.

"Well?" she asked.

He nodded.

Hisa sighed, and looked up at Kagome. "Bored boys get into trouble so easily."

Kagome grinned, "Tell me about it. InuYasha used to drive me crazy when he came to visit and got bored. And my brother, Souta . . . " Her voice trailed off, even as realization lit up her face. "Do you think that's why Aki's been doing things on my side of the village? I know I'm not the only one who's had mischief happen."

The older woman looked thoughtfully at the young miko. "It's quite possible. I know his parents and grandparents have been rather indulgent of him, since he's the heir to their family. An indulged boy with little supervision and not much discipline is a grief waiting to happen." She touched Kagome's shoulder. "That gives me an idea. We'll have to wait until everybody gets back, though."

She stepped off the verandah. "Now children, Matsume-obasan will have lunch for all of us in a little while, so it's time to calm down, so that lunch does not give us all tummy aches. Who wants to hear a story?"

The girls stopped their ball game, and they and the boys gathered around the older woman.

"She's very good with children," Kagome said to Emi.

"I know," Emi said, picking up another length of fiber. She gave her spinning wheel a turn. "Both her own and anybody she decides to mother. I'm very glad she's my children's grandmother. Maybe one day, I'll have that type of patience."

Kagome sat down next Emi and sighed. "I know I don't. I wish Tameo-sama would just get back so I would know what's happening."

"I imagine they'll be back soon. They're probably fussing about who's responsible, and who'll get to decide what to do about Aki-kun," Emi said, as she pulled out a long bit of thread, turning her spinning wheel with one hand. Satisfied, she turned the wheel to wrap it around the spindle. "Haname-sama went there?"

"With Kaede," Kagome said.

"If I know that bitter woman, she's probably arguing about how none of this is her darling grandson's fault, and Tsuneo-sama's probably trying to figure out how he can get her to be quiet and not lose face. Otou-san will listen patiently. When everybody's tired of all that, they'll march back here."

"And then what?" Kagome asked.

"They'll decide what type of punishment or restitution Aki-kun needs to make. He's not the first boy who's caused trouble. Usually they make the boy apologize and clean up the mess, and maybe he'll have to do punishment work. I'm sure Otou-san will want to work something out that makes Tsuneo feel the punishment isn't unfair. I don't know if he could think of anything that Haname-sama would think was fair, but she's got a really blind eye when it comes to her grandson."

"I just hope it doesn't cause resentment towards InuYasha," Kagome said, chewing on her lip.

Emi stopped her wheel, and reached out to take the younger woman's hand. "I suspect more than one person will be glad that Aki got caught. He's really been a spoiled and willful child. If Otousan can get some discipline for him, and he straightens up, a lot of people will be quite happy."

"I just wish I had some of Hisa-obasan's patience," Kagome said.

"You and me both. It would make spinning so much nicer," Emi said, then turned her wheel around another turn.

Suddenly, Mitsuo ran toward the gate of the compound. The women looked up as Tameo led a group of men toward the house.

"I guess waiting is over," Emi said.


	63. Chapter 63

_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 63**

Tameo with Tsuneo right behind him walked up toward the main house of his compound. Hisa, surrounded by the children she was telling a story to, looked up and smiled. As the two men moved forward, they were followed by Kinjiro and Daitaro, with an obviously frightened Aki between them. Susumu, still in his head band and armor, had caught up with the men at some point and with a halberd staff in his hand, walked behind them.

Kagome watched the small procession, feeling her throat tighten a bit in nervousness, not sure of what was going to happen next. Emi, after catching her mother-in-law's nod, wound up her thread with the spinning wheel and stood up.

"I think, children, it's about time for lunch," she said, moving over to her youngest daughter and taking her hand. "Let's go see what Matsume-obasan has made to eat." She began herding the group of children toward Kinjiro

Shippou jumped on Kagome's shoulder. "Are you coming?" he asked.

"I'll be there in a minute, Shippou-chan. Go with the other kids." She picked him up and placed the kit on the ground.

"Are you sure?" He frowned. "InuYasha will skin me for sure if anything happens to you."

She smiled at him. "What can happen? Susumu-sama is here, as well as Tameo. There's nothing to worry about. I hear Matsume-chan was making sweet dumplings, and I know how much you like them."

"Don't take too long," he said, pouting. "If you do, I'll eat your share!"

"I won't," Kagome said.

He nodded once, and joined Rin and the children from Kagemura as they followed Emi to Kinjiro's house.

Mitsuo, though, was having none of this. Breaking away from his sister's grasp, he ran towards the men. "Ojii!"

Tameo stopped walking and smiled at the boy. "Well look who's here," he said.

Mitsuo stopped in front of his grandfather, ignoring the other men with him, arms outstretched, waiting to be picked up. "Ojii!" he said. "You're back!"

Tameo bent over and picked him up. "Yes, I am. I told you I wouldn't be gone all day. Have you been good for your Okaa?" he asked.

The little boy nodded.

"That's my good Mitsuo. But now Ojiisan has some work to do." He let the boy slide out of his arms. "Where's your obaasan?"

Mitsuo pointed, but even as he did, Hisa was walking toward the group. As she neared her husband, she bowed a greeting to the others.

"Tsuneo-sama, Daitaro-sama, welcome, welcome" she said.

"Eh," Daitaro said, returning her bow. "I wish it was for a better reason, cousin. Still, it's always good to see you."

Tsuneo said nothing, but held his face immobile as he nodded her greeting.

"Please, come in," Hisa said. "I am sure you'll find it more pleasant to discuss whatever you need to in the house."

"This is official business," Tameo said. "I think we'll do it in the office. But could you bring us some tea? And Toshiro should be here soon. Shinjiro went to go find him."

"Of course, of course," Hisa said, and moved back toward the house.

Hisa moved inside. Emi came and retrieved her son.

"Here, Otousan, let me take him," she said, as she bent down to pick him up.

"Don't wanna," the boy said.

"But you have to," Emi replied. "It's time for lunch."

"She's not," Mitsuo said, pointing to Kagome.

Kagome walked over to them and smiled at the boy. "Yes I am, Mitsuo-chan. I just haven't left yet."

Before she could follow Emi, Tameo called to her.

"Ah, cousin," Tameo said. "I see you made it here. Good, good. Matsume-chan is an excellent cook. I was hoping to share lunch with you, but it looks," he said, waving at the cluster of people behind him, "like I'll be too busy for that today."

"It could be worse," Daitaro said, catching up to the headman. "You could be stuck in the meeting with us. Endless talk, tea, my cousin trying to sound wise. Nicer ways to spend an afternoon."

That made Susumu chuckle. "Tea, old man? I bet I know what you'll be drinking."

"You're just jealous that I didn't bring enough for everybody," Daitaro replied.

This made the younger man laugh again.

"Enough," Tameo said. "We have serious things to talk about. The kami will not be happy if we don't realize the seriousness of what's going on today."

"True," Kinjiro said. "Today is costing me my lunch and I have more work to do up in InuYasha-sama's garden because of today. I take this very seriously."

Daitaro sighed and nodded. "You're right, of course."

Aki said nothing, but looked at the men as they talked with wide eyes, and lip trembling, reached out and touched his grandfather's hand. Tsuneo looked briefly at the boy as he felt the contact and shook his head, but mostly, he was looking at Kagome with a somber, thoughtful eye.

"So, Miko-sama, you're the girl my wife's been complaining so much about lately," he said at last. "Seems you've managed to stir up the village once again. As much, maybe, as when you showed up the first time."

"Have I?" Kagome asked, uncertain how to take this, and frowning slightly. "I haven't tried to make any problems."

"If not the whole village, certainly my family," he replied. "Such a little thing, too, to make such a stir. But then, Haname is little, too, and look what she can do. I hope you realize what you're getting yourself into."

Kagome took a deep breath, and nodded. "I think so."

"I hope so, woman." He frowned, but the tone of his voice was not angry. "There may be days where you look back at today like it was a good day." Tsuneo turned to his grandson. "You will start your reparations and act like a man now. You owe Miko-sama an apology."

Aki's eyes grew huge.

"He doesn't have to . . . " Kagome said, looking at the boy who was obviously frightened of her.

"Yes he does." Tsuneo said. "I have been remiss. I don't want him to turn out like his father."

Aki tried to shrink back. "Ojiisan . . . Obaasan told me . . . "

"I don't care what your obaasan told you about her," Tsuneo said, pushing the boy forward. "You let out a cow that walked through her vegetable garden. You will apologize."

Reluctantly, the boy bowed. "I...I...I apologize, Miko-sama." Done, he dashed back to stand behind his grandfather.

Daitaro rested a hand on the boy's shoulder. "Well done, Aki-kun," he said softly.

Aki looked up at the old man, surprised.

"Thank you, Aki-kun," Kagome said.

"Well," Tameo said. "We need to get this done. Come on, men. Let's get started." He led the others toward his office.

Hisa came out and stood next to Kagome as she watched the men move toward the building that Tameo did his official business in.

"I don't think I understood everything that just went on," Kagome said. "Am I that dense?"

"No, I suppose you don't," Hisa said. "Oh, all villages have these quirks about how people get along. Tsuneo's relationship with his son is . . . well, not the best." Hisa sighed. "Time for lunch, child. Things will work out."

Kagome nodded, then turned to go to Matsume's house. "Or they won't.".

"That, too, is sometimes how things turn out. We will deal with it." She gave Kagome a small smile. "If you like Matsume's pickles, be sure to ask her how to make them. I hear your husband likes pickles a lot."

Kagome smiled back, and gave a tiny chuckle. "Yes he does." And as Shippou stepped out on the verandah of Kinjiro's house, frowning at her, she went to join the others.

While Kagome went to join the others for lunch, Joben did without, and instead, he and Morio the yamabushi stood in front of his family's shrine, tucked in a small garden behind his father's house. Morio walked around the grounds shaking a sakaki branch and staff with the sacred paper streamers, chanting something unintelligible.

A door slid open in the house. Haname stepped out, walked up to the shrine, and stared at the two men as Morio did his sacred dance.

She crossed her arms, scowling. "How long are you going to play at these games?" she asked.

Joben looked up. "Okaasan, this is for all of us."

"Huh." Haname said. Her voice was cold and icy, soft the way Joben knew was merely a screen for the fire ready to explode. "Your son is in Tameo's hands. Instead of hurrying back to make sure that . . . that . . . whatever of a father of yours isn't selling us out, you're here making pretty chants." She shook her head. "A real man would be there, ready to fight or take his son and run with him if he thought that the people who grind him under their heel day and night are doing it now to his child."

Joben took a deep breath and closed his eyes, fighting to stay calm. "Okaa . . . "

"Never mind," Haname said, turning around. "I know there are things you cannot do. If you want to take over for your father, you have to grovel."

Her son looked at Morio, who nodded, and Joben left the area in front of the shrine and walked towards Haname. "I..." He swallowed. "Okaasan, what do you want me to do?"

"Nothing. Just like normal." She took a deep breath. "No, I take that back. Go to the field where your wife is working her fingers into the mud so you can eat, and tell her why your son is in Tameo's hand. Explain how her father-in-law has succumbed to youkai magic and is handing his own grandson over to that family. Explain why you couldn't do anything to help Aki-kun."

As small as she was, and slight, Joben shrank beneath her gaze and her voice.

"Otousan ordered me to stay here. Do you want me to go barging in?" Joben said. "What if they . . . "

Haname reached up and popped him on the head with her closed fist. "Be a man, not a boy. Or do I have to do it for you?"

"Okaasan, I am not a child anymore." Joben rubbed the side of his head. "You can't knock any more sense into my head than I already have."

"Gah. That's a pity. You are so useless." She reached up again, but he caught her wrist. Pulling away, she crossed her arms and turned around. " Stay here, then, and pray with your holy man. I am going to Tameo's. I am not going to let that family get their claws into my grandson any more than they already have or let them bewitch him the way they are."

Torn, and feeling barely able to move, Joben watched his mother walk away. "I'm sorry, Morio-sama, that you had to witness that," he said, after a moment, then turned around. "Morio-sama?"

There was nobody in the shrine area. He took a deep breath. "I wouldn't have wanted to hear that either," he said. "Damn my life! My parents, always using me like a bone they fight over. Could today get any worse?" Walking up to the shrine, he mumbled apologies to the kami, and went back to the house.

His mother was gone, and Morio was not there either. Sinking to the ground on his knees next to the fire pit, he stirred the flames and began to heat water for tea


	64. Chapter 64

_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**_Just a little A/N...a reminder...if you want a reply to your comment, you need to make sure you're logged in. Someone asked me a question, and I have no way to answer it because it was done anonymously...but I reply to every comment that I can for this story, so feel free to ask away if you're logged in. You will get a response, if you're set up to allow replies._  
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**Chapter 64**

In the village of Kagemura, the crowd following Miroku and InuYasha as they made their way through the village had gotten larger, a loose parade of with the two of them at the head, followed by the village elders, and then, at a respectable distance back, an assortment of the local villagers, pretending to be doing other work, like carrying water or hanging up laundry, but instead watching the two strangers.

Having demonstrated that his ofuda only showed their magic light in areas where the bakeneko had stopped and entered a building, Miroku began walking around the village in a round about way. It looked random, but guided by InuYasha's nose, every ofuda the monk placed on a house glowed with a satisfying red, some brighter than others.

"It would seem that the bakeneko just left here a little while ago," he said, as they left the last house where the ofuda had glowed a blindingly bright red.

The housewife stepped out on the veranda. Her face was drawn and pale, and there were dark circles under her eyes. "Here? Is that why I feel so tired?" she said.

"I am afraid so," Miroku said. "But if you stay inside today, until we catch the monster, you will feel better."

"Why didn't anybody notice?" Osamu asked.

"Keh," InuYasha said. "They're shapeshifters. Might have looked like something else . . . a child, a kitten, even her husband."

The woman glanced at InuYasha and shuddered slightly."Is that so, monk?" the woman asked Miroku. "My son stopped by earlier today when I thought he had gone to the field, but he only got a drink of water and left without saying anything much."

The monk nodded as a boy of about fourteen stepped out of the crowd. "That wasn't me, Okaa." He walked up to the woman. "You can ask Daijiro if you want. I only came back when I saw the monk show up." He took the woman's arm. "Let's get you inside." He turned back to Miroku and InuYasha and bowed. "Thank you."

As they moved down the village's main street, InuYasha stopped for a moment and turned to Miroku. "Scent's stronger over this side of the village," the hanyou noted. "Bet more things have been happening over here."

The headman drew up next to the two. "You're right, Dono. We've been finding what the youkai's been leaving behind and seeing things both," Osamu said. "This is where my cousin saw the lights dancing in the village." He pointed to a large tree near the center of town. "He woke us up with his yelling that night. I thought the bandits had attacked until I got him calmed down. "

"And my niece saw something as well," said another of the men. "She got in trouble for that one, sneaking out to visit a boy. The kami knows she was frightened enough she'll stay home until the day she's married. One good thing coming out of this mess."

This made several of the men chuckle.

Just past the tree, a smaller path joined the main street. As they reached it, a boy came up, and tugged on Osamu's sleeve. "Don't forget, Ojiisan. We found my chicken right there, right at the crossroads."

"I remember, Hideo-kun," the headman said, ruffing the boy's hair. "I'm sorry it got your pet. That's why we thought it was a fox and sent for the yamabushi." He looked up at Miroku. "It wouldn't be the first time something got one of our birds."

"I understand," Miroku replied.

InuYasha ignored this exchange as he reached down and picked up a handful of soil, then let it go. He bent down to sniff the ground, then getting up, he walked down the small side street beyond the houses at the crossroads. One small house lay down that road, although InuYasha didn't walk all the way to it. Returning, he said, "That damned cat's been all over here, but the scent is strongest heading towards the place back there. I think we should check it out next."

While InuYasha trailed the bakeneko, Hisa walked the path from Tameo's office to Kinjiro and Matsume's house, where everybody had gone for lunch.

Hisa opened the door to Matsume's house just as most of the children moved to a room in the back of the house to play where they wouldn't be disturbing the men while they deliberated, and the grownups were finishing their meal.

"I think," she said, sitting down next to the place Emi made for her, "that the men will be at it for a while. Toshiro just got here."

"Just now?" Matsume said as she began dipping up a bowl of soup for her mother-in-law. "He must have been hiding pretty well." She handed the bowl to Hisa.

"Evidently," Hisa said, drinking a sip of the soup, "although with Sayo about to have her child any time and the way those children of hers behave when she can't run after them and keep them in line, he might need to do that just to get a little peace."

Kagome picked up a slice of pickle from her plate. "It was rather noisy the other day, when Kaede took me to meet her."

"It's not usually that bad over there," Emi said. "But her children are full of energy, and need a firm hand." She took a sip of her own soup. "They'll be getting it again soon enough."

"That oldest son of hers, he needs it," Matsume said. She rested a hand on her swollen abdomen. "I hope this little one won't be so . . . so into everything."

"I'm afraid I can't make you any promises," Hisa said, picking up her chopsticks. "Both of my boys got into everything that wasn't nailed down. But you won't be alone. That's what obaasans are there for."

"Not all obaasans," Emi said. She stood up and began to collect the dirty dishes.

Hisa picked up her chopsticks. "True, true. I wonder how Aki-kun would be if Haname would allow Akina or even Joben to discipline him more."

"Or even put him to work," Matsume said.

Shippou, who was just finishing and hadn't joined the other children yet, looked at Kagome's tray, and then up at the young miko. He pulled on her sleeve. "Can I have your last dumpling?"

"Why, Shippou-chan? Didn't you have enough?" Kagome asked.

"No." He looked up at her and blinked bright blue eyes at her.

She sighed and nodded. "Yes, you may. But don't come looking for me if you get a tummy ache." Turning to Hisa, she asked, "Do you think it would be all right for me to go to Sango's house? InuYasha's going to be expecting me to be there when he comes home."

Hisa tilted her head, thinking "I'm not sure. Maybe we - " She was interrupted by the sound of someone outside screaming.

Kagome, Hisa and Emi shot up.

"What was that?" Kagome asked.

"Let go of me!" a woman shouted.

"That sounds like . . . " Emi said, wiping her hands on a towel.

"Like Haname," Matsume finished.

While Haname was screaming in the yard at Tameo's house, Osamu, the headman at Kagemura seemed rather surprised at InuYasha's news, and said nothing for a moment.

"Are you sure?" he asked.

The monk and hanyou as well as the elders turned to look down the side street. There was only one house down the path, small and a bit run down.

"Yes," the hanyou said.

"Yasushi's house?" Ryuu said to one of the men. "Nobody's been sick there at all."

Miroku turned around. "Nobody? Who lives there?"

"Yasushi and his wife Kazue, and their daughter," Ryuu said. "He's one of Osamu-sama's workers."

"And one of my best," Osamu said. "Been thinking of setting him up on his own piece of land." He scratched the back of his head. "And Ryuu-sama's right. None of them have gotten ill. Could they know what's going on?"

"It's possible, I suppose," Miroku said. "But more likely, the bakeneko's using them for a refuge, and they have no idea. But if InuYasha scents it, we need to check his house." He turned towards InuYasha. "You think this is it?"

"Good chance," the hanyou said, and reached for his sword.

As the ratty looking blade transformed into its full form, small sounds of surprise and appreciation moved through the audience.

"Takes a youkai to kill a youkai, maybe," someone whispered.

"Or a dog to run down a cat," someone else said.

"He better be careful," one of the elders said. "I've seen cats that take down dogs."

"Oh, InuYasha knows what he's doing," Miroku said. "He's taken down far worse than this monster. I've seen him take down a dragon."

Ignoring the crowd's sounds of wonder and appreciation and doubt, InuYasha headed toward the house. "Coming, Bouzu?" he said. "You should go first."

Miroku turned to the crowd. "Stay back," he said, then hurried to follow the hanyou.

Stopping a moment to catch his breath and dignity, Miroku turned to the hanyou. "You're right, of course. I can feel some strong youki here. Feels quite nasty, and angry." He readied an ofuda and walked to the front of the small house.

Just before he placed the ofuda on the building, the mat door lifted, and a young girl, no older than Rin stepped through it. She had a small tortoiseshell cat in her arms, one that had a very large, very fluffy tale. The cat meowed.

"Hi," she said in a soft voice. "Are you the monk who's here to help the village?"

"Hello," Miroku said, smiling, but his eyes were wary at what he was sensing. "Yes I am. My name's Miroku."

"I'm Shizuka," the girl said. She held out her cat. "This is Chika."

"Well, I'm happy to meet such a lovely young lady, Shizuka-chan. And you too, Chika-sama." He moved to pet the cat with the hand that held his ofuda, but it struggled away from his hand.

Shizuka frowned. "I don't think Chika likes you," the girl said, pulling the cat back closer to her chest. The cat meowed again. "She doesn't trust you."

Miroku stood up, and looked thoughtfully at the cat, carefully caching the ofuda he had in his hand. "I am sorry about that. I love lovely ladies like her." And bending over so he could see the cat's face, he continued, "And the ladies usually like me as well."

He moved to try to touch the cat again, but at that moment, the cat spied InuYasha, who stood there, watching the monk and the girl with serious amber eyes, sword at the ready. His right ear twitched as his nose flared a little. The cat arched up and with a hiss, pulled out of the girl's arms and began to run.

"Inu youkai!" the cat screeched as it ran.

Miroku threw the ofuda at the cat. "Watch out!" he yelled. The paper landed on its back and began to glow with a red, intense light.

The girl screamed. A woman hurried out of the house at the sound of her daughter's voice, just in time to pull her close as the light engulfed the cat.

Through the reddened glow of the light, the cat yowled, an earsplitting sound that made most of the villagers watching in the distance scatter and run. The cat began to grow, first larger than a dog, then larger than a man as the light faded. It stood on its hind legs, and swerved around.

"So you think you can stop me?" it hissed at the monk and hanyou.

"Chika?" Shizuka, pulling away from her mother, tried to break free to run to the cat, but her mother held her firmly. "Chika! What's happened to you? Let me go, Okaasan. I have to help my cat!"


	65. Chapter 65

_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 65**

Hearing the small girl yell, the bakeneko turned toward the house. Arching her back, the cat flicked an ear, then leaned forward until it was laying on the ground. "Ah, little Shizuka-chan. Such tasty fish you gave me, and such a fine hand on my back." The cat licked her front right paw, and flexed her claws. She spoke with a soft voice, almost a purr. "Why are you looking so terrified, Shi-chan? You don't like what you see?" The cat swished her tail, and a bright bit of fire lit the tip. "Don't you want me to curl up on your lap while you dangle a string for me to play with?"

Kazue, the girl's mother clutched her daughter, too terrified to move. Shizuka stopped struggling a moment, and watched the cat sit there, like a giant version of herself, mock attack an invisible string.

"Chika . . . " the girl said, her voice barely above a whisper

The bakeneko gave her paw one final lick, then stood back up. "Still, you gave me a sweet safe place to stay while I rested up. I promise you that I'll eat you last of all, just because of how well you scratched my ears." She stretched, claws extended. "Or maybe I'll take you with me when I leave this place. How would you like that? You could pretend not to be afraid of me, and I could choose not to eat you."

This struck the cat as amusing, and she opened her mouth in a grin that made the girl's mother back up, dragging her daughter with her.

"Just wait her, little Shi-chan, and let me take care of business. Then, after I've eaten everybody, we can go off looking for a new place to feed." The cat dropped its mock pretense of being an oversized version of a pet cat and stood back up, licking its lips. "Wouldn't you like that? If you move away from your mother, we can start now."

InuYasha and Miroku, trying to decide what to do next as they were momentarily forgotten by the monster, watched the exchange between the bakeneko and the girl with growing displeasure.

"Damn cat," InuYasha muttered softly to Miroku. "I hate how cats want to play with their prey. And why'd she have to hide out as some brat's pet?"

"Unfortunate," Miroku replied. "It's going to make our job unpleasant. But maybe we can at least keep the girl from watching the fight. You think this is the bakeneko Shippou told you about?"

"Yeah," InuYasha replied. "Got the same spots the runt described, and its left paw is injured still." He took a deep breath. "Time to get to work."

"Don't forget what Shippou told you," Miroku said. "I'll try to keep the girl from seeing more than she has to."

"Let me get that ofuda off of you, Chika. I know that monk did something to you," Shizuka said, struggling to get free from her mother's iron hold. "It's got to be his magic making you like this." She pulled at her mother's hands and almost got loose. "Let me go, Okaa! I've got to save her!"

"No!" Kazue said, finally finding her voice. "I'm not going to let you have her."

"You think you can chase me away with your broom, like you did this morning?" the cat said, stepping toward them. "I think not."

InuYasha gave Miroku a tap on his shoulder. "Go get them in the house, Bouzu. No telling what will happen if she breaks free."

Not waiting for the monk to answer, InuYasha leapt in front of the bakeneko, squatting in a battle stance as he glared up. "Hey, ugly!" he said, raising Tessaiga. "You've got better things to do than scare a woman and girl now. You asked me if I think I can stop you? I'm pretty sure I can. I've taken down worse than you. You won't even make me break a sweat."

The cat stopped her slow prowl toward the house, and grinned, barring her sharp pointed teeth. "Oh there you are, dog. I almost forgot about you," she said. "You're a much better toy than Shi-chan. How fun! Are you ready to play?"

The cat swished her tail. It trailed flames, throwing off sparks of red and gold. She lifted up her paw, gave it a lick, and then, faster than most people could see, extended her claws and swiped at InuYasha.

He danced out of her way easily. "That the best you got?"

The bakeneko narrowed her eyes, extending and retracting her claws. "Silly dog. Silly me. I thought you were an inu youkai. You stink like one. But you're only a hanyou. I thought inu youkai had better sense than that. I have had . . . dealings . . . with them before. You sort of look like the great Inu no Taisho. Now he was a great one. I fought him once when I was a young thing, and drew first blood, too. But you're not him. What's a hanyou like you think you can do against someone like me?"

She took a quick, playful swipe at him, which he dodged with no problem

"Plenty," InuYasha replied. He swung his sword at the cat hitting her with the broad side of his blade.

Shizuka screamed. The bakeneko yowled loudly, an unearthly sound, meant to frighten, but InuYasha didn't flinch, unlike some of the villagers. His ear flicked as back on the main street, a woman hollered for everybody to run as she carried her crying child away, but his eyes didn't leave his opponent. Not willing to injure the cat until Miroku got Shizuka out of sight, InuYasha allowed the cat to lunge at him again and again, using his leaps away from her to lead her a little further away from the house with each attack.

Miroku used the time to get to the girl's house just as Shizuka pulled free from a struggling Kazue. He wrapped his arms around her, holding her tightly while the girl beat her fists against him.

"What did you do to her? What did you do?" she demanded. "She was fine until you came here."

"I only revealed what she truly is, I'm afraid," the monk said, looking at her with sad, sympathetic eyes. She struggled, but he walked her the three steps it took to handle her back to her mother and then stayed there to block the girl's escape.

"Kazue-sama, you must keep your daughter inside. If you let her go, the bakeneko will surely take her life. Shizuka-chan, you do not want to go there." He looked down on the girl, resting his hand on the top of her head. "The bakeneko will kill you and have you for a snack, no matter how nice she was to you as your pet."

He shoved them back inside, and slapped another of his ofuda on the wall of the house. It glowed incredibly red for a moment. "As long as you stay inside, the bakeneko won't be able to affect you. Don't leave."

Kazue looked at the monk, terrified. "This . . . this is the monster who's been attacking the village?" She clutched her daughter to her tightly.

"I am afraid so, Dono," Miroku said. "But neither I nor InuYasha will let anything bad happen to you."

The girl stilled, her eyes wide, and her lip trembled. "But . . . but . . . my Chika . . . she slept with me every night. How could she be a monster?"

Miroku rested his hand on the girl's shoulder. "Alas, child, things aren't always what they seem to be."

At that moment, the cat roared, lunging after InuYasha once again. Miroku, still blocking the doorway, a stack of ofuda in hand, turned around to watch. This time the hanyou wasn't quite so fast, and the bakeneko caught his shoulder, ripping through the red fire rat fabric. The cloth quickly darkened to a deeper shade of red where it had been ripped. InuYasha, ignoring the injury, jumped out of the way before the cat could strike again.

Laughing, an evil sound that sounded suspiciously like a cross between a cat's yawn and a meow, the bakeneko licked the traces of blood off her paw. "Delicious," she said. "Tasty, like the Inu no Taisho's blood. You, hanyou, you'll be just the appetizer I need before I take down the whole village."

"That's all you're going to get of me," InuYasha replied. He quickly noticed Miroku blocking the door to Kazue's house, and he lifted his sword. "I hear you had a run-in with some kitsune," the hanyou said. "That why you were pretending to be a kitten? So the foxes wouldn't find you?"

The cat's ears lowered and its tail swished hard, "Kitsune. What do they know?" No longer in a playful mood, she swung forward, the claws of her good paw barely missing the hanyou, who leaped up, bounced off the cat's head, and landed behind her.

"Told me enough of what I need to do to take care of a worthless piece of crap like you," InuYasha said. He lifted up his sword to strike. Before he could complete the blow, the cat, ignoring him, bounded away toward the house.

"Shizuka!" her mother wailed, as the girl broke free from the house and began to race toward the cat, Miroku's stack of ofuda in her hand.

Miroku, who had been knocked to the ground by the determined girl, sat there for a moment, stunned, before quickly getting up and running after her. But it was going to be a race who would reach the girl first, the monk or the bakeneko.

While InuYasha was dodging the bakeneko, back at Kaede's village, Haname was having less success dodging Susumu who was determined not to let her interrupt the meeting of elders as they determined what to do with Aki.

The older woman tugged hard against the grip Susumu had on her arm.

"Let me by, Susumu!"she said. "Don't treat me this way. I demand to see what they're discussing. I have a right to know."

"I am sorry, Haname-sama, but my father gave me explicit orders. You, nor anybody else is allowed to disturb the elders while they're meeting." Susumu's voice was apologetic, but his grip was unwavering.

"But . . . but . . . that's my grandson in there!" she said.

"I know, Obasan," he said, nodding. "I know. But your husband is there to make sure nobody does anything unjust to Aki-kun. You know that."

She spit. "My husband. Ha! I heard how he talked about defending his grandson."

"Obasan, I know you're upset." Susumu began to nudge her away from the building where the men were meeting and back to the main yard. "But it's true that your grandson was caught in the act."

"Upset. Upset. Someone put a spell on him, and we both know who did it. Wait until something happens to one of your own children. Maybe then you'll understand." She sighed, and relaxed a moment, and gave in, reluctantly letting him lead her down the path.

"Even so, Haname-sama, I am ordered not to let you in. Even if he did it because of a spell. Let me take you home. If Joben is there, he can come back with me. Perhaps Chichi-ue might let him be there in your place."

"Gah. My son is as worthless as my husband." She used her free hand to smooth her hair, and for the moment, simply allowed him to lead her to the main courtyard. "Take me home, Susumu. Let this hopeless old woman suffer in private. Everyone will be happier that way. Let Haname go home, and ignore the magic twisting everything up."

"There's nothing hopeless here, Obasan," Susumu said, as they passed Tameo's main house. "He's only going to be - "

Unexpectedly, she jerked free of Susumu's now loosened hold. "You!" Haname yelled, interrupting him. "You! How dare you!" She raised her hand and pointed at the knot of women in front of Matsume's house watching her - Emi, Hisa and Kagome. She began running toward the women. "How dare you show your face here, you ugly witch!"

Susumu ran after her, but not before Haname stood in front of Kagome, raging. "You just show up one day, and let that monster free, and the next thing we know, we're being attacked by youkai. It's your fault that so many people's houses got destroyed. You show up again, and not only are you sleeping with that . . . that . . . thing, you've bewitched Tameo and Kaede and even my husband. And you're trying to destroy my family. Look at what your magic did to Aki. You . . . "

Haname was bright red, and Kagome shrank back, eyes wide, not sure of what to do against this type of verbal attack. Shippou, hearing the commotion, bounded out of the house, and jumped on Kagome's shoulder. He growled at her.

"Leave Kagome-sama alone, you old hag," he yelled back.

Haname looked at the kit, and then the women around them. "Why do you let her wear miko clothes? What other proof do I need? She has youkai who protect her! Has she bewitched you all?" Raising her hand, she gave Kagome a loud, resounding slap


	66. Chapter 66

1_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 66**

Three people walked down the main street of the village, a boy of about ten or twelve, looking rather battered and who walked with a limping stride, a woman who rested her hand lightly on his shoulder, old enough to be his mother, looking drawn and worried, and an elderly woman, dressed in the red and white clothing of a miko.

The boy stumbled a bit over a rock on the road and groaned as he caught himself. The miko stopped, and gave the boy a careful look with her one eye, studying his eyes and color.

"Are you sure about this, Isao?" she asked. "You got a nasty bump on the head this morning. You don't have to face Tameo-sama and Daitaro now, if you're not ready. They would listen to me if you decided to go home and rest a few days until you feel better." She frowned. "As it is, after they talk with you, I think I will send you home anyway before you do whatever it is they decide."

The boy took a deep breath, gathering his determination. "I'm sure, Kaede-sama," the boy said. His eyes looked down at his hands, and his mother Amaya, wrapped an arm around him. "I . . . I did what . . . Well, I have to face it like a man."

"You're a good boy, Isao." Kaede gave him a reassuring smile. "I will be sure to tell Tameo-sama and the elders how you decided to behave about this." She rested a hand on his shoulder. "How's your head?"

He looked up at her, a sad, embarrassed look on his face. There was a darkening bruise on his forehead, and another under his left eye, and a scratch on his cheek, and his lip was swollen where it had split a bit when he tripped and fell. "It hurts," he said. "But I can bear it."

"We could stop at my house and I could make you some tea for the pain," she offered.

"Maybe later, Miko-sama." He looked back up at her. "Your medicine would make me sleepy, right?"

"I'm afraid so," Kaede said, nodding.

"Then I'll see the elders first, with a clear head. That way, I can let them see how serious I am about making things right." He gave her the tiniest smile. "The pain, it reminds me of how foolish I was to listen to Aki."

Amaya smiled at the boy. "Your grandfather would be proud of you, Isao-kun, for not trying to run away."

"Ojiisan would have been disappointed in why I had to though," the boy said.

"It's been my experience that all young people do their share of stupid things," Kaede said, "even your ojiisan. It's what they do afterwards that matters most."

Isao gave a small nod as they continued on.

As they neared the gate to Tameo's compound, they could hear the sounds of a woman yelling, and a man calling back.

"That's odd," Kaede said, frowning. "Someone's fighting at Tameo-sama's house? That doesn't happen often."

A look of recognition lit up Amaya's face, and she frowned. "It sounds like Haname," she said. "But what's she doing here? I thought she was supposed to go home."

"So did I. Maybe we better hurry and see what's going on." Kaede quickened her pace.

They walked through the gate. Isao looked anxiously at his mother. "Why is she here?" Isao whispered. "I know she thinks everything Aki does wrong is my fault." He sighed. "It's going to be hard enough to face the elders without facing her, too."

Amaya hugged her son. "I don't know, son, but I'm sure that what the elders think will matter more. Don't let her frighten you."

"I guess," said Isao, although his voice sounded unsure.

Their attention shifted as Kaede made a sudden stop. "What has gotten into that woman?" she asked, pointing. They watched Haname break away from Susumu who had been holding her by the arm. The enraged woman ran up to Emi, Hisa and Kagome, standing in front of Kinjiro's house.

"This doesn't look good," Amaya said. "Miko-sama, Obasan has done nothing but say bad things about Kagome-sama working with you since she heard the news." She shook her head. "I know she's never been comfortable about InuYasha-sama being here, but lately . . . it's been worse that ever."

Kaede said. "She really seems much more angry and focused on InuYasha and Kagome than I would have expected. I wonder . . . "

As they watched, Haname pointed and yelled at Kagome.

"Where's Joben?" Isao asked, looking around.

"A good question," Kaede replied. "Maybe you should see if he's home, Amaya."

Suddenly, Haname, her body tense and her face very red, slapped the young woman dressed in red and white.

Kaede turned to Amaya. "Go get him now."

Nodding, she left.

As the sound of the slap died away, there was no other sound for a moment except the ragged breathing of Haname. For a moment, everybody's eyes grew large in disbelief. For a moment nobody moved, shocked.

Just for a moment.

Kagome was the first to move. She raised her hand to her cheek, touching the skin, still stinging from the slap. "You . . . you hit me . . . " Her voice quavered, not much above a whisper, a mixture of shock and surprise.

Haname's eyes glared. They were frightening eyes, almost like a youkai's eyes in battle fever, empty of sense and thinking. Her hands clutched and unclutched spasmodically. She breathed deep ragged breaths, once, twice three times, and then raised her hand again. "Yes, I hit you. And I'll - "

Before she could finish, Susumu had grabbed her arm again. "Are you mad, woman?" he said, pulling her roughly away.

Shippou sitting on Kagome's shoulder was as dumbstruck as the rest of them for a moment, but then he turned to look at the young miko, touching her face where the hand print was redly marked on her face.

He turned watch Susumu wrestling her away and growled, getting ready to leap at the raging woman, but Kagome finally broke through her shock and grabbed him before he could leap.

"Don't you dare, Shippou-kun. You'll just make it worse," she said, hugging him close to her.

"Let me go get InuYasha," the kit said, squirming.

"No," she said. "That would really make it worse."

Haname turned to look at the two, then laughed, a strange bitter sound, then turned to look at Susumu's face."See how she commands that . . . that . . . thing! And you do nothing! You're bewitched too, just like the rest of them." She shook her head. "No, no, no, no, this cannot be!" Her voice lifted in a wail, heartbroken and wild. "My poor family, my poor village under such a spell!" Tears began to stream down her face.

"Is she fox possessed?" Emi asked. "How can she say things like this?"

Haname looked up to the sky. "Who will save us? Merciful Kwannon, why have you decided to desert us?" Haname cried. "Is it our karma? The holy man, he warned me, but nobody would listen."

Susumu got her to stand still for a moment. "Haname, let me take you home. You need to lie down and rest."

"I don't know," Hisa said, looking at her daughter-in-law. She turned towards the young miko. "There's something very wrong. I'm so sorry, Kagome-chan."

Kagome, still hugging Shippou nodded.

Matsume stepped outside, and saw Haname struggling in Susumu's grasp. "What . . . "

"Home, what's there to go home to? The magic took my grandson, turned my husband against me, turned my son into a spineless blob." She shook her head back and forth. "Everything is just like he said it would be."

"Don't let the children come out," Hisa said. Matsume nodded and slid the door shut.

"What can I do?" Kagome asked Hisa.

Haname heard her. She stopped wailing and stood stock still, focusing all her attention on Kagome. "You - haven't you done enough already? Youkai bride, witch, black miko - how dare you ask what you can do. You can leave, you can die and take your youkai with you."

"Haname-obasan," Susumu said. "Please, let me take you home."

"I've heard enough from you, Susumu. If you and the guard won't do something about it, I know I will!" Struggling with an almost supernatural strength, she broke free of Susumu's grasp and lunged once more at Kagome.

"Get Kagome out of here, Okaasan," Susumu yelled, grabbing Haname again.

Hisa took Kagome's hand and began to pull her away. "Let's go to the shrine," she said. "Emi, go tell the men what's happening."

"No!" Haname yelled as she watched them walk off. "I must stop her! It's the only way to save everybody!" She began punching and kicking Susumu. One lucky punch to his gut caused his grip to slip for a moment, and in that moment Haname broke free.

"You can't fool everybody, witch," she said, and made a lunge in the direction Kagome and Hisa were going. Susumu ran after her, but this time, he wasn't alone. Isao leaped forward in a flying tackle and knocked his great-aunt to the ground.

Susumu joined Isao in holding the woman down, and quickly, using his head scarf, tied her hands so she couldn't hit anybody anymore.

By this time, Tameo and Kinjiro, quickly followed by Daitaro and Tsuneo, made it into the courtyard.

"The witch will kill us all," Haname yelled. "Can't you see that? Stop her. Let me stop her. We have to stop her."

"Merciful Kwannon," Daitaro said. "I knew she was angry, but this isn't anger, it's madness."

"Or something more," Kaede said, walking up. "When you get her restrained, take her to my house. I can treat her better there."

"You're sure, Obasan?" Susumu said, accepting a length of rope that one of the men handed him.

Kaede nodded. "Healing's my work, even when it's in a case like this."

"You're all bewitched!" Haname wailed.

"Let's hope," the old miko said, sighing, "that there's something I can do."

Haname's shouting and weeping followed Hisa and Kagome as they walked to the garden that surrounded the shrine. Finding a shady spot beneath a tree, the two women sat down. Shippou, finally released from Kagome's death grip, scampered up the tree.

Kagome was clearly shaken. "Did I do something to make her break down that way?"

"Nothing, child," Hisa said, patting her hand. "Nobody saw this coming. Haname has a temper, and it's true that youkai frighten her, but she's always been one who could see the right from the wrong before. In fact, she has a reputation for a rather harsh fairness." The older woman sighed. "Except, perhaps, when it comes to Tameo."

"Tameo-sama?" Kagome asked, surprised.

Hisa nodded. "It's an old story. Once upon a time, when we were all young, she had eyes for him. There was some talk between his family and hers that they might make a match. Then the youkai attacked, and her family was all destroyed, except for her and one nephew. My husband's father decided that she was unlucky, that the whole family was, and refused to let any of his children marry either Haname or her nephew, even though she was now the heiress of all her father's lands."

She shook her head and gave Kagome a small, wry smile. "Tameo has often assured me that although she wanted him, he has only had eyes for me, ever since we were children. I'm not sure whether to believe him, but it's sweet."

"So how did she end up married to Tsuneo?" Kagome asked.

"The elders at that time knew that someone needed to marry her, if for no other reason to make sure her lands were properly used. So they approached Tsuneo's father. At that time, Tsuneo had an older brother who was expected to be the heir for their family, so he thought that making sure his second son had a good marriage and plenty of land was not unlucky. So they were married. With all that Tsuneo's had to put up with over the years, I'm not exactly sure if it was lucky for him."

"I still think I should go get InuYasha," Shippou said from his perch in the tree. "He's going to be mad at me for not doing it."

The two women looked up at him. He glared back down at them, his arms crossed.

Shaking her head, Hisa sighed. "And what would he do, Master Fox, if you do go? Attack a poor mad woman who is not in her right mind, and leave all those people at Kagemura still under the threat of a youkai that's killing them?"

"But InuYasha said - "

"I know what InuYasha said, Shippou-chan," Kagome said, cutting him off. "But it's resolved, at least for the moment. I'm all right. You know, Shippou-chan, I've fought youkai. I've stood up to Naraku. A poor woman like Haname's not even in the same league."

The kit pouted, crossing his arms, but nodded.

"You're a good woman, Kagome-chan," Hisa said, smiling at her, and touching the back of the young miko's hand. "You have a very kind heart. I'm sorry you had so much hate aimed at you today. But I am very glad you are now a part of my family."

Kinjiro walked up the path. "Okaasan? Kagome-sama? They're taking Haname to Kaede's. You can come out now."

Hisa nodded and stood up. "I think after all that, I need another cup of tea." She looked down at Kagome. "Would you like a cup?"

Kagome gave her a brief smile. "Tea sounds wonderful. But would you mind if I just sit here a little while? I think I need a bit of quiet time first." She glanced up, to look at Shippou. "That is, if my guardian here will be quiet enough."

"Hn," the kit said. "Who's noisy? Not me!"

"I can understand that," Hisa said. "Quiet is sometimes very good. Even me, with my love of a noisy household, escapes once in a while. And today - Well, come to the house whenever you're ready. You know you'll always be welcome."

With a little nod, Hisa joined Kinjiro, and walked back to the main house.

Kagome closed her eyes. The sunlight was warm on her face, and she relaxed in the quiet, the only real sounds being the wind in the leaves and the soft sound of Shippou grumbling.

"I wonder," she said softly, "how I'm going to explain all this to InuYasha when he gets home?"

A shadow fell across her face, blocking the warmth. She opened her eyes, to see a strange man standing in front of her. Then she remembered who he was - Morio, the yamabushi whom she had met briefly during an encounter with Joben. She sprang to her feet. "Does Tameo-sama know you're here?" she said. "This is the family shrine."

"I don't think you need to worry about that, my pretty Black Miko." Quickly before she could reply, he had grabbed her and put a hand over her mouth. "Nor do you need to worry about what that hanyou of yours will say. By the time that abomination gets back, whatever hold he has on you will be gone."


	67. Chapter 67

_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 67**

For the second time in a very few minutes Kagome stood there, shocked, not believing what was happening to her. Morio's hands were rough and smelled of some odd herbal mixture which made her nose burn and her stomach churn as he began to pull her toward the back of the garden.

"I think we'll just head around the back. I don't know if those people under your power actually would approve of what I was doing," he said.

She refused to walk.

"Going to make me drag you? We'll see about that." He jerked her up, and moved the arm circling around her waist. His palm lay flat against her side and she could hear paper crinkling. "Ofuda?" she said, or tried to, through the muffling of his hands. Kagome could feel the thin tendrils of some magic or other brush up against the edges of her aura, looking for a way to get in.

Morio stopped trying to drag her and waited for the effects of the magic to kick in. "Yes, my little black miko, once I saw you walking with that abomination, I decided that something had to be done," he said as he pulled Kagome closer to his chest. "Shame Haname-obasan couldn't get the elders to believe you were the threat to them that you are, and then have the elders hire me to come and save you from yourself. Poor woman. I guess the amulet I gave her to wear to protect her from you overpowered her good sense."

Kagome's adrenaline kicked in, breaking through her shock. There was a sudden poof followed by the smell of smoke as whatever paper charm he was holding caught fire as her reiki flared. Morio could feel the aura pushing against him

"Kuso!" he said, shaking his fingers while not quite letting go of her. "A spirited little vixen you are. Too bad you haven't mastered the art of barriers yet. Still, that was just a weak spell. I have stronger, and you won't break though that one. We'll cure you soon enough."

Screaming at him although his hand stifled most of the sound, Kagome tried to do something, anything to get him to let her loose - elbow him in the gut, stomp his foot, turn around in his hold, but it seemed as fast as she moved, he anticipated what she was going to do.

He laughed, a breathy sound that tickled her ear in an unpleasant way. His voice purred, soft and rich, like he was trying to be seductive, but it gave Kagome the cold chills, making her struggle more. "Such a strong one you are, little miko. I like how you fight. The talk was right. Once I purge you of that youkai magic -"

This time she caught the edge of his toes as she tried to stomp his foot.

"Bitch, stop that," he said, trying to grab something out of his obi as he tightened his grip around her middle.

She could feel the gorge rise as he squeezed across her midsection, but then there was a rustle in the tree above them and a brief, small flare of youki. Both Kagome and Morio looked up, but could see nothing.

"Be careful, Shippou," she whispered behind the yamabushi's hand.

"You have youkai allies waiting in hiding? Someone besides the one you sleep with?" he said. "Good. More for me to remove from the world."

In quick succession there was a cascade of leaves swirling around them, and then they were surrounded by a fall of whirling acorns whistling at a pitch that had them both wincing.

"Kitsune magic?" the yamabushi asked. He snaked his arm tighter around Kagome, trying to reach the sleeve of the arm that held her mouth closed, without letting loose, but with no success. While Morio tried hard to grab whatever it was he had stored there, there was a loud roar, easily loud enough to alert people in Tameo's house that something was going on. It sounded like a cross between a bull's bellow and a dog's howl, something not of this world that seemed to echo all around them. As Morio looked for the source of it on the grounds around him, suddenly a small form launched from the tree.

"Kagome! I'll save you!"the kit yelled as he landed on the yamabushi's back. "Get off her!"

Pulling on Morio's tea-whisk topknot for better purchase, Shippou started biting the yamabushi's shoulder trying to get him to let her loose. "Kagome's not a black miko, you bastard. Let her go!" he yelled into the man's ear in between bites.

"Arrggh!" the yamabushi yelled, as blood began to trickle down his shoulder. He tried to shake off the kit while holding on to Kagome, spinning around with the young woman in his arms. "Get off me! Get off me! What are you?"

Shippou bit him again. In a voice that must have come from some magic he knew, he rumbled in an eerie tone, "I'm your personal nightmare!"and bit down again. As the three of them circled round and round, Morio, stumbling, somehow managed to throw the kitsune off.

Shippou hit the ground with a yelp, but rolled up on his feet.

"You're just a child," Morio said, and laughed. "And to think I was frightened."

"I'll show you child," Shippou said, and yelled, "Kitsune-bi!" as he threw fox fire at Morio's head.

As the blue fox fire surrounded him, Morio closed his eyes by reflex. Kagome slammed her foot hard on his, and he let go long enough for her to start running. Shippou jumped back up on Morio's back to try to keep the yamabushi busy. Once again he blasted the man with fox fire.

That was all the break Kagome needed and she ran hard. Not watching much of anything, but desperate to get away, she didn't see how Morio hopped on one foot from where she had slammed her heel into his foot. Nor did she see him finally reach into his sleeve for an ofuda. She didn't hear Shippou scream as he saw it and dodge out of the way, turning into a pink balloon and hurrying off. She didn't hear the voices in the distance calling her name. Instead she ran straight into the hard chest of a man who literally appeared out of nowhere.

She shrieked, and looked up.

"Now, granddaughter who isn't my granddaughter, is that any way to treat the person who's come all the way from the August fields to rescue you?"

"Kazuo-sama?" she asked, staring into the face of the family kami.

"Who else?" said the kami. "Now let's see what we can do about this stupid fool who thinks he can attack my family in my own garden."

While Kagome was dealing with the madness of Haname and the plotting of Morio, things were no calmer in Kagemura. As the girl Shizuka ran toward the bakeneko that had disguised herself as the girl's pet, InuYasha went into high gear.

"Dammit girl, get out of the way," InuYasha yelled, as he raced to catch up with the bakeneko. "Are you trying to get yourself killed?"

Shizuka froze as he ran. One, two, three of the ofuda she was holding in her hand caught on the breeze. "I . . . I . . . Chika . . . must save . . . " she stammered. But as the giant cat came near, the girl grew very pale.

The bakeneko, moving on all four legs, licked her lips as she slowed down, then gave the girl a toothy grin.

"Such a good girl," the cat purred, stopping as she almost stepped on one of the ofuda that had drifted out of the girl's hand. "She just wants to save me. It always surprised me how fond you could be. But what were you going to do with all those papers, Shi-chan?" She crouched on the ground, close enough to where the girl stood trembling that Shizuka could feel her breath. "Such nasty things, those papers."

"I . . . I just . . . " Before the girl could say any more, InuYasha leaped onto the back of the cat.

The cat oomphed from the impact.

"Forgot me again?" InuYasha said as he landed. "Seems you have trouble paying attention to more than one thing at a time. Not so good when you're in a fight."

Hissing at his weight, the bakeneko turned around, almost as if she expected to see him behind her. Her tail, swishing fire back and forth, knocked the child to the ground. Shizuka's mother, standing in front of her house, screamed as she went flying from the hit. For some reason, perhaps because the girl was still holding Miroku's ofuda in her hand, the magic fire cascading in a red rain from the cat's tail, scorching the grass wherever it touched, didn't burn her. But she lay very still where she landed, a crumpled, forlorn form.

"Pffft," the bakeneko hissed. She raised a paw and extended her claws. "Damn you, hanyou. Get off of me!"

"You know, cat, you're not worth all this effort," InuYasha said as he straddled her like a horse, his feet dragging on the ground. He leaned his head between her ears. "I think it's about time we put an end to this game."

The bakeneko yowled.

As InuYasha kept the bakeneko occupied, holding on and dodging the paws she used to try to knock him away from her ears, Miroku finally caught up to the girl. She moaned as he lifted her up, which made the monk thankful that she was still alive. Not checking to see how or if she was injured, he ran back to the safety of the house, met half way by the girl's mother who took her from him.

"My baby!" Shizuka's mother cried, brushing the girl's cheek tenderly. She looked up at Miroku. "Thank you."

Miroku gave her no time to examine the girl. "Get inside now!" he said, and pushing the woman forward, hurried them both to the door. Holding the door mat, he turned back to look at the sight of his friend riding on the back of a giant and very angry calico cat that was bucking and running in circles and briefly wondered if some day he would find this funny.

"It's all yours, InuYasha," he yelled, then ducked into the house himself.

All this the bakeneko ignored as she focused on the hanyou. "Get off of me, dog!" she bellowed. "You stink! I'm going to smell like dog all day long."

Hearing Miroku and taking a quick glance to make sure that they were all safely in the house, InuYasha jumped free, landing in front of her, grinned a big, toothy grin, showing his fangs. "There are worse things in life than that. Now, I think we have business to finish."

The bakeneko lunged forward. InuYasha leaped up, bounced once off the top of her head and as he came down, the cat tried to swing her tail out of the way, but it was too late. InuYasha lifted his sword while he was in midair and neatly sliced the tail of the cat from her body before landing surefooted on the ground behind her.

The tail, scattering sparks flopped for a moment like it had a life of its own. The cat screamed, a loud, ear-shattering call that made InuYasha lower his ears for the noise, and before he could move away, a light burst out of the separated tail growing brighter and brighter. He had to shut his eyes from the intensity and throw an arm up, and he could still see light behind his closed lids.

As the light slowly faded, and he dropped his arm, and carefully blinked his eyes open, he could see the cat's tail, or what was left of it, a blackened mummified length stretched out on the grass, but there was no sign of the bakeneko.

But next, he felt something soft brush against his right foot. Looking down, he saw a small cat, not much more than a kitten, with the same brown and black splotches on its forehead, a cat with a bobbed tail. It brushed against his ankle, looked up at him and mewed.

"Well," InuYasha said, "who would have guessed?" He sheathed Tessaiga, then bent down and picked up the cat, who rubbed her head against him, and began to purr. He tucked her up into the crook of his elbow.

"Well, cat, I guess Shippou's uncle was right after all," he said. "The magic was in the tail. No tail, a regular cat."

Shaking his head, he carried the kitten back to the girl's house.


	68. Chapter 68

_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 68**

Isao, Kaede and the elders gathered around Haname, who was still struggling, even being bound and gagged. Kaede knelt next to the woman, and Isao peered over her shoulder.

"Is she going to be all right?" Isao asked. Obviously shaken, as well as ill still from his fall, he looked at his grandaunt with worried eyes. "Did I do the right thing?"

Susumu rested a hand on his shoulder. The boy, trying not to wince, looked up at him. The bruising he had received earlier in the day was turning quite black, shadowing his forehead and cheek, but there were fresh dirt smudges from his helping to stop Haname from attacking Kagome.

"You did a good thing, Isao. No telling what might have happened if you hadn't done that," Susumu said.

"It's been such an awful day," Isao said. He looked up at Daitaro, then hung his head. "I'm very sorry about what we've done to you, Dono. I don't have any excuses."

"You've made up for a lot today, son," the old man said. He studied the boy carefully. "You look like you're hurting."

Isao nodded.

"He should lie down," Kaede said.

"Emi's watching over Aki and no doubt feeding Toshiro cakes and tea," Tameo said. "You should go there right now, unless you want to go to Kaede-sama's."

"I'll stay," Isao said.

"Good boy," Tameo said, giving him an encouraging nod. "But don't, tell Aki about what you've done. We'll deal with that later."

The boy nodded and walked off.

"He's a good boy," Tsuneo said. "It's a shame that Aki and he seem to always manage to find trouble."

Tameo looked up at Susumu, and gave him a small, knowing smile. "Oh, I know, I know."

"I've grown up since those days, Otousan," Susumu said.

"Thank goodness," Tameo replied. "There were times . . . "

Kinjiro walked out of his own house and joined the men. "I'm ready to take Haname to your house, Kaede-obasan, when you're ready for me to move her."

Kaede nodded.

"I . . . I never expected this," Tsuneo said, sighing deeply. "I know there were things she didn't like, but I never expected the anger to run this strongly." He shook his head. "Will she get better?"

Kaede was running her hands just above the troubled woman's body. "I don't know if it's all her," the miko said. "There's something dark streaking through her aura, like a black sickness. But it doesn't come from her heart or her mind. I wonder if she's been around anybody who could have put a spell on her?"

"I don't know," Tsuneo said. "Joben's always bringing home some holy man or the other. There's someone staying with him now, who claims to be a yamabushi."

"The yamabushi's magic can be tricky," Kaede said. "It's a mix of things, the way of the kami and the way of the Buddha, and other things only the mountain sages know. I might need to talk with Miroku-sama when he gets back."

Kinjiro knelt next to Kaede. "Just let me know when you're ready, Obasan."

Before Kaede could answer, a strange sound filled the air. Everybody looked up, trying to figure out where it was coming from.

"Merciful Buddha," Tsuneo said. "What's that? It sounds like . . . "

"Nothing I ever heard before," Tameo said. "Is it an animal?"

"I don't know, but it's coming from the shrine by the sound of it," Susumu said, starting to move that way. "That's where I had Okaasan go with Kagome-sama."

"I saw Hisa go back into the house," Tameo said. "That must mean Kagome-chan is there alone."

Daitaro, Tsuneo and Tameo hurried after the younger man.

Susumu reached the garden, and then suddenly stopped. The first thing he spotted was Morio, standing there, his topknot in disarray, and half of the hair it had been holding escaped and drifting around the base of his neck. His face was scratched, and the fabric of his kosode was ripped and bloody at the shoulders.

"Kuso," Susumu said. "What happened to him?"

Morio was shaking. His arm pointed to an area near the shrine building. Something in the air made the hairs stand up on Susumu's neck. He followed to where the injured man was pointing and saw an intensely bright glowing light there, and it surrounded Kagome.

Soon, Susumu was joined by his father and Tsuneo and Daitaro.

"What's going on?" Tsuneo asked.

"The kami," Tameo whispered. He spread his arms out to keep the other men moving forward. "Kazuo-sama almost never manifests fully in our world."

"But who is that person?" Daitaro asked, pointing to Morio.

"Morio the yamabushi," Tsuneo said. "That's the man who had been staying with my son. I wonder what got to him? I have no idea why he's here."

"It looks like he's had a rough time of it," Susumu said.

Tameo nodded. "But if Kazuo is here, he must have done something that the kami didn't like. And I suspect it involved Kagome-chan. She's under his personal protection, you know. I'm afraid your yamabushi's rough time is just beginning."

As the men gathered to watch at a respectful distance, the kami Kazuo rested a hand on Kagome's shoulder. "Are you all right, Granddaughter?" he asked.

All of a sudden, all of the adrenaline she had been running on ran out, and the enormity of everything began to hit her. She shook her head, and brushed a stray lock of hair out of her face with a trembling hand. "No," she said. "I don't think he hurt me, but I'm not all right at all."

She sucked her bottom lip and her eyes grew moist, like she was fighting back tears.

He patted her shoulder. "Don't worry, child. As long as I'm near you, that stupid fool won't be able to touch you." As if to make his point clear, Morio stopped looking for Shippou and began walking toward them, as if he just noticed where Kagome was. Kazuo took his hoe off his shoulder and pointed it at the yamabushi. Morio stopped in mid-stride.

"That man has been causing a lot of trouble in this village. He's the same troublemaker that angered the bakeneko at Kagemura. It's about time to do something about him, I think."

"What . . . what do you mean?" Kagome asked.

"You saw what happened to Haname, didn't you?" He sighed. "Tsuneo's family kami has been complaining to me night and day, but just couldn't seem to get Joben to send him on. Their family has very little reiki. It's really hard for their kami to tell them anything."

"Is . . . is that why you can show up here like this?" Kagome asked.

"It makes it a lot easier, let me tell you," he said, nodding. "Haname has never really liked the fact that your husband and that little fox that comes and goes stayed at the village, but she was perfectly sane before that fool came here. But he has been feeding her some really bad stories, trying to strum up business. That's how he's usually made his living, finding the frightened ones, and building up their fears, and then charging them too much to take care of their problems."

"But Miroku - " Kagome said.

"Heh." Kazuo smiled. "That monk friend of yours, he never drained a village the way this greedy bastard has. And he always leaves the real thing behind. They're better off after he's left. He doesn't just stir up the local ghosts and youkai and run off with the goods."

Kazuo struck his hoe on the ground, and suddenly Kagome could feel a barrier build up around here. Kagome looked up at the kami.

"Part of the show for your friends. You'll see." He scratched his chin. "Now where was I? Oh yes, talking about Haname.

"After he saw you and that husband of yours, he began slipping her some special herb tea which he claimed would protect her from youkai magic." The kami spit. A small weed began growing where his spittle landed. "It loosened her tongue, and that's when she really started to complain to everybody about you.

"Last night, he gave her a little charm that pushed her over the edge. He was the one that filled Aki-kun's head with the idea that they should do pranks to make Daitaro think he really was cursed, because he wanted to be called on to exorcize it away. And now, he laid hands on you, thinking he could flip your memories around so you'd prefer him to your hanyou. It's past time to do something about that greedy troublemaker."

"He thought he could . . . " Kagome found her anger rising in spite of how exhausted she felt.

Kazuo nodded. He looked at the trembling man with an expectant glee that made Kagome shiver. She had seen a similar look in InuYasha's eyes right before he attacked and she knew what it meant.

Morio, who was still unable to walk forward, but had raised his arm, pointing, while he was trying to chant something.

"And he tried to do it in front of my own shrine, where my power is strongest, the fool." Kazuo said. "I shouldn't feel this gleeful, but he put himself in just the right place for me to do something about it."

"What, what are you going to do?" Kagome asked.

"Nothing he doesn't deserve," Kazuo said. He pounded his hoe against the ground and the barrier dissolved. "But first, our witnesses are here. Time to start the show."


	69. Chapter 69

_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 69**

While Tameo kept the elders from going into the area where the kami, Kagome and Morio were, others who had heard the noise and saw the elders hurrying off began coming up to see what was happening.

Joben himself finally showed up and moved close to his father and the other elders. "What . . . what's happening?" he asked in a hushed tone, as if afraid to speak.

"It's the kami," Tameo said. "I don't know what your pet yamabushi did, but he really got the old guy angry."

Joben swallowed. "The kami? Morio-sama? You don't think he'll be mad at me for just having him stay at my place, do you?"

Tsuneo gave his son a hard look.

"If you didn't help the man do something wrong, I doubt it," Tameo replied. "He's an understanding sort of kami. But I'd be worried if you did."

Joben gulped. "I...I don't think so."

"I hope not," Tsuneo said. "Kaede-sama thinks he put a spell on your mother. She's in a really bad way."

"Haha-ue? Him? But he seemed to like her so well." Joben shook his head. "He . . . he gave Haha-ue an amulet. I swear I didn't have anything to do with it . . . I even told her not to come back here, but she was impossible to stop. But when Amaya told me something was happening, I got here as soon as I could. Where is she?"

"They were taking her to Kaede-sama's," Daitaro said. "If you didn't see her, I guess Kinjiro went ahead and took her there as we came here."

"Typical," Tameo said. "I think he's related to one of your oxen, cousin, and not me."

"I wouldn't tell Hisa that if I were you," Daitaro said.

While the men were talking, Kagome felt her ears pop, the way they do when making altitude changes, and the air around her shimmered, then cleared, as some sort of barrier around her and Kazuo shattered.

"Yes, we have quite a crowd of witnesses gathering from the look of things," Kazuo said.

.

"Witnesses?" she asked.

"Oh yes, I want witnesses," Kazuo said. "Look over there, Tameo, Daitaro and Tsuneo. And young Susumu too. Susumu likes to talk, and he'll spread what he sees sensibly, but it's Tsuneo that I want to remember this lesson. And his son Joben, who finally has shown up. And others, too. The more the merrier."

Kagome turned and looked at the group of men. Tameo had his arms spread wide, blocking the others from coming any closer. Behind them a few other faces had shown up, several women including Kinjiro's wife, yes, and Joben, too, who stood behind his father.

Kazuo struck his hoe once more, and suddenly his shape seemed to change, growing taller and more otherworldly. His clothing, which resembled the blue and beige linen the other villagers wore began to glow with a white light.

"Got to give'em a good show," Kazuo said, grinning, as he heard Kagome make a little sound of surprise. "If I walked out there looking like just another peasant, they wouldn't take me nearly as seriously."

As Kazuo prepared his show, back at Kagemura the last traces of bakeneko magic in the air faded, and InuYasha walked back into the little house where Shizuka and her mother lived. The perfectly normal cat that remained after he severed the bakeneko's tail looked up at him, and blinked, mewed once again and settled back down, content enough to purr. "Well, it's over," he said, as the door mat fluttered behind him.

He stood in the dirt floor entrance and looked at the scene on the raised wooden platform in front of him. The room wasn't very large, not much bigger than his house back at Kaede's village. Near the fire pit, Shizuka was laid out on the floor, a small bruised figure, tossing and turning, and her mother, her back to the door, was putting wet cloths on her forehead.

"Don't . . . don't," the girl muttered. "Please, Chika."

"Hush, child," the girl's mother said. "You're safe."

Miroku, who was sitting closer to the door, turned around when he heard InuYasha enter. "So Shippou's uncle was right after all," he said, standing up.

"I guess," InuYasha replied. "I cut off her tail, there was a big flash of youki, and when I could see again, this is what was left," he said, holding up the small cat. "All the magic is gone."

"I saw the flash," Miroku said "It was really bright, and lit up every crack in the house. An interesting phenomenon." The cat looked up at him with solemn green eyes, curious, but not threatening, and started to shift out of InuYasha's hold, wanting to go to the monk.

The monk took the cat from the hanyou, and held her up. "Well," he said to the small animal, "you've had an interesting day. Feel better?"

The cat, as if in answer, forced her head under his hand and crawled into the crook of his elbow.

"Watch out, don't you hurt Haha-ue," the girl muttered.

"I'm right here, child. Okaa is safe," the woman said. She took the cloth off of the girl's face, revealing a patch of bruising on her forehead and scrapes on her right cheek.

"How is she?" InuYasha asked.

"She got a big dose of the bakeneko's magic when she got hit with the tail, but she should do fine in a day or two," Miroku said. "Maybe even by morning."

"I hope so," the woman said, placing the cloth in a bowl of water to rewet it, not really paying the men much attention. Humming a soft tune to reassure her daughter, she lifted the cloth out of the water, wringing out the excess out before replacing it on the girl's head.

"It's over? That monster's dead?" she asked InuYasha as she smoothed the cloth over Shizuka's forehead and brushed a stray lock of hair away.

Shizuka moaned a little as the cloth touched a scraped spot on her forehead. "Hurts, Okaa."

"I know, baby, but it'll get better." She gave her daughter's hand a squeeze. "I can't believe something like that was living in my house, and with my daughter, no less. I never liked cats all that much, but she was so taken with it, I didn't have the heart to send it away. I wish . . . "

"The bakeneko can't hurt anybody anymore," InuYasha said.

"No youki left here," Miroku said. The cat climbed onto his shoulder, and mewed rather loudly.

Hearing the sound, the woman's head shot up and she looked over her shoulder at the two men and spotted Chika. Her face grew red as she jumped up. "Are you mad? You brought . . . brought that thing back into my house? How dare you!"

"But, it's her - " InuYasha said, shrinking back from the furious woman.

Miroku stepped in front of his friend. "It's just a kitten any more," Miroku said. "The monster has been cut out of her." He picked the cat up and showed the woman the bobbed stub of her tail, magically healed when the power left her. "No tail, no bakeneko."

"Okaa?" the girl said, as if just realizing her mother had left her side. "Okaa, where are you? The monster . . . "

Wiping her hands on her wrap skirt, the girl's mother turned to her daughter, and spoke in a soft tone. "Just a minute, baby. Okaa will be right back." She turned to the men and fury was in her eyes. "Look at her," the woman hissed. "I don't care if that . . . that . . . creature's piss would turn straw into gold. Look at what it did to her. It's going to be bad enough if the village finds out my daughter was harboring something that turned into a monster." She took three steps and grabbed her broom, and lifted it toward the men. "There's no way I can keep that piece of bad luck in my house. Get her out now!"

InuYasha gave the woman a confused look, but when Miroku handed the cat back to him, he nodded and withdrew, dashing out of the house, the kitten cradled in his arms.

Miroku watched the door mat flap closed, and turned back to her. "I'm sorry, Dono," Miroku said, bowing. "I'm sure my friend meant well. He went out of his way not to harm the cat because he knew she was your daughter's pet. He no doubt thought that once the magic was exorcized from the kitten, your daughter would want her pet back."

The woman lowered her broom and shook her head. "That monster almost ate her," she said. "You saw the shape she was in when you picked her up. She'll probably be frightened of cats the rest of her life. And maybe monks, too." She wiped at her eyes with the back of her hand. "No, no, just leave."

Miroku nodded, picked up his staff and headed for the door. "As you wish. I am sorry all this happened to you."

"Houshi-sama," she said as he picked up the door mat, almost ready to step through.

The monk turned and looked at her. The woman bowed. "Thank you for saving my daughter. That was a brave thing you did, picking her up and bringing her back here. And tell your friend I thank him the same way. It's not your fault that the monster was hiding as an innocent child's pet. I just wish I had never seen her."

Miroku nodded, and made a sign of blessing. "I am sorry as well that you had to see it all. But saving people from these monsters, it's what I and my friend do," he said. "I'm just glad it didn't turn out any worse." And with a final nod to her, he headed back outside.

As Miroku left the house, he found InuYasha standing outside with the kitten perched on his shoulder and his arms crossed and stuffed into his sleeves, and a scowl plastered on his face.

"I don't know if I'll ever really understand people," the hanyou said. "We get here, and the girl's really frightened for her cat. I bet she thought it was you who turned her into a monster when you hit it with your ofuda."

"Probably," Miroku said.

"I worked hard not to kill that cat," the hanyou said. He rolled his shoulder. "Took a pretty good hit to my shoulder, too, while I worked hard not to let that brat see me hurt her pet." He plucked the kitten off and handed it back to Miroku. With a sigh, he went over and picked up the bakeneko tail. It was blackened, and stank of burn and bad magic, but it was still quite flexible. "It would have been a whole lot easier if I had just kaze no kizu'ed it to begin with."

"But then Shippou wouldn't have his trophy," Miroku replied.

"Feh," InuYasha said. "Probably just all go to his head anyway." He turned around to see Ryuu and a few of the other villagers heading their way. "At least now, we can go home. Let's hurry and wrap this up. We have a long walk ahead of us."

"That we do," Miroku said. "Still, it's just mid-afternoon. With luck, we'll be home before dinner."

And with that, the monk began strolling toward the wary villagers, ready to discuss whatever payment they might have the means and the will to make.

Back in Kaede's village, in the garden of Kazuo's shrine, a wind out of nowhere began to blow, scented with the smells of rose and sandalwood.

Kazuo looked down at Kagome. "Are you holding up, child? I can leave you standing here, but if you can handle it, I would like you to be part of what I'm about to do. It'll help make it clear to all the thickheaded ones what I mean, I mean."

Kagome looked up at him. Something about his aura calmed any unease she felt, and she nodded. "I'm all right. Let's do this."

"Good girl. You give me more and more reasons to like you. I think enough of them have gathered. Let's go talk to Morio," the kami said. He began to walk towards the yamabushi.

She nodded and followed him.

As Morio saw them coming, all the spells that had been holding him in place evaporated. He jumped to his feet. He took a step towards Kagome "What type of magic is this?" he asked. "I knew you were strong. That's why I wanted to take you away. You're not just any witch."

"You had no right," Kagome said calmly.

"True, true," Kazuo said, nodding. "This piece of shit had no right."

"Who are you to tell me that?" the yamabushi said.

Kazuo continued to talk with Kagome. "He's foolhardy, too. The ones I talk to, they tell me he's left a string of misery wherever he's decided to prey on people. Even his own master kicked him out before his training was through. Akio-sama was a lot wiser than this one."

"How . . . What . . . " Morio said. He tried to step forward, and Kazuo waved a hand and he was stopped.

"But," the kami said, turning to the yamabushi, "As to your first question. It's not her magic at all that you're feeling, although she has plenty of her own." He grinned at the yamabushi, a look at once both amusing and terrifying.

Morio fell to his knees. "Who . . . who are you?" the trembling man asked.

"Whose ground are you on, yamabushi? Whose garden did you try to desecrate with dark magic and a plot to steal away a woman under my protection?" Kazuo's voice was loud, easily heard by all nearby.

"The kami?" Morio said, his voice barely above a whisper. "Kami don't just manifest themselves like this." Taking a deep breath, he tried to pull himself together. Slowly he raised one knee, and then the other and stood. Holding his chin up, he said, "You say you're a kami? Then you should know what type of woman this is - the type who sleeps and lives with youkai."

"And I am proud of my husband," Kagome said, holding her chin up. Her eyes were on fire with anger and her aura rose, a bright pink cloud around her. "Why shouldn't I be? He's a finer man than you'll ever be."

"See! Out of her own mouth." Morio pointed at Kagome. "She's a dark miko!" He took another deep breath, as if it were a struggle to keep standing. "Why shouldn't I try to use whatever power I have to save her from their grasp?"

Kazuo laughed. It was a deep belly roll of a laugh. "Of course I know," he said, tapping his hoe on the ground. Immediately, Morio found himself spread out on the ground. "These two were the ones destined to rid the world of a darkness even blacker than your heart, fool. You don't think they both have my blessing?"

Kazuo slammed his hoe on the ground one more time, and it turned into a fine wooden staff. He grew a foot taller, and was suddenly garbed in the robes of a high level official, flowing white silk, with a tall, tall hat on his head marking his status. "Enough games. Now I stand before you as judge and magistrate. This is my territory, after all."

"Ho, you my people," he said, his voice ringing out loudly. "Let it be known to all of you." He took Kagome by the hand, leading her in a circuit around the prone yamabushi, so that everybody could see, and then stopped, facing the elders. "This woman, Kagome, wife of InuYasha the hanyou, has my blessing. InuYasha, son of the great Inu no Taisho has my blessing. The young kitsune who travels with them has my blessing. The monk who is their companion and his family have my blessing."

Tsuneo jabbed his son with an elbow. "Hear that, fool?" he hissed.

The younger man, swallowing hard, nodded.

Kazuo smiled as he heard that, and turned to Kagome. "I think we made my point," he whispered. "But now for what this fool deserves."

The kami tapped his staff on the ground. "You, Morio, I accuse you of the crimes of lusting after one under my protection, and plotting how to use her power for your gain, and attempting to force yourself on her. I accuse you of casting spells on members of my village trying to get more business to exploit, no matter what the damage you left behind. I accuse you of harming Haname, wife of Tsuneo the village elder in your plot to get the young miko. For all of these, I now render judgment."

This time, he tapped Morio with his staff. "For using your reiki for evil, I now will strip you of it."

A light shimmered around the man, brilliant blue, and as it faded, the yamabushi jerked almost as if he were having a seizure. "My . . . my head!" he screamed, rising after a moment back to his knees, groaning loudly. "My head . . . why is everything so dark?"

"For using your lust to guide your decisions, I take away your ability to lust again." Once again he tapped the man. Morio's eyes grew large, and he screamed even more, doubling over.

"And for using your intelligence to harm instead of help, I take away your intelligence to plot and plan and scheme." He tapped him a third time, and Morio jerked once again, and collapsed, wordlessly.

There was an awed silence over the assembly.

"Now, someone take this piece of dung out of my garden. Don't kill him though - he's an object lesson to those who think the kami are powerless. Use him to practice compassion with. He won't be good for much else when he wakes up."

He and Kagome moved toward the shrine doors. Kazuo looked down at Kagome. "I think I gave them a really good show this time."

Kagome, not knowing what to say, nodded. "What's . . . what's going to happen to him?"

"He's going to wake up and not know very much. Quite pathetic, actually. I was actually rather kind," Kazuo said. "If I sent him to hell today, he would have suffered more than he's going to suffer now."

He saw the troubled look in Kagome's eyes. "I know you have a tender heart, but just like with that black hanyou you fought, sometimes people have to die before they get a chance to get better." He rested a hand on her shoulder. "But to live like this opens some possibilities. Perhaps Kwannon or Jizo will have some mercy on him and let him live long enough to make amends so he won't need to spend as much time learning his lessons. But he has some really, really bad karma to work off."

"I guess," Kagome said. "But . . . "

"Trust me on this," Kazuo said. "He's going to be like a lost child when he wakes up. He'll be able to acquire a lot more merit that way that the way he was going." The kami looked up at the sky and closed his eyes a moment, concentrating. "That man of yours should be coming home well before the others. Your kitsune friend panicked and ran off to fetch him. Tell him I ask him nicely not to put that fool out of his misery. Let fate take its course."

Tapping his staff once more, Kazuo disappeared


	70. Chapter 70

_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 70**

Back up on the hill where Sango's house was sitting in the afternoon sunshine, there was no sign of the actions going on down at Tameo's house. Instead, since the men left and Kaede had walked down to the village with Isao and his mother, the area had grown pleasantly quiet.

The doors to Sango's house were slid open, allowing fresh air and sunlight to enter the main room. The lunch dishes were put away and her daughters were in the back room taking their nap. Sango and Chime, Daitaro's wife who had stayed during all the morning craziness, sat around a small table, enjoying the view. They had been joined before lunch by Erime, the girl who was soon to be Chime's daughter-in-law. Chime held Sango's son Naoya while Sango made a pot of tea.

"Do the girls nap this time every day?" Erime asked.

"Yes, nearly every day. I hate to say it, but I look forward to it, just for a break." Sango set the teapot on a tray and rejoined the other women. "I was afraid, though, with all the excitement we had, that they wouldn't settle down. But they surprised me." She looked up at the woman holding her son. "Let me know when you get tired of Naoya, Chime-obasan. He's a good baby, but he likes a lot of attention, just like his father."

Chime chuckled at that. "We certainly had an interesting morning, Sango-chan," she said. "But this cute little boy is even more interesting." She waggled her fingers at him, which he followed with bright eyes. He gurgled in response, and smiled at her.

"Well, I think I've had enough excitement today," Sango said, resting the teapot on the table. "Maybe I'll get some of my sewing done after all."

"I wish I'd been here to see Haname get told to go home," Erime said. "That doesn't happen every day."

"I seem to remember there's something else coming up that doesn't happen every day," Chime said, looking up at the younger woman. "My son is getting rather excited, I think, even though he tries to hide it."

Sango began pouring the tea, but looked up in time to see Erime blush. "So Erime," she said to the younger woman, "are you ready for your wedding? What is it, five days from now?"

The younger woman blushed. "I...I guess so," she said. "That's the day Kaede and my father said would be most auspicious."

Chime, soon to be Erime's mother-in-law, smiled at the hesitation in the girl's voice. To Naoya's consternation, she moved the fingers that had been entertaining him and reached across to pat the girl's hand. "I wonder if any bride is really fully ready for their wedding day, Erime-chan," she said. "I know I wasn't."

Erime accepted a cup of tea from Sango. "No, don't tell me that, Okaa-san. I can't believe it. You always deal with everything so perfectly."

This made Chime laugh. "Oh, if you only knew, child. But it's true. I was so very nervous. I was leaving my family in the north, and I had never been this far south except twice, to visit a cousin who lives nearer the coast." She also took a cup of tea from Sango. "I had met Daitaro before, and thought him quite dashing, and wasn't unhappy about the match, but I was so afraid I was going to shame my family. I just knew they would turn around and send me back home before the first month was over." She sipped her tea and let Sango take her son out of her lap. "But as you can see, I've lasted a bit longer than a month."

Erime and Sango laughed. The younger woman poured tea for Sango. "How about you, Sango-chan? Were you nervous?"

"It was a bit different for me and Miroku," Sango said, bouncing her son in her lap. "We had been traveling almost a year fighting against Naraku, and we both almost died -"

She was interrupted when a large pink balloon drifted in front of the house. "What's Shippou doing here?" she said.

"That's the kitsune boy?" Erime asked.

As if in answer, the balloon form gave a loud woosh sound, and turned into a small, red-haired kitsune kit who landed on the ground and ran into the house.

"Sango!" Shippou yelled, running up next to her. "Sango, someone's trying to hurt Kagome!"

"Maybe the day's excitement isn't quite over," Chime said, sipping her tea.

"What?" Sango put down her teacup. "Don't yell, Shippou-chan. You'll wake up the twins."

"Sorry," he said, but he pulled on her sleeve. "I was just there, and I have to go tell InuYasha! Please go check on her."

Chime tilted her head, looking at the panic-stricken boy. "What are you talking about, Shippou-kun? I thought she was at Tameo's house. Tameo wouldn't let something like that happen there. And I know that Kaede just went there not an hour ago."

Naoya started to fuss. Sango sighed, and put her son over her shoulder, bouncing him. "What happened, Shippou?"

"It's . . . it's that weird guy staying with Joben." He tugged at her sleeve again. "Hurry!"

"The yamabushi?" Erime said. "He is weird. I saw how he was looking at me the other day."

Shippou nodded. "First Haname slapped Kagome, and that was bad enough. I wanted to go get InuYasha then but she wouldn't let me."

"Haname . . . slapped her?" Chime said, surprised. "What . . . that doesn't sound like her at all."

Shippou nodded at the older woman. "Right when Kaede got there. Susumu had to knock her to the ground. She was yelling all sorts of crazy things."

"Knocked her down?" Erime said. Her eyes went wide.

"With all the people there?" Sango said. "Did someone put a spell on her? She sounds possessed."

"I don't know," the kitsune said. "But it was a good thing I didn't leave for InuYasha yet, because then we went to the garden by their family shrine to get away from her, and then that Morio guy tried to grab Kagome." Shippou took a deep breath. "I was hiding in a tree, and saw it all. He called her a black miko! Kagome! I jumped on him, and Kagome got away, but I don't know what happened next. I'm going to go get InuYasha." He pulled on her again. "Please, please make sure she's okay. But if I don't tell InuYasha what happened, he'll have my tail for sure. I got to hurry. Please!"

Sango looked thoughtful, and ruffled the kitsune's head. "You're sure she got away."

"Yeah, she was running to where all the people were and I had yelled really loud, the yell my uncle taught me, so people in the houses there would hear me. It's supposed to scare people, and I saw some of'em come running. And some man got to her before I left. And I bit that guy hard, too. He was bleeding in his shoulder. But please, please. Make sure she's ok. I'll go as fast as I can, but it's still going to take some time to get there. Please."

"Sounds like you did a good job, Master Fox," Erime said. "InuYasha will be pleased."

"Hurry, Sango. I've really got to go." He moved toward the front of the house.

Sango bounced her son one more time. "Yes, of course. I'll go see what's happened."

"Good. I've got to run. Please, Inari no kami, don't have let anything happen to her," the kit said, pulling a leaf out of his vest. "Unless you want me to be turned into a fox rug. And I'm too small!"

He put the leaf on his head, and with a loud pop, instead of a kitsune boy, there was a large, awkward white bird standing there. "I'll get to InuYasha faster this way," he said, and then hobbling off, he flapped his wings and awkwardly took off, circled around once, and headed toward the direction of Kagemura.

"I'll never get used to how he can change his shape like that," Erime said.

"I can tell," Chime said, standing gracefully, "that the excitement of the day is definitely not over" She held her arms open. "Let me hold your son. You go see what's happened to Kagome-chan. Erime and I will watch and stay while your daughters are sleeping."

Sango nodded. "I really should go. Thank you," she said, handing the boy over to him. She walked over to the weapons stand and picked up her sword. "I don't know if I'll really need this, but . . . "

"Oh, InuYasha-sama's going to come running back here in a holy terror," Erime said.

"You're probably right. Miroku told me he wasn't too happy about leaving her here." Sango slipped her sword into her waistband.

"It may even be a good thing for you to be there when InuYasha-sama gets back," Chime said. "I suspect our little kitsune friend will have him in full panic mode."

Naoya frowned as he watched his mother get ready to leave. Sango picked him up and gave him a hug.

"You may be right," she said, handing a reluctant baby back to the older woman. "I'll probably be there until he gets back."

"If you see Shinjiro, tell him to come up here. We want to know all the news." Chime bounced Naoya on his hip. "It's going to be okay, baby. Mama's going to make sure nothing else goes crazy."

"If I can," she said. "I'm sure it'll be quite a story."

As Erime and Chime watched Sango hurry down the road, and Naoya began to wind himself up for a good cry, Erime told the older woman, "I suspect this is a day we'll be talking about for a long time."

She bounced the unhappy boy in her arms. "Exciting days are what stories are made from. Now my fine boy, what can we do to make you happy? It'll be exciting enough without your sisters crying, too."

As Sango headed down the hill, Tameo dropped his arms, and the people behind him quietly and slowly moved into the garden.

Emi, Susumu's wife, hurried over to Kagome's side and took her by the arms. "Are you hurt?"

Kagome looked at her hands and then brushed them over her face. "I...I don't think so." She looked up at Emi. "How do I explain this to InuYasha?"

Emi gave the miko a hug. "I'm sure we'll think of something. He's not supposed to get back until dark. You can stay here until then."

Hisa joined them. "Emi's right. Come into the house. There's tea, and you can lay down if you need to rest. Or talk."

"Shippou," Kagome said. "Kazuo-sama told me Shippou went to find InuYasha. He's going to be coming back in a panic, if I know Shippou."

Hisa took a deep breath, sighed, and gave Kagome a little smile. "Your husband, he has a temper, I know. But we'll deal with it. Once he knows you're all right, everything will work out fine."

Kagome nodded, and started to let them lead her away when she heard a loud groaning. She turned and saw Morio, or what was left of Morio, shaking all over. Still face down, he groaned.

"Okaasan," he said, in a small bewildered voice. "Okaasan, it hurts. Please make it not hurt."

She took a step forward, away from the other women.

Slowly the man lifted up his head. There was dust all over his face and blood smears from his shoulder. "What happened?" He spotted Kagome, but there was no look of recognition. " Do you know where Haha-ue is? Something happened and I don't know what to do." His voice was small, childlike, lost.

Kagome looked at him, uncertain of what to say. "Your mother?"

Morio slowly, painfully sat up. "You're pretty. I bet you're nice. Can you help me? Have you seen my Okaa? She's going to be sad if I don't find her soon." He brought his hand to his face, and bit his knuckle. "I...I don't know what's happened to me. Somebody hurt me." He rested his head in his hands, covering his face. "My head hurts so bad."

Kagome looked at the elders standing in a knot. They too looked unsure of how to respond. Tameo studied him, his brows bunched together.

"He's turned into a child?" he said. "Now we have three boys to take care of."

"Storytellers are going to remember this day a long time," Daitaro said. He offered Tameo his jug of sake. "Have a drink. It looks like you need one."

Tameo nodded and took the jug. "Kazuo-sama is a powerful kami. Now if he would just tell me what to do next."

_**A/N I noticed from the comments that I seem to be having two of my readers pm'ing each other about someone's comment. Please note, I am not responsible if someone wants to discuss, disapprove, or rant at someone in a PM. And especially, don't think I asked someone to attack someone that way. It's not how I behave. Thanks.**_


	71. Chapter 71

Chapter 71

For a moment, the gathered people just sat there and watched the battered yamabushi, trying to decide what to do.

Morio, acting like a frightened five-year-old instead of the grown adult he was, rocked side to side clutching his head. His eyes were clenched tightly. "Okaa, make it stop," he cried. "I'm scared, Okaa. Please come get me."

Hisa walked up to Kagome and clutched her arm. "I know he tried to hurt us, and you in particular, Kagome-chan, but . . . " She took a deep breath. "What do we do with him? This is so strange. Perhaps we need to call Kaede back."

"Kaede has her hands full right now with Haname," Kagome said. "But wounds - that's something I've had a lot of experience dealing with." Steeling her shoulders, she took another step and crouched down not far from the man.

He opened his eyes to look at her and stopped moving. "Did my okaasan come yet?"

She shook her head. "I'm sorry."

"But she's got to come . . . I hurt so bad." He started rocking again.

"Morio-kun, will you let me see where it hurts?" Kagome lifted up her hand and moved the cloth away from his shoulder where Shippou had torn it.

He yelped as she touched it, and scooted away. "It hurts! Don't touch it. I thought you were nice."

Kagome sighed.

"You're not my okaasan." He wiped an eye with the back of his hand. "Haha-ue wouldn't have made it hurt."

"I need to see what happened if I'm going to make it better," she said. "Please? You're still bleeding."

He shook his head. "I don't want you to." He put both hands on his head and began to cry. "Everything is so wrong."

While Kagome tried to talk Morio into letting her help him, the men, who had not yet moved into the garden, watched as she gently brushed the confused man's head, only to see him jerk away. She shook her head, but didn't stop.

"I'm impressed," Tsuneo said, folding his arms "Not half an hour ago, that man was trying to kidnap Kagome-sama. And now she's trying to help him? You picked well, Tameo. She's got the right heart to be a healer."

"You'd have known that if you'd paid more attention to her when she was here three years ago," Daitaro said. He took a drink from his sake jug, then wiped his lips with the back of his hand. "But this man - he's going to be a handful, " he said as he corked the jug.

The headman nodded, looking at the gathered men, and scratched the back of his head. "Definitely a handful. So who's going to take care of him? He's going to need a keeper. Someone's going to have to make sure he has food, clothes, medicine. The kami's not going be happy if we just kick him out and let the forest take him. You heard him."

"It's going to be a big job," Tsuneo said, rubbing his chin.

Morio gave a loud keening wail as he moved once again away from Kagome. There was a murmur from the people behind them. A child, not one of Tameo's grandchildren, walked up and peeked out from behind Susumu.

"No, no, Taro. You need to go find your mother," Susumu said, turning the small boy around. "We'll tell you all about it later."

"Is he a child?" Taro asked. "He sounds like a child."

"Not exactly," Susumu said.

"Haha-ue went to work in her garden," the boy said, still trying to look past the men. "Is he hurt?"

"Then go see Matsume. I'm sure she'll give you a treat if you tell her I told her to," Tameo said.

"Sweet dumplings?" the boy asked, hopeful.

"Maybe. So go," Susumu said, pushing him out. As he watched the boy move down the path, he turned to his father. "Maybe we should get Toshiro in on this. He's still with the Isao and Aki."

Joben had been listening to them talk while glancing from time to time in Kagome and Morio's direction. Making a decision, he lifted his head up and rested a hand on his father's arm. "Wait, Otousan, Tameo-sama. I brought Morio to the village. I should be the one who bears the responsibility. It should be my giri."

Tsuneo looked at him, surprised, and looked at the younger man thoughtfully. "You're not thinking of vengeance, are you, son?"

"No," Joben said. "It's just . . . I feel like I need to do something."

"Are you sure? He could be like this for years." Tsuneo said.

"This one time, on this one thing, let me be the man, Otousan." The younger man looked at Morio, instead of his father. "What happened with Okaasan and Aki, and maybe even how I behaved today . . . I caused that when I invited him here, because I thought our luck was being hurt and I wanted to make it better. You were talking to Aki about responsibility. Maybe . . . maybe if I take this on, the kami will . . . "

"He may," Tameo said. "Let us know what you need, son. The kami asked the whole village to take care of this man."

Joben nodded.

"There's the back house," Tsuneo said. "You might want to put him there. I don't know how long your mother's going to be at Kaede's, but once she comes home, I wouldn't want to put those two together."

"I'll ask Akina to help," Joben said, as he left the group of men.

Kagome was about ready to give up trying to convince Morio to let her look at him. She knelt on the ground, resting her chin in one hand, staring at the confused and weeping man. Joben stopped in front of her, and bowed "Let me try, Miko-sama."

Kagome looked up at Joben, surprised by the title. "Try?"

"I...I feel he should be my obligation, Miko-sama." Joben said, bowing again. "If it wasn't for my . . . attitude . . . toward your husband, this day would have never happened. I need to make amends. Let me start with this."

She studied his face for a moment - what she saw was sincerity, mixed with sadness and a touch of fear. But there was a determination in the way he carried himself. She nodded.

"Morio? Morio-sama?" Joben said, squatting down near the miko and the yamabushi.

Morio cracked an eye and looked at Joben, then looked around. "Who are you calling? Morio-sama is my grandfather. He's not here, is he?"

"No, Morio-kun," Kagome said, sighing. "He's not here, and I'm afraid your Okaasan isn't coming here, either. I'm sorry."

Morio looked from Kagome's face to Joben's. Joben nodded.

"My . . . my okaa's not here?" His face fell. "Where am I? This isn't my village. I don't know you. I...I don't know where I am!" His eyes shimmered with fresh tears. "How did I get here?" He clasped his hands over his head and began to rock back and forth. "My head hurts so bad. And my shoulder hurts, too. How did I get here? Why do I hurt so bad? I...I can't remember why I hurt so bad. Okaa!"

Like a little lost boy, he began to cry loudly. "I want to go home. I want to go home. Okaasan would know how to make my head stop hurting. She always knows how to make it stop hurting. I want to go home."

Joben reached out and rested a hand on his head. "I'm sorry, Morio-kun. I don't know how to find your okaasan, but I have some medicine for the headache. I get them, too."

"You do?" the confused man said. He wiped his nose with the back of the hand.

"Really bad ones, where I have to lie down in a dark room." Joben took one of his hands. "They can sometimes hurt for days. But I have a cure. Would you like to come with me? I can help. My wife knows just the right type of medicine to take away the pain. You'll feel better."

Morio sniveled. "Will you help me find my okaasan?"

"If I can," Joben said. "I'll give you medicine for your head, and maybe some sweet dumplings, and if you want, my daughter will tell you a story. While you rest, we can see about what happened to your okaasan. So will you come home with me?"

"You want to help me?" Morio asked.

Joben nodded. "I have a son myself. His name is Aki. He would want me to help you."

"You won't let anybody else hurt me, will you?" Morio wrapped his arms tightly around himself.

"Of course not," Joben said.

Morio chewed on his lip a minute, then nodded.

"Good." Joben stood up, offering him a hand.

"Would you like me to have Kaede-obaasan stop by?" Kagome asked as they were walking off.

"I think poor Kaede-sama's going to have her hands full with Haha-ue," Joben said. "It'll be all right, at least for a day or so. Akina and my cousin Amaya have some good experience with dealing with injured boys." He gave a short sad laugh. "Our sons have given them a lot of experience."

Morio looked around at the edge of the garden, then pulled on Joben's hand. "Come on, Ojisan. I don't like all these people watching."

"Just a moment, Morio-kun. We'll be leaving in a moment." Joben turned to face Kagome. "I am so sorry, Miko-sama, about everything. I had no idea what he was doing behind my back. I have been far too shortsighted." He gave Kagome a quick bow. "When your husband returns home, I will come by and discuss amends. Please forgive me and my family for all that we have wronged you for today. It won't happen again."

Kagome, standing up, returned his bow. Joben then led Morio out of the garden, and the gathered crowd, surprisingly silent, parted for them.

Morio's leaving was evidently the sign that it was safe to enter the garden, and the men joined Hisa and Emi to gather around Kagome.

"Ah, cousin, I am so sorry for everything that has happened here today," Tameo said, bowing.

Kagome nodded in return. "Morio was a surprise to all of us."

"Give her room to breathe," Hisa said, stepping in front of Kagome and pushing back a little on her husband's chest. He nodded and took a couple of steps backward. Daitaro did likewise, but not her son. She gave him a push as well. "And that means you too, Susumu. The danger has passed. "

Susumu laughed. "You caught me not paying attention, Okaasan. Too busy thinking about what to do next." He stepped back to the edge of the little circle of people. "If I'm that distracted, maybe I should go and see how Kinjiro is doing with Kaede-obasan. It would wake me up."

Tameo nodded. "And take Isao with you. He looked like he's still in a lot of pain."

"He's a good kid for all of that," Susumu said, "He'll probably complain, but I'll do it anyway. Just be sure, cousin," he said to Kagome, nodding at the village elders, "you don't let these mother hens drive you too crazy. They're all bossy. If they do, come get me. I'm not always standing around with my mind a thousand ri away." Giving her an encouraging smile, he headed back toward the houses.

"I'm all right, Hisa-obaasan." Kagome took a deep breath and chewed on her bottom lip. "You don't need to worry over me. Maybe I should go help Kaede."

"No, no," Hisa said, taking her by the arm. "I've been dealing with people who have been around our kami-sama a long, long time. And besides that, there was everything else. After all this, you need to rest."

"Still, it's been a long time since Kazuo decided to actually manifest," Tameo said. "This is a day I'll have to write down in the annals. The last time - "

"Bah, tell her later," Hisa said. "Come dear, let's go back to the house. You've had enough excitement for the day."

"I don't remember any other day being quite like this," Emi said, agreeing, and taking Kagome by her other arm

"I..." Kagome started, then she slumped a little, as the reality that everything was over hit her, and she felt very tired. "Maybe so."

"Just a moment, Hisa-sama," Tsuneo said, resting a hand on her shoulder, "and then I won't bother you or Miko-sama here any more today."

Hisa nodded, although she took a deep breath and tried, unsuccessfully not to frown.

Tsuneo bowed to Kagome. "I cannot take today away, and what we have let happen to you, but I can make some amends. Tell your husband to come talk to me. I hear he's trying to split some trees into boards. I have just the right person to do it. It won't make up for what you went through, but it's something I can do."

Kagome returned his bow. "Thank you, Tsuneo-sama. I will tell him."

"Now that's enough," Hisa said. "We're going inside. Kagome-sama deserves a long hot bath, and then Emi can give her a massage, and after that, we'll give her some time to rest before InuYasha-sama comes dashing back home."

"He's not going to be happy," Daitaro commented.

"Especially since it's going to be the little kitsune child giving him the news," Hisa said. "Now go away and do your men's business."

And with that, Hisa pushed past the group of elders with Kagome and Emi in her wake.

"You have a bathtub?" Kagome asked, surprised. "One you can soak in?"

His nodded. "A big one. You need to come by once in a while to soak and tell me all the news."

The women walked off.

Tameo looked at Tsuneo, his brows creased as he thought. He scratched his head. "That news about InuYasha and the kitsune - I'd go home if I were you. Maybe take your grandson. We can figure out what's the best thing to do with him tomorrow. We're going to have enough fireworks when InuYasha-sama gets back, at least until we make sure he understands what happened. "

"Maybe I'll go home and get another jug of sake," Daitaro said. "We might all need some before the evening's out."

"It won't be boring, that's for sure," Tameo said. "Kazuo-sama," he said, turning toward the shrine, "I hope you're amused now."

And as the three of them walked out of the garden, Tameo was sure he heard laughter on the wind.

A/N

I don't often throw in extra Japanese words out of the courtesy titles and relationship names and basic clothing words, but today I felt the need to use these two words.

giri - a type of duty you are really, really obligated to do, not something you can get out of, or you will lose face and/or honor. Often not something you really want to do, but have to. Duty in English just doesn't have the same weight.

ri - a distance measure a little less than 2 ½ miles. It just felt wrong to have Susumu say 1000 miles away...


	72. Chapter 72

_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 72**

In Kagemura, Osamu the village headman and Ryuu stood in the center of the village with InuYasha and Miroku.

"You're sure we can't convince you to stay the night? You deserve more than a simple thanks for what you did today. Any one of us would be more than happy to have you as honored guests."

InuYasha, his ear twitching in impatience, shook his head. "I don't care if the monk stays, but I have to get back."

Miroku looked at him, and sighed, resigning to the inevitable, and tried, fairly successfully, to keep his professional face on. "Alas, no, Dono." He petted the kitten he held in his arm. "It's important I get what's left of the bakeneko out of your village before sundown. We wouldn't want anything else unfortunate to befall you. Who knows? Another youkai might be attracted to the remnants of her power here, and decide to come and pick up where she left off."

There were murmurs and nods and a shiver or two among the people who had gathered around the group.

The headman, looking unnerved a bit himself, nodded. "Wait a moment though. We have something for you."

The hanyou scowled, but Miroku nodded, and after a moment, a man walked up, pulling a handcart. "It would be wrong of us to send you off empty handed." He nodded to a young man who walked into one of the small outbuildings and before long, the hand cart was loaded with two bundles of rice, several lengths of cloth, and a few closed boxes.

"All this?" Miroku said, honestly surprised, since he hadn't really expected to get anything but a token payment.

"We didn't let the yamabushi get everything," Ryuu explained as they tied it securely. "The new Samurai who administers the market, he heard of what was happening here, and gave us these to help pay for an exorcism."

For once, Miroku was at a loss for words.

"Feh," InuYasha said. "We would have done it any way."

"After being hoodwinked the first time by that yamabushi," Osamu said, "we decided not to announce that we had anything substantial for a reward."

InuYasha glanced at Miroku, then looked back at Osamu. "Smart. There's a lot of phony exorcists out there. Some of'em, if they know you can pay, charge too much."

Miroku coughed.

Another man joined them, and bowed. He was a youngish man, but had a scar across one cheek and hair that was salt and pepper gray, unusual in a man of his age. "Thank you for what you have done for us. I know you have saved my daughter's life. I am Masuo, the father of Hiseo and Yume." He bowed again. "If you would let me, I'll pull the cart back to the village for you, and bring my children home."

"It would be our honor," Miroku said.

"Keh," InuYasha said, stuffing his hands in his sleeves. "Let's just get going."

Masuo bowed again, and got behind the pull bar of the cart. With a creak, the cart moved and they were on their way.

While the men began their journey home, back at Tameo's house, Kagome lay in the steaming hot water of Hisa's bathtub, trying hard to let the warmth relax her and calm her mind.

"It's been so long since anybody tried to grab me like that," she murmured. "I forgot what the fear felt like." Sighing, she closed her eyes. "Did we use to do this thing all the time, InuYasha? Come home soon."

There was a knock on the bathroom door. "It's just me," Hisa said, sliding the door open. She carried some brightly colored folded cloths in her hand, in shades of blue, white and red. The air she let in was much cooler than the bathing room's air, and Kagome could feel it on her cheeks.

"I didn't really want to disturb you," Hisa said. "But I thought you might like some fresh clothes to wear. They aren't much, but they're clean."

"Thank you," Kagome said, giving her a small smile. "You have been very kind."

"Bah. You're family now. I would do the same for Emi and Matsume." Hisa laid the robes on the bench along the wall. "And this day has been . . . " She took a deep breath, and gave Kagome an apologetic smile. "I hope you don't mind, but I'm having one of the women wash your miko robes. Someone once told me your husband has a very sensitive nose." Hisa sat down next to the clothing, and ran her hand lightly on the stack of fabric.

Kagome gave a little nod. "Very much so."

"I thought as much. Such a nose matches his ears. No use having that man's scent on you or your clothing."

The younger woman's eyes opened at that. "I didn't think of that!"

"With everything that's been going on today, you can't expect to remember everything. That's what having friends and family is for, dear."

Smiling back, Kagome nodded.

"You take your time, though," Hisa continued. "Emi's making some tea that's good to help a person relax. I don't know about you, but I know I could use it." She laughed a little. "I haven't seen this much excitement since . . . well the day when that awful youkai bombed our village, maybe. Or the day you showed up the first time. That was a rather exciting day."

That made Kagome smile. "It was a rather crazy day. I had never even seen a youkai before that day."

Hisa nodded. "That's what I heard. It's funny how these things work out. It didn't take Kaede much time to realize who and what you were. And Tameo agreed, which is why our village stayed open as a place to give you shelter on your quest. And now, you're sitting in my bathtub, and we're having chats about exciting days."

"That whole year had enough exciting days to last me for a while. I think I'm ready for some quiet ones," Kagome said.

"I am sure," Hisa said, standing up. "After too much excitement, there's nothing like a long stretch of normal. When you're done, come join us for some tea. I've sent all those noisy men away - "

There was a knock on the door, interrupting her.

"Kagome-chan?" The voice was familiar and it made the young woman sit up. "Kagome? Are you in there? Are you all right?"

"Sango-chan?" Kagome said.

"The monk's wife?" Hisa said. Kagome nodded. "I'm glad she could make it." She got up and moved to the door, and slid it open.

As she did, Kagome grabbed her towel and stepped out of the water. She had barely gotten it wrapped around her when she was almost knocked over by her friend hugging her.

"I was so worried," Sango said. "Shippou stopped by and told me a wild story about someone grabbing you in the garden." Sango stepped back, to look at the dripping miko. "And that Haname-sama had slapped you. Are you hurt anywhere?"

Kagome, smiling, shook her head. "I don't think so. I'm so glad you're here! Yes, someone tried to grab me, and yes, Haname did slap me. It's been a really awful, strange, weird day."

Hisa still holding the doorframe, looked at the two women. "Why don't you help Kagome-chan get dressed, and bring her out here? Emi's made tea, and we can tell you all about it. It's quite the story." She looked out in the main room, then turned back, a surprised look on her face. "Where are your little ones?"

"They're back home. Chime-sama and Erime-chan are watching them." Sango said.

"Good, good," Hisa said, nodding. "That'll give her something to do besides fret over Shinjiro's wedding. I'll see you two in a few minutes."

The older woman slid the door closed.

"Turn around. Let me check your back for any hurts," Sango asked. As Kagome did, Sango nodded. "Whatever happened today, you didn't even get a bruise."

"I didn't think so," Kagome said. "Now if Shippou doesn't panic InuYasha too much . . . "

Sango sighed, and reached for the bundle of clothes. "He was pretty upset. I don't know if he's more frightened for you or what InuYasha will do to him once he fights out. I guess we'll . . . " Her voice trailed off as she looked at the large tub, still steaming, as if she had just noticed it.

"Hisa-sama has a bathtub?" she said. "It's a big one."

Kagome laughed. "That's what I said when she told me about it."

Sango unfolded the clothes and handed her an under kosode. "You think she might let me use it sometimes?"

"We can ask. I know she told me to come by from time to time to have a bath." Kagome slipped the white cloth around her shoulders and Sango handed her the wrap belt for it. "She's really very nice. It's like I've got a second mother."

Sango gave her a big smile. "It's nice to have people who really care for you and who you know will back you up and help when things go wild like today," Sango said, handing her a kosode in blue with red and white flowers.

Kagome took Sango's hand, and gave it a little squeeze. "And good friends to talk to when the craziness is over." She sighed. "But I hope we can convince InuYasha about it when he gets here. I know he's going to be really worried the whole way back."

"He'll calm down fast once he sees how well you are," Sango said. "But now I need the story. Who tried to grab you and how did you get away?" Sango handed her the obi that went with the robe.

"Now that's an interesting story," Kagome said, fastening the belt. "I'm glad you don't have to rush home. If you hadn't been with me on the quest for the jewel, I don't know if you would actually believe all the craziness that's happened today."

"I'm not leaving until InuYasha gets here and calmed down," Sango said. "I have plenty of time."

"Good. I feel a lot better with you here," Kagome said, then walked to the door of the bathing room. "Let's get some of that tea that Hisa-obaasan promised and I'll tell you everything."

And sliding the door open, she stepped out.

As Kagome and Sango sipped tea, and the women told Sango all about the events with Haname and Morio, the three men were heading towards the village. Not long after they passed the crossroads, Miroku looked at the hanyou and gave him a nudge.

"I told you we should make it home by dinner time," Miroku said.

"Barely," InuYasha replied.

"You both would have been more than welcome to spend the night at my house, or at any of the other homes in the village," Masuo said. "You did us a great service, destroying that monster."

The kitten on Miroku's shoulder looked at the man pulling the hand cart, and mewed at him.

Masuo looked at the monk. "You're sure that's all that's left of the bakeneko? There's no magic left in her?"

"Not a drop," the monk said, lifting the cat off of his shoulder. "And with her tail bobbed, she'll never get any more, either, now will you, Chika." The cat nuzzled his chin in reply.

"It'll be good to see my little ones," Masuo said. "I didn't want to bring Yume home until the monster was gone. I hope they haven't been a bother to Miko-sama while they were there."

"Your son was taking his sister-guarding duties very seriously," Miroku said. "I suspect Kaede-sama hasn't had much problem at all with him."

Masuo nodded. "Good, good. That's how I raised him."

The conversation dropped for a moment. Masuo became lost in his own thoughts and then gave the monk a wry smile. "It's been a long time since I saw Miko-sama last," Masuo said. "But I seem to remember her being rather patient with a certain young man who was more than anxious to get out of her hut and go home."

Miroku looked at InuYasha behaved like he was ignoring them both, although his ear tweaked in their direction as they spoke. "I think she's had plenty of practice at that one over the years," Miroku said.

"He, too?" Masuo asked.

Miroku nodded. InuYasha turned around and was about to say something, when a large bird dropped out of the sky, popped, and Shippou landed on the ground.

"A kitsune!" Masuo said, and dropped the pull bar of the handcart, and got ready to run.

Miroku grabbed him by his sleeve. "It's all right. We know this one."

A cold shiver ran down InuYasha's back. Shippou looked up at him, his eyes wide and panicked, and he tried to say something, but the words weren't coming out.

"No, it's not all right," InuYasha said, picking the kitsune up by his collar. His ears laid flat, and his free hand clenched into a fist. "What's happened? You better not have come out here for no reason at all."

"I tried to stop it! But I couldn't! Someone . . . someone . . . someone tried to kidnap Kagome," Shippou sobbed. "I . . . I tried to stop him, and she ran away and I ran right here to get you! You need to go home and make sure she's all right!"


	73. Chapter 73

_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 73**

"What?" InuYasha's eyes narrowed as he glared at Shippou, and his voice was loud.

"You know this kitsune?" Masuo asked, whispering to Miroku. He still was fighting the urge to run, and gripped the pull bar of the hand cart very tightly. "You're sure he's not here just to get InuYasha-sama mad?"

"I'm sure," Miroku said. "We've been taking care of him, more or less for four years, ever since his father died. "

Shippou and InuYasha ignored their conversation. Instead, Shippou looked up at InuYasha with big, moist eyes, alternating between fear and anger.

"Don't be mad at me," Shippou said, cringing as the hanyou started a deep, low growl. He squirmed as the hanyou continued to hold him up by his collar. "I didn't do it. I didn't do anything wrong. It was that creepy yamabushi guy staying with Joben. I tried to tell her to let me go get you after Haname slapped her, but she said not to. So she went into the garden by Tameo's shrine, and he grabbed her there. I -"

"Haname slapped her?" Miroku said, shocked. He leaned forward and looked at the kitsune eye to eye. "Haname?"

Shippou nodded. "She was acting really weird, angrier than anybody's ever seen her before, and they were wondering if she was possessed. She was calling Kagome names and blaming her and InuYasha because Aki got caught letting one of Daitaro's cows loose, and it got in InuYasha's garden, and he got caught and they were going to punish him. Susumu had to tackle her."

"Haname? Susumu-sama?" Miroku said.

InuYasha dropped the kitsune. He stared off into the distance, his body tight, like a spring ready to release. His fists began clenching and unclenching.

The small boy rolled and got back up on his feet. He glared at InuYasha. "I did what you told me to do! I tried to protect her! It's not my fault you weren't there. I came and got you soon as I couldn't do any more."

As the kitsune said that, something flashed over the hanyou's face, guilt, soon replaced by a cold mask. "You did good, Shippou," InuYasha said, not looking at the kit. "Just what I told you to do. Thanks."

"Are you sure it was Morio who grabbed her?" Miroku said.

The kit nodded.

"Morio?" Masuo said. He spit on the ground. "That's the name of the yamabushi who pretended to get rid of the youkai at my village. He's the reason Yume-chan got so sick. He made the bakeneko attack worse. And took a whole lot in payment for nothing."

InuYasha turned and smashed his fist into a tree growing by the roadside. The trunk split, and one section tumbled into a tree behind it. "Dammit to the deepest hell. I knew something was going to happen if I left."

The cat Miroku was holding hissed, and Masuo nearly jumped.

Miroku sighed, and walked over to his friend, and put a hand on his shoulder. "Go, InuYasha. You can get there faster alone. If she was at Tameo's, I'm sure there are people who protected her, but go. You won't be able to rest until you do."

He nodded, and cracked his knuckles. "Joben better hide that bastard well if she's hurt. There won't be much left of him when I get through."

And with a running leap, he jumped into the trees and was gone.

"Does he always act like that?" Masuo asked.

"No, but he's a newlywed," Miroku replied, leaning on his staff.

"He doesn't act that way all the time? Could have fooled me," Shippou said, frowning. The kit crossed his arms, still angry. "I did the best I could."

"I know you did," Miroku said. "I'm sure the people at Tameo's house were able to get to her before Morio could do anything. You did say she got away, right, Shippou-kun?"

The kitsune nodded. "I left as soon as I saw people there reaching her."

Miroku nodded. "Then all they'll have to worry about is InuYasha overreacting. Let's just keep going. But I doubt if we need to hurry all that much."

Masuo nodded, and began pulling the handcart. Shippou jumped on top of the bundles.

"Newlywed folks are skittish," Masuo said, as the cart rumbled down the road. "It was almost half a year before I would leave my wife. How long have they been married?"

"Twelve days." Chika the cat climbed up on Miroku's shoulder to get a good look at the kitsune. Unimpressed, she curled up around his neck.

"I'm surprised you even got him out of the house," Masuo said.

Miroku sighed. "Me, too. I think your daughter did it, actually. Rumor to the contrary," he said, looking at Shippou, "InuYasha actually has a soft place for children." Ignoring Shippou's huffing, he shook his head. "Kwannon be merciful - if anything's happened to hurt Kagome-sama, I may never be able to get him out again."

Back in the village, Emi was sitting behind Kagome, combing her hair in an effort to help her relax while they waited. It was working.

"You have such nice hair," Emi said, lifting up a lock of Kagome's hair and gently running the boxwood comb through it. It glistened with just the slightest trace of camilla oil. "It's so soft."

"She does," Sango said, taking a sip of tea. "I don't know why you've started hiding it behind a scarf so often, Kagome-chan."

Kagome opened her eyes, and gave her friend a small smile."It . . . it just gets in the way sometimes," she replied. "And it keeps it cleaner when I'm doing stuff."

"That's true," Emi said. "A scarf will keep the dust out, but your hair is so nice. You should just tie it back. I could put it back in a pony tail for you." Emi ran the comb through her hair one more time, gathering the ebony locks in one hand. "I have some paper ribbon around here somewhere."

"No, no," Kagome said. "I don't think InuYasha really likes me to wear it that way."

"Why?" Emi asked. She pulled back the length of Kagome's hair, wrapping her hand around the place the ribbon should go. "I think you'd look nice."

The younger woman shook her head. "It's a long story."

Sango tilted her head to the side, a bit surprised. "You don't think it'd still bother him?" She looked down, and turned her tea cup around in the palm of her hand, thinking. "It's been a long time since he said all of that. You know he doesn't compare you to her anymore."

"InuYasha-sama used to compare you . . . " Emi said, puzzled, then enlightened. "Do you mean Kikyou-sama? I had heard he was fond of her once."

Kagome nodded.

"I never saw Kikyou-sama when she was alive." Emi dropped the ponytail and ran the comb through Kagome's hair one more time to smooth it out. "I hear she was beautiful. But so are you."

"She looked a lot like Kagome," Sango said, nodding. "Once upon a time, not long after Kagome set InuYasha free, and he was still rather confused and uncertain about the quest Kaede-sama had set them on, he got upset about Kagome dressing like her once."

"It had only been a short time for him since he had last seen her alive," Kagome said. "And we know their last meeting . . . well, I understood."

"Ah," Emi said. "Still, it's been a good while since he last saw you like that."

Kagome picked up her own tea. "I know," she said. "But I'd rather talk to him first. Especially today."

"Are you nervous?" Emi asked, putting her comb away. "I've heard about his temper. I think I even remember hearing an argument or two you had once. It could get pretty loud. Sometimes husbands who are angry do focus that anger on the wrong person."

This made Kagome laugh. "Oh, for a while there, we had some really bad arguments. But no, I'm not nervous about him coming back and taking it out on me. InuYasha would never ever do anything to hurt me. I just wish he would get here. He'll be fine once he knows I'm all right. But I . . . I just want to go home. It's been such a long and strange day."

As Emi and Sango nodded their agreement, Hisa walked in, sliding the door open. The older woman, smiled at them, tired but content. "Well, that's done," she said.

"Everything's all right at Kinjiro's house? I hope my little ones aren't driving Matsume too crazy," Emi said, picking up her own tea cup.

"Everything's fine," Hisa said as she walked across the room. "Tama-chan came over and is telling the girls stories. She's very good at that. Poor little Yume-chan, dear thing, fell asleep - although after all she's been through lately, I'm not surprised. Her brother has been adopted by Mitsuo. Together, they were building a fort out of a few baskets and a pot lid, ready to fight the king oni. I was rather impressed how well he put up with your stinker." She sat down not in the mother's position at the fire pit, but next to Kagome. "Rika-chan is getting dinner started. I thought it would be more convenient if she cooked for all of us tonight."

"How's Rin doing?" Kagome asked. "She really only came over to bring you your medicine and to make sure Hiseo and Yume got here safe."

"I sent Rin-chan to make sure Kaede knew about the amulet Morio gave Haname. I know she's skillful enough to find it herself, but still, it never hurts." She looked at her daughter-in-law. "Emi, is there any more tea?" Turning back to Kagome, she continued, "And the poor girl looked rather . . . distressed. I think she's used to a quieter place. So I told her to stay there in case there's anything Kaede needs that we can help with."

Emi got up to get another tea cup.

"Are you sure that's wise?" Sango asked.

"Oh, I'm pretty sure it's safe enough," Hisa said, nodding. "Kinjiro told me they had dosed Haname pretty heavily with a sleeping potion. And besides, Haname's daughter Chiya was over there, along with Joben's wife, so it's not just Kaede and Haname."

Emi scooted to pour some tea for her mother-in-law. "Let me know if this is too cold," she said. "I'll make more."

"I'm sure it'll be fine," Hisa said, taking a sip. "Besides, Rin-chan will probably be happier at her own house."

Kagome nodded, and gave Hisa a small smile. "I understand that one."

While Kagome waited, InuYasha ran and jumped through the treetops, and occasionally on the ground as he took the shortest route home. Guilt and anger and worry drove him on, a speeding blur of red and silver, unseen by any except the birds he startled as he leapt from branch to branch, two deer who bolted as he grew near, and a wild boar, who, sensing the hanyou's agitated youki, hurried to bury itself deep in a thicket to keep out of the reach of his claws.

"Kagome," he whispered as he jumped down a tricky rock face, bouncing lightly off one rock. His mind kept going back to his mother, and how she was treated. "I knew I couldn't trust Haname. Or Joben. And I left you anyway."

He leapt across a stream and back up into the trees. "But Kaede, and Tameo - I know they wouldn't turn on her. How did that fucking exorcist get near her?"

The only answer he got was from a cawing crow he startled as he leaped into the air. It flapped its wings drunkenly, circled around him, and flew off until it was safe to reclaim its roost. He ignored it, and focused on making the ground beneath him disappear.

In a quarter of the time it had taken him and the monk to cover the distance that very morning, he found himself standing in front of his own house. He stopped long enough to confirm Kagome was not there, not even noticing the disarray in the garden or his woodpile. He jumped from a tree onto Miroku's roof a few minutes later, finding no sign of Kagome or Sango, only Daitaro's wife and the twins playing in the yard.

"Huh," InuYasha said. "Where in the hell is Sango? And why were so many people here recently?"

Afraid that asking Chime would take too long, he leapt silently to the ground in a direction where he wouldn't be seen, and dashed down the hill.

Once he reached the main street of the village he stopped. Surprisingly, it seemed almost deserted. No children were in the street, no women gossiping. A dog looked at him, lowered his ears, and slunk off without barking. The emptiness unnerved him. He stopped in front of the miko's house, unable to smell or hear Kagome inside. But instead of bursting in and demanding answers from Kaede, he jumped on her roof.

Kaede, hearing the light thump of his landing and feeling his youki looked up from where she sat by Haname's side, where the troubled woman slept fitfully in a drug-induced sleep.

"Is something wrong, Miko-sama?" Chiya, who was sitting on Haname's other side, asked.

The older woman shook her head. "No, nothing. I was just thinking of Kagome-chan. She's still at Tameo's. I wonder how long she will stay?"

"I suspect until her husband goes and brings her home," Akina, Joben's wife said.

She looked back up at the roof. "Did you hear that?" she said.

"I didn't hear anything," Chiya said, looking up as well. But Chiya wasn't who Kaede was talking to. The person she was talking to heard it very well.

There was another sound softer than the first. A chicken squawked like someone was passing nearby, and the tingling feeling from InuYasha's youki diminished. InuYasha had jumped from her roof and was heading down the street.

"Now it's your turn, Tameo," Kaede whispered too softly to be heard, and turned back to her patient.

Emi looked at the women sitting in Tameo's house. "Shall I make another pot of tea? We've drunk this one down."

Kagome turned her head around and looked to the door. "None for me, thank you," she said, then put down her tea cup and stood up.

"What is it, Kagome-chan?" Hisa asked. "Is something wrong?"

"InuYasha," Kagome said. "I can feel his youki. He's almost here."

She hurried to the door. "It . . . it might be best if I went out alone." She slid the door open, and looked back at the women, her blue-gray eyes both excited and a little nervous.

Sango stood up as well. "Go on. We're here if you need us."

Kagome nodded, slid the door open and stepped outside.

"Is that wise?" Emi asked, looking back and forth from her mother's face to Sango. "Some men . . . "

"Of course it's wise," Hisa said, sipping her tea. "She's the reason he's rushing back, anyway." She took another sip. "All he really wants to know is that she's safe. Everything else will wait until we get a chance to explain. Now slip around the other way and go tell Tameo he's nearly here, but to give them time to greet each other."

Emi nodded and got up, and left.

Sango gave the older woman an appraising look. "That was exactly the right thing to do," she said. "I've known InuYasha to come out of a blind, magically-induced rage to take care of Kagome. Naraku tried that towards the end. How did you know?"

"When you're a mother long enough, you learn these things," Hisa said. "Now, I think I'll make that next pot of tea."

"She better be all right," InuYasha muttered, as he hurried the last of the way to Tameo's gate. He stopped at the gate long enough to swallow back his fear of something being horribly wrong, and dashed into the compound.

"Kagome!" he yelled. He could smell her scent all over the courtyard. It was mixed with many others, and there was the taste of magic in the air, dark and light. "Kagome!"

"InuYasha," a soft voice replied.

He turned to his right. For a second, his world stopped.

There she stood, her black hair gleaming, wearing a dress he had never seen before, the sleeves draping gracefully, unbruised, seemingly unharmed, and unafraid. She smiled at him and held her arms open.

Suddenly his world started up again. "Kagome," he said. This time her name crossed his lips not as a yell, but softly, almost a breathed prayer.

Three more steps she was in his arms, and he was lifting her up, feeling her body, smelling her warm and clean and very happy to see him as he spun around.

"You're all right," he said, tucking her under his chin. "You're all right."

"Of course," she replied, getting him to let her loose enough to look up at his face. "But I have had a rather interesting afternoon. Want to hear about it?"


	74. Chapter 74

_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 74**

Tameo, his sons and Daitaro, having been banished from the main house so that Hisa could take care of Kagome, sat in Tameo's office, drinking Daitaro's sake.

Kinjiro, bored and restless, unhappy about waiting, was beating a small drum while Daitaro poured him his small cup. Daitaro put it in front of the younger man.

"Going to sing for your sake, cousin?" Daitaro asked, smiling.

Kinjiro sighed. "If you're not going to let me go back to work."

"Well then," Susumu suggested, "Sing something about husbands and wives, since we're waiting for InuYasha-sama to come and get his. Or if you won't, I could sing something, but you all know what my voice is like."

Tameo guffawed. "Your brother's trying to extort us, I think, Kinjiro. You know you have a much better voice than your brother. Besides, all he wants to sing are the earthy bits."

"Nothing wrong with that," Daitaro said, chuckling.

"Will be if it makes Hisa come out here," Tameo said.

"You have a point," Daitaro said nodding. "Then Kinjiro it is." He took a sip of his cup.

Kinjiro, shook his head, started a new rhythm, took a breath, and began to sing.

"When Kanshiro was a young man,  
>yoi, yoi, yoi,<br>When Kanshiro was a young man,  
>A foolish silly young man,<br>He wished to have a wife most of all."

"Shows you what a wise man he was, eh, Tameo?" Daitaro said, nudging the headman. "Having a good woman at your side, now what's foolish about that? Even our hanyou friend knows the importance of having a good wife. Look at how Hisa-sama has handled so much of this afternoon. And Kagome-chan, she looks soft, but look what she manages to do. To wives!" He raised his cup and took a sip. "Life is harder without one, and the nights colder. May they long be happy, so we can be happy, too."

"It's not always that way. Not that I didn't do well by Emi." Susumu said, drinking his own cup. "A man could marry a woman like Haname,"  
>"It's good that Tsuneo's gone home, son," Tameo said, frowning a bit. "He wouldn't like to hear that. For some reason or other, he's rather fond of her."<p>

Daitaro snorted."But it's true," he said. "She's not the woman that Hisa is, or Chime is. Now if Kanshiro in the song was smart, he'd find a man to be his friend, and watch his daughters at work . . . "

"Like Shinjiro?" Susumu said. "I know he watched Erime a long time before talking to Takeshi."

"Nobody said my son was stupid," Daitaro replied, knocking back his own cup of sake. "Although it did take him a long time to get over his first wife." He sighed. "She was a sweet one."

Tameo nodded. "I remember."

Kinjiro frowned at the men gathered around the fire pit, and moved on to the next verse:

"When Kanshiro was a young man,  
>yoi, yoi, yoi,<br>He went to all the shrines,  
>A foolish silly young man,<br>praying for a wife."

"Bah," said Tameo. "Better to find a good matchmaker."

"Like your father did?" Daitaro asked.

"I have no complaints," Tameo said.

"I believe you," Daitaro said. "Me, either. Still, I was beginning to wonder if Shinjiro would ever marry again, so I won't begrudge him how he found his wife."

"I wonder who InuYasha and Kagome's matchmaker was," Susumu said. "Whoever it was has had a pretty wild sense of humor."

That made Daitaro snort. "It's always tricky when the kami get involved. Or was it that blasted jewel that Kikyou-sama was made to protect? Destiny? Me, I'd much rather hire a go-between."

"Less grief," Susumu agreed, nodding, and took another sip of his cup. "Waiting on fate can take you to odd places. It certainly did for our new cousins."

"When Kanshiro was a young man,  
>yoi, yoi, yo,<br>he listened to the elders,  
>a foolish, silly young man -<br>what do the old know about the heat of passion?"

"Hah, shows what you know," Daitaro said. "Us older men, we know plenty. You'll find out one day if you're lucky."

"If all you want to do is talk, I'll stop singing," Kinjiro said, putting down his drum. "So when do you expect InuYasha back? I have work I could be doing."

"Any time, son," Tameo replied. "But relax," he said, pouring sake into a cup. "Take a drink. There'll probably be plenty to do once he gets here."

Kinjiro, frowning, grabbed the cup and was about to take a sip when there was a knock on the door. With a sigh, Tameo got up, and went to see who was there. He slid the door open.

Emi stood there. "Kagome says InuYasha's coming. Haha-ue says wait a few minutes, though, before coming out."

"Ah good," Tameo said. "Now we'll get to see if we have fireworks after all."

Standing in the courtyard, InuYasha wasn't quite ready to let Kagome go yet, so she snuggled into his shoulder as he hugged her close.

"Interesting, huh?" he said. "Feh. What Shippou told me sounded like it was more than just interesting." He rested his cheek on the top of her head.

"I was always surrounded by people who were there to protect me," Kagome said.

"That's not what it sounded like to me," he said. "I knew something was wrong. I could just feel it. And then when Shippou showed up . . . "

She rested her hand on his chest, letting her fingertips brush the fine fabric of his jacket. "You worry too much. Yes, there was some stuff that happened. But Tameo and his family were with me, making sure I was safe. Even Kazuo stepped in once."

The hanyou loosened his grip so he could look at her. "The kami?"

Kagome nodded. "He made sure I was safe after Shippou left, and took care of the problem. If Shippou had only waited, he'd have seen it, too."

He shook his head, trying to wrap his mind around that one, and cupped her cheek. "This has got to be some story."

She nodded. "Oh, it is. I suspect people here will be talking about it for a long time. But I'm glad you're back," she said. "How did your trip go?"

"Pretty much like I expected. We got the cat. We were already on the way home," InuYasha said. "And then . . . "

She reached up and touched his cheek. "I didn't mean for him to run off and scare you like that."

InuYasha rested his hand on hers. "If you're having trouble with someone, I want to know. I need to be there. People aren't always like Tameo. I remember my mother . . . "

"You can't always be with me, InuYasha," Kagome said. "It's good to know that we're not alone, that we have friends."

He studied her face, her eyes staring back, blue-gray, determined, unafraid. "Feh." His ear twitched. "It's my job to keep you safe."

"Shippou-chan hovered around me all day. He was trying so hard to take care of me for you. But as things happened, I think he was more worried that you'd be angry with him if he didn't go get you," she said, giving him a crooked smile.

"He'd be right, too," he said. He pulled her closer. "I had no idea what I'd find when I got here - didn't know if you had gotten hurt, or if the village had turned on you, or even if you had gotten so scared you tried to get back through the well. If any of those things had happened . . . "

Kagome leaned back against them. "But none of them did. I wasn't hurt. In fact, everybody hovered over me too much. If he had waited even two minutes more, he would have known."

"So you going to tell me what did happen?" he asked.

"I think it started with Joben's son, Aki," she said.

While they were talking, Sango, still in the main house with Hisa, peeked out the window, looking at the two of them wrapped around each other.

"Well, InuYasha's found her," she said, moving toward the door. "They both seem pretty happy about it. I was a little nervous that InuYasha would start fussing at her for putting herself in harm's way."

"I seem to remember a time when he might have done that," Hisa said, "but they've both grown up since then. Let's give them a couple of minutes. I suspect they'll both appreciate it. I've kind of gotten the impression over the years that InuYasha embarrasses easily."  
>Sango turned around, smiling. "Oh, you're so right about that. Sometimes, I almost have to sit on Miroku to keep him from teasing him too much." She went back to sit with the older woman.<p>

Hisa poured tea into Sango's cup. "Your husband does love to tease," Hisa said. "So does Susumu. Maybe we need to get to get those two together and see who causes the most mischief."

Sango laughed. "Oh, that would be an interesting sight."

"Oh, it would be, I'm sure. Although I don't know if we should invite InuYasha-sama to that particular occasion." Hisa smiled at Sango.

The younger woman nodded. "That would probably be a good idea."

Hisa laughed. "I can see the scene now. Poor InuYasha-sama knocking Miroku-sama's and Susumu's heads together and storming off. Kinjiro trying to hide his smile. Tameo would be laughing."

"And poor Kagome-chan just sitting there, trying to decide if she needed to make sure if either one of them were injured or if she needed to run after InuYasha." Sango sipped her tea. "It's fun to imagine, but having seen him go off in a huff too many times, it's not so fun when it really happens."

"So true," Hisa said. "But nonetheless, you must come over more often. And bring your little ones."

"They're such a handful. I hate to be an imposition." Sango looked down at her tea cup.

"In my household? Hardly. We normally have Emi's children running around all the time, and there are plenty of people to help watch." Hisa drank her own tea. "It must be lonely up there on the hillside sometimes."

Sango didn't say anything at first. "I stay so busy . . . "

"Well, you must come by in two days, when we have a group come over and sew," Hisa said. "And I hope Kagome-chan will join us, too."

"I've been helping her and Rin-chan with their sewing. Kagome never had to do much of it growing up."

"They can come, too. And bring your children. The women will ooh and aah over them, and they'll go home quite spoiled and tired."

Sango looked up at Hisa, who was beaming at her. "All right," she said. "It sounds like fun."

Suddenly, they heard Tameo's voice calling out. Hisa stood up. "Well, I guess that means our young couple's reunion is now over. Let's go see if we can keep InuYasha calm when he hears what Haname did." Walking to the door she slid it open.

Tameo was bowing a greeting to the young couple, while Susumu grinned, Daitaro watched and Kinjiro scowled, arms folded. InuYasha was standing a bit stiff next to his wife, half-hiding her behind his back.

"Welcome, InuYasha-sama," Hisa said, bowing politely. "Come in, come in. After such a journey, you deserve to sit down. We have quite the tale for you."


	75. Chapter 75

_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 75**

Hisa beamed at the young couple, beckoning them to come inside. Kagome looked at Hisa and then at InuYasha, chewing her bottom lip, but made no move toward the house. Sango, as if sensing her friend's reluctance, stepped out from behind the older woman.

"Did everything go all right?" Sango asked the hanyou. "Is Miroku on his way back?"

"Yeah, everything went fine." InuYasha said, nodding. "We got there, took care of the youkai, and left. We were already on the road when Shippou found us. Miroku's coming back with Hiseo and Yume's old man. It's safe for them to go back home now. I'd expect Miroku and Masuo back in another hour or two."

"That's good news, cousin," Susumu said. "Seems like we all had a busy day. But you know, a long day that ends well is still a good day."

"I guess," InuYasha said.

"Ah," Hisa said. "I guess we should get the guest house ready then. And let Rika-chan know there are going to be more for dinner. It's certainly going to be too late for that man to leave tonight, especially not with two children."

"Speaking of it getting late, maybe I should go home now," Sango said. "I'm sure Chime-sama is getting tired of chasing my daughters. And I need to think about dinner as well."

"Are you sure, Sango-chan?" Hisa asked. "If Chime-chan is getting tired, Erime-chan is there to help out."

Sango nodded. "It's about time to feed my son. I really ought to be going. He gets fussy when he's hungry, as will his father if he comes home and there's no dinner."

Hisa gave her a knowing nod. "Oh, yes. We know about that here, don't we, Emi?" she said to her daughter-in-law, who had come up to stand next to her. "Do you mind getting started on the guest house?" she asked Emi, who nodded and moved off. Turning back to Sango, she added, "It was nice having you here today. Please don't forget what I told you about coming back."

"In two days?" Sango asked.

"Yes, yes," Hisa said. And looking at Kagome, "And bring our cousin and your little ones, too. After lunch. We'll have tea, sewing, and a lot of talk."

Sango smiled, and began to move off, but Kagome caught her sleeve, which made her stop.

"Kagome?" she asked.

"Maybe . . . maybe we should go now, too, Hisa-obasan," Kagome asked. She looked up at her husband, who looked at her and gave her a small nod. "If you don't mind. You've been so kind today, but . . . "

"Are you sure?" Hisa asked. "I just thought it might be a nice time for InuYasha to learn about what's been going on."

"It can wait if you need to go home," InuYasha said, looking at Kagome. He took her hand, then turned to Tameo. "The guy that grabbed her, you took care of him, right? He didn't just run off, did he? Kagome said everything was fine now."

"Oh, he's definitely taken care of," Tameo said. "There's no chance he's going to be able to try something else." He tugged on his chin, giving the young miko a good look.

Daitaro nodded. "I'd say he got what he deserved. More than most folks."

Susumu snorted. Kinjiro, frowning, elbowed him. InuYasha looked at the brothers, questioningly, and his ear flicked once, but he didn't say anything.

"Kagome-chan, go home with your husband. This has been a hard day," Tameo decided. "There are some things we need to discuss, but they'll wait until tomorrow, when the village leaders meet about Aki and Isao."

Daitaro nodded. "If our party's breaking up, I'll be heading back with them, then." He lifted up his sake flask, shook it, and turned it upside down. One small drip came out of his bottle. "I'm out of sake' and I should walk Chime home."

"I guess that settles that," Hisa said. "Susumu, go bring your children home. It's time to give Matsume her home back."

"Finally," Kinjiro said, and headed towards his house to hurry the process.

"What a day," Daitaro said, as they headed through the gates of Tameo's compound and onto the street.

"It's been . . . different," Sango said.

"Seems like I missed a lot," InuYasha said. He was walking next to Kagome. Taking advantage of the long sleeves of their clothing, he slipped his hand around hers, letting the cloth hide it, and gave hers a little squeeze, She looked up at him and gave him a tiny smile.

"Yeah," Kagome said. Her voice was thoughtful and a little sad "You did. But it's probably better this way."

"Feh," he replied, unconvinced.

Kagome took a deep breath and let it out slowly. InuYasha stopped and looked at Kagome. She was tired, but there was more, something he would need to find out more of when they were alone. He gave her hand another squeeze, and this time she returned it.

Daitaro looked at the two of them, and reached for his sake jug before remembering it was empty and dropping it back into place. "Eh, at least those brats won't be sneaking around our side of the village causing mischief anymore," he said. "I was getting tired of cleaning up after their messes."

"They came back already, after spoiling your sake' and you almost getting them?" InuYasha asked. "How'd you catch them?"

"By accident," Daitaro said. "Or maybe the kami was smiling on us. Stupid kids let one of my cows out of the pasture, and she tossed Isao-kun, and chased Joben's Aki. Stupid boy ran straight into Kinjiro while trying to get away." He grinned at the hanyou. "Although, by that time, he forgot my cow was after him. He was rather busy trying to get away from me."

InuYasha snorted. "Well, maybe that explains why I smelled so many people up the hill by Sango's house."

"There were quite a few of them," Sango said, nodding. "Whoever thought two boys doing a prank could cause so much activity?"

"Well, considering who their relatives are, it's not so surprising. Especially who Aki-kun's grandmother is." He scratched the back of his head, then grinned. "You should have seen the stink when Susumu got in trouble as a brat about the same age."

"One day," Sango said, "someone's going to have to tell us the story about that."

"We'll have to do it someday when we've got him penned down in the same room," Daitaro replied. "He turns an interesting shade of red when people bring it up."

Sango giggled, and InuYasha snorted.

As the four began their walk home, Kaede attended to the pots sitting in her fire pit - a small medicine pot, and another, larger stew pot. She lifted the lid off the stew pot. A fragrant steam rose from it, smelling of onion and fish and ginger.

"Rin, could you hand me the salt box?" the miko asked.

Rin, who was sitting in the corner, working on her sewing, looked up and nodded. Getting the salt box off a shelf, she handed it to Kaede. "What are you making? Rin thinks it smells very good."

"It does, doesn't it?" Kaede said. "It's something for Kagome-chan. I suspect she's going to be too tired to do much at home tonight."

At Kagome's name, Chiya, sitting next to her mother, looked up "You're really training her to be a miko?"

"She already is a miko," Kaede corrected. "I'm just giving her training in how to be a better one." She added some salt to the pot, and gave it back to Rin.

"I still don't understand how she can do that and live with that . . . person." Chiya shook her head.

"It's her destiny," Kaede replied. "And the kami have blessed it."

"I heard what the kami said today," the younger woman said. "I just don't understand why. " Haname groaned in her sleep. Chiya looked down at the troubled woman, and gently stroked her mother's hand. "How . . . how long will Okaasan be like this?"

"The sleeping potion I gave her will help her sleep several hours," Kaede said, recovering the pot.

"Poor Okaasan," Akina, Joben's wife, said, adjusting the coverlet over her mother-in-law. "Was what happened today all caused by that amulet you found around her neck?"

"It had some very strong magic," Kaede said. "But until your mother-in-law wakes up, we won't really know. Or if there are any side effects. Strong magic sometimes harms the people whom it touches."

"Was that yamabushi really that strong?" Chiya asked. "I thought he was just another charlatan that my brother had taken in. If I had known he was going to hurt my family like this . . . Okaasan and Isao-kun and Aki-kun. I hope you were right letting Isao-kun go home."

"He had some reiki," Kaede said. She stood up, and with a cloth, picked the pot up off the heat. "But not enough to make a charm like that one. I suspect we'll never learn exactly where he got it now. He must have known some people with real power along the way." She wrapped the cloth more securely around the handle. "Not that it matters. The amulet won't hurt anybody anymore. It's sealed away. And Isao, he'll have a headache for a time, but he's a strong boy. He'll be all right."

Picking up the stew pot, she headed for the door. "I'll be back shortly."

Kaede opened the door mat just as InuYasha and Kagome, followed by Sango and Daitaro were nearing her house. She could hear Kagome say, "Maybe I should stop by and check on Kaede."

Stepping out of the doorway, Kaede looked at her young apprentice, studying her carefully with her one good eye. Not liking what she saw there, she frowned briefly, and then smiled. "Maybe I should check on Kagome-chan." She looked at InuYasha next. "I see you found her, InuYasha."

The hanyou nodded.

"How is Haname?" Kagome asked. "And what about Isao?"

"Sleeping. I gave Isao some medicine for his headache and sent him home. There's really not much to do, actually. I found the amulet that was affecting her. With it gone and some sleep, I think she'll be better, but we won't know until she wakes up."

"But shouldn't I - " Kagome started.

The old miko shook her head. "No, child. You need to go home. There's really nothing for you to do here. I made you this," she said, lifting the stew pot. InuYasha took it from her hand.

"What is it?" InuYasha asked. "It smells good."

"Dinner. Now go home. If I need you, I'll send for you." And before Kagome could say anything else, she turned and went back into the house.

"That . . . that was a surprise," Kagome said.

"A good one," Sango said.

"My cousin is a good cook," Daitaro said, "and suddenly, I'm hungry. Let's get going so I can collect my wife and get my own dinner."

With a nod, Kagome let herself be lead away.

Not much later, Kagome and InuYasha stepped into their own house.

"I was afraid it was going to look worse," she said as she moved over to the clothing cabinet. She pulled open a drawer, and pulled out a set of her own clothing.

"Cow didn't do too much," InuYasha agreed as he put Kaede's pot next to the fire pit. "Although, I'm not sure Kinjiro's going to agree. Looks like she walked all over the garden."

Kagome turned around and gave InuYasha a little smile, then folded her arms like the headman's son liked to do. "I can hear him now. 'Stupid animal just doesn't understand how much I have to do. Dropping cow pies in my garden like that. Just get out of my way and let me work.'"

"Keh." He knelt down next to the fire pit and grinned at her. "I think you're right." Taking the fire tong, he stirred the ashes looking for hot coals.

"When do you think Miroku will get back?" she said, unfastening the obi to the robe Hisa had lent her.

"Another hour or so," he said, watching her unrobe in quick glances between breaking up a small piece of wood for kindling. "I was surprised. The villagers loaded us down with rice and cloth for doing the extermination. Wasn't expecting anything."

He bent over the coals and blew on them, then started feeding them small bits of wood.

Kagome slid the kosode off her shoulders, then shook it out. "So how is he getting it all here?" Carefully, she began to fold the garment.

"Hiseo's dad, he's pulling a hand cart. Said he wanted to do that so he could put his daughter on it for the ride back." He reached for some larger wood.

"That's handy, I guess," Kagome said. She slipped out of Hisa's under kosode and shrugged her own on.

"Yeah," InuYasha said. He set the tripod near where the small fire was burning and added some more wood.

Kagome slipped back into her own clothes, the beige kosode, and walked over to her place by the fire pit. Kneeling down, she put the stew pot near the little fire, enough to stay warm without coming to a hard boil.

InuYasha walked over to the water bucket. "Looks like I need to go get some more water," and with his back to her, picked up the dipper. He took a drink. "So, you want to tell me about your day?"

Kagome sighed deeply.

"You're sure you're all right?" InuYasha asked, then dropping the dipper, turned around.

She was sitting there, kneeling, hands limp in her lap. "Tired," she said. "It's been . . . an exhausting day."

His right ear flicking, he walked back over to her, and squatted down next to her, putting a finger under her chin. "Kagome?"

She looked up at him, her eyes glistening in the late afternoon night. Without warning, she threw herself at him, wrapping her arms around him, burying her face in his shoulder. "It was such an awful day! I'm so glad you're home."


	76. Chapter 76

_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 76**

InuYasha could smell her tears as Kagome wrapped herself around him. It was a scent he hated, but had been expecting. Not sure of what to do, he simply held her for a while, running a hand gently down her hair and back, planting small kisses on the top of her head.

"I wish . . . " he said, softly as he held her, "I should have been here for you. I don't know why, but I just knew something was going to go wrong today."

She clung to him for a moment more. "But they needed you too," she said, in a soft, tear-choked voice. "That youkai would have killed people if you hadn't gone. They all wouldn't have been able to get away like Yume did."

"Keh." He pulled her a bit closer. "But if you have gotten hurt . . . "

Kagome pulled back so he could see her face, and looked up into his somber, caring amber eyes, and swallowed, trying to think of what to say next. He cupped her face in his hands and kissed her forehead. Not liking the tear streaks down her cheeks, he very delicately wiped at them with his thumb.

"Still," she said. "So many people were here to help me. That village needed you."

He sighed, knowing it was true. Kagome took that moment to move out of his hold. "I'm sorry. I didn't want to do that," she said, wiping at both of her eyes with her sleeves. "I know how you don't like to see me cry."

"Baka," he said, wrapping her back in his arms. "Sometimes, tears are the right thing." She relaxed against him, letting her cheek rest on the fabric of his jacket, her face turned away from his view. "Even with people to back you up, things can hurt."

"I...I knew there could be bad days, and people who would say things to hurt me because I was living with you," she said. "You even warned me. I knew Haname didn't like you here, and would be unhappy about us. I knew it in my head. But . . . but," she said, her voice cracking, "I didn't know how much it was going to hurt."

She wrapped her arms around InuYasha tighter. He began to rock her slowly. "Feh," he whispered. "The hell with people like that. Don't listen to them."

"Haname . . . " Kagome said.

"What did that old hag do to you?" InuYasha said. "Shippou said she slapped you."

Kagome nodded her head. "When she heard how Aki was in trouble, she came to Kaede's and said we're to blame for her family's bad luck. I don't think she knew I was there. She called me a . . . a . . . prostitute for being with you."

She could feel InuYasha stiffen as she talked, but he didn't loosen his hold on her.

"Ugly old hag," InuYasha said. "A good thing I wasn't around."

Kagome sat up, and InuYasha let her loose, but kept hold of her left hand, stroking it gently with his thumb.

"She and Kaede went off to see where Daitaro had Aki. Tameo and Tsuneo had gone up already."

"That's why I smelled so many people up by Sango's house," he said.

"I guess," Kagome said. "I think Tameo was worried something might happen because of her. He sent Susumu to take me to Hisa. There are always a lot of people at Tameo's compound. Yume had started feeling a lot better, and she and her brother and Rin had gone there to play with Emi's children. I thought I could help keep an eye on them while I waited for everybody to come back, so I could go to Sango's." She pulled her hands away from InuYasha. "You want to eat now? I could make some rice."

The hanyou shrugged. "Only if you want to."

She sighed. "I don't really want to eat yet. I just feel like I ought to be doing something."

He slipped a finger under her chin and lifted her face up. "You're sure?"

Her eyes were reddened from crying, but her mouth was set determinedly. She nodded.

"Maybe I should go get some water, then," he said.

"Yeah," she said. "I think there's enough left to rinse the rice, but not much more."

He stood up and offered her his hand, and helped her up. Pulling her close, he gave her a quick kiss. "I'll be right back."

Grabbing a bucket, he headed out to the stream. Laying the bucket on its side, he waited for the current to fill it, his face devoid of emotion, but his right ear twitching.

Suddenly, he punched the ground, leaving a large indentation. "Dammit. I knew I shouldn't have left her here alone." He punched it again.

He heard a chuckle. "Trying to dig a pond? Interesting technique."

InuYasha swerved. "What're you doing here, Shinjiro?" he called out to the man walking down the path.

"Running errands," the man said walking up towards InuYasha. "That's all I seem to do today. Chichi-ue and Haha-ue keep thinking of things they want me to do. I knew I should have gone fishing this morning."

InuYasha snorted. "I thought when I built this place, I'd be out of the way of everybody coming and going."

"Well, don't think many people except Chichi-ue and I go this way much. I wouldn't have this time, but I was instructed to leave this with you." He handed InuYasha a small covered jar.

"Well, here I am." The hanyou stood up, and grabbed his water bucket, and then took the jar that Shinjiro offered him. "What's in the jar?"

"Pickles, I think," the younger man said. "Doesn't shake like Chichi-ue's sake. She seems to think you can't get enough pickles or something. Evidently she heard from Sayo-sama who heard from someone else about your fondness for them."

"So that's what they're saying about me. Could be worse." InuYasha tucked the jar into the crook of his elbow. "Tell Daitaro I don't need any more sake for a while. He can save it for the wedding."

Shinjiro sighed. "Weddings. You had to mention that. I just hope I don't go crazy from all the noise everybody's making about it. Five more days, and it's getting crazier the closer it gets. If Haha-ue wouldn't disown me for it, I'd go off to the mountains until it was time. Although I'm looking forward to the sixth day, I think. Sometimes, you know, I wonder if I'm doing the right thing. After Kyome died, I didn't think I'd ever let anybody get that close to me again. But Erime . . . You think it's worth it, getting married? Even with days like today?"

InuYasha gave Shinjiro a small chuckle and a crooked smile. "Yeah, it's worth it."

"Even if you're out here beating up the ground, trying to dig a pond?" Shinjiro asked.

"Wasn't because of anything she did. Even if I had to kick the butts of half the village and run off to the mountains, it'd be worth it."

Shinjiro clasped the hanyou on the arm. "Thanks. I needed that. Bridegroom jitters I guess. And don't worry. You wouldn't have to kick those butts alone."

InuYasha nodded, not sure of what to say.

"I'm sorry for all the trouble. I hear today was a pretty hard one for her." Shinjiro dropped his arm. "That Haname and her tongue."

"Yeah," the hanyou replied.

"Well, at least Chichi-ue and Tameo-obasan were there to help. We're not all like that shrew. Most of us are happy you're here. I'll see you later. Off to see what Haha-ue has for dinner." And with a bow of his head, he headed down the hill.

InuYasha watched him walk off, then headed back to the house. When he lifted the doormat, the first thing he noticed was the smell of fresh tears. Putting the bucket of water down, he leapt up on the wooden floor to find Kagome sitting down next to a bowl of wet rice, her hands covering her face.

He knelt down next to her, and gently moved her hands away from her face. "Kagome?"

"I guess . . . " she said looking up at him, her bottom lip trembling. "I guess I hadn't cried enough yet."

InuYasha put the jar down and pulled her back into his arms, kissing her gently, and tucking her head under his chin. "It's all right."

"I'm still seeing what happened at Tameo's in my head," she said. "I've never seen anybody get as angry as she got." Kagome buried her cheek in his jacket. "She called me a witch who had turned everybody against her. It was my fault there were youkai here. It was my fault her son got in trouble. It was my fault that her husband thought Aki-kun should be punished."

"Damn bitch." He pulled her close enough to rest his cheek on her head.

"She slapped me, and I just stood there and couldn't believe it. I was standing there with Hisa-obasan and Emi-chan, and she called me all these names and slapped me." Kagome's fingers dug into InuYasha's jacket, holding a handful of fabric in each hand, and her voice grew very small. "Nobody's ever slapped me before."

"Nobody ever will again, if I can help it," InuYasha said, almost growling. "And Kaede's taking care of the hag? After all that?"

Kagome could feel the anger rising in his youki, although he was trying hard not to let it bleed into how he was holding her.

"The yamabushi . . . he had given her some sort of amulet that unhinged her. It wasn't all her fault. The magic was making her crazy. But it was so awful. They had to get me away from her. She was going to try to do more than slap me."

InuYasha tightened his hold on Kagome, the sleeves of his firerat covering her body as if he could protect her by wrapping himself around her. "I'm sorry, Koibito, I'm sorry," he said."I never wanted you to go through something like this."

"I know," she said.

He swallowed, then cupped her face in his hand. "Promise me," he said.

"Promise what?"

He kissed the top of her head. "If . . . if it's too hard for you . . . if you need me to let go . . . I just want you to be happy."

Kagome looked up and studied his eyes, amber, somber, glistening. "Let go?"

"You deserve better than days like today," he said. "If it wasn't for me . . . "

Her eyes went from sad to angry. "If you want me to be happy, don't talk that way."

She pulled out of his hold, and he let her go. "But - "

"Don't push me away to keep me safe." Her voice got louder, and her face began to redden. "That's what they want when they try to hurt me. That's what Morio wanted to do. He wanted to rescue me from you. You promised me you would never do that again." Clenching her hands into fists, she rested them on his chest. "Don't try to save me from you. I can't be happy without you. Don't even think about sending me away because of - "

Her rant was interrupted as he circled her wrists with his hands, and covered her mouth with his.

Very quickly his hands dropped her wrists as he deepened the kiss, cupping the back of her head with one, and snugging her body as close as he could with the other. At first, her eyes looked at his, surprised, but very quickly, she closed them and melted into his touch, opening her mouth to his tongue and taste.

After a moment, he pulled back, resting his forehead against hers. "I promised, didn't I? I will never push you away again. I don't think I could. But . . . but if you needed to . . . I wouldn't want to keep you where you are unhappy."

"Baka," she said, sighing. "I can only be happy where you are." She gave him a light, quick kiss. "I just wish I could make people not act like that."

He pulled her into his lap. "Keh," he said. "Yeah, you're not the only one."

She rested there for a moment, playing with a lock of his hair. "Does it get better and not hurt so much when people act like that?" she asked, then blushed, dropping her eyes, realizing what a stupid question that was.

"You get . . . used to it. Like a callous, maybe." He lifted up one of his hands, and looked at the callouses he had from using his sword. "You can still feel it. It just doesn't blister like tender places do." He sighed. "I don't know if my mother ever got that callous. But she had nobody to stand with her after my old man died. You . . . you have me, and Miroku and Sango, and it sounds like a whole lot of the village on your side. Maybe . . . maybe you won't need to get that callous." He kissed her gently. "You're too good to have to need that type of thing."

She leaned against his shoulder, content for the moment just to be held, until she noticed the jar next to InuYasha. "What's that?"

"Chime sent it. Pickles, I think." He kissed the top of her head, one more time. "Funny. Some places would gossip about the big bad hanyou doing evil things in their village, like Haname tries to. But here, it looks like they gossip about me being a fiend for pickles."

"Must mean you're in the right village," Kagome said, snuggling up against him for a moment more. "But it's not gossip, it's true."

"Feh," he said.

She started to move out of his embrace, but he was reluctant to let her go.

"I'll prove it if you let me get up and finish putting the rice on," she said pulling on his arm. "Then we'll see how many pickle slices you try to steal."

Pleased that the crisis about her day seemed to be passing for the moment, he let her go.


	77. Chapter 77

_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 77**

As it neared sunset, a small group pulled up the road to InuYasha's house - a monk, a man pulling a handcart, and a small kitsune and a smaller cat sitting on the load he was pulling.

"Ah," Miroku said, seeing smoke escape from the roof vent as they neared. "I believe they're home. I was afraid they'd be at the headman's or Kaede-sama's"

Chika, the small cat who had once been a bakeneko, looked up from where she was curled up next to Shippou and mewed questioningly.

Masuo, the father of the two children staying in Kaede's village stopped tugging on the handcart for a moment, and looked at the little house in its clearing and scratched his head. "InuYasha-sama lives there?" Masuo asked. "Somehow, I was thinking he would be living in something less . . . ordinary. But it looks just like the houses at my village."

The cat stretched and climbed to the top of the stack, looking down the road. Evidently not much impressed, she curled back up and closed her eyes.

The two men began moving again. "He does have relatives that no doubt live in much finer houses," Miroku said, "although I suspect this has been the best house he's lived in for a long time."

"Not very big," Masuo said, shrugging. "Although I'm not sure what I was expecting, a castle or a cave, or a hollowed out tree. I guess I was thinking it would be something you don't see every day, just like him."

"Oh, InuYasha might look different than you or I, but in many ways, he's still like most men," Miroku said.

"You know him better than me," Masuo said. "Seems like a good person."

Shippou hopped off the handcart and jumped onto Miroku's shoulder.

"Grumpier, though," the kit asserted.

"Only when you aggravate him," Miroku said, moving him to his other shoulder. "And that is one of your talents."

Shippou scowled. "He deserves it sometimes. Look what he does to me!"

This made the farmer laugh. "I'm amazed a fox and a dog can get along at all, even if they're both youkai. I've always heard that foxes and dogs were mortal enemies."

"There have been days when you might have thought that," Miroku said. "But InuYasha saved Shippou's life and took him in right after his father died."

"Cause Kagome wanted him to," Shippou said. "Don't think he wanted to."

"She does bring out his better side," Miroku said, agreeing.

Shippou just made a noise and crossed his arms.

The group pulled close to the little house. "Doesn't look like whatever Aki-kun did much that I can see," Miroku said. "You're sure Daitaro-sama's cow did a lot of damage?"

"That's what I heard," Shippou said, then tugged on Miroku's hair. "I'd watch my step if I were you. Look down."

Miroku stopped in mid-stride, almost about to step down on a cow patty. "Well, I guess that's proof the cow was here, anyway."

Masuo, deftly maneuvering the handcart away from that particular obstacle laughed. "Where there are cows, there are cow patties, Houshi-sama. I'd keep a watch out on where you go from here on out."

They pulled in front of the little house. Even before they said anything, the door mat lifted, and InuYasha stepped out of the house.

"I was wondering when you were going to show up," the hanyou said. "Took you long enough. We've already had dinner."

"Not all of us can travel as fast as you, my friend, especially when we need to use the roads," Miroku said. "How is Kagome-sama?"

As if on cue, Kagome stepped out on the verandah, looking well and unharmed, but tired. "She is doing fine," she said, smiling at the men.

"Kagome!" Shippou cried, and jumped off the monk's shoulders and made a beeline for the young miko. "I was really worried about you!"

He leaped into her arms, and hugged her around the neck. "I tried to make enough noise when I jumped that guy that someone would come and help, and when you got loose and I saw them coming, I hurried to get to InuYasha. But you look like everything's all right. I'm really glad. Tameo and Susumu took care of you?"

Masuo's eyes widened at the sight of Kagome. "He's married to an ordinary woman?" He spoke softly, hoping the hanyou wouldn't hear him. InuYasha's ear, though, flicked at the sound, and he frowned a bit, but didn't say anything, and instead looked at his wife and the kit.

"Oh, Kagome-sama is far from ordinary," Miroku replied.

"I can believe that - I never knew of anybody else who was protected by a kitsune like that," Masuo said. "Not to mention InuYasha-sama. And if your village elders are content - I've never heard anything but good about your village headman. Far be it from me to cast judgment after all he and you have done for us. She seems happy enough."

He dropped the pull bar and stepped away from the handcart. "I'd heard about things like this from the storytellers, but hadn't seen it before. No doubt they have an interesting story to tell."

InuYasha's ear flicked a bit more, then relaxed. He let out a breath, and ruffed the kitsune's head. The monk gave him a knowing glance.

"Oh yes, quite interesting," Miroku said, "although I suspect they'd rather talk about other things right now." He stepped up to Kagome. "It's good to see you looking so well, Kagome-sama. Shippou-kun here had us rather uncertain what we'd find when we got here."

"I'm not surprised," Kagome pulled Shippou off of her neck and gave the kitsune kit a hard look. "And if he had waited a few minutes more before running off to frighten you all, he would have known that everything was all right."

"Uh," the kitsune said. "But InuYasha said -"

Kagome ignored him for the moment, but didn't let him down. "And you must be Masuo-sama, Yume-chan and Hiseo's father. InuYasha told me you were traveling with him." Kagome bowed politely.

The farmer bowed in return. "Yes, yes. I hope my children haven't been too much of a burden on your village. I was at my wit's end, and I remember how good Kaede-sama was at healing youkai wounds, so . . . "

"Kaede-obaasan is very good with that," Kagome said. "And your children have done nothing to cause you distress. Hiseo-kun is such a good brother to his sister. And Yume-chan was up and playing today. You did the right thing getting her away from that bakeneko."

The man smiled, obviously relieved at the news about his children. "Ah, that makes this day even better."

Kagome smiled back. "I'm glad everything has worked out well."

"And for you, Kagome-sama?" Miroku asked. "I hear you had an interesting afternoon."

"You could say that," Kagome replied. She looked down at the ground. "Not one I want to go through again in the near future."

"Are things settled with Haname? And the yamabushi?" the monk asked.

"Yeah, what happened to him?" Shippou asked. "I bit him pretty hard."

Kagome sighed, thinking about what to say, but before she could answer, Chika, obviously tired of being left out, jumped off the handcart, ran up to Kagome, and began rubbing her ankles.

Surprised, Kagome looked down on the little calico cat. "Where did you come from?" she asked.

InuYasha bent over and picked up the small animal. "This is what was left of the bakeneko after I cut off her tail. No monster, just a little cat."

"That was a bakeneko?" Kagome asked, rather surprised. "But she doesn't feel like a youkai at all."

"No tail, no youki," Miroku said.

"I told you that's how you take care of them!" Shippou, still being held by Kagome, crossed his arms and gave InuYasha a smug look. "You didn't want to believe me. But my ojisan was right."

The hanyou snorted. "Yeah, runt, I know," InuYasha said, handing the cat to Miroku, who began petting it. "Maybe you do know a thing or two. And, even if someone says otherwise," he continued, giving Kagome a fond look, "you did the right thing coming to get me."

The cat, as if in agreement, mewed, but Shippou looked surprised. Kagome, on the other hand, humphed.

"You're sure you're all right?" the kitsune asked. "That bakeneko didn't do anything to you, did it?"

"Feh," InuYasha said, walking over to the cart. "Don't believe me?" He lifted the tarp, and pulled out a long, thin, cloth-covered bundle. "Then maybe you don't want this?"

Shippou jumped out of the miko's arms. "Is that . . . the bakeneko's tail?"

"What do you think?" InuYasha said, handing it to him. "Told you I'd try to get it."

"I...I take back all those mean things I said about you," Shippou said. "I figure you'd just kaze-no-kizu the cat, and I wouldn't have anything."

"Bah. Go tell your uncle. Pretty sure it was the same neko." InuYasha said, walking back towards Kagome. "You can see Chika has the same markings, and one of her paws isn't quite right."

"Oh wow," he said, stroking the length of the bundle. " I wonder what Ojisan's going to say? And that stupid cousin of mine?"

Kagome chuckled. "Why don't you go tell him, if it's not too late for you to get there?"

"Good idea, Kagome," Shippou said, looking up at her, smiling. "You can tell me what happened to that guy later." And putting a leaf on his head, he turned himself into a pink balloon and flew off.

"I'll never get used to seeing people do that," Masuo said.

"If you lived here, you would," InuYasha said. "And you haven't met Miroku's friend Hachi yet . . . he's a tanuki. He's just as bad about shapeshifting."

"Alas, Hachi's too busy keeping an eye on Mushin any more," Miroku said, rather regretfully. "I wonder how often we'll see him myself."

Masuo just shook his head. "Too much for a poor farmer like me."

Kagome reached out and stroked the small cat's head. "So what are you going to do with the cat?"

"Chika?" Miroku said. "I thought I'd see if Sango would like to keep her. She's missed Kirara a lot ever since she sent her off to fight with Kohaku. She knows a lot about youkai cats. I know Chika's not a youkai anymore, but . . . and anyway, I see her looking at other people's cats sometimes, and I know she misses her."

Kagome ran her fingers down the back of the cat. "That sounds like a nice idea. I wonder how the girls will react to her?"

"We'll have to see," Miroku said. "So, you never did get to say how things worked out."

Kagome sighed. "Haname ended up at Kaede's. Kazuo took care of Morio. Sango knows the whole story. I'd rather not talk about it much tonight. I'm really tired."

"Kazuo?" InuYasha asked. "The kami that scared the heck out of us the day we went to Tameo's?"

Kagome nodded, but a shadow seemed to cross her face as she talked, and she dropped her eyes. "He wasn't very happy with what that man was trying to do in front of his own shrine."

"How - " InuYasha asked, then noticed that Kagome's eyes were starting to moisten, and her bottom lip trembled a little. "Never mind. You can tell me later. Why don't you just go inside. I'll be there in a minute."

Kagome nodded, and bowing a little, hurried back in the house.

"Did I do something wrong?" Miroku said, after the doormat rattled shut.

InuYasha looked at the door for a moment, his right ear twitching. He turned. "She really had a rough day," InuYasha said, scowling at Miroku. "Didn't you see how tired she was? I don't know half of what went on yet, and I'm not going to push her. Go talk to your wife or Tameo if you have to know everything right away. Me, I'll wait until tomorrow, or when she's ready to talk. Then I'll figure out what to do next."

"I didn't mean . . . " Miroku said.

The hanyou ignored him and turned to Masuo "Your kids are at the headman's house. I suspect they have a place for you to stay tonight. Tameo's good like that."

The farmer nodded, and InuYasha went inside.

Miroku looked at Masuo. "Newlywed and nervous. And, as my fine kitsune friend said, he gets rather grumpy at times."

"Eh, I would be, too," Masuo said, and talked back to the handcart and lifted up the pull bar. "Let's go. I'm anxious to see my kids."

Miroku nodded, and they began heading for Miroku's house.

"It's a shame my wife didn't come with us," Masuo said as they neared the monk's house.

Miroku looked at him curiously. "Why?"

"Your life here is like something the storytellers spin. Kitsune and kami," Masuo said with amazement. "This might be your ordinary life, but it's way over my head. Outside of the one time that spider got me, I've seen very little stuff like this. My wife, though - she's the best storyteller in the village. She would have loved to know all the details about what's been going on here."

"You mean, we didn't give her enough with how we took care of the bakeneko today?" Miroku asked, leaning on his staff while he looked at the farmer.

Masuo grinned at him. "Oh, I'm sure I'll hear lots about InuYasha-sama and the Bakeneko. And it'll get wilder and more interesting each time around. Probably until I'm sick of it. It would have been nice to have more variety."

And laughing, Miroku said, "Well, let's hurry to my place. I'm sure Sango has all the latest. Maybe you'll learn enough to give your wife another story to spin."


	78. Chapter 78

_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 78**

The door mat rattled behind him as InuYasha entered his house. He could hear the handcart begin to move off and he took a deep breath. He glanced at Kagome, quickly. Her scent told him she wasn't crying, but it was filled with sadness and anxiety. Even if he couldn't smell it, he would have known it just by how she was sitting.

"I sent them away," he said. "Sometimes Miroku just doesn't know when to stop."

He grabbed a handful of wood from the firewood cradle and stepped onto the wooden floor. Kagome had rolled out the futon, but was just sitting on it, her knees drawn up close to her body and her head resting on them. It looked like she had started to get undressed. Her outer kosode was still on her, but she had taken off her obi, and the robe hung loosely around her, revealing the white fabric of her under kosode. The beige of the kosode pooled around her the way she was curled up, almost making her look like a little lost child draped in her mother's dress. Hearing InuYasha, she nodded, but did not look up as he dropped the wood next to the fire pit.

She rocked back and forth a little bit as he tended to the fire. "I'm sorry," she said, her voice barely above a whisper.

"Feh," he said, looking up at her. Tossing a last piece of wood on the fire pit, he walked across the room. "What have you got to be sorry about? Stupid Bouzu should have seen you weren't wanting to talk. If I could see it, I don't know why he couldn't. "

She uncurled a tiny bit and reached out and touched his hand. "Maybe you know me better."

InuYasha used that as a signal to wrap his other arm around her. She unfolded her legs and let him pull her against his shoulder. He rested his cheek on her head. "Don't worry about what he thinks. Nosy guy's always poking in people's business. How many times has he done that to us before?"

Kagome rubbed her cheek against the fabric of his jacket."More often to you than to me."

"Keh," he replied."He's smart, but sometimes he doesn't have any sense. Like now." He moved the hand that Kagome had rested hers on, and covered her much smaller one with his. "It's not like he had to ask you. You were with Sango. I'm sure she knows enough to scratch his nosy itch. Hells, probably the whole village's buzzing about whatever happened. Let him go ask somebody else."

She stiffened when he mentioned the village talking. "I...I didn't think of that. Everybody will be talking. Susumu told me they were already talking about me. I got the impression it wasn't all good. What are they going to think now?" She shifted to look at him. Grabbing a handful of his jacket, she looked up at him. "I don't want people to think the wrong things about us."

InuYasha didn't like the troubled look in her eyes. Gently, he brushed a stray bit of bang off of her forehead. "Don't worry about people talking. You can't stop it. People always talk," InuYasha said. He wrapped both arms around her and pulled her closer. The fabric of his sleeves covered her like a protective jacket. "They talk about Miroku and Sango, too, and Kaede, and Tameo and . . . probably just about everybody in the village." He kissed her forehead. "I hear a lot of it." He flicked an ear. "Everybody forgets how good my hearing is."

Kagome reached up and tweaked his ear. "I bet they do. But still . . . "

InuYasha shrugged. "As long as Tameo isn't unhappy, nothing they're going to say is going to make a difference. And I know he's not unhappy with you. I saw him. I took in his scent."

"He was all right then, but you weren't there when everything happened. You didn't see . . . " Kagome said. Her voice was tense, and she turned her head, resting her cheek on his chest. "There were a lot of people there. Everybody must know . . . "

InuYasha let go of his wife, then scooted in front of Kagome and took both of her hands. "I didn't see what? How the kami stepped up and made you safe? That can't be a bad thing, even if I still don't know every bit of what happened."

She stared at his hands and refused to meet his eyes. "Do I have to talk about it now?"

He shook his head. "No. That's why I sent Miroku away." Bringing her hands to his chest, he placed them over his heart. "You're safe from harm, and nobody's going to sneak up on us and try to hurt you now. They told me that Morio can't hurt you anymore, and I believe Tameo and his group. He wouldn't lie to me. That's what matters. I don't care how you got safe, just that you are. I'll deal with those fools who messed with you later. First, I need to know that you are all right. And you're not yet. I can tell."

She looked up, and studied his eyes. "I..."

He cupped her face in his hands and gave her a tender but brief kiss. "You don't think I'm going to leave you here like this and go jump on that bitch of a woman at Kaede's, or rush over and thump Tsuneo and his worthless son, do you?"

Her eyes grew wide, and a pained, almost shocked look passed over her face, and then suddenly she burst out in tears. InuYasha, sighing, lifted Kagome into his lap.

"Damn it, woman. When have I ever left you when you needed me to take care of you, just to save face?" His words were rough but the tone was soft, and he kept her close, running his hand down her head and back. "Maybe if I needed to kill someone trying to kill us, but only if I knew someone was there who could keep you safe while I fought." He kissed the top of her head. "If I just wanted to save face, Kouga would have been dead a long time ago. But last I heard, that stupid wolf is off making pups, trying to rebuild his tribe single-handedly. I bet his family's going to be bigger than the one Miroku wants."

Kagome ignored his attempt at a joke, and sobbed. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry," she said, over and over. "I didn't know what to think."

InuYasha just held her, running his hands over her hair, planting little kisses on the top of her head. "I know. It's all right."

Slowly Kagome calmed. After she got herself under control, she pulled away and wiped her tears again with her sleeve. "I hope this isn't becoming a habit."

"Me too," he said, and pulled her back to lean against his chest. "I hate when you cry. But today . . . "

"I didn't know what to expect," Kagome said, nodding. "I was scared. Haname scared me. Morio scared me. Kazuo . . . And I was scared of what would happen when you found out, scared of what's going to happen tomorrow. Scared of how people are going to act."

InuYasha lifted her chin so she could see him again. "We'll deal with tomorrow when it's tomorrow. "

Bending forward he gave her a gentle kiss, not long, but with the promise of all his feeling.

"You're . . . you're not angry?" Kagome asked as he pulled away, letting her fingers cup the side of his face. "I thought you'd be furious."

"I am. Angry doesn't cover it," InuYasha said, cupping his hand over hers. "But barging around's not going to fix anything."

Kagome looked at him wide-eyed and surprised. "I'm not sure I'd ever here you say that," she said. "I remember some new moons . . . "

"Feh," he said, his ear flicking. "It's not the new moon. Maybe that's a good thing. I'm not sure how I'd behave if it was." He gave her a wry, almost embarrassed grin. "I get kind of stupid sometimes then. But we're not out in the forest fighting a guy like Naraku who's trying to kill us, either. We're at home."

She nodded. "This is home, isn't it?" she said.

"Yeah," he replied. "Somehow or other, this is home. Still hard for me to believe it at times. I lived so long with no real place of my own, and part of me is still scared they're going to wake up one day and realize a monster lives here. But yeah."

He gave her another kiss, a bit longer than the first, but then pulled back. "Remember the day when Kaede asked if you wanted to be her apprentice?"

Kagome nodded. "That was another strange day."

InuYasha snorted. "We need to stop having strange days. Anyway, you promised me that if they wanted to separate us, that you'd go with me anywhere, even if we had to live in a tree."

She took his hand. "And I still mean it."

He gave her hand a squeeze. "Well, you need to know that long as they don't try to separate us, there's no way I'm going to do anything to make this place not our home. And if that means, even as mad as I am, waiting to talk to Tameo about what to do about that hag and her family or anybody else who gives us problems, and doing it his way, I'm going to do it."

"InuYasha," Kagome said.

"I like having a home," he said, lifting her chin up with a finger. "I like having crazy old men like Daitaro showing up at odd moments and actually treating me like I'm a real person. I like having the village women gossip about how much I like pickles instead of how scary I am."

This made Kagome smile. "Especially when they want you to try their pickles for them."

He chuckled. "Most of all," he said, lowering his face close enough to hers that she could feel his breath, "I like having you to come home to. " His lips brushed against hers gently. "You're what makes it all work."

He cupped the back of her head, and let his lips taste hers again, and her arms went around his neck as the kiss deepened and they tasted each other, something passing between them that washed away the stresses of the day.

They broke the kiss, and Kagome looked up at InuYasha, her eyes calm and sultry, and began slipping out of her kosode.

"I think," she said, "It's time for bed."

"Or," InuYasha said, giving her a look just as hungry, "you could tell me what really happened."

Her kosode off, she moved towards him and tugged on the bow of his obi. "Later," she said.

Taking a deep breath of her scent, warm and wanting and free of unhappiness, he smiled. "Later will do.


	79. Chapter 79

_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 79**

InuYasha folded his jacket and hakama and laid them on the chest near the bed, still wearing the white linen of his under kosode. He turned, as he reached for the belt to his shirt and watched Kagome, kneeling on the futon, her back to him, as she began to slip out of her own white kosode, sliding it slowly off her shoulders.

Her scent was already giving him come-hithers, and it was made even clearer by how slowly and teasingly she let her robe down. As one shoulder peeked out from the white cloth, he looked at her with a knowing smile.

His fingers fumbled with the knot on his belt as he watched. "Doing that on purpose?"

"Maybe," she replied, turning her head a little to smile at him.

Dropping the white obi on the floor, InuYasha moved closer and knelt next to her, easing the cloth of her robe past her elbows, planting a small kiss on her left shoulder.

"Feels good," she said as she tilted her head to the side to give him better access. Her hair fell to the side as she moved, revealing a dark mark on the top of her shoulder. InuYasha dropped the fabric of her kosode to crumple around her feet and bottom as she slipped her arms out of the sleeves, and then brushed the hair further away from her shoulder area so he could get a better look.

"What's this?" he asked, kissing the mark gently. "You got bruised. It's pretty dark, too. Kind of looks like a couple of finger marks."

Kagome tried to turn her head to see it, but it was too far behind her. "A bruise?"

He put his fingertips over the mark, quite delicately. "I thought I might have done it by accident," he said, "but it's the wrong size to be something I did."

"It . . . maybe . . . " Kagome looked up at him, saw the questioning in his eyes, something that demanded an answer, and sighed, knowing she couldn't just shrug it off. "I guess it happened today."

"That bastard hurt you," InuYasha said. His brows knit together, almost a scowl, but his eyes were more concerned than angry. "I thought you said he didn't."

Kagome shook her head. "I didn't know he did," she said. "Sango looked, too, to make sure, and she didn't see anything." She leaned back against him. Instead of the warm welcoming touch she expected, she felt him holding himself stiffly.

As if realizing what he was doing, InuYasha's arms wrapped around her. She could feel the tension in his muscles, as if he were trying to protect her from something.

She nuzzled his chin. "You don't have to be on guard," she said, and rested a hand lightly on the arms wrapped around her waist. "There's nobody here who can threaten us."

"I know," he said, sighing, and loosened his grip. "It's just . . . " Bending forward, he planted little kisses on the top of her shoulder. But that led him to look at the bruise again, and his ear flicked as his eyes took it in. "Where else did he hurt you?"

She turned in his arms, and tossed her kosode off of the bed. "I didn't think I was hurt at all. I'm a little sore from struggling to break loose maybe, but really, he didn't try to hurt me. He just tried to keep me from running away or calling out."

"Let me look," the hanyou said. His eyes were somber now, the desire that had been there evaporated. He lifted her arm, and saw another bruise on the inside of her left elbow.

"You don't need to do that, InuYasha," Kagome said, pulling her arm free. She reached up and cupped his cheek. "Who knows where I got each bump or bruise? It's been a hard day, but It's over, I'm safe, and I'm here with you." Lifting one of his hands, she brought it to her breast.

He held it, feeling its weight in his hand and absentmindedly, brushed his thumb across her nipple, causing her to breathe in at the sensation. He looked down at it for a moment. "I know." Letting go, he leaned his head against her forehead. "I..." he said, groping for words to say, but they escaped him. Instead, he cupped her face in his hand, kissing her gently, then took a deep breath. "It's . . . it's . . . "

Giving up on words, he laid down on his back, his hands behind his head, still wearing his unfastened undershirt. The fabric fell open, and Kagome stretched out beside him, slipping her hand under the white cloth to rest her fingers lightly on his chest.

She nestled her head on his arm. "It's what?"

InuYasha reached out and rolled her onto her back, and leaning over her slightly, gave her another kiss, gentle, but promising no more than his care, then rested his head on her shoulder. "It's . . . it's . . . When I was racing home, I imagined all these awful things." His ear twitched, tickling her face, and she reached up a hand to gently scratch its base. "And then when I got to Tameo's house and there you were . . . "

"Yeah?" she asked, her hand leaving his ear. She shifted to her side, where she cradled his head against her chest, resting her cheek on his head.

"You looked happy to see me. You smelled of you and Sango and Tameo's women, and I couldn't make out any sign of anything bad." He moved, again, propping himself up on one elbow. "I can't even say how relieved I was. Then we got home and you were so upset about Haname. I didn't even think about the rest of what went on. I guess it wasn't real to me about that bastard yamabushi until I saw that bruise." InuYasha took her hand in his free one, and brought it to his lips. "Shit like this shouldn't happen to you. I wish . . . "

"You can't be with me every second of the day, InuYasha," Kagome said.

"Feh," he said, his ear flicked again."I know. Doesn't mean I have to like it. Are you hurt any place else?"

"I don't know," she said. "I don't really hurt anywhere. Even those bruises you found doesn't really hurt. They'll fade away in a few days." She freed her hand and then let it drop to the futon, and rolled onto her back. "You can look if it'll make you feel better."

She lay there, naked, waiting for his inspection, smiling, her black hair cascading over the pillow. He sat up, his eyes gazed over her form, the way her breasts lay on her chest, the dark patch of curls covering her womanhood. It made him hungry.

"Looking at you like this always makes me feel better," he said. "The hell with it. It's too cool tonight for you to be laying there like that." He brushed the back of his knuckles gently against her cheek, and then pulled off his shirt, tossing it towards the clothes chest before pulling the covers over both of them.

Laying down next to her, InuYasha sighed. "But I don't know what else will make me feel better." He reached over and pulled her close, wrapping an arm around her back. "I need to know that you're really all right." He gave her a soft, tender kiss. She wrapped her arms around his neck, to prolong it, but he pulled away. "It's not that I feel bad for me. It's that someone tried to do something to you."

Kagome looked up at him, his amber eyes filled with tender concern, and she returned his kiss, but resisted trying to prolong it. "But people have tried to do things to me before, when we were chasing Naraku, and once you knew I was all right, you didn't key up this way then."

"Feh," he said, running his fingers through her hair. "That's what you think. Besides, you weren't my wife then. You complained enough about me trying to control what you did. I ate the dirt to prove it."

She gave him a sheepish look. "Sorry."

"Probably deserved it, at least some of the time." He gave her a small smile. "And besides, something like that never happened here before, with one of the village families, where I have to be careful not to screw everything up. Back then, I could just use Tessaiga, and take you away, and know it was all going to be better."

This made Kagome laugh a little. "And then we'd be on the run to find the next bad guy and do it all over again." She leaned her head against his shoulder. "But it is going to be better." Her hand slid under the covers, across the strong plane of his back, and rested on the curve of his bottom. "We have each other, and people who will stand up for us, and you don't have to use your sword to make a safe place for us. No fighting necessary."

He let out a loud breath. "At least when I fight, I know it's over."

"It's over," Kagome said. "You're home, I'm home, and nobody's going to come chase us away. She pulled him closer to her, pressing the length of her body against his. "We're a fine couple tonight," she said. "Either I'm crying my eyes out or you're getting upset." Kissing his chin, she asked, "What's going to happen if we do it at the same time?"

He kissed the tip of her nose and smiled a little sad smile."Make a mess?" he asked, "I'm pretty good at doing that, making messes. Look what I've done this evening. How did I move from you trying to seduce me to this?"

"Talent?" she said. "But don't talk like that. This afternoon would have been awful if you hadn't come home early. I needed you, even though I was nervous and a little scared how you would react, and there you were."

"Still made a mess." His hand left her hair and slid down her side to her hip, then back up to rest lightly on her waist. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be sorry. You have other talents, you know," Kagome said. Her voice was soft and warm, a touch suggestive. "That's not your only one."

He watched the fire rekindle in her eyes and a sly smile grace her face. "What are you thinking about, woman?"

"Oh, maybe helping you remember one or two of them." She leaned closer, and let her lips brush against the side of his neck, moving up to his jaw line. He closed his eyes at the sensation. "We could put one of those talents to work and start what we were doing all over again."

Her fingers began tracing shapes, wandering across the skin of his back. He opened his eyes, and found hers observing him, warm, hungry, watching to see how he would react. Her scent began to tease him, and he felt himself reacting to the warmth of her skin against his and each feather touch of her fingers. Suddenly he felt tired of feeling guilty.

"Begin again?" he asked. She nodded, and his mouth found hers. This time the kiss was not nearly as gentle or as chaste, or apologetic at all, drinking in her taste and scenting her want.

Her arms wrapped around his neck. He pulled back just a little. "So this is one of my talents?"

Kagome nodded.

InuYasha smirked, just a little, then kissed her deeply once more. He rolled her under him then broke the kiss "Do we need to get up," he said, feathering his lips once more across hers, then letting his mouth brush against her chin, and edge down the front of her throat. He dragged his tongue across the soft skin until he found the dimple at its base. "And get dressed again?" He found her earlobe, and nibbled, and she moaned. "I mean," he said, blowing into the shell-like ear, "if we need to start all over from the beginning?"

"I don't think so," she replied, sliding her hand into his silver hair. "This will do."

He kissed his way down the length of her body, letting his mouth taste and explore, encouraged by her moans and breathing. As his tongue found her hot and eager center, she cried out.

He looked up and smirked at her. "Liked that, did you?"

She nodded. "I told you that you had other talents." It was the last coherent thing she said for several minutes.


	80. Chapter 80

_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 80**

Miroku plopped down at his place by the fire pit. "It's been too long a day."

Sango nodded. "I'll agree with that," she said, stirring the soup pot. "The girls wanted to stay up until you got home, but they fell asleep about half an hour ago." She reached for a bowl.

"I'm sorry I missed them. Masuo, the man from Kagemura who came to pick up his kids helped me store what they sent us home with in the storehouse, and then I walked him to Tameo-sama's."

"Are you ready to eat?" Sango asked.

"Almost," he said. He bent away from her, giving her his back while reaching into his robes.

There was a soft mewing, and Sango's head shot up as she froze, ladle suspended above the pot.

"What have you got there?" she asked, trying to peek over her husband's shoulder. There was another mew, and suddenly a curious calico face peered over the monk's shoulder.

"This?" Miroku asked. "Oh, just a pretty little girl who needs a home. She heard rumors there was a kindhearted person who might know a thing or two about cats who lived here."

Sango put down the ladle, and the cat leaped off of Miroku's shoulder and walked up to Sango. She looked up at her with calm, curious green eyes, blinked them once, and began rubbing her head against Sango's knee.

Sango picked her up lifting her high enough to examine. The cat, very patiently, allowed it, and then snuggled up against her after her curiosity was satisfied. Nestling her in the crook of her arm, she stroked the cat, who settled down and began to purr. "A bobtailed cat?"

Miroku nodded. "Her name is Chika."

"How did you end up with her?" Sango asked.

"It's kind of a long story," Miroku said. "Can I have my supper?"

Chika cracked an eye and looked up at her as well. "Mew?"

"A cat," Sango said, scratching Chika behind the ears. "I've missed having a cat around the house ever since I sent Kirara off with Kohaku. I never had just a normal cat before."

Miroku coughed into his hand.

"She's not a normal cat?" Sango put Chika down and picked her ladle back up. "Don't tell me . . . " She gave the cat a probing look and then looked back up at her husband.

"InuYasha bobbed her tail, and Chika was what was left." Miroku picked the cat back up and began stroking the cat's head.

"Are...are you sure she's safe?" Sango asked, looking at her husband, unsure of just how to react. "I know the legend is all the youki of some bakeneko is in their tails, and we've run across that before at the slayer's village, but . . . "

"Do you think I'd want to put my family, our children in any danger?" Miroku asked. "She doesn't have any youki left than I can sense."

Sango chewed on her bottom lip for a moment. "She is a cute thing."

"I thought that since you knew a lot about youkai cats, you might know how to take care of a formerly youkai cat better than most people." Miroku looked up at her, hopeful.

"How do you think she'll behave around the twins?" Sango asked. She began dishing rice up for her husband.

"I guess we'll have to see," Miroku said. "I'm sure she's smart enough to find a place of her own if they're too much for her."

"She seems to have taken a fancy to you," Sango said, putting his rice bowl on his tray. She gave her husband a smile. "Such a sweet young thing. Should I be jealous?"

Miroku encircled his wife's wrist. "Nobody could ever mean more than you to me, Sango my dearest. You know that, not even such a pretty thing as Chika is."

Sango laughed, and pulled her arm free. "Maybe it was a good thing I put fish in the soup," she said. "But I would have added more if I knew I was going to be feeding two." She picked another bowl off her stack, and with her cooking chopsticks fished out some tidbits to put in.

"Save me some," Miroku said.

"Beauty has its price," Sango replied, "but I think there will be enough for the both of you."

"Good, good," he said, as Sango put down a small bowl of food for the cat, who walking up to it, sniffed it, and began to eat.

As Sango handed Miroku his soup, he smiled. "Now, I'm dying to know. What really happened today. Did Haname actually slap Kagome?"

Down the road from where Sango was feeding her husband, Kagome lay pillowed on InuYasha's shoulder as he idly ran fingers through her midnight hair, and her fingers just as idly played along the skin along his chest.

They both looked quite relaxed, but not quite ready for sleep.

InuYasha rolled over on his side, propping his head up on one hand. "So you learned the villagers were talking about you? Sounds like it was more than them talking about me liking pickles."

She leaned back against him. "That one makes me laugh," she said, wrapping his free arm around her. "I found out when I met Daisuke-ojiisan's daughter today."

"Hisako?" he said, snuggling her close.

"Yeah. She was coming out of Tameo-sama's compound when I was going in."

"She's a character," InuYasha said. "Pointed her walking stick at me one day last winter and told me not to let her father chase me off next time I brought him some firewood." He chuckled. "And then she made me take a bowl of sweet dumplings. I thought for a moment she was going to hit me with that stick."

"You bring him firewood?" Kagome asked, surprised.

"Sometimes. He doesn't have the back to do it any more." InuYasha. "Last winter he got the cough, and Kaede-babaa spent a lot of time going there. Some of us made sure he didn't run out of wood."

"I'd heard about him being sick. Kaede's still giving him cough medicine." Kagome laced her fingers into InuYasha's hand. "Today, when I met her, she was telling me about not believing the things Haname and Chiya were saying about us." She looked up at InuYasha. "Did you know they were talking?"

He shook his head. "Nothing in particular, though I'm not surprised," he said. "I haven't really been spending a whole lot of time where I could hear what that hag would be talking about."

The room began to darken as the fire burned low, casting them both in long shadows, with just a touch of red light reflecting off of InuYasha's hair. "Do you want to stay up for a while more? I can put another piece of wood on the fire."

"No, I'm really tired," Kagome said.

He kissed her forehead. "I wouldn't worry too much about Haname's gossip. Most folks are going to be like Hisako. They aren't going to believe stuff that's stupid. Anyway, nobody knows more of the gossip than Miroku. If anybody was saying anything to be worried about, he'd tell us."

This got a small smile out of Kagome. "He's going to find today's gossip pretty . . . interesting."

InuYasha snorted. "I bet. No doubt he's trying to get Sango to tell him every detail right now."

Kagome yawned. "You're probably right. Too bad she missed seeing all the exciting bits."

"Exciting bits, eh?" InuYasha said. "You never did tell me what happened."

"How about I give you the short version tonight?" Kagome said, burying head in InuYasha's shoulder. "I'm really getting tired."

He kissed the top of her head, and rolled on his back, but not relaxing his hold on her. "I guess."

She rested her arm across his chest."Joben's son Aki and his cousin Isao let out one of Daitaro's cows and got caught, and Daitaro got the village elders together to decide on a punishment. Haname got furious when she heard the news. When the men came back to Tameo's with the boys, Haname showed up, and had some sort of breakdown. She slapped me, like I told you, and Susumu and some of the others had to hold her down. I went to the Shrine garden, and Morio was there. He was trying to use magic to break my bond to you, but Shippou jumped him, and I got away." Kagome looked up at InuYasha. "This is the really odd part. Kazuo came out of the shrine, or wherever it is where he spends his time and stopped Morio."

"That doesn't sound really odd," InuYasha said. "We've run into kami before."

"I know. Let me finish," she said. "Kazuo told everybody that Morio had caused Haname's fit; he was trying to stir up extra business by trying to make as many people as possible trying to think the village was cursed because of us. And that he was the reason the bakeneko problem at Yume's village was so bad."

"Bastard," InuYasha said. "I hope Kazuo made him suffer."

"That was the oddest thing of all," Kagome said, sitting up. "He did something that messed with the yamabushi's mind. He took away his reiki, and when Morio came to, he was talking like he was a small boy. He kept asking for his mother. He didn't know where he was, didn't remember anything."

"He's still alive?" InuYasha said. "I thought you told me the kami took care of him."

"He did. Kazuo took away his magic, his intellect and . . . "

"And?" InuYasha said, scowling.

"His manhood, I think," Kagome replied. "Whatever it was, it hurt, and he doubled over when it happened. I've never seen anything like it before. He really became a small boy trapped in a man's body."

"Where is he now?" the hanyou asked.

"I think Joben agreed to be his caretaker." She lay back down. "He's going to have to have a watcher."

InuYasha gave her a hard look. "Are you sure? I don't like that he's still with that troublemaker."

Kagome nodded. "Very sure. Not only did I see it, I could sense he had no spiritual power left. But Kazuo did something else. He announced to everybody that you, me, Miroku, Sango and Shippou all were under his special protection."

"He said that?" InuYasha said. The suspicion in his face melted and was replaced by amazement. He sat up, and looked at Kagome, who was trying to contain a grin. "The kami said we all were under his protection, even me?"

Kagome nodded. "And there were a lot of people there who heard it. Tsuneo, Tameo, and a bunch of people who came running after Shippou made that awful sound."

"Shippou told me about that. He learned it from his uncle," InuYasha said, shaking his head. "Kazuo publicly put me under his protection . . . a village kami telling everybody that he accepts me? That's . . . "

"I imagine, the word's gone all over the village by now," Kagome said, lifting up a hand to rest on her husband's arm.

"Huh. Never been under a kami's protection before," he said. "Wonder what that's going to be like?"

"Don't know," Kagome said, laying back down. "But both Tsuneo and Joben apologized to me, with witnesses. Tsuneo wants to talk to you, too." She yawned. "I think he wants to help get our sheds built. Or something. I think he feels like he owes us because of everything." She yawned again.

InuYasha stretched out beside her, and wrapped his arms around her, and kissed her lightly on the forehead. "Go to sleep, woman."

"Yeah," she murmured, and snuggling up closer, she was soon fast asleep.

InuYasha though, stayed awake a long time, thinking


	81. Chapter 81

_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 81**

Kagome stood in the front of her house. It was a beautiful morning, just a little cool like a spring morning should be. Nearby some bird was announcing its presence to the world. She could hear InuYasha, finished with hanging up their futon to air out, doing something with the woodpile around the side of the house. She could hear pieces of wood falling and InuYasha cursing softly as he worked.

A normal morning, but not, she thought as she stood there and crossed her arms. "Stop being jittery," she muttered. "It's just another day."

"Talking to yourself?" InuYasha said as he walked from the back to the front of the house, carrying an armload of wood.

"Just thinking out loud," she said and gave him a smile. "So how does it look back there in the sunlight?"

"Not too bad. But you better be careful where you step. Daitaro's cow left us a few presents when she was up here," InuYasha said, bringing in an arm of firewood. "She did walk through the garden patch a good bit, and she must have run into the wood pile, but outside of that, cow patties seem to be the worst of it."

"I suspect Kinjiro's not going to be very happy about the garden patch," Kagome said. She lifted up the doormat for InuYasha. "He's been working so hard on it."

"Probably not," he said, walking through the doorway and walking to the firewood cradle where he dropped his load. "But who knows? That man enjoys working, more than almost anybody I've ever met. Maybe even as much as Toutousai. He might gripe a lot, but long as he's busy, he's happier." He turned and looked at Kagome, mildly surprised, as if he had just noticed something. "Is that what you're wearing down to the village today?"

She looked down at herself, even though she knew perfectly well what she was wearing - her beige kosode with the blue wrap skirt, one of the outfits that Sango had given her. "I kind of have to. Hisa had my miko robes washed yesterday after everything that happened, and I don't want to wear the robe she gave me." She held up a small, neatly wrapped bundle. "I thought we might start by going to Tameo's first, so I can return hers and I can get them."

"I was just wondering," the hanyou said, brushing his hands clean. "But that makes sense. Anyway, Tameo asked me to go there, anyway, so I guess that's our first stop. You ready to go?"

"I guess," Kagome said, taking a deep breath. "I don't have any reason to stay here any longer. Everything's done."

InuYasha looked at Kagome, and the set of her mouth bothered him. "What's wrong? You have that look you used to get before you had to your school when we were on the quest and I didn't want to let you go." His nostrils flared a little as he caught her scent. "You're nervous?" He walked to the doorway, and took the door matting out of her hand, letting it close behind him.

As he stood there, Kagome looked down at her feet and chewed her bottom lip. "A little. I suspect Haname's still at Kaede's." She sighed, then looked up. "It's stupid, but I'm not sure if I'm ready to deal with her."

"Feh," InuYasha said, wrapping his arms around her. "I can understand that. If you want, I can stay near. I don't think she'd do anything stupid if she knew I was there." InuYasha said. "Or you can stay at Tameo's and I'll stop by and see what Kaede-babaa wants you to do. You know she wouldn't want anything that would make Haname worse or put you in harm's way."

Kagome nodded, and leaned against her husband as he ran his hand lightly over her head. "I know that. Let's just go. That was some nasty magic that was put on her. I hope it's not permanent."

InuYasha kissed the top of her head. "Kaede-babaa will know what to do."

Nodding, she pulled out of InuYasha's embrace and looked up at him. She gave him a small, wry smile. "But you're right. I feel like I used to when I was getting ready to take a math test."

"I thought so." InuYasha dropped his arms and took her hand, giving it a little squeeze. "This won't be that bad." He wrapped his arms around her. "You didn't have to stay up all night studying. There's no way you can fail this one."

"You're right," she said, letting her cheek rest against his chest. "I feel so . . . stupid being nervous."

"After what happened yesterday, I'm not surprised," InuYasha said "But the sooner we get started, the sooner you'll find out you'll handle it just fine. I know you. You'll figure out the right thing to do. You always do."

She nodded, and dropping his hand, snugged the wrapped bundle that was Hisa's kosode close to her chest, took a breath, and said, "Let's do it. You're right. Thinking about it is almost always worse than doing it."

He gave her a smile, and together they began walking down the hill.

They weren't the only ones out and about on their side of the village. Daitaro, walking down the path from his house, adjusted a small basket slung on his back, then looked up to see Miroku leaning on the rail fence that marked the edge of one of his fields. Two young cows were in the field, grazing peacefully in the center of the field, ignoring both of the men.

"Well, Houshi-sama, what brings you here?" the older man asked. "I'm sure it's not because you're all that interested in cattle."

"I don't remember you keeping cows in this field." Miroku said.

"Raised hay in it last year," the old man said. "I didn't realize you noticed."

Miroku shrugged. "I can't help it. I walk pass it too often."

Daitaro joined the monk leaning against the fence. "Ah, but these are two fine girls. One belongs to Takeshi, the other to Toshiro's youngest son. I'm just waiting for them to get in the mood. And so is Kuroya. Shouldn't be long now."

"Your bull has a good life," Miroku says. "Good food, pampering, and all those females." He sounded almost a bit wistful.

"You'd think so," Daitaro said, propping his foot up on the bottom rail. "Doesn't explain why he's so good at getting out every spring."

Miroku shook his head. "He must not know a good thing when he has it. I suspect most of the men in the village would love to have a life like his."

Daitaro laughed at this. "Oh, and most of the women in the village would try to make steers out of their husbands if they ever found out about, too."

The monk rubbed the top of his head as if remembering being struck there. "Oh, I have no doubt you're right about that one. I don't know if my wife would stop at just that."

The old man turned around and leaned his back against the fence rail. "Most men are smart enough not to marry a trained fighter," he said, still chuckling. "I remember that big bone she would sling around. It looked like it could do some damage."

Miroku gave a much weaker laugh. "Oh yes. Even when she used it as a club."

The old man grinned. "I can see why you had Kaede lock it up at the shrine. But anyway, Houshi-sama, besides making an old man laugh, what brings you here?"

"I'm planning an ambush, actually," the monk said.

"An ambush? This early in the day?" Daitaro said. "Right after breakfast? You have ambitions."

Miroku nodded. "You know that problem with the leaking roof on the main hall of the temple, where we really never got it fixed after the typhoon last fall?"

"If you want to call that little place a temple," Daitaro said, smiling. "One little building and a gate and a fence."

"Big enough for one monk and a village this size," Miroku said, nonplused. "And since I'm a married man, I didn't want my house inside the enclosure. But it will grow. Next year we'll get the bell installed, but this year, I am hoping to get a new image of Kwannon and a copy of the Lotus Sutra."

"That would be good," Daitaro said. He rested his arms on the top rail of the fence. One of the cows mooed and began moving their way. "It would be nice to have a spirit of mercy watching over us."

"But I don't dare do these things until I get the roof fixed." Miroku scratched his chin, and watched the cow come up to get Daitaro to pet it. "I wonder . . . after hearing what my wife said about what happened at the shrine yesterday, if I can get a work party together."

This made Daitaro laugh again. "You need to come by in the mornings more often, Houshi-sama. You make me smile. Isn't that right, pretty Kayo?" He patted the cow's neck. "You've been trying to get that building reroofed since the typhoon. So maybe you think having the villagers hear that the kami took you under his protection might budge a few more people to get busy on your little project?"

"It won't be long before the rains start," Miroku said.

Daitaro gave the monk a friendly slap on his arm. "True, true. Strike while the iron's hot. You might budge a few of the younger backs that way."

Miroku rested a foot on the bottom railing of the fence, and reached out to pat the cow on her nose, but the animal shook her head and backed away, choosing instead to return to grazing. "Were you there when the kami said that?" Miroku asked.

"Oh yes. He made quite a display of it. Been a while since he showed his face." Daitaro scratched the base of his chin. "Suspect that most of the village's heard the story by now."

"I would have really liked to have seen that," Miroku said. "That doesn't happen every day."

"Nor does reroofing a temple, even if it's a tiny one." Seeing that the cow no longer wanted any human attention, Daitaro turned around and leaned his back on the fence. "So when are you trying to get this done?"

"If I can get enough people, I'm thinking maybe in a couple of days," Miroku said. He stood up and leaned on his staff. "Like you said, it probably would be a good thing to strike while the iron's hot. How about one of your sons? Could I pry one of them away for the afternoon?"

"Could be. Shinjiro's getting bridegroom jitters. Might do him some good." Daitaro said.

"Ah," the monk said. "His wedding is soon, then?"

"Four more days," the older man said, sighing. "I'm afraid it's going to feel like a thousand, with all the women fluttering around and cleaning and cooking. I'm glad I have an excuse to get away for a while. I need to head down the hill to visit Tameo-sama. All that mess yesterday's still unfinished."

Miroku nodded. "Sango was telling me about what a wild day it was, besides what the kami did. I was going to ask you about - "

"So, Bouzu, You're already out and bothering people, I see," a familiar voice said.

Miroku and Daitaro turned towards it and saw InuYasha and Kagome walking in their direction.

Miroku looked at the older man. "Am I bothering you?"

Daitaro laughed. "I don't think so, even if I suspect our walk to Tameo's was going to be filled with you trying to pump me for details. Still, they say it's not really an ambush if you know what's going on."

"Ah, neighbor, you know me too well," Miroku said with a bow of his head.

"We all know you," InuYasha replied. He stood next to Miroku, arms folded and hands in his sleeves.

"InuYasha," Kagome said, her tone of voice chiding him.

The hanyou looked at his wife. "Well, it's true."

"Yes, Miko-sama," Daitaro said, "it really is true. But that's all right. Better a friend whom we know than a stranger."

"I'll ignore that for right now," Miroku said. "Heading down the hill?"

Kagome nodded. "Even though yesterday was rather . . . well, intense, I still have my training. But first I have to stop by Tameo-ojisan's."

"Ah, good," Daitaro said. "That way we can walk down together." He nodded his head at the monk. "But I'd watch that one if I were you. He's itching for gossip, and he's ambushing likely souls for a work project."

"Keh," InuYasha said. "That's the friend we know."

"Hn," the monk said. "I have better things to do than this. Maybe I'll go talk to Takeshi" He walked off, the rings on his staff jingling as he went.

"We better follow him before he asks the wrong person to help out," Daitaro said. "Takeshi's household is as crazy as ours, maybe even more so, getting Erime's bridal things ready."

"I guess," InuYasha said. "Wait up, Bouzu!"

The three of them hurried to catch up. They didn't see how Miroku grinned as they hurried to join him.


	82. Chapter 82

_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 82**

As they walked down the hill and toward the village they passed dry paddies where green barley was growing, later to be harvested before the fields were flooded and the rice planted. Other fields were being plowed or hoed. In one field within view of the road, one man looked up, elbowed his working partner as they passed, and called out a greeting.

Daitaro waved back and sighed. "That's what I ought to be doing," Daitaro muttered. "I hope we get this mess settled at Tameo's today. The apple trees have blossomed. It's time to plant the soybeans. Between taking care of the cattle and the planting, Shinjiro and Hitoshi can't do it all themselves. Chime and the other women won't be much help until after the wedding. I ought to be out there, too."

"What happened to that young man you had at your place?" Miroku asked. "Isn't he helping out?"

"Bah," Daitaro said. "I sent him back to his village. Not worth the feed. Atsushi, they called him. Industrious son. His idea of industry was to go hide in the hay. But even worse, he was afraid of the cows, much less Kuroya. What good is a man to help around my place if he quakes when the cow moos?"

InuYasha snorted. "I heard you judged a man by how he behaved around your bull."

"Why not? Knowing how to behave around an animal like that tells me a whole lot about the inner man," Daitaro said. "And Atsushi's inner man was more like a worm's. Let his own village deal with him." He spit.

A farmer was walking down the road in their direction. He was young, and carried a big bag around his neck and a hoe over his shoulder. He sang as he walked.

"Ah, snow so white,  
>white like a rabbit,<br>a rabbit which jumps  
>jumping a frog<br>a frog so green  
>like a leaf in the spring<p>

"In spring I work hard  
>hard is my - "<p>

Suddenly, he noticed the group of people walking his way and his eyes grew wide. He stopped singing and, he moved to the side of the road, dropping his hoe beside him. As the group passed by, he bowed low, not saying a word. Once they were clearly on the other side of him, he stood back up, reshouldered his hoe, and went on his way to the fields, starting his song all over.

"That's a rather rude song," Kagome said, as she heard the second verse. But something else had InuYasha's attention and he didn't notice what she said.

"What the . . . " He stopped and turned to look at the retreating form of the farmer and shook his head in surprise. "Keiji's never done that before. Bowed as I was passing? In fact, I think he tried as hard as possible to ignore me whenever I saw him before."

"He does more than ignore you," Daitaro said. "Don't know sometimes why Takeshi puts up with him, except he's worked for the family all his life. Not worth much more than Atsushi was. He likes to talk trash, and he talks a lot of trash about people like you and the kitsune kit that hangs around you. I've heard some of the stories he's told over sake."

InuYasha nodded. "I've heard some of the things he's whispered when he thought I couldn't hear," InuYasha said. Kagome rested a hand on his arms and looked up at him, questioningly. "You don't want to know," he told her. He looked back at Daitaro. "So why this now? He acted like we were nobles or something."

Daitaro looked thoughtful for a moment, scratched his head, until he realized the answer and grinned. "Oh, I bet I know why."

Miroku gave him a raised eyebrow. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

"Could be, Houshi-sama," Daitaro said. "It might be a really, really good time for you to recruit for you roofing party."

InuYasha's right ear twitched. "Someone want to explain it to me?"

"You've moved up in status, son," Daitaro said, slapping his arm in a friendly fashion. "The word about what happened yesterday has gone around the village by now. We've never had anybody singled out for a particularly public blessing by our kami, before." He gave the hanyou a grin. "And here Keiji found three of you. Now he's probably worried that the kami's going to get him for being such a baka. And you have the golden glow. I'm kind of surprised he didn't come up and try to touch one of you for good luck."

"Feh," InuYasha said, scowling. "He better not. He'll find out this luck charm bites."

"Don't be surprised if it happens," Daitaro replied. "Some of the villagers really see things in terms of good and bad luck. Never hurts to have the luck gods on your side. Goes as well for you, Houshi-sama, and you too, Kagome-chan."

InuYasha exchanged glances with Kagome and Miroku. The monk grinned and Kagome shrugged.

"I'm sure the Buddha would want me to spread the luck," Miroku said.

"I'd be careful about exploiting it too much," the old man said. "You'll only be golden so long."

InuYasha snorted. "Remember that, Bouzu."

"Let's just get where we're going," Kagome said.

Giving his wife's hand a squeeze, InuYasha nodded and they began walking again.

They neared another outlying house; like their homes, it was not in the main cluster of buildings that made up the village. An older woman doing laundry at the house, stopped hanging up her linens when she spotted them and scurried down the path to meet them.

"Ah, Miko-sama, Houshi-sama," she said. "Kaede-sama said you should be passing by my house this morning. I'm glad I saw you."

"What can I do for you today, Momoe-sama?" Miroku asked in a friendly tone.

The woman wiped her hand on her wrap skirt, fidgeting with the fabric, obviously a bit nervous. She took a deep breath and bowed again. "I would be most honored if one of you would do me the mercy of coming by and saying a blessing at my house. All my family's luck has slipped away, and I can barely sleep at night. Maybe there's some spirit there that you can send away, or at least ask the kami to restore our luck."

Kagome stood there surprised. Daitaro coughed loudly. Miroku, on the other hand, put on his best wise monk face.

"Luck, huh," InuYasha said, crossing his arms.

"Yes, please," the woman said. "Ever since the last rice harvest, it's been one thing after another. Surely there's some evil touching my family."

Miroku returned the bow.

"Ah, Momoe-sama," Miroku said. "We would be happy to. If there is something bad disturbing the peace of your home, we shall send it away. Perhaps this afternoon would be all right? We've got some business to do this morning."

"Oh yes, that would be very kind," Momoe said, smiling.

"Has anything happened?" Miroku asked. "Any word from Shouji-sama?"

Standing up, the woman shook her head. "No, nothing." She sighed. "Once he left, everything went wrong. Perhaps it was the spirit eating our luck who sent him away. Little Shou is a help, and so is his mother, but . . . "

Miroku nodded. "I will come by and chant sutras, and bring an ofuda to help."

"And you, too, Miko-sama, please?" Momoe said, pleading, bowing in Kagome's direction. "Houshi-sama has the ear of Kwannon, I know, but you have the ear of the kami. Everybody told me what happened yesterday, and how the kami protected you from that man. Surely he will listen to your prayers. Would you come and say a word?"

Kagome looked at InuYasha and Miroku, who nodded at her. She took a breath, and bowed. "Yes, yes of course I will."

"Thank you, thank you," said the older woman, obviously relieved. "I am sure you will be blessed for helping this poor woman. Thank you again." And bowing once more, she left.

Daitaro's face contorted as he watched her walk away, but when he was sure she was out of earshot, he doubled over laughing.

"Well," he said, catching his breath. "What did I say about people wanting your luck? At least, Kagome-chan, she didn't try to rub your tummy like if you were a statue of Hotei."

"What . . . what was that about?" Kagome asked, confused as she looked at her companions."Why does she feel unlucky?"

"Ah, that's a sad story. I'm not laughing about that," Daitaro said. His face grew more serious. "Momoe's son ran off last fall. She's not been the same since it happened."

Miroku nodded. "He told his mother he was going to do some work at a village east of here," he said. "But we're not so sure that was true. His father went there to give him his winter things, but nobody had heard of him, or the man who supposedly hired him. He may have made the story up to get away from here. Shouji was an unhappy man."

"He and his wife fought a lot," Daitaro said, nodding. "He would talk to some of the younger men about going off to be a soldier."

"Feh," InuYasha said. " I don't know if it was a soldier he went off to be. I always wondered if he was the reason the bandits attacked last fall. They knew where the village hid the extra rice. Almost got away with it, too."

Daitaro nodded. "There is that. You're not the only person who's wondered."

Kagome shook her head, and sighed. "So she thinks my prayers will do her some good?"

"Maybe not yesterday," Daitaro said. "But she does today."

"I'm not sure I'm going to like that," Kagome said. "It reminds me of when I first came to the village and everybody treated me so . . . I don't know, like something special or holy, because Kaede-obasan said I was Kikyou's reincarnation. It made me feel strange."

"Heh," InuYasha said. "You were strange. From a strange place, wearing strange clothes, doing weird things, like letting a certain hanyou free. I can understand them thinking you're special." His ear flicked. "And then you go away, and come back out of the blue. But me . . . I hope all this settles down fast. It feels weird."

"It does," Kagome said, nodding.

"So," Miroku said, to change the subject."You will be working with us in two days when we reroof the temple, won't you, InuYasha?"

"You think they'll actually let me work?" the hanyou asked, stuffing his hands into his sleeves. "You saw how Keiji acted."

"I will," Daitaro said. "Your back is in better shape than mine. And if Kinjiro shows up, he'll be happy to boss you around, blessing of the kami or not."

Miroku snorted.

"Don't laugh, Bouzu. He'll probably boss you around as well." InuYasha scowled at the monk. "You're not giving me much choice, I see."

"You always have a choice, my friend," the monk said. "Although it is true some choices are better than others."

That one got a laugh from Daitaro. "You might as well show up. You know he's not going to leave any of us alone until he gets that blasted temple done."

Miroku gave a small grin. "Probably not. But you know how I am."

"A schemer, it sounds to me," Daitaro said, "who understands his victims."

That got a grin out of InuYasha.

Miroku just shook his head. "Just think of the good karma."

The fields on the right side of the road gave way to the first houses.

"What's that in front of Kaede's house?" Kagome asked. Kaede and a man were talking in front of something with large wheels.

"Masuo's handcart," InuYasha said.

"Ah," Miroku said. "Good. We got down the hill before Masuo-sama headed out of town."

"Is that the father of those two children who showed up the other day?" Daitaro asked.

"Yeah," InuYasha said. "You know him?"

"I was one of the ones who brought him here for Kaede to heal when he had that run in with the spider youkai," Daitaro said. "He was a damn brave and lucky young man. I didn't realize he was the father of those young ones."

"Keh," InuYasha said, nodding. "I know he wanted to talk to Kaede-babaa before he left town."

"It's been a long time since he was here last," the old farmer said. "After he left, he never had another reason to show up at the village. I've seen him at the market a few times since then, but Kaede-sama, she doesn't get over there very often. It's been years since they've had a chance to talk. " He rubbed the back of his neck. "Not the best day for it, if Haname's still in her house, though."

Kagome took a deep breath when he mentioned Haname, but made herself smile and nod. "Well, it looks like we'll get to say goodby as well."

"So it does," said the old man.


	83. Chapter 83

_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 83**

The mat door rattled behind her as Kaede stepped outside to see who was calling on her now. As she looked at the farmer and the two children at his side with her patient single eye, the old miko smiled. Her face showed the fatigue from her overnight vigil with Haname, but her smile was genuine and warm.

"Well, Masuo-sama, I see you finally got a chance to stop by this old woman's house," she said, bowing her greeting. "It's been a long time."

"Finally," Masuo said, returning her bow. "Too long. I am sorry."

His daughter, Yume, pulled at his sleeve. "Miko-sama is nice, Otousan."

"Oh, I know, Yume-chan," He said, nodding. "She took care of me a long time ago when I got hurt by a youkai. You've heard me tell the story."

"That was this miko?" the girl asked, surprised.

"You didn't realize that?" Hiseo asked. She shook her head no. "I guess you were too sick when Otousan sent me here with you to hear that."

This made Kaede chuckle. "So you tell stories about me?"

"Of course," Masuo said. "If it hadn't been for you . . . "

Kaede cut him off. "I see you managed to do well for yourself after leaving here," she said. "I would ask you in for tea, but alas, I'm sure you've heard about the patient I have inside, and I'm afraid it would disturb her too much."

"Ah, that's no problem," Masuo said. "I don't want to trouble you, but I did want to give you my thanks." Turning towards his cart a moment, he grabbed something, then turned back toward the old miko. Holding a small bundle wrapped in a bright red and blue cloth out in front of him with both hands, he offered it to the miko.

"I owe you much," the farmer said. "This won't repay what I owe you, but it is a little token of my appreciation."

"What is it?" Kaede said, taking the bundle.

"A set of arrowheads for your bow," he replied. "One for every week you helped take care of me while I was ill."

Surprised at his generosity, she started to hand it back to him. "It's too much, Masuo-sama. I was just doing what I was supposed to do."

"No, no," he replied, holding up his hands up, palm out, refusing to take the bundle back. "If it hadn't been for you, I would have died and never lived to see today. I've had those for a while to give to you, but I never could seem to find time to get back to your village." He scratched the base of his shin, and gave her an apologetic glance. "And now I owe you even more, for caring for my little girl." He rested his hand on Yume's head. She looked up and smiled at him. "Please take it. I hope you will find them good fortune for your sacred arrows."

The old miko nodded. "If you insist."

"I'm much better, Otousan. Miko-sama healed me, just like she did you!" Her voice was filled with pride over that realization. "And then she let me go play, and I met Suzume and Yorime and Rin. Can we come back some day?"

"Maybe someday, child. You had a good time once you got better?" he asked.

She nodded. "And I remembered my manners, too."

Masuo smiled back at her. "Tameo-sama's daughter-in-law told me good things about you, girl."

She beamed back at her father.

"And I heard what a good brother you were to your sister," Masuo said to his son, resting a hand on his shoulder. "Carrying her all this way, and then keeping watch over her - that was an important job. You have made me proud."

Hiseo smiled up at his father. "I did just what you told me to do."

"He was a very good brother," Kaede said, agreeing. "You have raised him well. But you didn't need to give me anything. This is what I am here to do, and what I did for you, too, when you were in need. So, how are your injuries these days? Did you heal up as well as I expected?"

"Eh, you know how it goes when you're hurt badly." Masuo shrugged, and gave her a small, wry grin. "It aches me some in the winter. The scars will always be there, to remind me not to be quite so foolhardy ever again. But it's much better to ache than to not be around to watch the world spin around and see my children grow up."

Kaede nodded. "And your wife? She was very determined not to leave your side while you were recuperating. Very constant. I was impressed." Kaede said. "I always wondered what happened to her."

"She does well. We married not long after we returned. I'm still not sure if her father approves of me, even after all these years, but it's been a good match. Anybody who would put up how cranky I got when I was healing . . . She still cooks that soup recipe you taught her." He patted his tummy. "Maybe a little too often for my middle, but it's good."

The two adults laughed and continued to talk. Yume began to fidget and started looking around, bored with the adult talk. She spied a group of people walking toward the miko's house - the young woman who helped with the old miko, and a priest and a strange man with long silver hair.

She walked over to her brother "Who's that with Miko-sama?" she asked. "I've never seen anybody who looks like him before."

"Ah, that's InuYasha-sama. You didn't get to meet him, did you?" Hiseo said. "You were too asleep to talk to him. He and the monk were the ones that killed the monster who was making you sick."

"And . . . and does he have dog ears?" Yume asked, surprised. "Is...is he an Inugami?"

"I don't know," Hiseo said. "I know he's a good youkai, a hero. I bet it was him who killed the monster."

Yume's eyes grew big. "I never saw anybody like that before."

"Me, either," Hiseo said. "But I had never seen a kitsune up close before we came here, either. Things are different in this village."

Yume nodded.

Neither Kaede nor Masuo paid much attention to the children's chatter.

"And there's never been another one of those spider women by the Three Rocks since I killed that one?" Masuo asked.

Kaede shook her head. "You did a good job of getting rid of her. Evidently that was enough. It's much safer now."

Yume, ignoring the adults as much as they ignored her, stared fascinated at the people approaching. Surprising Hiseo, she pulled out of the handhold he had on her and began running toward the group.

"Good, good. At least I know I didn't get hurt in vain," the farmer said. "It was -" His thought was broken by the voice of his son.

"Yume-chan!" Hiseo yelled. "Don't do that. You need to come back here now!" He began running after her.

"I see our heroes are almost here," Masuo said turning to watch his children running towards the hanyou and his companions. "You have an unusual village, Kaede-sama."

"We do, don't we?" she said, nodding. "But it seems to work for us. So tell me, is Osamu still the headman at your village?"

Yume, with her brother in hot pursuit, didn't have to run far, just a little past the steps that lead up to the main village shrine.

"Miko-sama! You got here before we left!" Yume stopped in front of the group, catching her breath and bowing. "I was afraid we'd leave without getting to say goodby."

"I was afraid of that too," Kagome said. "But we made it in time."

"Who are these people?" Yume asked. "I don't think I got to see them before."

"This is Miroku-sama," Kagome said, nodding her head at the monk. "This is my husband InuYasha-sama." She touched her husband's hand. "And," she said, nodding towards the old farmer, "this is Daitaro-sama. He was the one who got your father to Kaede-obasan's house in time to save his life."

Yume bowed toward Daitaro. "Thank you for saving my Chichi-ue," she said.

Hiseo caught up with them. "It was you?" he asked.

"Eh, your otousan was too good to go to waste," Daitaro said. "And the woman he rescued, she was too pretty to let grieve to death."

"That was my Haha-ue," Yume said.

"Thought so," Daitaro said. "You look a lot like her."

Yume beamed, but then pulled on Kagome's sleeve. As Kagome bent down, the girl asked, "Is . . . is your husband an Inugami? I've never seen anybody with ears like that before."

InuYasha sighed, but Kagome gave a little laugh. "No, no he's not. But he does have Inu youkai blood."

"Oh," Yume said, looking puzzled, obviously not exactly sure what the difference was. InuYasha flicked his ear and Yume broke out in the giggles. "Your ears move!"

"Keh." He looked at Kagome, as if to say, 'you handle it,' and stuffed his hands in his sleeves. She rested a hand on his arm, gave him a little nod, and an encouraging smile, and turned back to Yume.

"InuYasha and Miroku both met you, even though you don't know who they are," Kagome said. "I believe they were the first to help Hiseo-kun take care of you when he got here."

Hiseo nodded. "That's right. Houshi-sama helped me get you into Kaede-sama's house."

"It's good to see that you are awake and feeling better." Miroku said. "Who would want to miss saying farewell to such a pretty girl?"

Not wanting to go any further down that line of thought, Kagome rested her hands on Yume's shoulders and gave the girl a look over. "You look much better, Yume-chan. It's hard to believe how much better in just two days."

The girl nodded. "Yesterday afternoon, not long after lunch, I took a nap, and when I got up, I started feeling really good."

"I'm not surprised," Miroku said. "That's about when we took care of the bakeneko."

"You got rid of it?" Yume asked. "How? Was it big and scary? Was there a fight? Did you get hurt?"

"She's feeling almost too good," Hiseo said. "She's been like this ever since she woke up, talking, talking, talking and running places."

Yume turned and gave him an irritated look and shook her head. "Uh-uh."

"Been giving you a hard time, has she?" Daitaro asked, chuckling. "Must have some play saved up from all the time she's been ill."

The girl laughed. "That's funny, Daitaro-ojisan."

"But maybe true," Hiseo said, taking his sister's hand. "Come on you, we need to get back to Otousan."

"But what about the monster?" the girl asked. "Don't you want to know?"

InuYasha sighed. "It was big and mean and made a lot of noise. It tried to hurt a girl, but we made sure it didn't. I cut off its tail, and that was the end of it."

"Just like that?" Yume asked.

"Just like that," InuYasha said, nodding. "I'm sure you'll hear more about it when you get home."

She nodded and turned to go, tugging on her brother's hand.

InuYasha reached into his jacket and pulled out a small bundle wrapped in a small square of cloth. "Wait a moment, Hiseo."

The boy turned back and looked at the hanyou. InuYasha unwrapped the bundle to reveal the small wooden figure of Kintaro that Hiseo had given him right before they left to hunt the bakeneko. The hanyou ran his finger gently over it and then handed it to the boy. "You told me that Kintaro would help me while I was gone. I think he did. Thanks."

The boy looked at the small toy for a moment, and wrapped his hand around it. "You really think Kintaro helped?"

"We got the bakeneko, didn't we?" InuYasha said, smiling. "Even when someone wanted to hurt Kagome and I wasn't here to help, the kami stepped in to make sure nothing bad happened. Wouldn't be surprised if Kintaro nudged him."

Hiseo smiled. " I'm glad I sent him with you. He helped me be brave when I brought Yume here. He's got good luck."

"Yeah." InuYasha rested a hand on the youth's shoulder. "Hope he keeps bringing you good luck. Luck's a good thing to have."

The boy nodded, and, like InuYasha, he lightly touched the little wooden figure before putting it away in his kosode.

By this time, Masuo had taken his leave of Kaede and pulling the hand cart, caught up with his children.

"I see you're on your way home," Miroku said.

Masuo dropped the pull bar and nodded. "If we leave now, we should be home in time for lunch," the farmer said. "I'm sure my wife's getting anxious to know how Yume's doing. It was hard enough for the little while she was here and we were there."

"She's doing very well, from the looks of things," Kagome said. "I can't believe how much better she is than when she arrived."

Yume smiled. "Kaede-sama and you took good care of me, Miko-sama."

"You might be better," Hiseo said. "But you still get to ride in the cart. It's a long walk home."

"Miko-sama, eh," said Masuo, his face rather surprised. "Married to InuYasha-sama and a miko both?"

InuYasha grew stiff. Kagome rested a hand on his arm. "Yes. I'm Kaede-sama's apprentice."

Masuo gave a surprise shake of his head, but then nodded, not willing to make anything of it. "Kaede-sama, she's a wise woman, and I'm sure she knows what she's doing. All I can say, is this village does things its own way, but it all seems to be working. I heard about what the kami did yesterday. If you have his blessing, who is just a little farmer to tell him he's wrong? Especially with everything you've done for us."

"Keh," InuYasha said, relaxing. He took Kagome's hand in his. "I'm glad it's over for you. Have a good trip home."

"And go with the Buddha's blessing," Miroku said, making a sign of benediction.

Masuo lifted up his daughter and put her on the back of the cart. "Come and see us sometime," he said. "We owe you a lot, and you'll always be welcome. And that goes for you, InuYasha-sama. Youkai blood or not, I owe you more than I can repay."

He grabbed the pull-bar to the cart. "Come on, son, let's see if we can get home in time for lunch."

Saying their last goodbyes, the three of them headed down the road.


	84. Chapter 84

_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 84**

The group watched Masuo and his children disappear down the road.

"Well," Daitaro said. "He's leaving here in better shape than he left the last time."

"Is he?" Miroku asked.

The old farmer nodded. "Kaede thought he was leaving too soon, but he was determined to go. He hobbled out of here leaning on a stick and that pretty girl he married later." He looked down the road and smiled. "A couple of the men from his village came over to help him get there, and tried to get him to ride in a cart or on a horse, but he wasn't having any of it. Masuo was determined to walk home." Daitaro pushed his hat off, and scratched his head. "Man has guts."

"I think his boy may take after him," InuYasha said.

Kaede walked up to the four standing there. "So they're off," she said. Kagome and the others turned around to face her. "Masuo's a good man. Time didn't change that any."

"Yes he is. Maybe a little more cautious since that day I dragged him to your hut," Daitaro said, with a small laugh. "One big youkai fight was enough for a lifetime, no doubt.".

"He was brave enough to walk home with the likes of us," Miroku said. "Not all villagers would have felt as easy with it."

"True," the old farmer said, nodding. "InuYasha here, well, if you didn't know him . . . "

The hanyou snorted.

"I'm glad nothing worse came of his daughter than a long walk for her brother," the older miko said. "And now, maybe we can start getting back to normal."

"Well, maybe after we're through with what Tameo wants to do," Daitaro said. "The family heads are meeting at his place this morning. Still need to do something with Aki, and our cousins here are owed something for what happened."

The old miko nodded. "And there's Haname to take care of as well."

A woman in a rush hat walked by, bowing a greeting. She had a small child strapped to her back, and a basket in her arm.

"Ah, Maki-sama," Miroku said. "Is your husband at home?"

The woman half turned, and gave the monk a little smile. "He's in the field this morning, Houshi-sama. I'm heading that way now."

"Please," Miroku said, bowing a little, "let him know I would like to talk with him. Perhaps this evening?"

She nodded. "I'll tell him." And with a nod of her head, she continued on her way.

"Another victim for your work party?" InuYasha asked.

"Actually, yes." Miroku said, smiling.

"Good choice. He's one of the better roofers in the village." Daitaro chuckled. "You're determined about this roofing party, I see."

Miroku tapped his staff on the ground, making the rings jingle. "It's for the good of their souls."

"You say that a lot," InuYasha said, with just a small disbelieving smirk. "Comes in handy."

Kagome gave the two men a sharp look, and turned toward Kaede. "How . . . how is Haname doing?" Kagome asked.

The older miko looked at the younger woman, catching the note of hesitation in her voice, and gave her a small, tired smile. "Calmer. That amulet that yamabushi gave her was a nasty piece of work. It was hard to purify it, but once I did, she began to rest some." She took a deep breath. "And then I was able to rest some, too. But it was not an easy night for her. She kept calling out in her sleep, like she was having nightmares."

"Morio told me he had been giving her some sort of tea," Kagome said.

"I can believe that," Kaede said. "Sometimes, when dark medicines like that work their way out of a person's system, it can make that person suffer."

The group began heading down the street toward Kaede's house and Tameo's compound beyond.

"Sometime in the middle of the night," the old miko continued as they walked, "Haname began to sleep more normally. She woke up for a while this morning, and seemed much more like herself than she did yesterday. But her ki seems weak. It's going to take a while for her to recover, I am afraid."

Rin stepped out of the miko's house right before they reached it. She, too, looked a bit tired, but when she saw the group, she broke out in a smile.

"InuYasha-ojisan, Miroku-ojisan, Kagome-obasan! Rin is happy to see you!"

"And you, too, Rin-chan," Kagome said. She stepped forward, quickly followed by Kaede, leaving the men behind them.

Rin gave Kagome a thoughtful look, trying to figure out something, but then it evidently hit her, and her confusion turned to a curious look."But where are your robes, Kagome-obasan? Aren't you coming to study with Kaede-obaasan today?"

Kagome laughed a little. "I hope so. My miko clothes are at Tameo-sama's house. They got dirty yesterday, so Hisa-obasan had them washed, and they weren't dry before I came home."

"Ah," the girl said. "Rin hopes today is nicer. And that we get to go to Sango-obasan's for our sewing lesson again."

"Me, too," Kagome said. "I didn't get anything done since we were there last."

Daitaro, watching the young girl interact with Kagome, leaned toward Miroku. "Is she always this bubbly?"

"Usually, yes," the monk replied.

"And she followed InuYasha's brother?" Daitaro rubbed the back of his neck. "I've seen him, and thinking of anybody this cheerful around him seems . . . well, unusual."

"Indeed," Miroku replied.

InuYasha's ear flicked. "Feh. The only bright thing around him."

The women seemed not to notice the little discussion behind their backs.

"Well, Rin-chan, is everything all right inside?" Kaede asked. "Am I needed?"

"Haname-sama woke up again. Chiya-sama said to let you know."

"Did she?" Kaede said. She turned and looked at the young woman next to her "Perhaps, you should come as well, Kagome-chan." She looked up at the men. "But I think all of you should stay out here, or maybe go on to Tameo-sama's."

"Now?" Kagome asked. There was a tiny flash of discomfort in her eyes, and she swallowed before regaining her composure.

"It would be convenient," Kaede said. "You're here, and I'm sure I won't be able to keep you long, but I do need you for a few minutes. I expect Tameo will be wanting to talk with you this morning."

"Uh," Kagome said, and looked up at InuYasha.

Although Kaede didn't seem to notice that flash of panic in Kagome's voice, it did not go by InuYasha."Wait a minute," he said, moving forward. "Haname tried to attack her yesterday. Do you think I'm going to let Kagome go anywhere near her and not be there? Anyway, why'd you need her now?"

"There's something I need to test," Kaede said, unperturbed at the hanyou's reaction. "How will I know if the magic is truly broken if I don't have Kagome-chan see her? Perhaps she's only calm because Kagome has been kept away from her. And you frightened Haname even before this happened. As bad as she was yesterday, I don't think you should be where she can see you."

"Do you think so?" Kagome asked. "That she's only calmer because I haven't been near?"

"Not really, but we need to find out," Kaede replied. "That was a harsh magic Morio used on her."

InuYasha rested a hand on Kagome's shoulder. She rested her hand on top of his.

Kaede looked at her thoughtfully. "And I'm glad you're not in your miko garments. If she's going to react to you, the robes might make it worse. I'm not exactly sure just how that yamabushi triggered the magic."

InuYasha's grip on Kagome's shoulder grew a little tighter, and she looked up at him. He searched her eyes then looked back at Kaede, scowling.

The old miko sighed. "I'll not send you away, InuYasha, if that's what you're worried about. You can stand there right by the door and use your ears," she said. "And after we see how Kagome-chan's presence affects her, then all of you go on to Tameo's. I suspect he will be keeping you busy today."

Kagome took a deep breath. "I guess that'll -"

"I -" InuYasha started, interrupting her, but Kagome grabbed his sleeve.

"Give us a minute, Kaede-obasan," Kagome said. "I need to talk with InuYasha."

The old miko nodded, and Kagome led InuYasha behind the miko's house, where they could have a little privacy. She leaned up against the side of the building and sighed.

InuYasha looked at Kagome. "I don't like this. I don't know exactly what's wrong, but I can tell you're not ready for this."

"I know." She nodded, not meeting his eyes. "And I'm not sure I like it all that much myself. I' don't know why I feel so tense."

"If you're not ready, we need to let Kaede-babaa know." He lifted her chin up with a finger "I know she wants you to do this, but your body's telling me you don't want to. You know Kaede-babaa. She won't make you do it if you're not ready to face Haname. She'd work around it."

"I know that," she replied.

He cupped her cheek. "You promised me that if you felt trapped, you would tell me. You're sure acting like you feel trapped right now."

"I think . . . I think I need to let me do this. Knowing you're near will help, but I . . . I need to do this. If I'm going to be a healer, I need to face a healer's responsibilities," Kagome said, finally meeting his eyes. "And . . . and maybe I need to see her just to know why I'm acting like this. This isn't like me. Is it part of Morio's magic?"

"That bastard," InuYasha said.

Kagome nodded. "She frightened me yesterday. I don't like letting people frighten me. I need to face her. It's not that I'm trapped. It's more like I have to figure this out. Does that make sense?"

InuYasha wrapped his arms around her. "Yeah, it does. I know you. You've always been brave. Hell, you told my brother off more than once. You pushing yourself to figure this out when I can tell you're really nervous, that shows you still being brave."

"You think so?" Her eyes searched his. "I feel . . . almost ashamed that I'm so nervous."

"Feh." He gave her small smirk. "Won't tell you about how many times I had to put a good face on things when all I wanted to do was run."

"You?" Kagome said. "I thought you never got scared."

"I hide it better than you," he said, brushing a stray piece of hair out of her face. "If you had my sense of smell, you'd know it." He gave her a small chuckle.

Kagome said. "Maybe it was his magic. All I can see when I think of her is the anger in her eyes. So much hate. I need to see if that was all Morio's magic. I need to know if I can deal with it if it wasn't. I need to face it. I can't let her do that to me."

He kissed her forehead. "Yeah. But you don't have to be a hero. Go in and see how she acts. Don't let her hurt you. I hate when people try to hurt you. I'm supposed to be protecting you. And yesterday . . . "

"You will be protecting me. You'll be right by the door. I know you'll be able to tell if anything's the matter."

"You're sure?" he asked. "Last chance to back out."

Kagome nodded. "No backing out."

He gave her a quick kiss, then pulled away. "Let's get this over then."

They walked back to the others.

"Would you like me to come in with you, Kagome-sama?" Miroku asked.

Kagome looked at Kaede, who nodded. "I think that should be all right. But let us go in first, and we'll call you."

"And I'll stay outside with InuYasha," Daitaro said. "But if you need us, we'll both be there. I saw how she was yesterday."

"Will that work, InuYasha?" Kaede asked.

The hanyou nodded.

"Good. Rin-chan, go and tell them at Tameo's that the others will be there soon."

The girl nodded, and headed for the headman's house. Kaede opened the door mat and the two women entered the house.

The air in Kaede's hut had an acrid smell, something bitter, like old sweat and strong herbs. Chiya and Akina sat alongside of the pallet that Haname was stretched out on. They looked up as the women entered the small house.

Chiya, who was holding a soup bowl, put the bowl down and scowled at the trio. "You brought her in here?"

"Of course I did," Kaede said, going to her place by the fire pit. "Kagome-chan is my apprentice. She has every right to be here. Miroku-sama's waiting outside if you want to have him say sutras for you." She looked up at Kagome. "Come here, child."

Kagome walked over to Kaede and knelt down while Kaede poured a medicine from a small pot into a cup.

"Some apprentice," Chiya said.

"Chiya, enough," said Haname. Her voice was very soft, very weak. "Let the girl do her job."

"But Okaa," Chiya looked at her mother, surprised. "Wasn't yesterday . . . "

"Enough," said the older woman. Although she was weak, her eyes met her daughter's eyes, and the look she gave Chiya demanded obedience. "Help me sit up."

Chiya, frowning, nodded to her sister-in-law. Together, they helped Haname get into a sitting position, and smoothed the covers over her lap.

Kaede handed the cup of medicine to Kagome. "Take this over to her, child."

Kagome, working to keep her face neutral and her hand from shaking, nodded, and moved toward the bed.

"You need to drink this tea," Kaede said from where she sat, observing how Haname was behaving carefully. "It should help get the last of whatever it was that yamabushi gave you out of your system."

Haname frowned. "Is this the same medicine you gave me with breakfast?"

Kaede nodded, and the sick woman made a disgusted face. "Nasty stuff."

"So often, good medicine is," the old miko said, agreeing. "It can be bitter, like life."

The sick woman gave a short, unpleasant barking laugh. "Life and bitterness. I know that potion well."

"Okaasan, it will get better," Akina, her daughter-in-law said, and rested a hand on Haname's.

The older woman shook it off. "Life is what it is, Akina-chan. We have to deal with what it gives us."

Chiya reached out for the medicine cup as Kagome reached them but Haname pulled her daughter's arm back. "Move, daughter. Go out and get the monk to recite the Heart Sutra. Kagome-sama, come sit down next to me. You and I, we need to talk.


	85. Chapter 85

_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 85**

"Okaasan?" Chiya said. Her brows knit in confusion, looking at her mother's hand on her arm.

"You heard me, Chiya-chan. Let the woman have your place." Haname let her arm drop back. "Go see your monk. I'm sure his prayers will do more good than you fussing over me."

Chiya got up reluctantly and shot Kagome a cold, resentful look. "If you . . . "

"Chiya, enough," Haname said. "Go."

The woman gave her mother one last troubled look, took a deep breath, and nodding, dropped her eyes to the floor and walked across the room and out of the house.

As the door mat rattled shut, Haname sighed. "Now I can breathe again."

"Don't be too hard on her," Kaede said, her lips pursed. The miko put on a pot of water to heat. "You had her rather worried."

"Bah. She's been hovering over me like I was a sick calf," Haname said. Her face was drawn and tired, but the set of her mouth showed her irritation. "She needs to be taking care of her own family instead. I'm sure that husband of hers has his hands full."

"They'll be all right, Okaasan," Akina said, patting her mother-in-law's arm. "My little sister went over there yesterday evening to help."

"Hana-chan is a sweet girl," Haname said, giving her daughter-in-law a small nod, and patting her hand, "But Chiya needs to be taking care of her family. She forgets whose family she belongs with now. She should be taking care of her mother-in-law instead of me." She looked back up at Kagome who was still standing there, not sure of what to make of the scene she just saw.

"Come, woman. Sit down and give me that nasty brew Kaede is going to demand that I drink. My neck is beginning to hurt looking up at you."

Nodding, Kagome sat down next to Haname and handed her the medicine cup. Haname held it in both hands and turned it around. "It even smells bad."

"The medicine for what ails you does," Kaede said calmly. "One of the roots I used is particularly pungent, but it works amazingly well."

"I'll take your word for it," Haname said. Looking at it with great distaste for a moment, she tossed it back, draining the cup at one go, shaking her head and grimacing with her eyes closed at the taste. Without looking she held out the cup for Kagome to take.

Kagome took it from her hand, and not sure what to do, just held onto it.

"Drink this, Okaasan," Akina said, holding up a cup filled with something that smelled sweet. "It'll help wash the taste out."

She took the cup from her daughter-in-law and sipped on the liquid, swishing it around her mouth.

"Not too much, Haname," Kaede said. "It's got saké in it and it's not good to mix what I just gave you and very much saké."

The sick woman nodded, took one last sip, and handed the cup back to her daughter-in-law before turning back to Kagome.

Haname gave her a long, penetrating look. "Tell me, Kagome-sama, why are you here?"

Kagome tilted her head to one side, surprised at the question. "Because Kaede-sama is training me to be a healer."

"No, I know that," the older woman said. "Why, after three years, now that things have gotten quiet again, and the scars from what that awful youkai did to the village have finally faded, did you just show up one day?"

"It wasn't to cause problems," Kagome said, a bit defensively. "I would have been back sooner but I was . . . kept away until I finished an obligation I needed to do." She met the older woman's gaze and held it steadily. "The village wasn't the only thing that needed to recover. I needed some time to get over that battle myself. It wasn't an easy thing, what we did."

Haname nodded. "Ah, obligation. I understand obligation. And yes, there was a lot to repair. And many lesser youkai surfaced in the wake of that monster's defeat. Houshi-sama and that . . . your husband were quite busy." She turned to Akina. "Could you get me some water?"

"Of course, Okaasan," the young woman said, walking over to the water bucket and filling up a cup. As she walked back to the two women, Miroku from where he stood outside, began chanting in a low, sonorous voice.

"Houshi-sama has such a good voice," Akina said as she handed the cup to Haname. "Chiya-chan must have gotten him to agree to chant the sutras."

"He does have a way with chanting," Kagome said, agreeing.

Akina looked up at Kagome. "After you left, it really was a busy time. When the monster turned the sky dark and started throwing those black things at the village, one hit our best field. We had to repair the dyke before we put in the rice, and the barley was really hurt. But other people had their houses ruined. We were lucky; none of us got hurt."

"That was a dark day indeed," Haname sighed. "Watching it happen . . . I had nightmares a long time."

"You weren't the only one," Kagome said, nodding. Her eyes grew distant for a moment, remembering. "It was a very hard battle. All of us who fought the battle nearly died at one point or another." She gave Haname a small, sad smile. "I was trapped in darkness for three days until I finally overcame the magic. If it hadn't been for InuYasha . . . "

"I have heard the stories that Miroku and Sango-chan have told," Kaede said, looking up from the tea she was preparing. "And even Rin-chan has dreams about it from time to time."

"I didn't know that," Kagome said.

Everyone fell silent for a moment, lost in their memories.

Then Haname turned back to Kagome. "That explains why it took you time." She took another sip of the water. "But that does not explain why, after you were kept away, you chose to come back, especially with all you went through. It was your choice, was it not?"

Kagome nodded. "Yes, after the battle with Naraku, I was sent away. I don't know if I would have chosen to go then, but I didn't have a choice. But I did choose to come back, and returned with my family's blessing."

Haname handed the cup of water back to Akina. "And do they know why you came back? Did they know who you were coming back to be with?"

"They did." Kagome replied. "They've known all along where my heart was."

Haname looked thoughtfully at the younger woman. "It . . . it's just hard for me to wrap my head around," she said, studying Kagome's face and seeing no nervousness or deceit there. "That a family would bless such a union . . . "

"They knew who he was, and what he is." Kagome finally realized she was still holding the medicine cup, looked down on it for a moment, and put it down. "Once the way was open for me to return, no one stopped me." She straightened her shoulders and sat there, holding her head up with dignity and looked directly at Haname. "I have no regrets. We were meant to be together."

"Regrets . . . " the older woman whispered. She moved her head slowly, from side to side as if a great weight were attached. "You're too young to know how time can make you regret." Looking down at her lap, she wrapped her arms around her as if she were cold.

"Okaasan," Akina said. "Do you need a blanket?"

Haname shook her head no. "When I was a young woman, just old enough to be wed, a youkai appeared out of nowhere and attacked my family and set fire to the house. He was tall and white-haired with red, red eyes. We lived on the western edge of the village, nearly the last house. I am not sure why this monster attacked us, but the day before my father had come home from a journey, and I remember he seemed very nervous."

Kaede joined the women, carrying tea and cups on a tray.

"I watched that . . . that monster kill my family," Haname continued as Kaede poured tea. "We were all in the house at dinner time. My father went to the door when the monster came by. My father spoke softly then yelled. I still remember that monster's laughing at him. Otousan was the first killed. My nephew crawled out of one of the windows, too small for anybody else, and got away to get help, but all of the others in our house died, slashed by his claws. But not me. He found me in the corner I was hiding in and grabbed me by the wrist, saying something about stupid humans don't keep the bargains they make. I tripped over the body of my mother and got her blood all over me." Her eyes glazed over, as if she were seeing it all once again. "But he just pulled me to my feet. I remember his eyes and his laughter as he kicked the fire out of the fire pit onto the floor matting and it caught flame. One piece landed on the body of my brother. He lay on the floor unseeing, and the fire caught on his kosode."

Haname gave one soft sob, and for a moment covered her hands with her face. When she dropped them, Kaede handed her a cup of tea. Haname's hands were shaking a little as she took it. "He pulled me outside. He would have dragged me off but Kaede here, not much older than I was, showed up with the village guard and shot him with her bow."

"That was a sad, sad day," Kaede said, handing Kagome a cup of her own. "Your mother had been very kind to me after my sister's death."

"I'm sorry," Kagome said, resting the cup in the palm of her hand. "I had no idea."

"I know," Haname said. Holding her teacup in both hands to keep it from shaking, she took a sip. "There is much that I regret. Not being able to tell my mother how sorry I was for running off that day when she needed help . . . how I behaved to others in my grief." She sighed. "Regrets can find us when we least expect them, sometimes."

Akina took her mother-in-law's hand. "Okaa . . . "

"You are such a good woman, Akina-chan. I wish Joben were more a husband for you," Haname said, squeezing her hand back. She turned back to Kagome.

"After that happened, the marriage my parents were negotiating with Tameo's family fell through. I was tainted. Even though the youkai did no more to my person than touch my wrist, I was bad luck and no longer suitable for their son. Tsuneo's father, though, had pity on me, and married me to his second son." She took another sip of her tea. "It's been a decent marriage, I suppose. But they were not wrong. Luck has not been with me or mine."

"Haname," Kaede said. "You can't say that. You have two children, and grandchildren and people who care for you."

The sick woman's eyes flashed, a small reminder of the anger that small body could hold. "Don't tell me that, Kaede-sama. I know what I know." She looked back at Kagome. "This is why I need to know. Why did you come back?"

Haname's eyes bored into Kagome, but this time, she had no unease. She put her teacup down.

"Because being separated from InuYasha was the one thing I most regretted in the whole world," Kagome said. "And when the kami gave me the chance to return, there was no way I wouldn't take it. Even if my family had disapproved."

Haname didn't speak for a moment, but just looked at the young miko. As if finding something she needed to know, she nodded. "You have a strong will, girl. I think you will need it." Her eyes began to droop, and she looked quite tired. Unexpectedly, she yawned.

"I think," Kaede said, "that you will need to lie down soon. The medicine is starting to work."

"Let me help you lie down, Okaasan," Akina said. She reached out and rested her hand on the older woman's arm.

"In a minute," Haname said "Yesterday, they tell me I did and said many things. I don't remember very much. It was like I was in a red dream, and you were the reason I hurt. I remember hearing about my grandson and coming to talk to Kaede, and after that, it all grows blurry, like I drank too much saké. I woke up this morning here, aching all over." She shook her head. "More regrets. They tell me it was magic. But I know it was more of my own bad luck."

"Yesterday - " Kagome started.

"I apologize for whatever wrong I did you, young Miko-sama. Go to your husband, and leave an old woman to her regrets. Perhaps one day, I will understand why you two are meant to be together. Go in peace." She turned to Akina. "Help me lie down, daughter. I need to sleep."

She lay down, turning her back to Kaede and Kagome. In a few moments, she was sound asleep thanks to Kaede's medicine. The two miko used that as their cue to stand up and head outside


	86. Chapter 86

_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 86**

Kagome lifted the door mat to Kaede's house. "Such a sad story," she said, stepping across the threshold.

"Indeed," Kaede replied, letting the door mat drop behind her.

InuYasha and Daitaro were sitting in front of the house under the window. Chiya stood in front of Miroku with her head bowed as he chanted something in a language only he knew, and made a sign of blessing over her.

Hearing Kagome, he concluded his chant rather quickly, and giving her a small smile, said "I am sure Kwannon of the thousand eyes and hands, ever merciful, will keep an eye on your mother."

"Thank you, Houshi-sama. Please come by my humble home later; I am sure I will have something to donate for your temple." She turned towards the two women. "You're done?" Chiya asked. "I can go back in and check on Okaasan?"

Kaede nodded.

She almost ran to the door. For a moment Kagome was afraid she was going to knock her out of the way, but Chiya stopped in front of Kaede. "How is she?"

"She's asleep," Kaede said. "That last dose of medicine will probably have her sleeping for at least a couple of hours. I think it will be safe for her to go home when she wakes up."

Chiya nodded, and pushed past the two women to reenter the house.

InuYasha and Daitaro stood up, InuYasha with liquid grace, and Daitaro with a grunt as he lifted his weight.

"Ah, youth," he said, looking at the hanyou.

"I'm older than you, old man," InuYasha said, smirking.

"But younger in body," Daitaro said. "One day, if the heavens are merciful, you'll live long enough to know what I mean, and remember this day."

"Maybe so," InuYasha said, moving next to Kagome.

"Karma has a way to balance things out, you know," Miroku added, moving next to the women. "You probably should be careful who you mock, InuYasha."

"So they say," Daitaro said, dusting off his hakama. "Alas that I won't be there to see it."

"If that's true," the hanyou said, smirking, "you're going to be in a heap more trouble than me, Bouzu."

"Amida is known for mercy," Miroku said, putting on his most professional monk face and stamping his staff on the ground.

"So," InuYasha said, changing the subject and looking first at Kagome, and then to Kaede. "Sounded like no more magic."

"No," Kaede replied. "Haname's mind seems to be free of that spell."

"One less issue for the day," Miroku said. "But why do you look so troubled, Kagome-sama?"

Kagome sighed. "I...I had heard something had happened to her when she was a young woman," she said. She took InuYasha's hand, and gave it a small squeeze. "But I had no idea what it was like."

Kaede nodded. "I think the medicine freed Haname's tongue. She spoke much more than I would have expected her to, especially telling you that." The old miko shook out her sleeves, then, almost InuYasha-like, crossed her arms and slipped her hands in her sleeves. "It was such a dark day, that day. That was the first youkai attack I had to cope with on my own, and I don't know who was more frightened, her or me. I can still hear his roar in my mind as my arrow hit him. He went down easily, but Haname took a long time to recover, and with so much loss, it's not surprising."

Daitaro sighed, remembering. "I was with the group who put out the fire and helped with the aftermath," he said, looking down at his feet, and making a pattern in the dust with his toe. "I do not want to see what I saw in that house again."

Kaede shook out her sleeves, as if chasing the memory away."The past is the past," she said. "Today is today, and we need to work with what is at hand, and not what we cannot change."

"That's the best way," Daitaro agreed. "Dwelling on what should have been you can't do anything about just makes the heart heavy."

"It is said we are what we think," Miroku said. "All that we are arises with our thoughts. With our thoughts, we make our world. If we dwell on what should-have-beens or regrets, they become our world."

"That's what I just said," Daitaro said, giving the monk a sharp look. InuYasha snorted.

Kagome, though, ignored the jab at the monk. "I don't know if Haname has learned that yet."

"It is a hard lesson sometimes," Miroku acknowledged.

"I guess," Kagome said.

Kaede touched her pupil's hand. "You did well, Kagome-chan."

"Thank you," the young miko replied. She gave Kaede a small, uncertain nod. "But I didn't do much of anything."

"You did more than you realize. You didn't know how she was going to react, but you didn't panic," Kaede said, resting her hand on the younger woman's arm. "You didn't do anything to make her condition worse. You listened to her when she wanted to talk. You were kind. You stood your ground where you needed to. All these are traits that healers need."

Kagome chewed her bottom lip, taking in the older woman's words. "If you say so. Somehow . . . "

"I do indeed. And you will be needing those traits. People who are ill often need to be handled with firm, but gentle touch, just like you managed, even if they aren't your friends." She smiled. "Although, dealing with a cranky hanyou who didn't want to be bothered probably gave you some practice with that."

This brought Kagome out of her funk for a moment and she smiled knowingly at her husband. "I have had practice with that one."

"Hey," InuYasha said, with a mock-scowl, quickly turning into a grin. "Maybe."

"Besides that," Kaede said. "I suspect you and I will be checking on her for a few days. It's going to take some time for her to get better."

"Talking about checking on things, I believe we need to get to Tameo's," Daitaro said.

Kaede nodded. "I'm not so sure how long my cousin's going to keep you, Kagome-chan," the old miko said. "But you can go home when he's done instead of coming back here."

"Are you sure, Kaede-baachan?" Kagome asked, surprised.

"Yes, yes," Kaede said, yawning. "As soon as they take Haname home, I'm going to take a nap. It was a rough night." She smiled at the group. "I would prefer not to have any more crises to deal with for a day or two."

"You aren't the only one," InuYasha said.

Wishing her a good nap, they made their goodbyes and headed to Tameo's.

"So, Daitaro-sama," Miroku said as they walked down the street, "what do you expect will happen today?"

"Eh," said the old man. "We were thinking about having the boys do a few months punishment work to help them learn how not to get into trouble together before we were interrupted by more . . . interesting events. Sometimes, even good boys, when they play together, can bring out the worst in each other. I remember when Susumu and Shinjiro were that age . . . "

"They gave you some trouble?" Kagome said.

"Every bit as wild as Aki and Isao," Daitaro admitted. "Why'd you think I have so much gray hair?"

"Uh," InuYasha said. "You're sure you want an answer to that?"

That made the old man laugh. "Oh, I'm sure you can think up an idea or two. Anyway, they'd broken a fence by old Daisuke's vegetable patch, and his ox got into it and between stomping and eating, he lost half the crop before he got the beast out. Didn't do the ox any good either, and it got sick. Thought the old man was going to skin the two of them alive." He sighed. "That was a hard year. Had to pay him back for my boy's half of the damage, and plow his rice field for him when it came time."

"So," Miroku said. "What happened to the boys?"

"Tameo's father sent Shinjiro to work for Daisuke for six months, until the last of the rice was in. Old man worked him hard, too. And Susumu, well they gave him to me the same way. Got some good use out of the brat he was, too, but I do believe he got tired of cow patties before the time was up." He pushed his cap back and scratched the top of his head. "We kept the boys so busy they didn't have time to get into trouble. They weren't even allowed to talk to each other the first two months, which was just as well, since they mostly worked until they dropped, barely staying awake to eat." He straightened his cap. "Both seemed to turn out all right in spite of it."

"You think they'll do something like that to Aki and Isao?" Kagome asked.

"I suspect," Daitaro said. "Although whoever tries to get young Aki to work hard might be the one who feels like he's being punished. Boy's been indulged."

"It might do him some good," Miroku said. "I remember - "

"Feh," InuYasha said, crossing his arms. "I can't believe old Mushin got you to do anything you didn't want to."

Miroku rubbed his backside. "You'd be surprised. He was quite good with his staff until I got old enough to run faster than him."

Daitaro slapped him on the back, laughing. "I bet. Well let's get to Tameo's and get all this sorted out."

At Tameo's compound two figures, one fully grown, and one a small boy, were squatting in the courtyard.

"And then the brave samurai leaped over the wall with his horse and the wall went splat!" Morio said, knocking down a row of stones he had built up with a toy horse. He hit a few sticks that were standing in the ground near the stones. "All the oni fled or were killed, expect for the king of the oni, leaving all the gold for the hero!"

"Yay!" said Mitsuo, Susumu's son squatting next to the strange former yamabushi. He play galloped his toy horse over the heap of rocks toward a stick stuck in the ground.

"Let's kill the oni king!" Morio said, play galloping along side of Mitsuo, hitting the stick with his toy horse.

"That is the oddest thing to watch," Emi, Tameo's daughter-in-law said. She sat on the verandah of the main house, working her spinning wheel and keeping an eye on her son as he played, as well as on Morio.

Kinjiro, leaning against the door frame felt less charitable. "You couldn't leave him at home?" he said, crossing his arms.

"No, no," Joben replied. He leaned against the wall of the house on the far end of the verandah, looking at his charge. Sighing, he crossed his arms. "Akina's with Okaasan, and Amaya was willing, but he started to cry like a toddler. I was afraid he would hurt her or the house. He may think like a small child, but he has the body and strength of an adult man. I didn't know what else to do, so I walked him here with Aki and Otousan." He scratched the back of his neck. "I can see when I decided to claim him for my obligation, I had no idea what I would be getting myself into."

Kinjiro moved out of the doorway as his mother stepped out.

"Well, you did a good thing, Joben," Hisa said. "The kami will bless you for it."

Joben shrugged.

She gave him an encouraging smile and turned to her son. "So, Kinjiro," she said. "Where is everybody?"

"Otousan, Tsuneo-ojisan and Toshiro-ojisan are in Otousan's office," Kinjiro said, the ghost of a scowl on his lips, just enough to show his impatience without inviting his mother to fuss at him. "I'm not sure where Susumu is. We're here waiting for Daitaro-ojisan and InuYasha-sama. Kaede-obasan's girl told us they had to stop at her house for a little while."

"Susumu is here," said Kinjiro's brother, stepping out of the house. He had a bright red scarf tied around his forehead, and wore his armor once again, with a sword stuck in his obi.

"You look ready to take on a bandit prince," Kinjiro said.

Susumu laughed. "And you look ready to make him drop dead just by looking at him."

Kinjiro intensified his scowl. "There are other things that need to be done," he grumbled.

Susumu looked at the yard in front of the house. "Where are the girls?"

"After Rin-chan stopped by, they all decided to go to Matsume's. Something about the present company bothered them," Emi said, nodding to the scene in front of the house.

"Yes," Mitsuo said, cheering. "We've killed the king of the oni!"

"Want to do it again?" Morio asked.

"Yeah!" the little boy said.

Morio began rebuilding his fort of rocks.

"Ah, I can understand that," Susumu said. "No wonder you look ready to eat an oni, Kinjiro. Don't worry. It'll be over soon."

"It better," Kinjiro said. "I'm going to join Otousan."

Susumu watched his brother walk down the path. "Is it going to be one of those days?"

Joben, who had sat down while the two brothers talked, banged his head lightly against the house wall. "Aren't they all?"

"No," Hisa said. "Some days have a remarkable twist to them. But on this day . . . who knows?"

"I wonder how InuYasha's going to react when he sees Morio?" Susumu asked.

Hisa watched her grandson and the childlike man playing in the yard. "Do you think we should get them inside?"

"Too late," Susumu said. "Our company is already here."

InuYasha and Kagome headed toward the main house, with Daitaro and Miroku close behind.

Joben stood up. "I guess we'll find out soon enough," he said, moving off the verandah. Susumu, nodding, followed him


	87. Chapter 87

_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 87**

Before InuYasha and Kagome, walking ahead of Miroku and Daitaro, got to the first building in Tameo's compound, Susumu and Joben reached them.

"Ah cousins, Houshi-sama, you're here," Susumu said, bowing his greeting.

A small child walked up as the hanyou and his wife stopped. He looked up with large serious eyes, thumb in his mouth and holding a brightly colored towel in the fingers of his other hand. Suddenly, without a word he turned around and ran towards the other side of the compound.

"What was that about?" Kagome asked.

"Don't you know, cousin?" Susumu said. "You've become quite impressive since yesterday. Little Mikio there must have wanted to see for himself. He doesn't say much, but he's a clever little boy." He scratched the back of his neck. "I suspect he heard about your from his brothers and sisters last night."

Kagome made a face, if not sure she liked that idea. As she looked around the compound, she saw the boy run to a woman hanging up laundry. The woman hugged the boy, picked him up and rested him on her hip and waved at them. A couple of other people were pausing in their work, looking in the group's direction.

"Feh," InuYasha said, picking up on Kagome's discomfort, and deciding to change the subject. "Kagome made an impression? What about yourself? You're getting ready for a battle?" InuYasha asked, pointing out the warrior gear that the younger man was dressed.

"Only with my Otousan and brother if you don't show up," Susumu said, making a mock woeful face.

The hanyou snorted. "No doubt Tameo still packs a wallop."

"You have no idea," Susumu said, rubbing his head. "And just because I'm taller than him doesn't mean he can't reach, either."

Daitaro and Miroku caught up with them. "I've seen what that Otousan can do," the older man said. "Took you long enough to learn how not to get the sense knocked into you."

"True, true," Susumu admitted. "Some of us need lessons repeated more than once."

Miroku laughed. "I know that one."

"A good thing you're just here," Daitaro said. "If you head to Odawara like that, they'll stick you in with the foot soldiers. No telling when you'd get back to your pretty wife. Look what happened to Joben's cousin." He nodded at Joben, who was chewing on his lip as if trying to decide something. "Been a long time since he's left."

Susumu glanced at Joben, waiting for him to say something, and when he didn't, Susumu shrugged.

"Then, cousin, I'll be sure to dress up like one of the merchants on market day," Susumu said. "Or maybe even as Houshi-sama's acolyte. I hear the girls there like monks better than merchants."

Miroku laughed. "Only until they realize merchants have more money than monks."

"Never seemed to stop you finding plenty of girls to talk to," InuYasha said, his voice a soft grumble, but still audible.

"Well, some of us do have that gift," Miroku said. "Am I the fault that so many lovely ladies wanted me to give them the Buddha's blessing?"

"Feh," the hanyou said, and was about to say something else when Joben suddenly bowed towards him.

"My apologies, InuYasha-sama for whatever my son did yesterday," he said with a nervous voice. "And . . . and . . . and whatever unpleasantness happened to your wife yesterday because of my houseguest. Please let me make amends to you."

He stood back up, but seemed more interested in his toes than meeting the hanyou's eyes.

InuYasha glanced at Miroku, who gave him a small shrug. He took a deep breath, not exactly sure what to say."We'll talk about that later,"

Joben nodded.

Kagome spoke up, breaking through the tension that suddenly hung over the group. "We would have been here sooner," she told Susumu, "But Kaede-obaasan asked me to stop a few minutes."

Joben looked up, and actually met Kagome's eyes this time, then bowed in her direction. "How is my Haha-ue this morning? Akina stayed with Kaede all night, and when I checked she was still sleeping."

"She is doing better," Kagome said, giving him a small smile. "I believe Kaede-obaasan will send her home this afternoon."

"How was she?" Susumu asked. "Yesterday . . . "

"Haname seemed normal to me," Kagome replied. "We had a small talk. She was tired, but not angry."

"Ah," Joben said, relieved. His face relaxed and he almost smiled. "I didn't know what to expect. I know Otousan will be glad to hear that."

"You, too," Kagome said.

He nodded. "Me, too."

"Let's get this meeting over," Susumu said. "If we don't get to the house soon, Kinjiro will come hunting us down. He wasn't in a good mood to start with." He began moving back to the house. "I wouldn't dally much longer. He packs a mean bow."

"He's not the only one," InuYasha said, looking at Kagome. She gave him a big smile.

"Maybe," she replied. "But I need to get to practicing again."

The group began to move to the main house.

In front of Tameo's house, Morio and Mitsuo continued their play under Emi's watchful eye. All of the sticks representing the various monsters they were play fighting had been knocked over, laying on the ground amid the rocks of their play castle like a mighty slaughter. Morio, with a satisfied grin, thumped a couple of small stones over.

He turned to the younger boy. "Let's do another fight!" Morio said. "We've got all the oni's treasure!"

"Yeah," Mitsuo said, knocking one more stone over with his toy horse. "What do we do next?"

"Next," Morio said, thinking a minute. He began sweeping the rocks into a pile, and beginning to heap them up like he was making a hill, "We'll go to the house of the mountain sage. He's supposed to give us . . . " The childlike man knit his brow in confusion. He sat back, and sighed, resting his cheek in his hand. "He's supposed to give us . . . something. What was it? I used to know. Why don't I remember what he gave me? I was there. He put something in my hand."

The tone in the man's voice, confused and frustrated, made Emi look up from her spinning. "Is everything all right, Morio-kun?" she asked.

The boy and the man ignored her. Mitsuo was too busy noticing how his new playmate was upset. He patted the man on the shoulder. "It's all right," he said in the tone small boys use to soothe each other. "I forget stuff, too. We can make something up."

Morio, chewing on his bottom lip, looked at the small boy. "You do? We . . . we can?" he asked, as if this was a totally surprising idea. His voice was very uncertain. "Is that allowed?"

Mitsuo nodded. "Sure. We're just playing." He thought for a moment. "What can we get? A magic sword?" the boy suggested. "InuYasha-sama's sword is magic. It gets real big." The thought got him excited and he got a big grin. "We can have one, too. We'll use it to fight the next monster!"

Morio, still unsure for a minute, slowly began to grin and nodded his head. "Yeah! Let's do it! A magic sword! We'll go to the mountain sage, and give him the king oni's head and he'll give us a magic sword." Suddenly, he tilted his head, and looked confused again. "But what will we fight next?"

"Let's fight a dragon," Mitsuo said. "A bad, evil dragon who stole the Emperor's daughter!"

"Is she beautiful?" Morio asked.

The boy shrugged. "I guess," he said.

"I thought all the daughters of the emperor were supposed to be beautiful," a woman's voice said from behind them.

Morio and Mitsuo turned to see Kagome and InuYasha walking up to them.

"Ah, Kagome-chan, it's good to see you," Emi said. "I'll go tell Haha-ue you're here." She got up and stepped into the house.

Mitsuo, though, looked up at the young miko. "Is that for true?" he asked. "They're all beautiful?" He scratched his head. "Nobody tolded me that."

Kagome nodded. "That's what Haha always told me," she said, bending low, looking at what they were playing for. "All the Emperor's daughters and wives and ladies in waiting are all always beautiful in every story." She grinned at him. "No exceptions."

"Oh," Mitsuo said. For some reason, he frowned at the thought."But they're girls!"

This made Kagome laugh. "Don't you think girls are beautiful?"

He shook his head. "Only Okaasan and Obaasan. The rest is yucky."

This made Kagome laugh.

"Smart boy," InuYasha replied, coming up to stand behind Kagome. Even while he talked to Mitsuo, he was watching Morio, not really paying much attention to the boy.

Morio was watching him back, his eyes widening as he took in InuYasha. He tilted his head to the side, perplexed then clutched the toy horse close to his chest in a nervous gesture. "Why do I think I should know you?" he asked the hanyou. "And why do you have hair like that? You're . . . you . . . you have dog ears!" he said, stuttering. "Like my uncle's dog. He's a big hunting dog with ears just like yours. But . . . do people have dog ears?"

Miroku, hanging back with the other men watched the four interact. "That's Morio? The yamabushi that was staying with you?" he asked Joben.

Joben nodded, and sighed. "That's him. I wish I had never seen his face, but now . . . "

"It was rather amazing to see what happened when the kami showed himself," Susumu said, coming up to Miroku. "Morio never had a chance to get away."

InuYasha's ear flicked, moving in the direction where the men were standing.

That made Morio's eyes grow even wider. "My uncle's dog never liked me," he said, his voice growing less amazed at the novelty of the hanyou, and more soft and guarded. "He always growls when he sees me. I'm scared he's gonna bite me when I go there." He dropped his eyes and focused on his toy. "Why do you have dog ears?"

InuYasha's brows knit together as he looked at Morio, his face nearly as troubled as the confused man. He rested a hand on Kagome's shoulder, ready to move her out of the way if necessary. "I was born this way, but I'm not going to bite you."

"Are you going to growl?" Morio asked, pulling back and making himself small.

"He can, but not if it's going to make you scared," Kagome said. She rested one of her hands on the hand on her shoulder.

"You're sure?" he asked Kagome. "You tried to be nice to me yesterday. You're still nice?"

The miko nodded. "Of course."

"It's all right," Mitsuo said. "That's InuYasha-sama. He's the guy with the magic sword. He's a good guy. He saved us from the bandits last year."

"A good guy?" Morio asked the boy. Mitsuo nodded. "But why does he have hair like that, and ears?"

Mitsuo shrugged. "Cause he was born like that?"

Morio looked around the courtyard, and began to stand up. "Joben-ojisan!"

Joben, who was talking to Daitaro, looked up. "I think we have a problem," he said and hurried toward the house.

Hisa stepped out on the verandah and noticed the situation that was developing. "Why don't you two come into the house? Kagome-chan, I have your robes."

Kagome nodded.

Morio, in panic mode, began to cry as they moved into the house. "Don't let him get me, Joben-ojisan!" he said, running to his caretaker. "There's something weird about him. Why do I think he wants to hurt me?"

Joben wrapped his arms around the confused man. "It's all right, Morio-kun. That's InuYasha-sama. He won't hurt you. He's our friend. You're safe."

Kagome went inside. InuYasha watched for a moment longer as Joben led Morio, still crying, toward the front of the compound.

"Damn," InuYasha said. "What in the hells did that kami do to him?"

"Made sure he'd never pull another stunt like that again," Daitaro said. "From what the kami said, he'd been doing some rotten things for a long time." The old man shook his head. "I'm going to tell the men that it looks like Joben won't be joining us." He walked toward the office.

Miroku walked up the verandah and stood next to InuYasha. "No doubt Kazuo-sama wanted him to be an object lesson, from the look of things."

InuYasha looked once more at the retreating men and shook his head. "Been kinder to kill him," the hanyou said, then went inside to find Kagome.


	88. Chapter 88

_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 88**

Daitaro entered the office to find two of the village elders, Toshiro and Tameo, sitting down at Tameo's table.

"Ah, cousin, I see you've managed to join us," Tameo said, grinning.

With a nod, Daitaro plopped himself next to his cousin. "I couldn't let you get started without this," he said, setting his jug of sake on the table. "The stuff you have doesn't make for good considering." He uncorked the bottle. "Or drinking."

Toshiro barked a short laugh. "Someday, someone will show you a jug of sake better than the stuff you make. Then what will you do?"

"Impossible," Daitaro said, rocking back and forth as he got comfortable. "At least for humans. Maybe some of the Yousei can, but I haven't tried any of the little people's stuff."

Kinjiro, who was leaning against the wall by the window snorted. "Doubt if they'll offer you any. They're probably afraid you'll steal their recipe."

"More likely, they'll try to steal mine," the older man said, looking around the room. "So where is Tsuneo?"

"Out back with the boys," Kinjiro said, turning to look at Daitaro. "Where is everybody else? You didn't get here by yourself, did you?"

"No, no I didn't. No, I got here with InuYasha and his wife, and even the monk in tow." He looked at Tameo. "Where are the cups?"

"This early?" Tameo asked, reaching to a cupboard behind him. He retrieved a set of tiny cups and put them on the table, but then picked up his own tea cup. "So where are they?"

"If you'd had my morning, you'd join me," Daitaro said, grabbing one of the cups. "Your wife grabbed them before they got here."

"Today can't be as bad as yesterday," Toshiro said, also grabbing one of the cups. "Not the oddest day we've ever had, but pretty close to it." Daitaro poured some of the liquid into Toshiro's cup, and placed the jug back on the table. Toshiro returned the favor for Daitaro.

"No, not quite," Daitaro said, lifting his cup, "but if we don't stop having days like this, I think I'll go become a hermit in the mountains." He drained its contents down.

"So why did Hisa grab InuYasha?" Tameo asked. He sipped his tea.

"Now that's the interesting bit. Morio was playing with your grandson in front of the house." Toshiro reached for the jug to refill Daitaro's cup, but the farmer shook his head no.

"I saw them when I walked over here," Tameo said. "Looks like Mitsuo-chan has found a new playfellow, although I'm not sure how wise it's going to be long term."

All three of the older men nodded.

"Joben should have locked him into a shed," Kinjiro said, sitting down and grabbing one of the cups. He scowled at it, not wanting to meet his father's eyes, but Daitaro obligingly filled it. "It can't be good luck to have him hanging around like that."

"Not sure if the kami would say that, after what we saw yesterday," Daitaro said, putting down his jug. "Anyway, when InuYasha and Kagome-sama got up to the house, Morio saw InuYasha and began crying for Joben. I think Joben may have to take him home." He scratched the bottom of his chin. "Don't know why he reacted like that - the ghost of a memory? But he seems more confused than harmful."

Toshiro sighed. "I can see he's going to be a handful to care for. Maybe we need to set up a schedule of people to take care of him."

"If he'll ever let Joben out of his sight." Daitaro shook his head.

"Karma," Kinjiro said, taking a sip of his sake. "Joben brought him here. He can take care of him."

"We'll figure out what to do," Tameo said. He put his teacup down. "So how did Hisa get involved?"

"She grabbed InuYasha and Kagome and brought them inside, thinking it might calm him down. Didn't work, but I suspect they'll be a few minutes delayed."

"One thing after another," Kinjiro said. He tossed back the last of his sake. "I'll go tell Tsuneo."

Getting up, he walked out of the room.

"Where did he get that impatience from?" Toshiro asked, after Kinjiro left.

"It wasn't from his mother," Tameo said, picking up one of the sake cups. "Nobody's got more patience than Hisa."

"Unless it's Chime, or that wife of his. Matsume has to have tons of patience to cope with that boy of yours," Daitaro said. He reached for the jug.

"Oh, I wouldn't be so sure of that," Tameo said, watching as Daitaro filled his cup. "You haven't heard some of the sounds coming out of his house at night. Gets kind of loud once in awhile."

"I bet," the farmer said.

While Tameo and the men were discussing the morning's events, InuYasha sat in one of the back rooms of Tameo's house and watched his wife getting ready to change clothes. His ear flicked as Miroku laughed at something Hisa said in the other room, but he wasn't paying much attention to their discussion.

"It sounds like they're having a good time," Kagome said.

"Keh," InuYasha said. "Miroku's in a house filled with women. You know he's going to find something to enjoy." He leaned up against the wall, resting his sword on his shoulder. "At least with him keeping them busy talking, I got to get away."

"Hisa-obasan is very nice, InuYasha." Kagome reached for the tie on her wrap skirt. "It only took a few minutes to be nice in return."

"Yeah," he said. "I just . . . "

"And it's nice she has an extra room so I didn't have to change behind a screen."

"Don't know why you think you need to change clothes," the hanyou grumbled. "Everybody knows what you are and who you are."

Kagome stopped pulling at the bow on her wrap skirt for a moment to look at her husband. He was sitting quite rigid, with a firm scowl on his face and didn't meet her eyes, choosing instead to stare at the far wall.

"That's besides the point," Kagome said. "How do you feel going out without your fire rat jacket or your sword?"

He looked up at her. "But your miko robes are just . . . clothes. Not armor or a weapon."

Kagome, frowning, shook her head. "No, that's not quite true. They're armor, just different than yours. People see me and know what I am at a glance, the same way they know what you are and today, what Susumu was dressed for. They protect me just by what they stand for." She went back to unfastening her wrap skirt bow. "And besides, it was the easiest way for us to get a moment away from everybody. I thought you might like that."

His scowl hung on another moment as she let her wrap skirt loosen. As she pulled it away from her body, he let loose a long breath. "Yeah, you're right. I do. They all mean well, but sometimes . . . "

"I know. And this hasn't been an easy morning," she said, folding the skirt and putting it carefully on the mat next to InuYasha. "I don't care what the others were saying about getting back to normal - after talking with Haname and seeing Morio, things still feel a long way from that to me."

InuYasha looked at the garment next to him for a moment while he gathered his thoughts and traced the outline of one of the designs with a fingertip. "Yeah. What I really want is some time to think about everything that's happened since yesterday afternoon. It's not just Morio. That story Haname told you . . . " He looked up and met her eyes. "I bet you do too, but I can tell we're not going to get that this morning."

Kagome shook her head. "No, I suspect we won't." She loosened the plain belt that kept her kosode closed. "And this week looks like it might be busy, too. If we're lucky tomorrow might be quiet, but the day after that will be Miroku's work party, and the village women getting together here. Sayo's about to have her baby any time now, too. And I have no idea how much care Haname's going to need."

On the other side of the door, they could hear Mitsuo shriek with laughter and Susumu's voice join in. "Miroku's not the only one enjoying himself," InuYasha said.

Kagome nodded as she folded the obi and placed it on her wrap skirt before giving her husband a wry, if a bit sad, smile. "I don't blame them for enjoying a bit of fun. If I had my choice, I'd ask you for another trip to that hot spring we went to before market day." Her smile broadened. "That was definitely a fun moment."

InuYasha stood up walked over to her, and before she could slip off her outer kosode, he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her back against his chest. "It was, wasn't it. I'd take you back there today if we had the time." He rested his cheek on the top of her head. "Everything the last few days has been crazy. I'm sorry I got you dragged into this mess."

She rested her hands on top of his arms where they circled her waist and leaned back against him. "You didn't do anything wrong, InuYasha. You have nothing to be sorry for."

"But - " he started to say.

Kagome turned around, interrupting him. "When Haname was attacked by whatever youkai that was that killed her family, you were pinned to the Goshinboku, right? She's not old enough for that to happen before then."

"I guess," he said, his look uncertain. "I kind of get confused by that type of thing."

"It had to be. Kaede was a little girl when Naraku tricked you." She reached up and touched his cheek. "You didn't ask Morio to do any of those things he did, like egging Aki to come and pull pranks, or telling him to give Haname a nasty amulet, or spike their food with herbs that were going to make them listen to his suggestions, did you?"

His ear twitched. "No," he said. "But - "

She put a finger over his lips. "And most of all, you didn't try to attack anybody in front of the shrine of a kami who is very active in keeping an eye on the people under his protection, either."

InuYasha kissed her fingertip and gave a small, short laugh. "That kami has a mean punch," he said. "I hope I never make him mad at me."

Stepping away from her husband, Kagome shrugged out of her kosode and began folding it. "I don't think you need to worry too much about that. He seems to like you for some reason or other, silver hair and all."

"He sure didn't like Morio," InuYasha said. He went over to the folded stack of her miko garments and handed her the white jacket. "That's a really hard punishment he dished out. I've never seen anything quite like that before."

Kagome took the garment from him and nodded her head. "I know. I'm not sure exactly why he did it, either." She slipped her arms into the sleeves. "He said it was a chance for Morio to work off some of his bad karma, but I wonder if he did it to make Joben learn something."

"Joben definitely has his hands full," InuYasha said, agreeing. "Watching Morio act like he was a small child just about Mitsuo's age . . . " He gave a small shudder. "That was . . . disturbing. I hope Sesshoumaru doesn't run across him."

Kagome looked up from tying her chihaya closed. "Why?"

"Watching him is . . . well, you know something's really wrong." InuYasha bent down and picked up Kagome's hakama. "Sesshoumaru might decide to kill him just so he won't be disturbed looking at him."

"Do you really think so?" Kagome asked, surprised at the idea.

InuYasha shrugged. "It's possible," he said. "He might actually think he'd be doing Morio a kindness, putting him out of his misery."

"That's . . . " Kagome said, frowning. "We'll have to talk to the elders about it."

"Yeah." InuYasha handed her the red garment.

She slipped into it, and fastened the ties closed. "So many things have happened so fast."

"I don't things have slowed down since you came back," the hanyou said. He bent over once more and picked up her stack of clothes. "What are you going to do with these?"

She took the stack out of his hand. "I guess I'll leave them with Hisa-obasan until we get done. Ready to go see what the elders want?"

"As I'll ever be," he said, moving toward the door.

"Oh," Kagome said as a thought struck her. She reached out and rested her hand on InuYasha's arm, stopping him. "Will you do something for me when we get home?"

He turned and looked at her. "What is it?"

"Set me up a target to shoot at," she said. She gave him a rather InuYasha-like smirk. "If you're going to tell people I pack a mean wallop with my bow, maybe I should practice shooting again. I haven't done any archery in a long time. I wouldn't want to prove you a liar."

This made InuYasha laugh. "That I can do. You know, you're a glutton for punishment. Learning all this stuff. Dealing with all these people. Putting up with me. And now archery practice?"

Kagome smiled back, and slid the door open. "I know. But you like me that way." She stepped out of the room."

"I must," he said and followed her outside.


	89. Chapter 89

_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 89**

"So I can count on you when we do the roofing?" Miroku asked Susumu. They both sat near the fire pit in Tameo's house, sipping tea.

"Otou, play with my horse with me?" Mitsuo asked, trying to crawl into his father's lap.

"Not now, Mitsuo-chan," Susumu said, putting his cup down as he picked up his son. "Otousan was just taking a break, and has to get back to work. Maybe after lunch."

Mitsuo frowned. "Morio-kun had to go home. I don't have anybody to play with."

"Why don't you go to Matsume-obasan's house and tell your sisters to come home?" Emi said. She was sitting in a pool of light from the window, no longer spinning, but now working on some sewing. A soft beige cloth cascaded across her lap as she looked up at her son.

Mitsuo looked at his mother, obviously preferring the girl-free house. "Okaasan? Do I have to?"

Emi took one more stitch, then tucked her needle into her work. She nodded at the boy, a look not to be argued with on her face. "I need Yorime to help me, and Suzume to keep an eye on Aomi. I'm sure she'll play with you."

"Girl games," he said, pouting.

"Mitsuo," Susumu said. His voice promised less pleasant things if the boy did not obey.

Sighing, the boy nodded and got up. "I'll go."

Susumu and the monk watched the boy drag his feet and step outside. "It gets hard for him sometimes, having no brothers, I think," Susumu said.

"My son's lucky he's still so young," Miroku said. "I'm sure those daughters of mine will try to boss his every step for a while."

Emi giggled. "I've seen them with Sango. They can be quite the handful."

"True, true," Miroku said. He turned back towards Susumu. "So you'll be there?" Miroku asked again. "The day after tomorrow. I hear that this house will be hosting a number of women about the same time we'll be working."

"That's true," Susumu said, nodding. "We'll see. Someone still has to do the farming around here. Have you talked with Takeshi yet? Or Yasuo?"

"Not yet," the monk said. "But they are on my list."

"Somehow," Susumu said, "I'm not surprised to hear that. How many people do you think you'll need for that little building?"

"The more we have the faster - " Miroku began, but he stopped as the door to the back room slid open, and Kagome, now dressed in the red and white of her miko garments stepped out, followed quickly by InuYasha.

"Ah, cousins," Susumu said, looking at the two of them. "Ready to go get this morning over with? Or are you just here to rescue me from the friend you left in my company?"

"Both, maybe," Kagome said, giving Miroku a look. The monk shrugged.

"Trying to enlist you too?" InuYasha said.

"Oh yes. Are you going to be there?" The younger man stood up.

"Keh," InuYasha said, crossing his arms. "Don't think I have much choice."

Hisa walked in from the outside, carrying a basket, which she put down as she stepped up on the wooden floor. "There are always choices, but I do think you'd rather be there than here with all the talk about sewing and babies and recipes," she said.

InuYasha's ear flicked, but he didn't know what to say to that comment so he nodded.

"I suspect she's right," Kagome said, softly.

"Yeah," he said. "I guess so."

"Is that what you talk about?" Miroku said, standing up.

"Mostly," Hisa replied. "But I'm sure Sango will fill you in on all the details. She is coming, isn't she?"

"I suspect so," the monk replied, smiling. "But now I have more reason to encourage her."

The women laughed. Hisa noticed the bundle of clothes that Kagome was carrying. "You won't want to take those to the meeting. Just leave them here," Hisa said, reaching for Kagome's folded stack of clothes. "You can pick them up when you get done."

"Thank you," Kagome said, watching Hisa take them and carry them over to her daughter-in-law. "Do you know what's going to go on?"

"I'm sure that Toshiro, Tsuneo and Tameo have all pretty much decided about what to do by now," Hisa said. "There will be some talk, and some lecturing to the boys, and no doubt they'll be apologies all around. I don't know why they always seem to take so long, when I can usually guess what they'll do, but they seem to like it." She walked back over to her basket and picked it up. "Well," she said, turning to the others. "Let's get going. If I know Daitaro, he's already pouring the sake."

"You're coming, too?" Kagome asked.

"I usually do," Hisa replied. "Someone has to make the tea. Besides, I'm a bit curious. I want to see if they do what I expect them to do. Sometimes they surprise me."

"Keh," the hanyou said. "Sooner we get this over, the better. Don't know why they wanted us to come anyway."

"I'm sure they'll let you know," Susumu said. "Yesterday was such a crazy day, I'm sure they want to make sure everybody's satisfied and nobody feels they were being unfair. Otousan likes to do that. He says it means less trouble in the long run." He walked to the door. "Coming?"

As they were preparing to leave Tameo's house, Kinjiro, walked around the office building to find Tsuneo sitting on a bench behind it. Aki was sitting next to his grandfather, resting his head on the older man's shoulder, staring into space, obviously nervous. His grandfather had wrapped an arm around him. Isao, the side of his face quite purple with a big bruise, was sitting on the ground near them, his head propped in his hands, face down and eyes half closed. He grimaced as if his head were still hurting him.

Kinjiro was about to say something when Tsuneo began to talk.

"I got in trouble once when I was your age, Aki-kun," the older man said. "But I survived it. And what happened was worse than what you did."

Instead making himself known, Kinjiro leaned against the edge of the building and listened.

"You, Ojiisan? You?" Aki said, surprised. Isao looked up as well, curious.

"I was young once, too," Tsuneo said, grinning at his grandson, "even if you don't want to believe it."

"I know that, Ojiisan," Aki said, just the briefest ghost of a smile acknowledging his grandfather's attempt at a joke. "But I didn't think you ever did anything wrong."

The old man snorted. "Ah, I wish, grandson." Tsuneo's voice was wistful, touched with a trace of bitterness. He looked away from the boy and stared out at the hills beyond the house. "I've done many things I wish I hadn't over the years. Sometimes I caused it, sometimes it was just bad luck. But the way that life works, I'm afraid. Sometimes . . . " His voice trailed off for a moment, then he looked back at Aki. "But the first big trouble I got into was all my own fault."

The boy looked up at his grandfather, still not quite believing it. "What happened, Ojiisan?"

"There was an old woman who lived on the south side of the village, pretty far away from most of the other houses. Been a long time since there was a house there. I'll show you where sometime. She had outlived her husband and all of her children. Her last son had been killed in a nasty bandit raid."

"Who was she?" Isao asked. He rubbed a spot on the top of his head. He squeezed his eyes shut in a fresh grimace.

"Still hurting?" Tsuneo asked.

"Yeah," Isao said. "I guess the tea Haha-ue gave me is wearing off."

"I'll tell Hisa-sama. I'm sure she can make you something that will help," Tsuneo said.

Aki pulled his grandfather's sleeve. "So who was she?"

"Ah," Tsuneo said. "Her name was Ume. I don't remember for sure, but I think she was related some way to Toshiro-sama's family. Maybe her husband was." The old man shook his head. "It was a long time ago."

"How did you get into trouble?" Isao asked.

"Now that's the story," the old man said, shifting in his seat. "I'm not proud of it, though. After her last son died, something happened to Ume-sama's mind. She would go through the village, talking to people who weren't there, her husband, her children. Most of the families would give her food and firewood because she had nobody to take care of her, and she wasn't able to take care of herself. But even though we gave her food, that didn't make her less strange. She was dirty and her clothes were ragged. The village children, we were all a bit scared of her as she walked by talking to herself. Someone started saying she was a Yama-uba, a mountain witch."

"Was she?" Aki asked.

Tsuneo shook his head. "No, not at all. She was just poor, lonely and grief-stricken. But we children weren't very kind to her."

Aki suddenly looked down at his hands, a guilty look on his own face.

Tsuneo sighed. "One day, one of my cousins dared me to go into her house. We had created big stories, saying if she were a Yama-uba we'd find bones and other stuff there to prove it. I still don't know why let them convince me to do it, but I agreed. First, I smeared mud on my face and wore a straw rain cape and a rush hat, just in case someone saw us. We knew we weren't supposed to do it, but when does that stop people?"

"Yeah," Isao said.

"So, with my cousins hiding in the trees nearby egging me on, I snuck into her house." Tsuneo paused a moment, looking off into the distance, then continued. "It was small and dark, her house, and the shutters were closed. There weren't many things in it, and I saw no bones like a Yama-uba was supposed to leave scattered about, but there was one thing there nobody expected."

"What was it, Ojiisan?" Aki leaned further into his grandfather's hold.

"Ah, this was the worst part." Tsuneo wrapped his arm a little tighter around the boy. "As I looked around, I saw Ume-sama sleeping on a bed in the corner of the room. I froze for a moment, not sure of what to do, but I must have made some noise. She bolted up, and screamed. I remember her yelling 'The oni have come for me!' Before I knew it, she began throwing things at me. Somehow, my rain cape came off as I tried to get away and fell in the fire pit and caught fire."

He shook his head at the memory. "In a few moments, the whole house was burning. My cousins and I got her out of the house safely, but there was no saving the hut she lived in." Tsuneo looked at his grandson and took a deep breath. "I didn't even mean to scare her. I thought she'd be down in the village, because she was usually there that time of day. But this day she had felt sick, and had stayed home."

Aki's eyes grew wide. "What . . . what happened next?"

"The grownups, seeing the smoke, came running and put out the fire. When my father found out it was my fault, I thought he was going to drag me to Odawara and sell me off. The elders calmed him down and decided that I was worth saving, and after they rebuilt her house, I spent the next year taking care of her, bringing her food, making sure she had firewood and water."

"You did that?" Isao said. "You weren't scared?"

"Oh, I didn't say that," said Tsuneo. "I shook like a leaf the first time I went there with a basket of food. But she didn't seem to realize I was the reason her house burned down. She was too busy spending time with the ghosts from her younger days. At first she barely noticed I was there, but later, I could tell she missed me if I was late coming. One day she surprised me and gave me a plate of rice cakes. I don't think she ever called me by name, just Boy."

Aki looked up at his grandfather. "What happened after the year was up?"

"Oh, she got the coughing sickness, and got weaker, and weaker, and passed on. I was there when it happened. I tried to make her drink her soup or eat some rice, but she wouldn't. She cried out the name of her last son, and then she was gone." He closed his eyes. "Even though I hated having to do all those chores for her, I cried and cried when she died. Funny how that goes."

Aki shook his head. "How long were you supposed to take care of her?"

"Until the elders said I had done enough and learned my lesson," Tsuneo said. "I guess the kami thought a year was enough." He sighed. "But it taught me a lot."

Kinjiro stepped forward, and gave a little cough. Tsuneo and the boys turned and looked.

"How long have you been there, Kinjiro?" the older man asked.

"Long enough," Kinjiro said. "I'd never heard that story before, Tsuneo-sama."

"It was a long time ago," the older man said. "Is it time?"

Kinjiro nodded. "I think Joben had to take Morio back home, but InuYasha and Daitaro are at Otousan's house, and they'll be here in a few minutes."

Tsuneo nodded and stood up. He looked at his grandson, who, for a moment, went pale and panicked, but the boy covered his face with his hands. Taking a deep breath, Aki shuddered a moment, then let his hands drop away, having gotten some composure back joined his grandfather. Isao, obviously in pain, slowly moved to join him.

"The sooner this is over, the better," Tsuneo said, wrapping an arm around both boys' shoulders. "It'll not be as bad as you think."

"If you say so, Ojiisan," Aki said.

"I say. Let's go." The group started walking.

As they neared the door of the office building, Kinjiro, listening to the men laughing inside, scowled. "We better be starting soon. Daitaro brought sake."

Tsuneo, still holding onto the boys, looked at Kinjiro and smiled. "Did you not expect him to? Have you ever gone to a meeting where he didn't?"

"I can't remember one," Kinjiro said, scratching his head. "He is mighty proud of the stuff he brews."

Tsuneo snorted. "Don't tell him, but I can't tell -" He was interrupted when suddenly, Aki froze. Tsuneo felt the boy pull away from his arm and turned around to look at him. "What's wrong, boy?"

"Loo . . . look," Aki said, his voice barely a whisper. "That . . . is here. Is he going to eat us?"

"Who, Aki-kun?" Tsuneo asked, frowning.

"Him," the boy said, pointing.

Tsuneo turned and looked. In front of the door, almost ready to go in, InuYasha stood talking to Miroku and Kagome. Sunlight glinted off of his silver hair, and one ear flicked. Suddenly, the hanyou turned and looked at them, his eyes somber, and his dark brows knotted.

"What have they been telling you, boy?" Tsuneo said. His brows knit together, angry.

"Obaasan said . . . " the boy said. He was breathing quickly, almost in a panic.

"Enough of that. InuYasha-sama is under the protection of the kami, and he doesn't eat people," the older man said. "He has every right to be here. Let's just get this over."

And pulling the boy forward, they moved forward as a group to meet the hanyou and the miko and the monk.


	90. Chapter 90

_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 90**

As InuYasha and the others in his group walked up to Tameo's office, they could hear a roar of laughter through the doorway, mostly made up of Daitaro's voice sounding rather pleased with itself, although it was joined with Tameo's distinctive chuckle.

Hisa, hearing the laughter, frowned and stopped the group at the door.

"Sounds like Daitaro's sharing the sake," Susumu said, watching his mother's reaction carefully.

"So early, too," Hisa said, adjusting her basket on her hip. She turned to face the group, keeping her face pleasant and friendly, but there was a certain set to her lips that said she wasn't really happy about the turn of things. "Wait here a moment, Kagome-chan, and you, too, InuYasha. I'll go in and let them know you're here. They'll need a moment to get ready."

"Do you want me to go in with you, Okaasan?" Susumu asked. As he looked at the door, another burst of laughter rang out. "You'd think Daitaro would get tired of those same old stories."

Hisa shook her head, giving her son a resigned smile. "I doubt he'll ever change," she said, walking up to the door frame and resting her hand on the well-polished wood. "He's been telling them a long time. Unfortunately, Tameo finds them just as funny as he does. At least they haven't started singing yet. They've probably just started passing the sake around." She slid the door open and walked in, closing it behind her.

Susumu shook his head and chuckled. "I do believe Chichi-ue and the others are in for it now."

"Hisa?" Kagome said, looking at him, quite surprised. "I've never seen her get angry."

"Oh yes. My Haha-ue seems soft and gentle, but she has mastered a certain look," Susumu said, rubbing the back of his neck. "I don't know how she does it, but it makes grown men cringe and turn into small boys who know they've been bad." He gave Kagome a wry grin. "She's used it enough times on me over the years. I'm glad it's not my turn to get it this time."

"I didn't think she could ever give anybody an angry look." Kagome said, unbelieving.

"Oh, I didn't say it was an angry look. But it works very well, nonetheless." He turned to the door, almost touching it, cupped an ear, trying to listen. All of them could hear her soft greeting, and then the voices dropped to a soft murmur.

"She must have given it to them already," InuYasha said, his ears pointing toward the door, not needing any hand to amplify the sound. "I believe Daitaro is apologizing."

Susumu laughed. "Yes, she has that way. I suspect he's giving her a guilty look as he puts the stopper back in his jug. I'm sure she had rice cakes or something like that in her basket, and she'll be putting them on the table to give them something to put in their bellies besides sake, then she'll pour out whatever it was that Chichi-ue brewed and called tea, and will put the kettle on over the fire to make something more drinkable. Everybody, except maybe Toshiro, will be sitting there, feeling like boys caught stealing treats and get suddenly serious, even though she would never raise her voice to them. It's almost like magic."

Kagome laughed, hiding her smile behind her hand. "You know your mother well, I see."

"Oh yes," he said. "I've seen her do this more than once."

"And to you, no doubt," Kagome said.

"She has me down to an art," Susumu said. "I've needed it too often, I fear, over the years. Her power . . . she can even get Kinjiro to stop scowling with that look."

Kagome laughed again.

Miroku leaned towards InuYasha. "Maybe," the monk said, laughing himself, "I should bring her with me this afternoon when I go around asking for volunteers. Nobody would be able to turn me down."

"Feh," InuYasha said, crossing his arms and giving his friend a scowl. "You don't need any help hustling. I've seen you in action too often."

The monk shook his head with an injured air everybody could read through. "So misunderstood. It's only for the good of their souls, you know."

"We know, we know, Houshi-sama," Susumu said. He grinned at InuYasha. "Maybe we need to talk to Joben about putting Houshi-sama in charge of making sure there's enough to take care of that poor man he's saddled with. He'd be good at it."

The hanyou nodded. "It would be good for his soul," he replied.

Miroku put on his professional monk face. "If I am called to do it, that's what will happen."

"But I wonder if he could do it without taking a cut for that temple of his," Susumu said, tilting his head and tapping his chin.

"Keh," InuYasha said. "That's a good question."

"A wise man once said that no snowflake ever falls in the wrong place," Miroku replied.

"What's that supposed to mean?" InuYasha said.

"Just that whatever - "

InuYasha held his hand up, interrupting the monk. "Wait," he, said, his ear twitching. "Someone's coming."

The hanyou turned to his left. Kagome turned and stood along side of him, and the others followed. What they saw coming their way was Kinjiro, scowling even deeper than InuYasha, striding toward them, followed by Tsuneo, somber and long-faced, half-dragging his grandson. Isao, squinting against the light, walked calmly on his other side.

"So, you made it here, cousins," Kinjiro said. "And you too, Houshi-sama? Maybe we can get this over now. This is my second wasted day in a row."

"Haha-ue's here," Susumu said. His glance to his brother was meaningful. "Don't get too close. She'll notice the sake."

His younger brother took a breath, and nodded, trying to work the scowl on his face to something a little less frustrated. "I should have known she'd show up. Something like this is just the type of thing she can't resist." He scratched his forehead. "Still, I bet it'll go better with her here. Daitaro, at least, behaves better when she's around. And Toshiro-sama has always respected her opinion. So why are you all standing out here?"

"She told us to," Susumu said, shrugging.

"Huh," Kinjiro replied, his scowl coming back. "She didn't tell me. I'll go let them know we're all here." Walking to the door and past his brother, Kinjiro slid it open and walked in.

"I'm glad Haha-ue is more tolerant of him than me," Susumu said, shaking his head. "I know what would happen if I did that."

Kagome chewed her bottom lip, trying not to grin. But Tsuneo and InuYasha, though, had ignored most of the talk between Kinjiro and his brother. Instead, they stood there saying nothing, but looked at each other thoughtfully, neither quite ready to speak, nor even sure of what to say.

Picking up on this, Susumu broke the silence first. "Were you waiting long, Tsuneo-sama? I didn't mean for us to take so long to get here," he said, giving the older man a small bow. "Multiple things happened on the way here."

Tsuneo wrapped his arm closely around his reluctant grandson. "Not too long. Sometimes, it's better to have some quiet time before things start to happen."

"I spoke with Haname-sama on the way here, Tsuneo-sama," Kagome said. Somehow she felt a connection to him - so much that had happened yesterday was not his fault, and she knew it. "That is one of the reasons it took us so long to get here. She is doing much better. Kaede-obaasan said she will be well enough to go home later today."

He nodded, and looked at the young miko with relieved, although sad eyes. "Thank you, Miko-sama. That is good to know. I wish . . . " He let his voice drift off, and suddenly, he was merely an old, worried tired man, holding on to a frightened boy.

"I know," Kagome said, nodding.

InuYasha stood next to her, calmly, his face serious but not aggressive as he watched all the interactions, his hands tucked into his sleeves. A soft wind blew, and caused the ends of his long silver hair to dance in the breeze.

Finally, Tsuneo's eyes went back to the hanyou. He swallowed, searching for words.

Aki, who had been staring at InuYasha all this time, began squirming in earnest, trying to break out of his grandfather's hold.

"I know what you did, boy," InuYasha said. "But I'm not going to eat you for it."

Kagome looked up at her husband, and lightly rested her hand on his arm. He turned his head at the touch, saw the uncertainty in her face, and whispered, "It's all right."

She nodded, let her hand drop and stepped back. InuYasha looked forward again and waited.

"You heard me?" Aki asked. His eyes couldn't get any wider.

InuYasha nodded. He flicked an ear. "I have very good hearing. But I'm not going to hurt you."

Tsuneo watched this, then bent over to his grandson, who was pushing closer to his grandfather. "See? All is well."

"But Chichi-ue . . . " Aki whispered.

"Your otousan isn't always right, Aki-kun," Tsuneo said. Something in the older man's look caused the boy to relax his squirming. "No matter what he told you, our family has wronged InuYasha-sama and his wife. Just because he is . . . different doesn't change things. We will do the right thing because it's right. This is just like I had to do when I was a boy. Ume-sama was different, too, but in another way. I did what I had to do and it made me stronger."

Aki, still clinging, swallowed hard, but nodded. "Yes, Ojiisan." He managed to get the words out without a tremble, but his voice was soft.

Tsuneo looked at his grandnephew Isao, who stood there watching his cousin and granduncle, grimacing from his aches, but holding himself up as tall as he could.

"I understand, Ojisan," the boy said.

"Good. Now all three of us, we will act like men," Tsuneo said. He straightened up, took a deep breath, and moved a few steps closer to where InuYasha and the others stood.

InuYasha watched as he pulled the boys forward. The old man bowed low, the bow of a petitioner, or a subservient to a superior. Isao was quick to follow, and after a moment's hesitation, Aki as well. The hanyou watched this, seemingly calm, but the way his ear flicked and the tightness in his shoulders and how he stood told those who knew him a different story. Kagome moved a little closer, almost touching.

"InuYasha-sama," Tsuneo said. "Yesterday was most unfortunate." His voice was rough, as if he were having trouble getting the words out. "Please accept my apologies for the behavior of my family toward your family. I hope you grant me the right to make amends." The older man stood up.

Taking a deep breath, InuYasha gave a short bow in return, then tilted his head, his amber eyes examining the man, seeing nothing insincere about him. "Keh," he said. "Sometimes . . . things we don't want to happen, happen anyway."

"They do, don't they," Miroku said, leaning on his staff. The rings jingled as he shifted. "More often than we would like."

Tsuneo was about to say something else, but the sound of a door being slid open interrupted. Kinjiro poked his head out of the doorway. "Are you all going to stay out here all day? Everybody is waiting on you. I don't know about you, but I have work to get back to."

Susumu, then Miroku began to laugh. Tsuneo started to move his boys forward.

As they passed the hanyou, Aki paused for a moment and looked up at InuYasha. The boy looked up at him with nervous eyes, and sucked his bottom lip for a moment. The hanyou gave him the ghost of a smile and uncrossed his arms.

"You're different than they told me," Aki said, then ran to catch up with his grandfather.

"That was interesting," Susumu said, then followed the older man inside. "Come on, cousins. Time to get this going."

Kagome nodded, and followed behind him. Miroku was about to go in, but InuYasha grabbed his sleeve.

"Wait," the hanyou said.

After the others were in, the monk turned to his friend, who was standing there, staring at his feet. Miroku couldn't quite make out his friend's face. "Are you all right, InuYasha?"

The hanyou shook his head and looked up. His forehead was knotted in thought, his eyes unsure. "All my life, no matter what happened, or who was hurt, I was always the wrong one. It didn't matter what I had done. I was blamed just because of who I am. Humans, youkai, both did it. But now . . . this just feels . . . the way he bowed . . . "

"You're living under village rules now, friend. You're not an outsider anymore," Miroku said. He patted his friend on the shoulder. "I've been trying to tell you that."

"But why?" InuYasha asked.

"The Buddha's favor. Kagome-sama's good influence. Destiny." Miroku shrugged. "Take your pick. It is because it is." The monk tapped his staff on the ground. "Just accept it. I suspect Tsuneo-sama's going to offer to do you a service, too, to get his honor back. You'd better be thinking about something he can do for you."

InuYasha nodded, looking somber, as he took his friend's words in.

Miroku decided he didn't like the look on InuYasha's face. "Now if you want him to help with the temple . . . " he said, with a wicked grin on his face.

Looking up and seeing his friend, InuYasha barked a short laugh and gave the monk a gentle shove. "Get inside, Bouzu. You know you'll have all the help you can use by the end of the day."

Grinning back at his friend, Miroku nodded. Together, they went inside to join the others.


	91. Chapter 91

_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 91**

As Miroku and InuYasha entered Tameo's office, the hanyou could smell the lingering scent of sake in the room, but neither the cups nor Daitaro's jug was in plain sight.

"Oh, they've made it look like a formal affair," Miroku said, pausing in the entryway, blocking InuYasha's way. "Look how everybody's sitting."

Tameo, joined by Toshiro sat on the far side of the room behind the table the headman used as a desk. There was a scroll and ink resting on it, but nothing else. The headman was busy writing something. Hisa sat behind her husband, but leaned forward to pour tea into his cup.

On the right side of the room, Daitaro sat nearest to Tameo, along with a scowling Kinjiro. Next to Kinjiro was an empty cushion. Kagome was settled down next to the empty spot, looking around the room curiously, but not sure what was going on.

"Looks like everybody who had a run-in with the boys is on that side of the room," Miroku said. InuYasha nodded and stepped up on the wooden platform.

On the left side of the table, Tsuneo sat down on a cushion, with the two boys next to him. The elder looked tired, but calm as he sat there watching the people around him. His grandson Aki, though, had his head bowed low, not meeting anybody's eyes as he chose instead to find something interesting on the pattern of the mat he sat on. It was hard to tell if he were tense or bored as he ran his fingers over the design of the woven straw. Isao had his head propped on one hand as he sat, bruised side of his face tilted up, his eyes half-closed. In front of him was a small, empty medicine cup, but it was obvious the potion had not yet begun to work.

Susumu, there in his role as head of the village guard, sat next to the boys, his sword ceremonially laid on the ground in front of him. Even though he was there officially, it couldn't keep him from trying to cheer up the boys. He nudged Isao, who turned to him questioningly.

"One day when you're older, I'll have to tell you about the day I was sitting in your place," Susumu said, grinning. "You think you're in trouble? You should have seen how my Ojiisan reacted."

"You?" Isao nudged his cousin, who also looked at Susumu. "You got in trouble, too?"

Susumu nodded. "I survived. You will, too, you know. Be sure you learn what you can from it. If you do, who knows how well you'll do later?"

Kinjiro gave his brother a sharp look, and snorted, but his mother, pouring tea for Toshiro, looked up at him. He took a breath, nodded, and settled down without saying the wisecrack that was evidently on his lips before she caught him.

Tameo finished writing and put his brush down, then looked up across the room. "Ah," Tameo said to the newcomers. "Houshi-sama, it is good to see you today. We can always use the Buddha's blessing." He waved to the right side of the room. "InuYasha-sama, if you would like, there's a place for you next to your wife."

InuYasha nodded, and walked across the room to sit down next to Kagome. She gave him a small smile as he settled down and rested his sword alongside of his seat.

"What took you so long?" she asked.

His ear flicked as he stuffed his hands into his sleeves. "I needed to ask Miroku something. I'll tell you about it later."

She gave him a curious look, but didn't push it, but turned to watch Miroku take a place not next to them but behind them, but not so close to the wall as to be rude.

"Don't ask me," the monk said. "I know better to get in the middle. Ever been to something like this before?"

"Feh," InuYasha said. "When would anybody have asked me?"

Kagome gave her head a little shake. "We did things differently where I came from."

"If you need to ask questions," the monk said, "let me know." He settled back down in his place.

Tameo took a sip of his tea as he waited for the monk and hanyou to get settled. Staring into his teacup, swirled the liquid around took a sip and then rested the cup in his hand. Hisa left his side to pick up a larger pot of tea off a brazier near the table, and putting it on a tray with other cups, walked around the room, gracefully serving tea to each person. As she returned to her place, her eyes met her husband's briefly, and he gave her a tiny nod.

"Now we're all here, so I guess we can begin. Tea is a good way to begin a meeting like this, I think, even if it's not the first beverage of choice for all of us here." Several pairs of eyes looked up at Daitaro.

The farmer snorted, and lifting his sleeve, he revealed the trusty jug he had brought with him, and gave it a fond pat. "Damn right."

"Still, even though everybody here would agree that Daitaro-sama makes excellent sake, tea does give a clearer head when important things need to be discussed," Toshiro said. "And we can all use a clear head today."

"Clear heads are good, even with the morning getting started a little shaky," Hisa said, not looking at anyone in particular.

"Eh, we won't talk about that now," Tameo said, keeping his face as neutral as possible as he waved his hand like he was chasing away a fly from in front of him. Daitaro, on the other hand, snickered, and Toshiro couldn't resist a small grin. Tameo took another sip of his tea, then put the cup down.

Tameo looked at the man sitting next to him. "Just for the record, let me say that Toshiro here has come, not as a representative of the elders, but mostly as a friend, trying to help his friends figure out how to solve a problem that will leave everybody feeling the right thing has been done. We all know what a good eye he has for finding a fresh way out of troubles. I hope this is acceptable."

Daitaro nodded. Putting his teacup down, Toshiro bowed slightly.

The headman looked at Tsuneo. "I could have called the council of elders today, and made this more formal," he said, "but this is a matter mostly between Tsuneo's family and ours. Everybody who's here, except Toshiro and you, Houshi-sama, belongs to one family or the other, and you are InuYasha's partner, and were put under the protection of our family kami in a quite spectacular fashion, so you belong, too, I guess, an honorary member of our ko, maybe."

Miroku gave him a nod.

The headman continued. "I hope everybody is agreed to this, InuYasha-sama, Daitaro-sama, Tsuneo-sama. If we can work things out between us, then there's no use for more formal consequences, and definitely no need to bring in the magistrates. You know how messy things can get when that happens."

Tsuneo glanced at his grandson, who had his head down and his arms wrapped around his middle, rocking back and forth. The older man sighed, then nodded. "Indeed. One family to another." He turned back to face the table. "We don't want this to turn out like what happened that time with Iwao-sama. That was a mess."

"Remember how the magistrate made us pay extra taxes for two years for his efforts? And on top of that, nobody was happy about the outcome," Toshiro said. "It is best to avoid such things."

There were murmurs and nods around the room.

"There's no use in letting the behavior of boys make real harm between one family and another," Daitaro said. He drained his teacup, but when Hisa made a move to refill it, he put his hand over the top and shook his head slightly. She tried to give him a look, but he intentionally did not meet her eyes. "We all were young once. More than one of us," he said, looking in Susumu's direction, "have found ourselves at a meeting like this before."

Susumu grinned. "I've heard tales about you when you were young, too, old man," he said. "Don't just look at me."

"Eh." Daitaro shrugged. "I didn't say you were the only one here."

"Well, to business, then. Yesterday was . . . " Tameo started. He scratched his chin. "Well, unexpected. And long."

Tsuneo put his teacup down. "Unfortunate."

"Irritating and uncalled for," Kinjiro murmured softly, but loudly enough for his father to hear. Tameo frowned at him.

"Yes, and all of that," the headman said. "So, we have two boys who have been getting into trouble and causing their grandfather grief, our young miko was attacked, and we have to deal with the outcome of bad magic. But we will discuss the boys first."

Aki looked up briefly to catch Tameo, hung his head down, and nodded.

"But we know yesterday wasn't all the boys' fault," Toshiro said. "There was the role of the yamabushi in this."

"True, and the kami of my family has taken care of that issue, at least for the moment," Tameo said. "What he did was reprehensible. And no doubt we still have to figure out the best way to deal with the aftereffects. But these were the ones who let Daitaro's cow out. This is the best place to start." He looked around the room. "Besides that, there have been tales of more pranks than this."

"Someone who looked a lot like Aki ruined my last batch of sake for the year," Daitaro said, nodding. "But I only got a glimpse of him, so I didn't lodge a complaint."

"And," Hisa said, as she sipped her own tea, "I've heard a story of someone's laundry that was hung up to dry ending up in the mud. There were no witnesses for that, but Momoe-sama was quite unhappy, and had to do her laundry all over."

Tameo looked at the boys, rubbing his chin. "I've heard some other tales as well, but this is enough to start with." He looked hard at the two boys. "Aki-kun, Isao-kun, did you do all of this?"

Tsuneo nudged his grandson.

"We . . . " Aki began. He curled up even smaller, and gave a shudder like a small sob before mumbled something nobody could hear. His grandfather sighed.

Isao, elbowed his cousin. "You need to tell them." But Aki still didn't respond.

"He's gonna take some real work," Daitaro said. He looked up at Hisa, and seeing her focused on the boys, poured a quick shot of sake into his cup, which he knocked back. "Be a man, son."

"Like you took, old man?" Kinjiro said, smirking. "I've heard the stories."

"More than your brother took," the old farmer said, scratching his chin. "Don't know how you managed to keep your nose so clean."

"Hard work," the young man replied.

"Sure it wasn't lack of imagination?" Daitaro replied. Susumu glanced over at the two men and grinned.

"Come on, boy," Tsuneo said, ignoring the banter from across the room. He rubbed his grandson's back. "Answer Tameo-sama."

Aki shook with a sob. "I . . . I . . . didn't . . . "

Tsuneo frowned and took a deep breath, and gave his grandnephew a look. Isao chewed on his lip for a moment, then nodded, and turned to the table.

"Yes, Tameo-sama," Isao said. He closed his eyes a moment, swallowed, and opened them again. "We did all of those things." His voice was trembling a little, but loud and easy to hear. "We did more. After we heard that Miko-sama had returned and was InuYasha-sama's wife, we came by and waited for them to be out of the house and threw dirt on their bedding. Aki put an ofuda he got from Joban-ojisan on the door to his house." Aki looked up at his cousin, wide-eyed. "We opened the gate to let out Takeshi-sama's ox, too. And we told Haname-Obasan that the kitsune ate -"

As Isao talked, Aki stopped looking like he was going to cry, and instead, hi hands began to clench and his face grew red. Before Isao could finish what he was saying about Haname, Aki knocked over his cousin and jumped on him.

"You promised!" Aki yelled. "You swore you wouldn't tell anybody any of this." He backhanded Isao across the face, splitting his lip. "All you had to do was look sad and scared. I told you what to do!" He lifted his fist up to give his cousin a really hard punch. "It's gonna be your fault we get in trouble. Damn you!"


	92. Chapter 92

_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 92**

For a moment, the room fell silent except for Aki's yelling and the resounding sound of the slap he gave his cousin. All heads turned in the direction of the two boys.

"You shit!" the boy yelled. "I ought to . . . "

For a moment as Tsuneo watched, everything felt frozen in time, in slow motion. Not yet able to move, he watched Susumu lurch toward the boys, reaching for Aki's hand to stop the blow that he was about to give Isao. Before the village guard could reach him, there was a red blur and a yelp as InuYasha leapt across the room, moving at faster than human speed.

The hanyou pulled Aki off of his cousin by his collar, his black brows knitted together as he glared at the boy he hauled to his feet. "What the hell, brat? Aren't you in enough trouble? What the hell are you doing?"

Anger draining from his face to be replaced by a look of fear, Aki screamed as he realized who had grabbed him. He became a sudden windmill of arms and legs trying to hit and kick as he struggled to get away. "The monster has me! Let me go!"

Not wanting the boy to slip way by ripping his clothes, InuYasha picked him up, sliding his hands under Aki's armpits, lifting him off the ground in a bear hug. Flailing wildly, the boy faced Isao and his grandfather.

"You can kick all you want," the hanyou said. "You're not going anywhere."

That must have been the signal that unfroze the rest of the room. Hisa and Kagome began moving to the injured boy. Kagome, passing her husband glanced up at the boy he was restraining and shook her head. Even frightened, his face was filled with anger.

InuYasha watched his wife move to help, then turned his attention back to the struggling child in his arms."So, brat, you were just going to act all sad and scared to get people to feel sorry for you, were you? You think that would have kept you out of trouble? What were you going to do? Blame the yamabushi for why you did it?"

"Shut up!" the boy said. "Ojiisan!"

At the head of the room, Toshiro stood up, unsure of what to do. "Well, this is an interesting turn of affairs."

"This whole thing has been one interesting turn of affairs after the other," Tameo said wearily, choosing not to stand up and join the crowd. He picked up his brush, and dipped it into the ink. "I'm more than ready for it to calm down and go back to being boring." He made a note on the scroll in front of him.

"You're not the only one, Otousan. I'll get some rope," Kinjiro said. He watched the scene with InuYasha calmly, assessing things like he would when getting ready to turn a field. "At the rate he's kicking, we'll probably need it if we don't want him running off. I don't think he's going to calm down on his own."

His father nodded. "You're probably right." He watched Aki try to pry InuYasha's hands off, the hanyou shifting his burden to keep his fingers out of the reach of the boy's mouth. Aki kicked backwards, but InuYasha just stood there. "Good thing InuYasha-sama has youkai blood. That boy packs a mean kick."

"Found that out yesterday," Kinjiro said, then headed to the door and slipped out of the building.

For the moment, Aki stopped struggling, realizing his tactics weren't working. "Ojiisan! Don't let the monster hurt me!" He reached out his arms toward his grandfather. "Help me!"

Tsuneo glared up at his grandson."He can have you." Putting an arm around his grandnephew's back, he joined Susumu in helping Isao sit up. "Right now I wouldn't stop him if he tried to eat you. Not after what you did to your cousin. Not after how you lied. A boy who acts like you deserves it!"

Aki shrieked, and renewed his struggle trying to get out of InuYasha's hold. "Ojiisan!"

InuYasha growled, which for a moment made the boy freeze. "Only person been hurt here today is your cousin, and you did the hurting," the hanyou said. "I've never hurt a human child, but the way you're acting, you might be the first exception to the rule." He looked around the room. "Anybody got anything we can tie this wild thing up with before I forget that he's a boy and not some rat youkai I need to get rid of? "

"Kinjiro went to get some," Miroku said, moving near the hanyou. "I do believe as stupid as that bakeneko we just took care of was, this boy has less sense."

"Shut up! Ojiisan!" Aki tried to kick the monk, but Miroku deftly got out of the way.

"Feh," the hanyou said, tightening his grip. "Both about the same to me. Both turned on the people who tried to help them."

Aki spit at the monk. Miroku, in turn rapped him on the head with his staff gently. Aki tried to grab the staff, and howled. "You can't do this to me!"

"It looks like we can," Miroku said, moving his staff out of harm's way, the rings jingling as he shifted. "I see your point, InuYasha. But a bakeneko has an excuse. That's its nature. I'm not sure what this boy's is."

While Miroku and InuYasha dealt with Aki, Susumu held Isao's chin in his hand. "Let me see your lip," he said. "We need to keep you away from that brat," Susumu said. "You're getting too beat up being around him."

Susumu turned the boy's head a little as he studied the injury. There was a small trickle of blood on the boy's chin and a mark on his cheek that was probably going to bruise. As Susumu rotated Isao's head, he moved it to a place where the boy had to watch Aki struggling in the hanyou's hold. For a moment Aki caught his eye and looked down at him in rage.

"I hate you!" Aki said. "You just wait."

"Don't listen to him, boy. I'm not going to let him hurt you," Susumu said.

Isao broke out of Susumu's hold. "I'm all right." His voice got very soft and questioning. "I did the right thing, didn't I?"

"Yes, Isao-kun. You acted like a man," Susumu said, patting his shoulder. "More than I can say for your cousin."

Kagome kneeling down next to him, took a handkerchief out of her sleeve. "You did a brave thing, I think," she said, cleaning the blood off of his chin and daubing at his lip. "It's not easy doing the right thing sometimes."

Hisa came up with a bowl of water. "Let's get some cold compresses on that lip of yours, boy. It'll help the swelling. I can make you some more of that special tea if you need it. If you want to lie down, I'm sure Tameo-sama won't mind if I'll take you back to the house."

Isao gave a small nod, and let the women doctor him. Tsuneo patted the boy on the back, but took a moment to glare at his grandson.

"Where's Kinjiro?" InuYasha asked, obviously getting tired of his charge.

"I'm sure he'll be here in a moment," Miroku replied. "But I bet I have an ofuda here that would calm him down." He reached into his robes and pulled out a packet of papers.

Aki's eyes grew wide for a moment, and he slumped in InuYasha's grasp. "Don't . . . " he said.

"Don't like ofuda, do you? Maybe you'll think twice before putting them on someone's door," the hanyou said. Aki lay quietly in the hanyou's arms and nodded. For a moment, InuYasha thought he had given in. "Ready to behave like a man?" he asked, loosening his grip.

That was enough for Aki. In a surprise move, the boy lurched forward and slipped out of the hanyou's arms, dashing around the monk as he made a quick attempt to run out of the building, only to slam hard into Daitaro's chest.

"Going somewhere?" the old man asked, wrapping his arms around the boy. "I don't think Tameo-sama's quite done with you yet."

"You're right," Tameo said. He had gotten up from his place when Aki broke loose and walked over to the two of them. "We're a long way from done."

"Let me go!" Aki cried beating at Daitaro's chest. "If my obaasan were here, you wouldn't do this! She wouldn't put up with you, you old drunk!"

InuYasha grabbed the boy again. "Don't think you're going to fool me again this time. Old drunk, huh? That old man's got more honor in his right hand than you can dream of ever having, brat. Not if you keep acting this way. You won't live long enough to get a chance to learn it."

Aki looked over his shoulder, trying to see InuYasha's face. "What do you know about stuff like that, monster? My obaasan said -"

Kinjiro hurried back in with a length of rope. Before Kinjiro could get to InuYasha, Tsuneo walked up to him and gave Aki a hard slap on the face.

"Don't you talk about your obaasan like that, boy. If she were here to see what you did, she'd be tying you up herself," Tsuneo said. "You shame her."

Aki stared up at his grandfather with unbelieving eyes. "But . . . but . . . "

Kinjiro walked up next to Tsuneo, holding the rope. The older man nodded, and Kinjiro grabbed Aki's hands and began tying them together.

"Your obaasan would never put up with this type of behavior from your otousan," Tsuneo said. "What makes you think she'd put up with it from you?"

Once the boy's hands were secure, InuYasha let him slide to the ground. Aki tugged at the rope, but Kinjiro was read for him.

Tsuneo took a deep breath. "I don't know how I'm going to tell her how you behaved today. After everything that happened yesterday and everything that yamabushi did to her, this is going to be a bitter pill."

Tsuneo turned towards Kinjiro. "Better make sure he can't run. He's already tried once."

"Tsuneo," Tameo said, stepping forward. "Can I . . . "

"Do with him as you and Toshiro see fit." The old man's back was straight and proud, but his face lined with his disappointment, and his eyes looked like the eyes of a person who just buried a child. "Now I know how my own ojiisan must have felt. But at least I didn't mean to hurt anybody. And I didn't beat up my own family trying to get out of trouble."

"Ojiisan," Aki whimpered.

Daitaro walked up to Tsuneo, and wrapped an arm around him. "Come on, old friend. It's hard, but we'll figure out something to do that'll help him grow up right. You're not the only one who was a brat as a kid. My parents were ready to kick me out there for a while, but look how I turned out."

Tsuneo barked a short, bitter laugh. "I seem to remember a time or two. But even you . . . "

"Let's go outside and get a breath of fresh air. Sunlight and fresh air, among other things, " Daitaro said, patting the jug on his hip, "always help a man get a better perspective. Maybe we can come up with an idea."

Hisa looked up from where she was holding a cool wet cloth on Isao's face, nodded at the old farmer and gave him a brief smile. Daitaro nodded back, and led Tsuneo out of the door.

By now, Kinjiro had wrapped his rope around Aki's arms, restricting his ability to hit. Aki, though, watching his grandfather walk outside, made a sudden lunge at InuYasha, trying to knock him over with his shoulder.

"It's all your fault!" the boy yelled. "Chichi-ue said you cursed our family with bad luck. Morio told me you would destroy us all if we didn't make the villagers drive you out. Now my ojiisan hates me and it's all your fault. If you hadn't been here . . . "

Aki crumpled to the floor and began crying. InuYasha squatted down, yanked the boy's head up and looked him in the eyes. "I'm the least of your problems, boy. If you don't start making some better choices about what's the right way to do things, I don't know what's going to happen to you. You don't have anybody to blame but yourself."

Aki evidently ran out of words to say, and just lay there on the floor, crying.

InuYasha straightened up. His face was stony, unreadable. "I need a breath of air myself. Call me when you need me." And with that, without even a glance at Kagome or Miroku, he headed out of the office.

As he watched, Isao pulled away from the compress Hisa had on his lip. "Is InuYasha-sama all right? Aki can be so mean."

"Shut up," his cousin said, trying to get up. "I ought to - "

"That's enough out of you, Aki," Kinjiro said, tugging on the rope wrapped around the boy. "You're making your hole deeper every minute."

Kagome started to get up. "Maybe I better go check on InuYasha."

Hisa grabbed her hand. "I'm sure he just needs a moment to cool down. It can't be easy for him, people telling him over and over he's the blame for their bad luck, when he didn't have anything to do with it."

"It's not," Kagome said, nodding. She looked towards the door. "I just . . . "

"I know," Hisa said, patting her hand. "Sometimes, though, we just need to give them time."

Toshiro walked up to Tameo. "So what do we do now?"

"Think," Tameo said. He looked at Miroku, who was standing by the door, frowning. "And maybe, Houshi-sama, you might say a prayer or two that we have the wisdom to do the right thing."

Miroku turned back to the room and nodded. "That might not be a bad idea. Although, perhaps, it's a shame that Daitaro took his sake bottle with him. After all of this, I'm not sure if tea is a strong enough drink."

Toshiro snorted, and Tameo patted the monk's back. "Don't think we're without resources. Let's go sit by my desk. There's something there I can share with you."

For a moment, Hisa frowned as the men walked past a weeping Aki and bemused Kinjiro to the other side of the room, and then sighed. Susumu looked up at his mother.

"Some days are just not what you expect," he said. "They have a certain twist to them."

"So they do," Hisa said. She gave her son a half-smile. "Throwing my own words back at me? Sometimes, I say more than I should. Go help your brother find a place to put the boy. He's looking at him like Aki was an unruly calf."

Nodding, he went off to lead Aki to the left side of the room not far from the table, where he tied the rope to a pillar. Together, he and Kinjiro went to join Tameo and Toshiro in sharing his father's secret stash of sake.

"Here's to wisdom," Toshiro said, raising his cup. "May Monju Bosatsu, Lord of Wisdom, guide us well today."

"The Buddha knows we'll need it," Miroku said, and drank down.


	93. Chapter 93

_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 93**

InuYasha stepped out of Tameo's office and into the sunshine. Off in the distance, InuYasha could hear Susumu's children playing, but the way the office was situated, it was impossible to see the courtyard facing the main house of the compound, or even the main outbuildings. It was rather peaceful, in stark contrast to what had been going on inside.

The hanyou took a deep breath and breathed it out slowly to get the stink of Aki's anger and fear out of his nose. Instead, it was replaced by the familiar scents of a farm - animal dung, food cooking, compost - and the unmistakable scent of sake.

Turning to his right, he found Daitaro and Tsuneo sitting in front of the building, their backs leaning against the wall. Daitaro's ever present sake jug rested between them.

"Needed a break, too?" Daitaro said. He held up the jug. "Here, sit down with us for a bit. We're better company that them inside."

The hanyou's ear flicked, and he started down at the two old farmers, his face stern.

"Eh, don't look at me that way, man," Daitaro said. "The eyes speak as loud as the mouth, they say, and yours are screaming. But we're all having a bad day here. Sit down. You'll feel better after you have a sip of this."

Tsuneo nodded. "That's putting it lightly. A bad day. Daitaro's right. Sit. Don't think any of this mess is your fault, no matter what my . . . he told you. You did a good thing there today, keeping him from pounding Isao-kun. I appreciate it."

Daitaro watched, and could see some of that stoniness in InuYasha's face melt in surprise at Tsuneo's words. He slapped the ground next to him. "Sit, young one. You're giving this old man a sore neck."

InuYasha snorted, and almost shook his head no, but for some reason, perhaps the acceptance and willingness to include him that the old farmers signaled to him made him change his mind. He settled gracefully next to Daitaro.

"I'm sitting," he said. A rather bitter smile ghosted across his lips briefly, followed with a small sigh. "That better?"

Daitaro chuckled. "Yes it is." He handed InuYasha his jug. "Here, have some of this. After everything that's been going on, we all need a drink, even you."

InuYasha looked at the earthen jug the old man handed him. It was a plain brown, heavier than it looked, decorated with bands of a darker brown. It sat in his hands comfortably; the aroma of the sake in it drifting up, a rich, nose-tickling scent that he never had been able to decide if he liked or not.

"Drink some," the old man said, giving the hanyou a friendly nudge with his elbow. "Don't just look at it. It won't bite you."

Tsuneo gave a small laugh. "Unless you drink too much of it. Daitaro's sake is known to be sneaky, just like he is."

"Bah," the old man said. "Nothing sneaky about it. You're just a lightweight when it comes to drinking." He turned a questioning look to the hanyou. "But are you, InuYasha? I always heard that those with youkai blood had a certain, well, stamina when it comes to sake."

"Don't know," the hanyou replied, shrugging. "People always tried to keep me from drinking it. I think they were afraid to see what it did to me."

"Well, I'm not," Daitaro said. "Drink."

InuYasha rotated the jug enough to swirl the liquid inside of it around, then raised the jug to his lips, and took a sip. The liquid was smooth and just slightly sweet. As he swallowed, the liquid carried a warmth down his throat that he liked.

"Better than tea," he said, handing the jug back to the old farmer. He felt its warmth hit his stomach, and slowly, as it spread, a bit of the tension he was holding eased.

"I should hope so," Daitaro said. "Although, when it comes to tea, I will admit that Hisa brews a good cup. But this is better." He took a drink then passed the jug to Tsuneo. "One last sip, old friend. That ought to help us see things clearer."

Tsuneo nodded, and brought the jug to his mouth, tipped it back, but didn't take a long pull on it. He handed it back to Daitaro. "I doubt if anything can make this day less than mud."

"Keh," InuYasha said. Daitaro offered him the jug again. He took another drink and passed it back.

Daitaro put the jug down next to him, resting his hand around its neck. "Growing up's not easy. I don't know who has a worse time as children grow up - the young ones or their grownups. I bet my Chichi-ue said the same thing because of how I behaved once or twice," Daitaro said, sighing. "But we made it through in the end. Although I have to admit, my wildness didn't affect as many people as you're dealing with."

"If I had known what was going to happen when Joben brought that . . . that . . . whatever home," Tsuneo said. He shook his head and leaned back against the wall of the house, looking off into the distance at the garden behind the house. His voice grew soft and tinged with sadness "My home life, it's never really been easy or as good as yours and Chime's. I know I wasn't my wife's first choice. She's a good woman in a lot of ways, and I care for her, but I've always had that impression that I never met her expectations."

As he talked, he watched a small bird hop up onto a rock in the garden. Something disturbed it, and with a flutter, it flew off into the trees. He looked at its flight wistfully.

"And then there's Joben," he continued. "He always seemed more Haname's child than mine. She was always filling her head with nonsense. After a while, I just let them do what they wanted, and tried to ignore as much of their noise as possible. I had my fields, my work . . . Maybe . . . "

"What is, is," Daitaro said. "Don't start beating yourself up with the might have beens. We all have too many of them. We'd never get up in the morning if we started burying ourselves under them." He shook his head. "Better to think of what to do next."

Something, maybe the sake, or maybe the oddness of sitting with two men who seemed to think there was nothing unusual about having him join in their drinking and talk loosened InuYasha's inhibitions.

"Might have beens," he said, looking, like Tsuneo, off in the distance. There was a yearning note in his voice, as if he were feeling depth of his own regrets. "Might have beens get heavy." His ears flicked, as if the words he said were echoing in the air. Suddenly uneasy, he stuffed his hands in his sleeves and took a deep breath.

Daitaro gave him a solemn look. "Sounds like you've had your share too," He swished around the contents of his jug, shrugged, and took a small sip.

"More than I want to think about," InuYasha replied, staring at the ground. A small flush colored his cheeks.

"Sounds like they sneak up and bite you sometimes. Mine, too." The old farmer put a stopper in his jug. "I think that's enough sake for the moment. Don't want us crying over the past. We need to deal with the future." He turned to Tsuneo. "So what do you want us to do with that brat of a grandson of yours?"

Tsuneo shook his head. "Not sure. I never realized how conniving he was until today. I just thought he was high spirited and doing what boys do sometimes."

Off beyond Tameo's house, a girl's voice yelled. "Mitsuo! Haha-ue! Look what he's doing!"

"Boys will be boys," Daitaro said. His lips curled up into a grin. "Sounds like that brat of Susumu's is going to be as good at that as his father was." He shook his head. "Still, you're right. There's more to Aki-kun than just high spirits." He looked at the hanyou, who was still staring off into space. "What do you think, InuYasha?"

InuYasha shrugged. "Don't know. When I was that size, I was too busy trying to get enough to eat and not get eaten to play games like that." He shifted uncomfortably.

"Eh, I bet you have some stories to tell," Daitaro said. He scratched the back of his neck. "It's a hard one to know, how to stop a young one from going down a bad road. Hard work, maybe. Worked on me, anyway."

Tsuneo looked doubtful. "Maybe, but who's going to want to put up with him?" Tsuneo leaned back and knocked his head lightly against the wall. "Once the word gets out about how he behaved, who would want to give him that chance? Haname didn't do him any favors, letting him twist her around his finger. And the boy hates to work."

"What boy likes to?" Daitaro asked, shrugging. "Except maybe Kinjiro. Never saw a kid who took to work as well as he did." He shook his head, thinking about it. "Maybe I should put him to work cleaning up after my cattle. Taking care of animals like them builds character."

"You'd have your work cut out for you," Tsuneo said, eyeing the old farmer, surprised at his offer. "He's not going to be easy. Expect he'll keep trying to run home to Obaasan."

"Then you or Joben or his mother will just have to keep sending him home. Kind of fitting, since he got caught messing with that cow." He leaned forward resting his elbow on his thigh, and his chin in his hand. "At least we're on opposite sides of the village. People would notice if he tried to run home."

"I wouldn't ask you to take on my troubles, man," Tsuneo said. "And what about your own son? He's getting married in a few days."

Daitaro nodded, thinking, but then a sardonic self-satisfied grin crept over the old man's face. "Maybe we can convince Kinjiro to take him in hand until then. Someone's got to clean up the mess they made."

"You have a wicked mind sometimes, old man," InuYasha said.

Both the farmers turned and looked at the hanyou. All three men chuckled.

"Well, we'll talk to Tameo and Toshiro," Daitaro said. "Boy owes me, especially for spoiling my last batch of sake."

The conversation lulled for a moment. InuYasha's ear flicked. He could hear Susumu's children playing in the courtyard, and Aki sobbing in the office, and Kagome try to encourage Isao to take some medicine, and the little joke he made faded away to be replaced by a fuzzy-headed sense of it all feeling he didn't really understand what was going on at all. His brows knitted together as he unfolded his arms and reached out to pick up a blade of grass. Twirling it in his fingers, he stared at it as if could give him the answers.

"Something bothering you, InuYasha?" Daitaro asked, nudging the hanyou with his elbow "You seem to be wandering some place else."

The hanyou looked up, and he tilted his head, studying the old man who seemed determined to treat him like a friend. "Just thinking. Why?" he asked.

"Why what?" Daitaro ran the strap of his sake bottle back over his head and left shoulder.

"Why are you doing what you're doing? I don't understand you, old man." He sighed. "I don't understand why today I can sit with you and drink sake. I don't understand why now people aren't running away from me. Why everybody's not talking like Aki did after everything that happened yesterday."

"Ah," Tsuneo said, smiling at the hanyou. "Deep thoughts. Sake makes you a philosopher. It does that to some people."

InuYasha snorted. "All my days, wherever I lived, if anything bad happened, I usually got the blame." Daitaro started to speak, but InuYasha held his hand up. "Aki just said what a lot of people have always said. Why aren't you trying to chase me out of town? Why are you talking about taking that brat in to try to teach him some sense?"

Daitaro shrugged. "Don't know. It just seems the right thing to do." His face, also flushed, broke out in a grin. "Good karma, maybe. Who knows, maybe Amida-sama will let me be reborn in his paradise after all."

"Bah." Tsuneo picked up a small pebble on the ground in front of him and tossed it. "You always have been an obstinate hard-head. Amida-sama and paradise? More likely King Emma will drag you to hell to make sake for him and all of his court."

This made Daitaro laugh, and even InuYasha cracked a small grin. "If he does that, then I'll know Emma-o knows what's important," the old farmer said.

"Aki-kun . . . I don't know," Tsuneo said. "Maybe you could knock some sense into that grandson of mine. I know I can't do anything worthwhile for him at my house, not with my household." He looked up at the hanyou. "As for you, InuYasha-sama, anybody who saw or heard what the kami did yesterday would be crazy to talk like that around you."

"Feh," InuYasha replied. He closed his eyes and sighed. "That ought to make people even more scared of me. But you're not frightened at all. Even when you saw me this morning." He tapped his nose. "This never lies."

Daitaro picked up his jug and looked at it, and looked back at the hanyou, surprised. "You didn't drink that much."

Tsuneo shrugged. "I have too much on my mind to be frightened. Never seen you do anything but the right thing. That stupid son of mine and Isao's mother were wondering if you were going to come tearing into our house last night demanding mine or his head, but I knew better. You even did what you could to calm my brat down without hurting him."

"Never stopped people before," InuYasha said. His voice carried more than a trace of bitterness.

"I leave the being scared of the uncanny to the rest of my family," Tsuneo said. "They do enough for all of us."

"Well," Daitaro said. "I think I'm taking back what I said about sake and youkai stamina. Two drinks got you talking more than I expected, InuYasha. I was thinking it was time to go back inside. But maybe you might want to walk in the garden a few minutes."

"I'm not drunk," the hanyou protested. "I've been drunk before. There was this youkai sage who did magic with vats of sake. He dunked me into one and I got really smashed. Couldn't even stand. Didn't taste as good as yours, though."

Daitaro popped the hanyou on the back. "Better than magic sake, eh? Now I know the day won't be all bad. Bet it didn't take you a day and a half to be normal again, either. I've noticed how fast you heal up."

InuYasha shook his head. "No, not long . . . maybe a quarter of an hour before I could stand. My head felt normal again about an hour later."

"Ah," Tsuneo said. "If only . . . "

"Lightweight," Daitaro said. He stood up. "Go on, go walk in the kami's garden, InuYasha. Maybe even tell him thanks for saving your pretty wife from that monster. You look and act like a man who's had a drink or two too many. Don't think there'll be more trouble, but you'll want to have a clear head." He grinned. " And it'll keep Hisa from giving you the look."

"You don't want Hisa to give you that look," Tsuneo said, stand up as well. "She might have pity on me and let it go. But . . . "

InuYasha stood up. Standing felt slightly odd. "You might be right."

"Experience," Daitaro said.

Nodding, the hanyou headed off towards the family shrine.


	94. Chapter 94

1_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahasi_

**Chapter 94**

As the three men finished up their conversation outside, Hisa was busy at her fire, lifting the kettle off of the heat. She carefully poured it over the herbs in Isao's medicine bowl

Susumu turned around and looked at her. "Okaa, that smells. You don't have to have InuYasha's nose to tell, either."

"I know," the older woman said, smiling at her oldest son. "You drank enough of it that time you hurt your back."

"You're giving him that?" Susumu shuddered. "That's some nasty-tasting stuff. I still remember what it tasted like."

"But it worked," she said, covering the cup with a lid.

He nodded, with a sigh. "It did, but I hope I never need it again."

Kinjiro turned around to them, not meeting his mother's eyes, but frowning at his brother. "If you don't mind, I'd like to hear the rest of Houshi-sama's story."

"Sorry, sorry," Susumu said, holding his hands up. His mother looked down at the medicine cup to hide her grin, more amused than irritated.

The younger man, still frowning turned back towards the table and nodded to Miroku. "So let me get this straight," Kinjiro asked. "People thought Kwannon was up in that tree, throwing showers of flowers in blessing?"

Miroku took a sip of his sake. "Yes, that's it exactly. A whole crowd had gathered, hoping to see what they thought was a miracle. I watched them go up to the tree for three days, just waiting for the flowers to fall."

"So what happened?" Tameo asked.

"Ah, this is interesting. Another case where youth goes where adults say no. On the fourth day, a young boy ran up to the tree and began to climb it. His mother ran after him, but couldn't catch him. Soon there was a loud noise, and yells from the boy. Leaves and flowers began to cascade down on the people there. Finally, a big bird, a hawk, fell down, flapping one wing. The other one was broken."

"So where was Kwannon?" Susumu said. He grabbed one of the rice cakes his mother had set out and began to eat it.

"Kwannon was never there - just this poor bird trying to hide." The monk sighed. "There were no more cascades of blossoms. I told them it wasn't Kwannon, but . . . "

"Eh," Kinjiro said. "People are gullible."

"What happened to the boy?"Susumu asked.

"Oh, his family was furious with him, mostly because the neighbors decided he had chased Kwannon away by his impious actions, but a local magistrate, who had come to see what the fuss was about, gave them a year's exemption from taxes. The magistrate didn't think Kwannon would show up in such a decadent age." Miroku downed his glass. "After that approval, his family turned their shame into him having a reputation for bravery. I'm not sure how brave he was, or if he was just curious."

"Worse things have happened to a young man," Hisa said, carefully standing up with the cup of medicine in her hand. "Although that one was rather unusual"

"True," Tameo said. He watched his wife walk across the room toward the battered boy. The headman sighed. "So, any ideas of how to handle our boys here?" He nodded his head in the direction of Aki "There won't be any magistrate who will come to solve our problem out of the blue like that."

"I have an idea," Susumu said, turning to watch his mother. "At least what to do for Isao." He scratched under his chin. "What to do about Aki, now that's a different kettle of fish."

Hisa knelt next to the battered boy. His lip was swelling a little even with Kagome applying compresses. Hisa handed him the cup. "Be careful, son," she said. "It's still hot. Don't hurt your lip."

Isao nodded, and Kagome moved the wet compress away from his mouth. "Let us know if you start to get sleepy," she said.

"If you do, you can lay down at the main house," Hisa said, nodding. "We have more than one room. I can put you in the back where the children won't bother you."

The boy looked down at the medicine cup he was holding. He put the cup down on the ground. Even though it was obvious that he was in pain, he straightened up and made no move to take the potion. "If it's all right, I'm going to wait before I drink it," he said.

"Are you sure?" Hisa asked, frowning. "You look like you're really hurting."

He nodded. "I...I want to be awake while they talk. I can handle it."

"If you're sure. But go ahead and drink if you get feeling too bad, son," Hisa said, brushing a stray bit of hair out of his face. "Nobody with think less of you."

"Bah! Just keep sucking up to them," Aki said, from where he was tied. He tugged on his rope. "You just think you hurt now."

Kinjiro shifted to look at the boy, put down his sake cup and stood up. "Excuse me," he said, with a small bow to the men there. Walking over to Aki, he gave the boy a small thump on the head. Aki yelped and glared at the man.

"Why'd you do that for?" Aki said.

"Just trying to knock some sense into that hollow head of yours," Kinjiro said. "You really shouldn't talk like that. You're in enough trouble as it is. Do I need to gag you too? I don't need to be listening to you digging your own grave."

Aki's eyes widened a bit, and gave a shake of his head. "No . . . "

"Good," Kinjiro said, and headed back to his seat.

Toshiro watched the exchange thoughtfully. "You're probably right about Aki-kun," he said. The elder lifted the tiny cup of sake that sat before him, and took a sip, then looked at Susumu. "So what is it that you think we should do?"

Susumu rocked a little from side to side, toying with his own cup, but not lifting it. "I think I'd rather wait until Tsuneo-sama gets back inside before I run it by anybody. He'd need to agree to it anyway."

The door slid open. "Agree to what?" Daitaro said. He stepped over the threshold and took off his sandals.

"Ah cousin," Tameo said, waving to the couple. "Come and join us."

Kagome wrung out the compress cloth over the bowl of water she was using, then looked up. "Did you see InuYasha? Is he with you?" she asked, looking with concerned eyes behind the old man.

"He was," Tsuneo said, following quickly behind the old farmer. He slid the door closed.

"Please, Ojiisan, tell them to untie me," Aki said from his corner. His voice was soft and pleading.

Tsuneo ignored him and also slipped off his shoes. "InuYasha went to the shrine garden for a little bit."

"Ojii?" Aki repeated. When he saw his grandfather wasn't going to look in his direction, he hung his head down. He gave a loud sniffle.

Daitaro stepped up on the wooden floor. "Your husband needed to clear his head a moment. But I suspect he'll be back here before much longer."

"Clear his head?" Miroku asked, looking at the two men. "InuYasha?"

"Eh, he's a lightweight." Daitaro grinned. "He needed a few minutes to let the sake get out of his system."

Hisa gave him a look, then turned to Kagome. "If he's not here soon, you go and get him. Sometimes, Daitaro isn't all that wise when it comes to drinking."

Daitaro, trying hard not to meet her eyes, hurried off to join the men at the table.

As Daitaro and Tsuneo made their entrance to the office, InuYasha walked down the little path toward the family shrine, the first time he had been there since the day Tameo had adopted Kagome into the family and registered their marriage.

"A lot sure can happen fast," he muttered to himself, thinking about it. "A whole world can turn upside down. Kagome's only been here thirteen days, and look how much has changed."

Entering the garden, he looked around. The small building that was the family shrine stood there in the bright sunlight, looking perfectly tranquil. Water bubbled in a small spring overflowing the little collection pool to wander off in a little rivulet. A few early spring flowers bobbed yellowy in the breeze. Leaves barely leafed out on the trees around the places danced in the same breeze.

It was a calm place this day. Even the sounds from the children playing around the compound were muffled.

"Wasn't this calm yesterday, that's for sure," he said, looking around. "Kind of wish I had seen the show, except I'd probably torn out Morio's throat for what he did."

The hanyou walked further into the garden, letting his nose guide him without thinking as he moved into it. Stopping, he realized from the scent that he must be in about the same place where Kagome had been the day before. The grass here was still filled with the smell of her. He took a deep breath.

Hers was not the only scent in the general area. He could smell Hisa, and Shippou, although more faintly, and even a touch of Joben. There was another scent, male, that he was pretty sure was Morio's. But there was one more, one he couldn't quite place, but seemed odd, not really human, and definitely not youkai. He knew he had smelled it before, off and on in various parts of the village, but he couldn't place a name to its owner.

Shrugging, he felt too light-headed to ponder it, so he sat down under the tree Kagome had sat down under the day before. He leaned forward, rested his elbow on his leg and his cheek in his hand and sighed.

"All this stuff is giving me a headache," he said. "I'm not good at this type of stuff. Village politics? Whoever let me live in their village before? I don't understand really works - what in the hells am I supposed to do or say?"

He gave up on sitting, and stretched out on his side, propping his head up with his hand. A small spring weed put up a little purple flower in front of him, and he plucked it. "Yeah, Kagome, I know this is important. I'm really trying, dammit, but you forget how much living with humans is just . . . "

He let his voice trail off. Twirling the flower in his fingers, his scowl softened. "She's worth it, though. I'll figure it out, just for her, no matter how stupid it is."

InuYasha looked at the blossom for a few moments longer, then sitting back up, he tucked the flower into his jacket. His scowl came back as a different thought hit him.

"What is it with the old men in this village?" he said. "I'll never understand why they act the way they do. Asking me about what to do with that brat Aki as if I ever had a normal life." He looked at his claws. "What do I know about that type of crap? What I learned about kids like him when I was small was that if I didn't hit first, they'd do their best to hurt me." He shook his head. "That never changed. The only thing I ever learned was to hit or avoid. They still do their best to try to hurt me. Only now it's ofuda and words and petty shit and upsetting Kagome instead of throwing rocks and sticks."

He let his breath out with a disgusted sound as he lay down, resting his head in his hands as his silver hair cascaded over them. "Sake. I don't really think that's the drink for me. My head still doesn't feel quite right." He closed his eyes. "Don't know what Daitaro sees in the stuff."

In the tree that Shippou had hidden the day before, a small bird madly announced its existence to the world, then suddenly flew off. The only sound outside of faint noises from the village was the breeze in the branches. He watched the branches move as the light from the sky peeked through, casting dappled light over his face and hair. Sometimes, he enjoyed watching, but at this moment, it just made him feel edgy.

The hanyou sat back up. "It's just too quiet here. I should just do what the old man said and get back to the office so we can get it over with, and I can take Kagome and go home."

Gracefully, but slowly, he got up and walked over to the spring where he did what his mother had taught him when he was a small child, rinsing his hands in the clear water. Then he walked over to the shrine doors, bowed and clapped three times.

Nothing in particular happened. InuYasha realized he had been holding his breath, as if he had really been expecting something to happen. That made him bark a short laugh. "I guess," he said to the shrine, his tone slightly amused, a bit uneasy, "since nothing happened, that must mean you're not going to throw lightning or something at me for daring to come here."

There was no response that he could sense, just the quiet breeze.

Wiping the smirk off his face, InuYasha took a deep breath. "You probably know I feel kind of stupid doing this," he said. "My mother taught me how, but the way my life has gone - I've never really known what to think about kami anyway. I always had the impression they didn't think that highly about me. Humans didn't, and they liked it better when I stayed away from things they thought were holy. Youkai didn't, so why should the kami?" The flush came back on his cheeks as he spoke, and he stared down at his feet for a moment. "But you . . . These last few days, ever since you showed up to talk to Kagome . . . Well, yesterday - I just wanted to say thank you."

Still feeling rather foolish, he clapped three times and bowed. Unexpectedly, he scented that odd scent again.

"So," said a voice behind him. "Daitaro introduced you to his sake? Be nice if he'd ever think to offer me some. You ought to tell him that."


	95. Chapter 95

_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 95**

InuYasha spun around at the sound of the voice, caught somewhere between embarrassment at being overheard and being ready to attack. As he turned, he stifled a growl, but could not stifle the urge to flex his knuckles.

"It can be dangerous to sneak up behind me like that," he said, scowling at the man who stood there.

"I believe I've heard that somewhere before," said the man, smiling at the hanyou. His smile was honest amusement, with no threat attached. InuYasha relaxed slightly as the man gave him a small bow in greeting. "Still," the stranger said, "I do believe I also heard that it's rather hard to actually do that to you. I'm surprised I succeeded."

"Feh," the hanyou replied, still irritated from the embarrassment, if not from the threat. "And how'd you know about Daitaro and his sake?"

The man grinned and rubbed his soft black cap back and forth a little over his head. "Wherever Daitaro goes, so goes his sake. Everybody knows that. Weren't you just talking to him a few minutes ago?"

InuYasha, still feeling fuzzy-headed, but alert enough to know that there was nobody who had watched his conversation with the two men, tilted his head and studied the man in front of him. The stranger was a small fellow, older, but not as old looking as Tameo or Daitaro, with a weathered face that looked used to smiling a lot. He was a good head shorter than InuYasha, dressed in a blue kosode, straw vest and black eboshi cap. Wearing a peasant's knee-length hakama and leg wrappings, he had no tabi on, and his toes were muddy where they rested on his straw sandals. He carried a hoe across one shoulder, and a water container dangling from a rice rope cord across his chest. In other words, he looked just like all the farmers living in all the villages near the shrine.

The hanyou's brows knit, and his frown deepened. "I don't think I've seen you before. Do they know you're here at the shrine? Are you one of the headman's relatives?"

The little man grinned, took his hoe off of his shoulder and used it as a staff to lean on. "You could say that, son. Or maybe you could say that Tameo-sama's a relative of mine." For some reason this made him chuckle. "I do make an appearance from time to time. Tameo knows me well. And I've known him since he was a small thing."

"Hn," InuYasha said. "You don't look as old as he does." He stuffed his hands in his sleeves and began to walk away from the shrine. The little man followed him.

"Looks can be deceiving, but you know that already," the little man said.

InuYasha turned sharply. "What in the hell do you know about me?"

"Oh, quite a lot, actually, InuYasha-sama," the stranger said, refusing to be frightened or put off by the hanyou's irritation. "You're quite famous in these parts. I've been watching you for a while now."

InuYasha felt uneasy. The sake was clearing from his head, but something else, was happening that made the hairs on the back of his neck rise. His hand strayed to the hilt of Tessaiga, and began to clutch it tightly.

"Looks are deceiving, eh?" the hanyou said. He shook his head. "Something's not right here."

"You have to excuse an old man a little fun," the stranger said. "I don't get to play with someone as interesting as you very often."

"I know your scent," InuYasha said, glaring at him. "I've smelled it all over the village sometime or the other, but I've never seen you before. You turn up just when I happened to stop by the shrine, which I never do." His glare began to fade into curiosity, and then into surprise. "And . . . and . . . " The hanyou took a deep breath. His right ear twitched.

"And I don't smell quite human, am I right?" the stranger said, chuckling a little. "But almost, I'd bet. There's a reason for that."

InuYasha's ear twitched as he stared at the little man, when certainty dawned on him. "Playing with me is right." His eyebrows knitted one more time. "I can feel your power. Not youki, not reiki. You have to be . . . "

The little man gave a slight bow. "I am Kazuo no Kami, if you want to be formal about it. Me, I'm not that much interested in formalities, but you interest me. I've been meaning to have a chat with you. Let's go for a little walk."

Back at Tameo's office, Daitaro settled down next to Susumu with a sigh. "These old bones aren't what they used to be," he said, shifting to get comfortable. He looked down the table and saw the cup in front of the guard. He snorted and looked up at the grinning face of his younger relative. "So, while I was out front, you started drinking that rotgut?"

"Couldn't help it," Susumu said. "It was time for a drink and you went off and took the best stuff."

"I guess I did, didn't I?" Daitaro said, ignoring Tameo's chuckle. "Well, when you don't have any other choice . . . "

This caused a ripple of laughter across the table.

"Sometimes," Miroku said from the far end of the seated men, "one must make do with what Buddha has provided, and give thanks."

"Diplomatic, are we?" Tsuneo asked, sitting down between the monk and Toshiro.

Kinjiro, sitting across the table from the older man, and closest to Aki, snorted.

Tameo gave both ends of the table a look almost worthy of Hisa, then picked up the scroll in front of him, and readied his brush. "Ready to get back to it?" Tameo asked. "I don't want to push anything, but . . . "

Tsuneo nodded. "I'll be all right. You remember how you felt when Susumu got in trouble."

"Oh yes, but we got through that," Tameo said, looking at his oldest son with an obviously mock look of disapproval. He waved in his son's direction. "And now look at him. Thinks he can make jokes about his father's sake at his father's own table."

Susumu coughed at that comment. Daitaro laughed and nudged the younger man. "Your Otousan's still got a thing or two on you, son."

"True, true," Susumu said. "Haha-ue has the look, but Chichi-ue, he knows how to use words."

"Well then, let's get back to work," Toshiro said. "So, Susumu, right before our two companions came inside, you said you had an idea about Isao-kun. Does anybody have any idea of what to do with Aki-kun?"

"Maybe," Daitaro said.

Tameo pursed his lips, curious at what might have happened. Turning, he caught Tsuneo's eyes.

"We talked about it," Tsuneo said.

"Ought to wait for InuYasha to get back before we go into it, though," Daitaro said. "He might have an opinion."

"Well," the headman said, "Let's just remember that whatever we decide, we're talking about more than punishment. If we wanted to do just that, we could call a public meeting and just have them given a sound whipping."

From his corner where he was tied up, Aki gave a small sob.

Tameo glanced that way, sighed, and continued. "But we've learned over time, that's not necessarily what's best. We want to insure that these boys learn something from their experience. It also has to be something we all agree will make everybody feel that justice is done. If someone goes away thinking we were unfair, well, that just causes bad blood."

There were nods and agreements from around the table.

Isao, from where he sat with Kagome pressing a cool compress to his cheek, reached out and pulled her arm away.

"Please," he said to Hisa and the young miko. "That's enough."

Kagome reached out and gently touched the bruising. "Are you sure?"

He nodded.

"You want to sit near them?" Hisa asked.

Isao nodded again.

"Well, if they say it's all right," she said. "Here." She handed Isao his medicine cup. "Remember, if the pain gets too big, drink it."

"I will," he said, and then walked across the room, giving Aki a wide berth as he moved toward the men.

"Well, let's pick this up," Hisa said softly, putting compress cloths back in the bowl they were using. "Then, I'll give them teacups in exchange for their sake cups, and maybe we'll get this done by lunch time!"

Kagome smiled at the older woman and nodded. With a quick flick of her wrist, she tossed in the wet cloth she was still holding in her hand into the bowl Hisa held out to her, and followed her back to where the men were sitting.

Isao bowed as he reached the table, standing between Susumu and Kinjiro. "May . . . may I sit near my Ojisan?" he asked in a quiet voice. His face was bruised, his lip swollen, but his eyes, although reflecting the pain he felt, were calm.

Tameo looked around the table and saw no disagreement. "If you're ready to act like a man, who am I to try to keep you from doing it?"

The boy nodded and when to sit by Tsuneo, who gave him an approving smile.

"I suggest," Tameo said, "that rather than wait for InuYasha-sama to return, we can discuss what to do with Isao, since it affects him less, I think."

"About time," Kinjiro said. "I have other things to do, you know."

"Yes, yes, son, we all know that. You've made it quite clear," Tameo said. He turned towards Miroku. "Houshi-sama?"

Miroku, who had been toying with his sake cup, looked up. "Yes?"

"You can stand in for your friend during this. InuYasha has less claim on what happens to Isao-kun than Aki, but you know him. Speak up if you think there's something that would really matter to him."

The monk nodded. "I will do my best."

Hisa began to move among the men, picking up the sake cups and handing them to Kagome. "I am making more tea," she said.

There were a few nodded heads as she walked around the table. "I'm sure Kagome-chan would also be willing to add anything, if it needs to be said before her husband gets back."

"Good, good," Tameo said. He turned to his oldest son. "Now, Susumu, you had an idea of what to do?"

Susumu looked at the boy, who returned his gaze shyly, and nodded. "Yesterday, when we had the . . . difficulty in the afternoon, Isao-kun, even though he was still dealing with getting injured, helped at a critical moment that allowed us to protect our cousin Kagome-sama and also probably kept Haname-sama from getting . . . more injured than necessary."

Hisa, moving back to the fire box, turned a moment. "I was rather impressed by how quickly he reacted," she said.

"The boy has a good spirit," Susumu said. "And he knows to put important things first. It's a shame his father is nowhere to give him the guidance he needs." He looked up at Tsuneo. "How long has Katsume-sama been away now?"

Tsuneo scratched under his chin. "Six or so years, I think. We get a letter from him from time to time . . . " He leaned forward. "Still, the boy is under my protection. We take care of our own."

"I am sure you do what you can, Tsuneo-sama, I know you don't take your responsibilities as head of your family lightly," Susumu said. "Still, it has to be hard on him having a missing father."

Isao took a deep breath and stared down at his hands. "I barely remember him," the boy whispered.

"So?" Toshiro said.

"It seems to me that Isao mostly needs more supervision, and to be separated from Aki-kun for a while. I admire his spirit. I would like to bring him into my own household," Susumu said. "I think he's got good potential to be worth training for the village guard."

Hisa and Tameo's eyes met. Tameo raised an eyebrow and looked at his son. "And you were going to talk to me about this when? I am still the head of the household you live in."

"Uh . . . " Susumu said. Color touched his cheeks, but he wasn't willing to step back. "I meant to talk to you about this last night."

"I don't know," Toshiro said, rubbing his chin. "Sounds more like a reward than a punishment. Maybe half the boys would like you to be their teacher, man. You're the best man in the village with sword or bow, and they all look up to you, even my rowdy bunch."

"Half the boys in the village didn't jump in when I needed a hand," Susumu said. "I think the boy has earned a chance."

"What about punishment? People will expect to see that, and there'll be talk if it looks like he moved from a bad deed to something like this," Toshiro said, scratching his head. "It might give some of the other boys the wrong idea. I can think of two or three right now."

"Well, if we agree to do this, I'm sure there's plenty of hard work we can find for him to do," Tameo said, rubbing his chin. "There's the rice straw to chop and spread, and the oxen to care for, and plenty of other things. I'm not saying I've agreed to this yet, but any boy who saw what Isao would be doing for the next few months wouldn't think it was necessarily a treat." He looked at Tsuneo. "You have some say in this."

Tsuneo looked at Isao, who looked back at him quite surprised. "Well that's an offer I didn't expect."

"So what do you think?" Toshiro said.

"It's interesting. Isao is a second son, so that won't be a problem if we shift him out of his house. Amaya-chan still has her oldest boy to take care of her." Tsuneo turned toward the Toshiro and Tameo and gave a small nod. "We probably do need to keep the boys apart for a while."

"You better," Kinjiro said. "After what I saw today . . . "

Tsuneo nodded, and patted his grandnephew on the shoulder, "It can be hard growing up. Isao needs space to learn how to deal with Aki. This could help."

"What do you think, boy?" Tameo asked, looking at the boy. "Do you think you could handle being Susumu's assistant? You'll have to work long and hard hours, and do what he tells you to do. You won't have much time for playing."

Isao looked up at Susumu. "Me? You really want me?"

"Yes, son, you," Susumu said, smiling.

Tameo was about to say something, when suddenly something else caught his attention. He looked around the room in surprise. He looked at Miroku. "Did you feel that?"

Miroku, who also seemed startled, nodded. "It felt like a big surge of spiritual energy."

"That feels like the kami," Tameo said. "What is Kazuo-sama up to this time?"

"Isn't InuYasha there in the shrine garden?" Susumu asked.

Kagome's face went white, and she dropped the piece of wood she was about to put under the tea kettle, stood up and headed for the door. "I have to go see."

"If you're going, I guess I have to go, too," Tameo said, and he got up to follow her. "He probably just wanted to talk, but you never know when people like this get together."

Kinjiro watched Daitaro and Susumu get up to follow the headman out. He turned to Toshiro. "Damn it," he said. "We're never going to get this meeting finished."


	96. Chapter 96

_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 96**

InuYasha looked at the little man standing expectantly in front of him, not really knowing what to do or say. "Uhhh . . . "

"Don't tell me I shocked you that much," Kazuo said. "I know you're met up with kami before now."

The hanyou shook his head like he was trying to clear his thoughts. "Uh . . . yeah, at least a couple that I know about," he said. "Never met any who just wanted to talk to me because I was . . . interesting . . . or who I knew had done something good for me."

This made the kami laugh. "It's probably a good thing that people don't often get to see the kami who look out after them. There have been more than one or two who've kept an eye on your progress. You just didn't see them working from the shadows."

"Feh," InuYasha said. "Could have fooled me. All the stuff I've been through over the years, I would have guessed they hated me."

Kazuo nodded. "The path fate threw you . . . you've had a rather odd destiny, boy. Small kami like me, even if they love you a lot, can't usually fix that." He sighed. "I've really tried a time or two, and it didn't work out so well. Destiny is a stronger power than I'll ever be." Taking a deep breath, he rubbed his cap back and forth on his head. "Let's get out of this garden. It's too . . . neat and pretty for me. Don't you tell Hisa-sama that, though."

That made InuYasha smile a little.

"I see that grin. You've heard about her look, eh?" Kazuo said, grinning back. "Bet she's already used it a time or two this morning, knowing that bunch, and Daitaro starting them drinking before lunch."

The hanyou's smile broadened. "You're right. Susumu particularly seems in awe of it. Didn't know a kami would pay attention to stuff like that."

"You'd be surprised what I notice. It's kind of my job, you know?" Kazuo said. "And Hisa - well, I don't think she'd turn that look of hers on me. I hope not, since I'm the one who gave her that look as a gift. That boy of hers was really wild there for a while coming up. I thought it would come in handy. And it did."

"Do you watch over everybody like that?" InuYasha asked.

"When I can," Kazuo said, nodding. "I was a farmer before I was a kami. I guess it's just me tending my own fields. In return, they built this pretty shrine and garden for me. Hisa-sama loves tending the garden, and I don't want to make her unhappy."

"Huh," InuYasha said, looking at the little kami thoughtfully. "Never thought about what kami do before."

"We're not all like me," Kazuo said. "Some of us are pretty rotten bastards, but we all have jobs to do. This family and the welfare of the village, too, is mine." He tapped the hanyou on the back. "Enough of just standing around. There's a place up on the hill I like better," the kami said. "I want to take you there to talk."

"But what about - " InuYasha started, pointing to Tameo's office.

"Don't worry about them," Kazuo said. "They'll be out here in a few minutes anyway, once they realize I'm out of my cage again. I sneak out more than they realize, but if I want to talk to someone, well, Tameo's got a good nose on him for my aura. As does that lovely little wife of yours. Let's take advantage of it while we can." He began to walk to the far side of the shrine.

InuYasha, not sure what else he could do, followed.

Beyond the shrine, there was a trail heading up the hill. Kazuo nimbly headed up the path, and InuYasha stayed close behind. They eventually reached a clearing where the land opened up into a tree-shaded flat spot. A small bit of meadow opened up in the middle, where a downed tree had cleared enough of its fellows in its fall to bring in the sun.

The kami plopped himself down on a fallen log and stretched out his legs in front of him. "It's always nice to get up here." He looked up at the hanyou, who was turning around in the clearing, with an amazed look on his face.

"Sit down, man," Kazuo said, tapping on the log with his hoe, showing the hanyou where to sit. "I'm going to get dizzy watching you do that."

InuYasha snorted, then sat down where the kami indicated. "I never came back up here after I woke up," he said. "But it looks just the same."

"Ah," Kazuo said. "You recognize this place?"

InuYasha nodded. "It's not something I could forget. But I thought it'd look different after fifty years. That's a lot of time, even for a forest."

"Might be my fault," Kazuo admitted. "This was always my favorite place to get away, even before I became a kami. "When the work got too heavy, or I had too many people pulling at my attention, or I knew the crop was going to fail, I'd come here - scream, yell, or just let the quiet calm me. Look." He pointed.

InuYasha looked at the direction he was pointing in. The village was spread out before them, green fields, houses, even the alarm tower.

"If the rice paddies were flooded, they'd be glinting in the sunlight. It's a pretty sight," Kazuo said. "I'd look out and think maybe I was accomplishing something when I saw it. Still can."

"So why does it look the same as the first time I came here?" InuYasha asked.

"Kami secret," Kazuo said. "A little drop of magic, I guess you'd say. It doesn't just look like it did fifty years ago. It looks like it did when I was new to the kami business."

They fell quiet, lost in memories.

"Remember the first time you were here?" Kazuo asked a moment later.

"How could I forget?" the hanyou replied. He sat up, tilted his head back to look at the sky, then closed his eyes. "The day was a lot like today."

"You didn't see me that day, but I was standing over there, underneath that pine." Kazuo nudged the hanyou and pointed to an ancient pine tree to their left. "I wasn't manifested, because I didn't want her or you to feel me hanging around. But I was told you were going to show up. I wanted to see what type of person you were."

"Feh, some impression I must have made," InuYasha said. He looked down at his hands. "I thought I was so good," he said. "I slipped through the trees, very, very quiet. It was something I had learned to do a long time ago, at first because I was hunted, later because I was the hunter." He reached down, picked up a fallen leaf, and twirled it in his fingers. It was old, an overwintered leaf, very brittle, and it broke in his fingers. "It had been a long time since anybody caught me coming."

His ear flicked, even as his eyes grew distant, lost in the past. "I was standing in that tree," he said, pointing to his right. "I thought it'd be easy to sneak up on her. I jumped, but when I touched down, claws out, she was waiting for me, arrow pointed at my chest. Never did figure out why Kikyou didn't shoot me that first time."

"She had a soft heart," Kazuo said, "and a heavy burden. That cursed jewel was already wearing her down. I pleaded with the heavenly court to let her out of her destiny, but . . . and then you showed up."

InuYasha took a deep breath. "She was the first person who treated me like I was a person and not a monster in so long I had forgotten what it felt like." He looked around the glade. "We came here a lot."

"Your soul and hers, they had been fated. I wasn't sure what to think, when I first found out," Kazuo said. "A hanyou and a miko. Who would have thought it? And the jewel, distorting everything near it. Still, even that first day, I could see inside your heart. And I liked what I saw."

"Feh," Inu looked down. "I sure didn't. Not then."

"Sometimes," Kazuo said in a soft tone, "it takes someone else to see the worth of a thing. Underneath all that roughness, I could see what was really there."

"If . . . " InuYasha said, turning to the kami. "I never wanted things to go like they did."

Kazuo rubbed his cap over the top of his head, and looked at the hanyou with a sad smile. "It wasn't meant to be. Naraku had to be born to get rid of the jewel. I don't know why, but that's what they told me when I went to beg for Kikyou's destiny to be changed. And her soul, as sweet as it was, wasn't really ready." He shook his head. "You two . . . your souls were destined, but your lives . . . you two were there to give birth to what it would take to get rid of that blasted thing, and then later, to destroy it. And at such a high price." Kazuo thumped his thigh with the palm of his hand. Sparks flew at the contact, like miniature fireflies that melted in the sunlight. "How did we get on such a sad subject? That's not what I wanted to do."

The hanyou's brows knit, and he looked at his companion with a somber face, not yet free of the memories of bygone days."So what did you drag me out here for?"

"Not to relive the past, that's for sure," Kazuo said. He let out a breath slowly, and then regained his smile. "After everything that happened yesterday, it just seemed the right thing to do."

"I'm still taking all that in," InuYasha said. He looked down at the ground for a moment and scrubbed a toe across the leaf litter. "When we were coming down the hill this morning, one woman looked at us like we were a good luck charm." He looked up at the kami. "That was a first. Me, a good luck charm. I'm used to being the first one blamed when anything happens."

"Heh," Kazuo said.

"But then," InuYasha said, tilting his head as he looked at the kami, "I saw what you did to that Morio guy." He paused a moment. "That was . . . "

"Needful, although I know you don't really approve," the kami said. His smile faded and he rubbed his hat over his head again.

"You keep doing that," the hanyou said, slipping his hands in his sleeves, "you're going to rub a sore place on your head."

Kazuo chuckled. "Old habit. I must think it helps me think."

InuYasha snorted, but then followed that with a frown. "But you're right, I don't approve. Why didn't you just kill him?"

"Morio . . . was complicated," the kami replied. "You know he stirred up the bakeneko that you took care of."

The hanyou nodded.

"He'd done a bunch of other stuff, including stealing an amulet that belonged to a much more powerful person," the kami continued. "His reiki wasn't really that strong. Without it, he wouldn't have been able to cause that much harm to Haname. It's going to take her a while to get over it. Let's just say justice was done. Besides, Tsuneo's family kami was getting fed up with Joben. Morio'll keep that boy busy for a while, too busy to give you any grief. "

"Still . . . " InuYasha's voice trailed off.

"It'll work out for the best. You'll see. Kami eyes see things that humans and even youkai can't." Kazuo started to rub his hat across his head one more time, and caught himself with his hand in midair. He laughed. "I must be needing to think more than I realized. Time to change the subject. Instead of thinking about the ways of evil yamabushi and divine retribution, let's think about that pretty wife of yours." The kami gave InuYasha a friendly slap to the back.

"Keh," InuYasha said. Suddenly, the sadness and irritation he had been feeling fell away. He looked at the kami, who was smiling back at him, and even though he suspected his mood swing was something Kazuo had done, he didn't care. His thoughts drifted to Kagome.

"Tell me about her," the kami said.

InuYasha took a deep breath. He untangled his arms and then leaned forward, elbow on thigh, head in chin. "It's like . . . " He frowned. "Kuso, I don't have the words. I was empty, and knew I was, but not how empty I was, and then she's here and that emptiness has been filled up." He sat up and turned to the kami.

"That day, when suddenly I could smell her scent - I thought I was imagining things at first. And when I lifted her out of the well . . . " He gave the kami a soft grin. "I had always hoped. It was the only thing that kept me sane. But when it really happened, it felt like a miracle."

"Nothing you two didn't deserve," Kazuo said. "She's a special one, your Kagome. My granddaughter who's not my granddaughter - it's still the same soul, but now she's ready for the life opening up before you." He sighed. "I couldn't save Kikyou, but the lords of destiny have tied you two together, and at least for a while, they're going to let me smooth the way for you two. It won't all be roses, but it won't be winter snow, either."

InuYasha's ear flicked. Kazuo gave the hanyou a gentle tap on his head. "And you, you need to stop worrying."

"I'm not worried," InuYasha said. "It's just that . . . "

Kazuo shook his head. "Kagome is not destined for the sadness your mother had, and your destiny is nothing like your father's. You're being given a special blessing from the lords of the August Fields. I guess they finally decided they owe you two something after all the darkness they put you through to get here. "

"Darkness," InuYasha said. "That's one way to put it."

"Well that's over." Kazuo stood up. "And now, our talk is almost too. We're going to have to head back. They've figured out what to do with Isao-kun. He's a good boy. Aki . . . " the kami sighed. "Well, he'll get something out of it."

The two headed down the hill. "I can't do this often, manifesting like this when there's no emergency," Kazuo said as they neared the shrine. "It upsets the balance of things. The earth is more for people like you to walk than me. I usually pass over it like a breeze, unseen and seldom felt. But come talk to me sometimes. Who knows what can happen?"

"I will," InuYasha said. "I..."

They stopped in front of the shrine. "I know. Take care, son. I really have to go now." He tapped his hoe on the ground, and suddenly there was a large surge of power. "Don't forget to tell Daitaro, that scoundrel, about the sake."

And with a flash of bright light, he was gone


	97. Chapter 97

_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 97**

Miroku watched Tameo and the others file out of the office. Shrugging his shoulders, he turned back to the men still sitting at the table. "So, Toshiro-sama, Tsuneo-sama, I have only lived in this village four a little more than three years. Is it often that the village kami do this sort of thing?"

Hisa knelt next to Toshiro offering her teapot. He looked at her briefly, and let her fill his teacup. "It's not often," the elder said, picking it up. "I don't know when my family's kami has done it."

"That's the way it often is with kami," Miroku replied, nodding. "I've met a few in my travels. Usually if you see them, they have some business to take care of. Not many show their faces, it seems."

"Not for over a hundred years in my family," Tsuneo said, waving Hisa away when she offered the tea to him. "They do say though, that the kami showed up to lead the family into the hills when some army was tramping in the area. All before my time. With all the time that Joben spends at the shrine, I wouldn't be surprised if he ran away, being pestered with all my son's prayers." He rested his head on his hand, looking quiet defeated. "If my family really has bad luck, that might be a big part of it."

"Quiet and doing their work behind the scenes - that's the way most kami are," Hisa said, moving to Miroku. He nodded when she offered the tea. "I must say that Kazuo-no-kami is a bit more lively than any other I've heard about lately. I still remember that bandit attack where he hit out with his hoe, but even he seldom shows up like he's been doing. And two days in a row? I never heard about such a thing."

"I wonder if it's because InuYasha has youkai blood," Miroku said. "I heard once - "

There was a groan behind them, interrupting the monk. The adults at the table turned around to see Isao slumped forward, his face turned down, his eyes clenched in a grimace.

Tsuneo turned around and laid a hand on his nephew's shoulder. "Isao, can I help you? Do you want to lie down?" Tsuneo asked.

"My head," Isao muttered. He covered the top of his heads with his hand. "It hurts. Bad."

Hisa hurried to his side, resting her hand gingerly on his forehead. "Did you ever take your medicine?"

Isao tried to shake his head, but stopped. "No . . . "

She picked up the cup, and tilted his head up. "It sounds like you will be staying with us, boy. I am the mother of the house, and I tell you that you will take your medicine. And take it now."

"But . . . " Isao said.

"Listen to her, son," Tsuneo said. "You need it and she has, or at least it looks like she will have that right. You have done what you need to prove to me, to all of us, that you are worth it. So, do the right thing and take your medicine. No one will think less of you."

Isao's eyes went from Hisa's determined look to Tsuneo's sad but approving glance.

"You have been very brave, young man," Toshiro said, nodding. "A lot of us had high spirits at your age. We understand. Take your medicine."

He took the cup from Hisa. His hand shook a little, and he wrapped his other hand around it to try to steady it. Closing his eyes and taking a deep breath, he gave a single nod and downed the contents in one gulp, shuddering at the taste.

"Good boy," Miroku said. "I wish I could get my girls to take their medicine that well."

Isao looked up at the monk, still grimacing. "I don't blame them."

"Nasty, eh?" Kinjiro said. "Haha-ue's dosed me with that before, too." He took a sake cup, walked over to the built in cabinet, fished out his father's sake jug, poured a tiny amount into the little cup, and walked over to the knot of people. He knelt down next to Isao and rested a hand on his back and handed him the cup with the other. "This is what I always did when she dosed me. Here. Swoosh this around in your mouth before you swallow. It'll help with the taste."

Hisa tugged on her son's sleeve. "You didn't give him very much, did you?" Hisa asked. "Sake and that medicine can really make a person groggy."

"No more than you used to," Kinjiro said. He turned back to the boy who was looking at the adults uncertain of what to do. "Drink. Even if you get sleepy, it'll be worth it to get the taste out."

"A practical man," Miroku said.

"Practiced," Kinjiro replied. Miroku snorted.

Isao finally did as instructed. "I don't like either," he said, wiping his mouth and handing the cup back. "But it tasted better than the medicine."

"Oh, you'll like the sake more as you grow up," Kinjiro assured him. "Especially when you can take it without the medicine first."

Hisa laughed a little at her son. "You should know."

Aki watched the adults taking care of his cousin, and his face grew angry, in spite of being tied up. "Big baby," he muttered.

Kinjiro started to get up, but Tsuneo rested a hand on his shoulder. "Has he been mouthing off like this when I was out?"

The younger man nodded. Tsuneo got up, walked over to where Aki sat. The boy looked up at his grandfather with wary, angry eyes, and a defiant set to his jaw. Tsuneo gave him a slap.

"Whose fault is it that he's injured?" Tsuneo demanded.

Aki's eyes watered, either from the slap or the surprise at his grandfather's actions. "Ojiisan . . . "

The old man glared at the boy."Well, whose fault is it that your cousin is hurt?" His voice was harsh, requiring an answer.

Aki looked around the room but saw no sympathy. "He didn't get out of the way fast enough. It wasn't my fault," he said. "I told him that . . . "

"And whose fault is it that your obaasan got so angry yesterday?" Tsuneo asked. He squatted next to his grandson, looking him directly in the eye. His hands were clenched tightly as if he were trying not to use them again.

"I didn't make her mad!" Aki said. "She got mad because what that yamabushi did! It was the fault of that hanyou for her luck! It was . . . "

"Oh? And if you hadn't done something wrong, would she have gone running up the hill to try to rescue you?" Tsuneo gave the boy a shake. "And who was it that hit his cousin again today, even with him being injured already?"

"He . . . He . . . " Aki's voice fell, and he looked down at the floor.

"Remember the story I told you about how my father wanted to take me to the slave market, but the elders convinced him not to?" Tsuneo said, lifting his grandson's chin up to meet his gaze.

Aki swallowed, then nodded.

"I understand how he felt. You had better hope Tameo and Toshiro think you're worth more than I think you are." Tsuneo stood up.

The boy looked up at his grandfather, real fear in his eyes. "Ojiisan . . . "

Back at the table, Isao said, "I feel dizzy." He slumped forward. Hisa looked up at her son and sighed.

While Hisa was serving tea to Toshiro and Miroku, Kagome hurried down the path toward the family shrine. As she entered the garden, she saw her husband standing in front of the shrine, not moving. Sunlight glinted off his silver hair, his arms were crossed in front of him with his hands slipped into his sleeves, and he had his head tilted to the side, but he stood there relaxed.

"InuYasha?" she said as she approached him.

His ear flicked as he heard her. He took a deep breath. "This day is too damn weird," he said, turning to face her.

"Are you all right?" she asked, studying his face. She rested a hand on his arm, and he covered her hand with his.

His amber eyes met hers, solemn and serious, but not angry or hiding behind a stony mask. "Why wouldn't I be?" he said. "Was I gone that long?"

"No," she said, shaking her head. "It's just that I felt a big wave of spiritual energy. You left so suddenly. And then Daitaro said you came to the garden. I didn't know what was happening. Tameo said he thought the kami must have manifested." She looked around. "But I don't feel anything now. Did something happen?"

"Keh," the hanyou said. "You just missed him. He went back to wherever it is he goes when he's not here."

"What happened?" Kagome asked. "I was worried when you went off like that."

InuYasha sighed and gave her hand a little squeeze before moving it off his arm. He slipped his hands back in his sleeves. "You know how I get sometimes. After dealing with that brat, I needed to get away for a few minutes so I wouldn't do something stupid." He gave her a sad smile. "I don't think they would have really liked what I wanted to do with that kid."

Kagome returned his smile, almost as sad. "I don't think you would have been alone. I bet Kinjiro would have joined you."

"I bet," InuYasha said, snorting. "Then when I got outside, Daitaro got me to sit down and talk with him and Tsuneo. Tsuneo's all right. I kind of feel sorry for him, having to deal with all of this."

Kagome nodded.

"Daitaro was passing that bottle around and got me to drink some sake. It made me dizzy and I guessed I talked too much. They were ready to go back in, but he thought I ought to wait before coming in." InuYasha shrugged. "I guess he knows more about that stuff than I do. I went to the garden and then Kazuo showed up and wanted to talk." He dropped his hands out of his sleeves, then reached up and brushed Kagome's cheek with a knuckle. "For some reason, today everybody wants to talk to me. It feels weird."

"He likes to talk a lot for a kami," Kagome said. "I wonder if he gets lonely doing whatever it is he does."

"No idea. Shouldn't we get back to the others?" InuYasha asked. "He told me about why some stuff was happening, and not to worry so much." The hanyou's ear flicked. "Easy for him to say."

"At least you know he's not mad at you," Kagome said. She took his hand and laced her fingers into his.

As they turned around to leave, Tameo, Susumu and Daitaro, who had been standing off in the distance giving them room to talk, walked up to join them.

"So, cousin," Susumu said, grinning. "I see you're still here in one piece. Neither Daitaro-ojisan's sake nor the kami did you in, I see."

InuYasha dropped Kagome's hand and crossed his arms again. "I'm still here," he said. "Must not have."

Daitaro turned to the younger man and gave him a small shove. "Bah. You shouldn't make fun of what you drink plenty of yourself." He patted his jug. "And then ask for more."

"The kami, he showed up?" Tameo asked, ignoring the other two.

"Yeah," InuYasha said. "We went for a little walk up the hill and back."

Tameo looked surprised, but nodded."I don't know if you realize how unusual all this is. But after yesterday, I can't say I'm really shocked. He made sure we all know how he feels about you and your partner." The headman scratched the top of his head. "I don't know if he's ever done anything like this before, or at least not so much of it. Usually, if he wants to talk to you, he just yanks on you and you're lifted up to his realm. He doesn't manifest like this very often."

"I guess," InuYasha said. "He said something about it making things unbalanced." He turned to Daitaro, and gave him a small smirk. "And, you, old man. The kami said you should share some of your sake with him. I got the feeling he thinks you're being stingy."

"Huh," Daitaro said, tugging on his thin, scraggly beard. "Never occurred to me. The headman's house has always been the one to supply the sake for the offerings. I never meant . . . " At first he chewed on his bottom lip and then his face broke out into a broad smile. He nudged Susumu again. "You see - you ought not make fun of my sake. Even the kami wants some."

Susumu raised his hands in mock surrender. "I stand corrected. Remind me that I should come and sample some later, in penance for my rudeness, and to remind me that it's fit for the kami. I wouldn't want to make a mistake like that again."

The old man laughed.

"Well, if everything's all right, I suggest we go back to the office and finish our business before Kinjiro loses his last thread of patience," Tameo said.

"It was getting rather threadbare," Susumu acknowledged.

The group moved back to the office. Just before they reached it, the door slid open and Kinjiro and Hisa stepped out with a shaky-looking Isao leaning an arm against them both.

"What's happening?" Tameo asked.

"He needs to lie down," Hisa said. She pursed her lips, unpleased with the turn of events. "And I think Kaede might need to take a look at him. He's had enough of being the man this morning. I am taking him home into the back room. You can settle the fine details without him."

"Can I help?" Kagome asked.

Hisa looked questioningly at her husband. "If . . . "

"We don't really need Kagome-chan until after we've decided about Aki," Tameo said. "I can send for her when we're ready."

"Yes, then. Please, Kagome-chan, can you take his other side?" Hisa said. "I think you'll fit better than Kinjiro. He's a bit too tall."

Kagome turned to InuYasha. "You'll be all right?"

His ear flicked, but he nodded. "Yeah. And Miroku's there. The kid really tried to be brave today, but he looks like he needs the help. I'll manage."

She gave her husband a soft look then turned back to Hisa and Kinjiro. Kinjiro stepped aside and let Kagome take his place helping to support the boy.

"Why's he so groggy?" Kagome asked.

"Pain medicine," Kinjiro said.

"And maybe a bit too much sake," Hisa said, turning her gaze on her son. The look was not pleasant. Kinjiro swallowed.

The two women began walking the boy toward the house.

"I swear I didn't give him any more than Haha-ue used to give me," Kinjiro said.

"Another lightweight," Daitaro said, shaking his head. "Well, he's tried hard. Let's get this meeting over."

And with a nod of agreement, Tameo led the men back into the house.


	98. Chapter 98

_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 98**

As the group filed back into the office, Aki's head shot up, and his eyes grew wide and his mouth nervous, studying each of the men as they walked back into the room. Tameo, nor Daitaro looked his way as they passed by. As InuYasha walked by to take a seat next to Miroku, Aki noticeably cringed.

Susumu looked at the boy thoughtfully. Aki began to say something, but Susumu shook his head. The village guard's voice was firm, but not overly harsh. "Just don't. It'll be better for you if you just stay quiet. You've been making it worse for yourself all morning."

Aki closed his mouth, then closed his eyes and dropped his head as Susumu settled down next to Daitaro.

"So," Toshiro said, turning to the headman. "I take it everything was all right?"

"Indeed," Tameo said. "InuYasha was just standing there, waiting for us to show up. No catastrophes today so far. Let us hope that there will be no more. For that, I am grateful, as hard as this morning has been. Yesterday was bad enough."

"You talked to the kami?" Miroku asked, the curiosity in his face telling the hanyou that he was going to be grilled later.

InuYasha nodded, giving Miroku a look that warned the monk to back off. Miroku took a deep breath and sighed.

"So," Daitaro asked, pulling out his jug and setting it on the table. "What did the kami want with you anyway, besides demanding a share of my sake?"

InuYasha's ear twitched. "Just to talk."

"Talk," Miroku said.

"Yeah, talk." InuYasha replied. "You got a problem with that?"

"Not at all, my friend," the monk replied. "You want some tea? Hisa left the teapot. I'll go get it."

The hanyou nodded, and Miroku got up and moved over to the side of the room where Hisa had been sitting.

"Our kami does like to talk. He's done that to me - just showed up and wanted to talk" Tameo said, grabbing his writing things and getting ready to record the decisions of the meeting. "But not quite in the same fashion. He usually makes me go to him." He looked at the sake jug and then at Daitaro. "Maybe we should save that for later. I'm sure at least one or two of us would like to get this sad business done, and save the drinking for afterwards."

"Yes," Kinjiro said.

Miroku walked around the table with the teapot. "While I'm up - more?" he asked Toshiro.

Toshiro nodded. "All in good time," the elder told Kinjiro. He watched Miroku fill his cup, then picked it up, and took a sip. "We all have things we'd rather be doing. So let's get this finished." He put the cup down, then looked at the village headman. "So, Tameo, have you made up your mind about what ought to happen to Isao-kun?"

"Tea, Tsuneo-sama?" Miroku asked.

Tsuneo was sitting there, barely paying attention to the chatter around him, looking down at the table. His face was gaunt and his eyes were sad and angry both. He looked up at the monk, surprised, as if the question had pulled him out of deep thought. "Yes, please." Picking up the fragrant liquid, he took a quick look at his grandson and sighed.

Tameo looked down at the scroll in front of him for a moment, and then glanced at both of his sons, Kinjiro giving him a knowing look, Susumu a hopeful one. "Well, sons, you saw Hisa as we walked in. What do you think?"

"She's already taking charge of him," Kinjiro said. "You know how she is when gets an idea in her head. Don't know how she'll react if you send him away. She won't be happy."

"Looked like it to me," Susumu replied, nodding. "And you know how Haha-ue is once she had decided someone ought to be under her care - dogs, children, stray heroes." His eyes briefly met InuYasha's eyes and he smiled. "Once they're hers, they're hers forever."

Miroku poured tea for InuYasha. The hanyou, in return, picked up the tea pot and offered to pour some back, but the monk shook his head.

"Too much already," the monk said. He turned to Tameo. "So, you're saying that for all of her gentle ways, Hisa-sama seems to be a woman with a certain . . . determination."

"That's one way of putting it," Susumu said, smiling at the monk.

"Bah," Tameo said, shaking his head. "You sound like she pushes me around. You know better than that. Your mother and I have . . . a certain understanding. Enough talk about her. Let's get back to Isao. He's been doing bad things, but no more than several of us here did that at his age. But yesterday and today both prove Isao's not a bad boy at heart. Hisa-chan has a gift for reading hearts - she's never been wrong. If you are determined to bring him in as your charge, Susumu, I am willing. But you will have to see to him." He turned to the boy's grandfather. " Are you content with this, Tsuneo?"

The elder looked up and nodded. "Thank you. I think it'll be good for him. I'll talk to his mother and send his things over when I go home."

Heads nodded. "Well," Miroku said, speaking what most were thinking. "That's one thing down."

Tameo prepared his ink, and dipped his brush in it and began to write something down on the scroll in front of him. "We'll have to think of something for him to do that seems like punishment work," he said to Susumu. "You can't just treat him like your apprentice. You understand that, don't you"

The village guard nodded. "But Haha-ue will skin any of us who put him to work before she thinks he's well enough."

Tameo rubbed his lip with his knuckle. "We'll have to start with something light, then. Well, we can figure that out later. Now about Aki-kun."

"Bah," Tsuneo said, glaring at his grandson. "Do with him what you want." He turned back to look at the table. "I'm ready to send him off to Kai or Odawara. Let him go see what real bad luck is."

InuYasha frowned. He could smell the hurt and anger radiating off the old man, and the fear coming from the young boy. It reminded him of a time much earlier in his life. "You don't really want to do that," he said.

"What do you do with a child that's trying to become a monster?" The old man shook his head, and looked at the hanyou thoughtfully. "You think any of us have what it takes to get whatever deviltry that's in him out?"

"Ojiisan . . . " Aki said. His voice was choked. "I'm sorry . . . "

InuYasha shrugged. "Won't know unless we try, but sending the brat away won't make him any better. Getting kicked out can take a long time to get over." He looked back at Aki, and then at his grandfather, his eyes filled with memory. "He's a brat, but that . . . "

"If anybody here would know what that feels like," Miroku said, too softly to be heard by most of the room. InuYasha's ear flicked, though, and he gave an almost imperceptible nod.

Tsuneo looked at InuYasha curiously, but then back at his grandson and sighed. "So what do we do?"

"I can think of a thing or two," Kinjiro said, scowling at the boy. "If Matsume wasn't carrying . . . "

"We want to separate the boys," Toshiro said. "I'm afraid your house is too close, anyway. And I'm about to have a new baby in mine, too. Sayo, as good as she is, might pack up and leave. My boy Yasuo might even follow her."

Aki sobbed.

"So who would be willing?" Tameo asked. "I'd like to keep it in the family, but if there's nobody willing, we might have to ask someone else."

"Maybe Takeshi? Or one of our lower ranked branch families?" Toshiro suggested.

The room fell silent. Daitaro poured some sake into a cup, ignoring the look Tameo gave him. "For what I'm going to say, I need this more than tea." He took a sip. "I'm willing. It'd be simple if I didn't have Shinjiro's wedding coming up." He drained the cup. "Everything's too busy at home right now I couldn't pay him enough attention, and my women folk would probably throw me out. Chime's determined everything for the wedding day has to be perfect. Five days from now, I could do it. Anybody willing to watch him until then?"

Daitaro turned and looked at the boy, who stared back at him with wide eyes, full of surprise, and a touch of fear. "I won't eat you, son. I promise, even after what you did to my sake."

Tameo raised an eyebrow. "You're sure, cousin? You're the one he's done the most to."

"Well then, he owes me the most," Daitaro said. Tsuneo gave him a small, grateful smile. "Chichi-ue said taking care of the cattle was the one thing that saved my own hide from being shipped off. Let's see if the same thing will work for Aki. Cleaning up after the cows for a while is a great way to study the error of your ways. Manure shoveling teaches you a lot of things."

Kinjiro gave a small laugh.

"I don't know why you're laughing," Susumu said. "I did more of that than you."

"Which is why it's funny," the younger brother said.

"My foster-father used to say the same thing about scrubbing the temple floor," Miroku said. "I learned a lot from that, myself. Many hours."

"Seeing how you are today, Houshi-sama, many hours may not have been enough," Daitaro replied.

Waiting for the laughter to settle, Toshiro finished his tea. He looked across the table at Daitaro. "Have you talked to your woman about this?" Toshiro said. "Another mouth to feed, and a surly one at that."

"I..." Aki said, but Susumu shot him a look and he returned to studying the floor.

"You ever try to talk to a woman organizing a wedding?" Daitaro replied. "Not really."

There were a couple of snickers around the table.

"Well, you know her better than I do," Toshiro said. "What about you, InuYasha, Houshi-sama? That'd put the boy near your homes. Does this bother you?"

"Be honest," Daitaro said. "Don't want any bad blood between us."

"Aki-kun has never made a move to bother me or mine," Miroku said. "I would recommend he continue upon that path. I know how to use my staff, and my beloved wife, well she's a taijiya, and packs a mean punch." He rubbed his chin, knowingly. "Although if he needs extra work, there is plenty of work around the temple. Scrubbing floors, painting, tending the garden, helping the men when they work on the roof . . . "

Daitaro snorted.

"Feh," InuYasha said. " Do what you want. I can take care of me and Kagome. Not sure why you're doing it, but . . . "

"I have a weakness for getting involved with the people other people don't want to get involved with." Daitaro looked knowingly at the hanyou, and InuYasha's ear twitched as it dawned on him that he too belonged to that group. "That is, if we find someone willing to put up with his sorry butt until I get Shinjiro and Erime-chan settled down."

"We could put him in the lockup until you're ready for him," Kinjiro said, looking longingly at Daitaro's bottle, but choosing to drink his tea instead.

"You can't put a boy in that box for five days," Tameo said, both shocked and frowning. "Barely enough room to lie down in, much less stand."

Aki began rocking back and forth, whimpering softly. Only InuYasha was able to hear how he was crying for his grandmother.

"Oh, I wouldn't leave him there during the day," Kinjiro said. "There's lots he could be doing. Daitaro's cow trampled through Kagome-chan's garden. There'll be a lot of work cleaning up the damage the cow did and replanting" He looked at Daitaro, with a small disapproving twist to his mouth. "Don't know what you're feeding that animal of yours. She left plenty of cow pies to pick up. She wasn't like that when I sold her to you."

"Nothing that you aren't feeding yours," Daitaro said. "Must be all the excitement."

"Plenty of that right here," Tameo said.

"You want to take responsibility for him until then?" Tsuneo asked. "I'm not sure about the lockup, but no doubt we can find a safe place for him to sleep. You think you can keep him from getting to Isao?"

Kinjiro made a fist. "If he tries . . . "

"You will not abuse that boy," Tameo said, scowling at his son "We're here to heal what's wrong with him, not damage him. I'll find someone else."

"Have I ever abused man or animal?" Kinjiro asked.

"Worked'em hard, though," Daitaro said.

"That's not abuse," the young man said, looking back at the old farmer.

"Counts whose back's doing the talking, I suspect," Daitaro replied.

"Enough," Tameo said, holding up a hand. "It's only for a few days. I guess we'll do that then. What do you think, Toshiro?"

"If everybody's happy," Toshiro said. "Tsuneo?"

The old man took a breath. "It's better than I hoped. I would like you to keep Aki away from his grandmother for a couple of weeks. She needs to time to heal and get used to the idea. It'd pull on her too much. I know my wife." He looked at Daitaro. "Thank you, friend. You can keep him as long as you think he's worth it. Don't cover for him."

Daitaro nodded.

Tameo wrote some notes with his brush. "Well," he said, putting it down. "We're just about done. Tsuneo asked to have some words with InuYasha and Kagome-chan, and have his offer put in the register. After I tell Hisa what's up, we'll get to the last item. Kinjiro, Aki's under your authority. You're free to go to work." He stood up.

"About time," the young man said, looking at his new charge. The boy's crying got louder.


	99. Chapter 99

_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 99**

Kinjiro watched his father leave the office. "Finally," he said, and stood up "It's time to get busy." As Aki's eyes grew wide with terror, he watched the farmer walk towards him.

"What . . . what?" Aki said. "What are you going to do?"

"Wipe your nose, boy," Kinjiro said. "We've got work to do." He began to untie the rope from the post that had kept the boy from running. "We're going to go to the shed and get some tools. Then we're going to go up the hill. And then you're going to start earning your keep."

After releasing the knot, he gave the rope a jerk, pulling Aki to his feet. "And you don't want to fight me on this. Who knows? Your grandfather might yet send you to Odawara."

Aki looked at his grandfather, who glared at him and gave a curt nod, reinforcing Kinjiro's point. "Do it, boy. Don't bring any more shame on me or your grandmother today. Do as you're told."

The boy sighed and dropped his head as Kinjiro led him out.

"Well, that's done," Daitaro said.

"Not for you, friend," Toshiro said. "You still have to go home and tell your wife. I'd be getting ready for trouble in a few days if I were you. You don't turn a brat around in five days."

Tsuneo gave a deep sigh. "I...I need a breath of air," he muttered, his voice thick. "I'll be outside waiting for Tameo."

Susumu started to get up. Daitaro grabbed his sleeve. "Let him be for a moment, man. This is his grandson. It hurts. And he still has more to do until he has at least some of his honor back. He needs to breathe. You didn't see your father when it was your turn to be in Aki's position, but I saw. And remember."

The guard settled back down and nodded. "You're right. I don't know what I'd do if I was in his place and watching Mitsuo being led off."

"Like your father did. What he had to do," Toshiro said.

"And knowing you and how you were at Aki's age," Daitaro said, "I suspect you'll be in the same place some day."

Susumu's face fell at the thought. "Uh . . . "

InuYasha's ear twitched. "At least he has someone who cares what happens to him," he muttered.

"That is true," Toshiro said, looking at the hanyou thoughtfully. "If he can learn from this, he will make a whole group of people very happy. And probably end up with a much better life."

The conversation stilled. Miroku, playing with his tea cup, suddenly looked up and grinned. "Daitaro, you sly devil."

The old farmer looked at the monk curiously. "And what do you mean by that, Houshi-sama?"

Miroku grinned. "I was just wondering if you learned this from handling that bull of yours. Letting Kinjiro lead that boy around for days. He's probably going to be worn out and tired by the time he gets to your house. By the time you get him, he's going to be glad to get away and be some place else besides doing what Kinjiro tells him to. He makes me tired watching him sometimes."

Susumu laughed hard at that, soon followed by the other men. "You noticed that about Kinjiro, did you?"

"Chichi-ue always said that a man can learn a lot by studying his animals, and that they could teach you a lot about men," Daitaro said. "Chichi-ue was a smart man."

"He must have been, to get you to behave," Susumu said.

"You don't know the half of it," Toshiro replied. "Come by my place. I'll tell you some stories."

At Tameo's house, Emi sat near the fire pit cooking while Kagome held Aomi, Emi's youngest. The girl was fast asleep, her head resting on Kagome's shoulder. It was surprisingly silent - no children playing in the yard disturbing the peace. In fact the only sound that filtered in from outside was the squawk of a chicken and the voice of a man who was yelling at it.

"It's nice to have a quiet minute," Kagome said. "It's been such a strange couple of days."

"Yes it has," Emi said, agreeably while she poked at the fire underneath a big black kettle hanging from the main fire pit hook. Bending forward, she skillfully knocked the coals away so it would cook slower.

"You don't have to keep holding Aomi-chan, you know," Emi said, lifting up the pot's lid. A delicious smell of fish and onion lifted into the air with the steam. "I know how heavy she gets. Lay her down on the mat."

"She's such a pretty child," Kagome said, running her hand gently over the toddler's head. "But then, all of your daughters are."

"I wished they all acted as pretty as they look," Emi said, laughing softly. "I'm glad Aomi got the chance to nap. You have a way with her. I'd been trying to get her to sleep for an hour, and you come in, sing a little song, and there she goes. I'm glad. The others will be back from the river soon enough, and it'll get very noisy, very quickly. Nothing like a room of hungry children to make noise. That will probably be the end of her nap."

Kagome, nodded and gently laid the sleeping child down on the mat beside her. The girl didn't wake up, but shifted a bit to get more comfortable. Aomi had just settled down when Hisa slid the door to the back room open and stepped inside.

"Your stew smells wonderful," Hisa said, closing the door behind her. "I think I'm getting hungry."

"It ought to," Emi said, putting her stirring stick down and smiling at her mother-in-law. "It's your recipe. I hope it tastes as good as it does when you make it."

Hisa walked over to the cabinet and took down her sewing basket. "I have no doubts, daughter."

Kagome looked up at the older woman."How is he?"

"Asleep, like he ought to be. If it had been up to me, he wouldn't have come to the meeting at all. I suspect Kinjiro slipped him more sake than he ought to have, hoping it'd make him drowsy enough to rest. He's like that," Hisa said. "Doesn't really matter what I tell him. He'll use the quickest and best way he can think of to get things done. Funny thing is, he's usually right. The heavens know that boy needed to rest."

"He's really had a hard time," Kagome said, nodding.

"He has, hasn't he?" Emi said. "He's a brave little man. I hope we get to help him get to be a brave big man."

"He seems a lot different than Aki," Kagome said. "How did he ever get dragged along in all this trouble?"

Hisa walked over to join the two women. "It's the usual story. They're cousins, live near each other and were raised as almost brothers. They've done everything together since they were quite small. Did you have any brothers or sisters?"

"One brother," Kagome said. For a moment a shadow crossed her face, but then her smile brightened. "He's younger than me."

"Ah, so you don't know what it's like to be dragged into something?" Emi asked. She recovered the pot. "My sister and cousin were always getting me into things when I was small."

"Oh, I wouldn't say that. I had these three friends." Kagome smiled. "We grew apart after the year I spent here on the quest, but when we were younger . . . "

"Well, that's how it was with Aki-kun and Isao-kun," Emi said. " I've gotten the impression lately that Aki was bullying him and a few other boys. It's hard for young ones to say no and mean it."

Kagome nodded. "Oh, I know how that is. My friends, they were always trying to get me to so things I didn't want to, and they weren't even trying to bully me." She sighed a little, remembering. "There was this boy they wanted to court me . . . " Her voice dropped off, but then she looked up and gave Hisa a small smile. The older woman nodded knowingly. "So now what happens?"

"I suspect," Hisa said, opening her sewing basket and taking out a length of fabric, "that they will make Isao-kun Susumu's apprentice. He will live here, and Susumu will teach him what he knows about farming and fighting. I know that's what my son wants. He's taken to the boy."

"He was talking to me about that last night," Emi said, nodding. "I wonder how Mitsuo's going to react to not being the only boy in the family."

"He's going to be both jealous and happy," Hisa predicted. "I bet he'll be pestering poor Isao to play all the time." She threaded her needle and began to sew.

"I hope he likes horses," Emi said. "Mitsuo will be galloping all over him with his toy horse. "

The women chuckled softly.

While they were still laughing, the front door slid open. "It smells good in here. Fish stew?" Tameo said as he walked in.

Hisa smiled. "Yes it is. You took another break? How much longer, do you think?"

"Not too much," the headman said, sitting down on the edge of the raised wooden platform to slip off his shoes. "We've decided some things. Isao will be staying here as Susumu's charge."

"Good," Hisa said. She shifted the fabric she was sewing in her lap and started a new seam. "Poor boy. Between his father running off and Aki, he hasn't had a lot of good luck."

"I thought you'd like that part," Tameo said. "Not so sure about the rest."

Hisa looked up, raising an eyebrow in curiosity.

"We decided on Aki, finally. Tsuneo's always been easy to work with without Haname trying to play games." Tameo shook his head. "Sad that all this has fallen on his shoulders, though. Now we just need to finish up giving the man a chance to save some face by making reparations to InuYasha and Kagome-chan."

"Is that where InuYasha is now?" Kagome said, looking toward the door, which remained obstinately closed.

"I suspect so. Nobody followed me over here." Tameo stood up on the platform, and walked across the room towards the water barrel.

"What did you decide?" Hisa asked. Coming to the end of the thread she was sewing with, she deftly secured it in place.

"Daitaro wants to take him in," Tameo said, lifting up a dipper of water. He looked in the barrel. "The children haven't filled up the water up yet? It's getting low."

"They should be on their way back," Emi said, as she moved to the kitchen work counter. She fished out a piece of pickle out of its bucket and rinsed it off in a basin.

"Daitaro does?" Hisa laid her work in her lap and reached for her thread. "Somehow that doesn't surprise me."

"Really? He was willing to do that?" Kagome asked. "And he was telling me this morning that whoever took the boy in was really going to have his work cut out for him."

Tameo chuckled."I believe that. But my cousin enjoys a challenge. He was the most wronged in this case and everybody would agree to his right to have the boy work for him as compensation, but really, it's just his way. He probably thinks it's like getting that bull of his to behave."

This caused Emi and Hisa to laugh. He used that moment to take a long drink from his dipper. "But it's not quite so simple this time. Daitaro doesn't want to take him in yet, not until after his son's wedding."

"Who's going to deal with him until then?" Hisa asked, picking up her sewing basket. She lifted its lid and took out her scissors.

Tameo dropped the ladle back into the water bucket. "Kinjiro."

This was followed by the sound of scissors hitting the wood of the floor. "Kinjiro?" Hisa said, looking up rather shocked. "How . . . "

The headman tried to hide his amused look as his wife picked up her scissors and cut a length of thread. "He volunteered. Says he wants to put Aki to work cleaning up the mess he made." Tameo scratched his chin. "What's the most secure place we can have that boy sleep? Kinjiro, being Kinjiro, thought we ought to put him in the lockup at night."

"The lockup? He would," Hisa said, and sighed. "This is what I was telling you about, Kagome-chan. He always thinks of the simplest solutions, and tries to do them, even if it would shock everybody else. That room is made for violent men, not a wayward boy. I'll have to think."

Frowning, she rethreaded her needle, tucked it into the fabric, and put the whole thing back into the sewing basket. "There's that shed on the other side of Kinjiro's house. I'm sure it's dirty, but the door can be secured. The guest house would be out of question. Or maybe your uncle's old hut. The roof's sound, but we'd probably have to leave him chained to a post, unless you're sure he won't run." She stood up. "I better get busy looking."

"I'll leave that to you," Tameo said. "You're the wise one about things like this." He turned to the young miko. "Meanwhile, Kagome-chan, we need you back at the office. One last thing, and then you'll be free to go. Or stay to lunch. You might want to do that. The fish stew . . . that's one good thing to look forward to today."

"I hope Kinjiro knows what he's in for," Hisa said, putting her sewing basket back on the shelf.

"I doubt it," Tameo said. "But he'll learn fast."

Outside, a girl yelled, "Mitsuo-chan, stop that!"

"And the children are back, it sounds like," Emi said, looking at her sleeping daughter with a sigh. She got up to intercept them before they spilled into the house.

"Come on, Kagome-chan," Tameo said, walking back to the edge of the platform. "Let's get back to the office. Things are going to get a little crazy here in a few minutes."

Hisa, tying back her sleeves, gave him a knowing look. "You mean they aren't already?"

Kagome, not knowing what to say to that, followed the headman out of the house.


	100. Chapter 100

_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 100**

While the men in Tameo's office waited for the headman to return, Toshiro stood up.

"Well that's that," he said. "Both boys have been seen to in a way that makes everybody happy. It's been an interesting experience, friends. May the gods of good fortune make sure it all turns out all right, but now I need to go."

"Leaving already, Toshiro-ojisan?" Susumu asked.

"My daughter-in-law right now . . . well, I want to be home for lunch time. I'm trying to keep the peace there as much as here. Here's hoping we have another girl in the family. I'm not sure if I can handle another grandson." He gave a small bow.

"You're sure you want to leave, Toshiro?" Daitaro asked. "I hear that household of yours is even more . . . interesting than what we're going through here."

"I wouldn't quite say that," the elder said. "But nearly, especially since Sayo-chan can't chase after Daiki and the others like she usually does." He turned to the village guard. "Don't forget, Susumu. Come soon and see me. We'll have a long talk and I'll tell you some stories. But I'd wait until after Sayo's delivered and back on her feet if I were you."

Susumu laughed, and walked the elder to the door. "Tell Yasuo he can always come here for a day or two if it gets too crazy."

"I wouldn't dare. Then I'd have to face that household all by myself," the older man said. And with a final bow and a round of goodbyes, he left.

"Well," Susumu said, sitting back down next to Daitaro, "it looks like we're getting close to the end."

"Merciful Buddha make it so," the old farmer said, shifting in his seat. "I don't mind being here, but I tell you, I'm getting tired of sitting."

"From sitting can come enlightenment," Miroku quipped, putting on his best monk face, half-closed eyes and a look of solemn wisdom. "Thus taught Daruma."

"Tell my feet and butt that," Daitaro replied. "Monks and farmers, we must be built differently."

Miroku laughed. "I'm not so sure about that. I've already told my own posterior that, more than once."

InuYasha not joining in the laughter, looked at the men, a look of confusion knitting his dark eyebrows together as he thought about something totally different.

Miroku, though, noticed. "What's wrong, InuYasha? I know our jokes weren't that bad."

The hanyou looked up, and tilted his head to the side. "I just don't get it. I can understand why I was here so I can approve of Aki working so close to my house, especially after him pranking me as well as you, Daitaro," he said. "But what I don't understand is I need to be here because of Tsuneo." He looked at all the men. "Is it an honor issue?"

Daitaro looked at the hanyou, surprised. "You're not a farmer."

"So?" InuYasha said. "What's that have to do with anything?"

Miroku patted InuYasha on the shoulder."You have to remember, friends, InuYasha had a very different upbringing than you or I," the monk said. "He didn't have a lot of experience with the life of a farming village."

"Neither did you, Bouzu," InuYasha said, his ear flicking. "Being raised in a temple by that old . . . monk, that's not village life either."

"True, true," Miroku conceded. "But I spent a lot more time in villages than you did. "

"I guess," InuYasha said. "You certainly knew how to find the good places to hus . . . visit."

"You really don't know?" Susumu asked.

InuYasha shook his head.

"You are the child of two noble houses," Miroku said. "And you are a warrior. That gives you certain rights."

"Bah," the hanyou said. "Never had any rights anywhere else. I either had to fight or run. Nobody ever acted like I could expect anything from anybody."

"You were never given the blessing of a kami before, either," Daitaro said. "That means nobody here's going to treat you like an outcast. Besides, you're married into our family."

"And warriors, when insulted by farmers have the right to satisfaction," Miroku said. "After what happened yesterday afternoon with Haname attacking Kagome, and Morio, his houseguest, making an attempt to kidnap her, his family has wronged your honor. And because he is head of the family, he is the responsible party. If you wanted, you could demand Haname's or even Tsuneo's head for what happened yesterday, and nobody would complain. Or stop you."

"As if," InuYasha said. He tapped his claws on the wood of the table, obviously uneasy with the discussion. "You just think they wouldn't complain."

"Still, whether you used the right or not, custom demands that Tsuneo be ready to give you satisfaction, up to his own life." Daitaro said. "He's going to want to do something for you, as restitution. Let him."

"He's right," Susumu said, nodding.

"What about you? Do you get to claim this type of stuff?" InuYasha asked. "You carry a sword."

"Well, maybe with some of the low-ranking people here, I might get away with using my sword, but everybody here knows I'm really a farmer who does guard duty. You, they've heard who your parents were. Besides, you're the hero who brought down that youkai who attacked the village, and the man who rescued those children from the bandits. Even if you don't use the privilege, they think of you like they would a warrior."

"Or worse," InuYasha said. "I hear more whispers than you do."

"Eh," Susumu said, shrugging. "They know you aren't a farmer, and carry a sword. Youkai, samurai, they talk about them all. As far as most people are concerned, it doesn't matter if a warrior has youki blood or not. You are both not farmers. You have the right."

Daitaro nodded. "You need to be seen accepting restitution from Tsuneo. Otherwise, you'll be saying his hurt to your honor was too big, and people would be expecting you to take vengeance." He picked up his sake cup, studied it for a moment, and put it down. "That would not be good."

"And with his wife, son and daughter . . . " Susumu said. "Well, you already know how they can talk. Let's be honest. We call you family, but if people are expecting you to take vengeance, whatever fear about your blood that still lingers could be fanned up like a coal in a fire pit."

InuYasha looked at the men surrounding him. "I understand honor. Honor is important. Almost went to hell because of it. Tsuneo didn't do anything to me that would want me to hurt him or his family. I'll do what you think's right. You don't have to worry."

"Well then, take his offer, whatever it is. It's his way of making things right," Miroku said. The hanyou nodded.

"We'll make a villager out of you yet," Daitaro said, smiling. "Or at least, someone who has a right to be here."

"Never thought I'd ever hear anybody tell me that," InuYasha said, looking at his hands. "I still say you people are weird."

Susumu and Daitaro laughed.

Shortly after, the door slid open, and Tameo, Kagome and Tsuneo filed back in.

"Toshiro left?" Tameo asked.

"Thought he shouldn't be away too long with Sayo like she is," Daitaro said.

"No doubt. We all know how . . . lively it is over there," the headman said. "Anyway, even with him gone, I think it's time we finish this up," the headman said. "It's been a long, rough morning. Lunch is almost ready, and I don't know about you, friends, but I'm ready for it."

"Ah, you always were nice to your stomach," Daitaro said.

"Not a bad way to be," Susumu said.

"You do reap the benefits," Daitaro replied, nodding, and laughed.

While they were joking, Kagome sat down by her husband, touching his hand briefly.

"How's the kid?" he asked as she settled down.

"Sleeping," Kagome replied. "It's probably what he needed the most. Where's Kinjiro and Aki-kun?"

"Kinjiro decided he had wasted enough time," Susumu said. "I suspect they're already headed up the hill to get to work."

"So soon?" Kagome asked.

"That's my little brother," Susumu said. He leaned forward on the table. "Never happier than when he can get to work. We'll send someone later to get Aki's things."

"True," Daitaro said, nodding. "At least this time, I don't have to worry about my cattle pens or my brewing."

That made Susumu raise his eyebrows. "I thought you were done with brewing," he said. "Wasn't that supposed to be your last batch for the year?"

The old man shrugged. "It was. But I felt cheated and decided to try one last batch," he said. "Probably taste like swill, but it's a long time until the fall."

This made Miroku grin. "You could always feed it to that bull of yours," the monk suggested.

Susumu held up his hands as if warding off trouble. "Don't give him ideas. We usually have enough trouble with that animal in the spring."

The three men laughed. While this went on, Tameo went to the table and prepared his ink. When it was ready, he picked up his brush, unrolled his scroll, and looked up Tsuneo, who had yet to sit down. "So are you sure you want me to put this in the village record?" he asked. "Does it need to be this formal?"

"I think so," said the elder. "If it's not for you and your family, it'll be there for mine. There will be complaining anyway, and saying you overstepped. You know how they are. A bunch of . . . "

"If you want, friend," Tameo said, cutting the elder off before he said more than he meant to. "Just tell me what you want to go in it." He held his brush over the paper, prepared to write.

Tsuneo took a deep breath. His face was a mask, but it couldn't hide the pain in how he held himself, or the emotion in his eyes. But his voice was clear and steady. "Put in the record that Tsuneo asks forgiveness for all the members of his ko for what they have done against the will of Heaven towards InuYasha-sama and the Miko-sama his wife," he said. His eyes avoided everyone else in the room but Tameo's, and those he held in a tight grip. "And how he asks forgiveness especially for the foolishness of his son in choice of companions and the behavior of his wife who attacked the very people who saved our village three years ago."

He turned to the young couple and bowed. "Please forgive an old man for not putting a stop to all of this."

InuYasha looked at Kagome, confused about what to do next.

Kagome tilted her head and gave the man a sad, understanding look."Tsuneo-sama, it wasn't your fault," Kagome said. "You didn't ask them to do this."

"You're too kind, Kagome-sama, but yes, it is. I knew they were unhappy, and talking badly about you and your husband. I am the head of the family. It was my duty to stop them, but I let them rattle on and didn't pay enough attention to what was going on. Things could have turned out much worse for you yesterday. We are lucky that your family kami had a different idea."

Kagome looked at InuYasha and, laid her hand on his, giving it a small squeeze. He looked at her questioningly, and she gave him an encouraging nod. The hanyou got to his feet, and gave the man a smaller bow. "You are an honorable man, Tsuneo. You've been hurt by this maybe more than me and Kagome. I don't know the right words to say for stuff like this, but I don't have any anger at you, or desire to make your pain any worse. I accept your apology."

He looked back at Kagome, and she smiled up at him. He turned back to Tsuneo. "We can't always control the actions of others. Sometimes, it's enough trouble controlling our own."

"Doesn't mean we don't have the responsibility sometimes," Tsuneo said.

"Yeah," InuYasha said. "Responsibility doesn't always pay attention to stuff like that, no matter what we say or do."

"Well," Tameo said, rewetting his brush as he considered their words. "You all managed to say a mouthful. How should I write this down?" He made the first character, then looked up. "I can say that Tsuneo offered an apology to InuYasha and Kagome-chan because of the unfortunate actions of his wife and his houseguest, and InuYasha accepted them. Trying to write everything you two just said would use more paper than I have here. And my hand would start to ache before I got all that down." He gave a small chuckle. "I'm not even sure I could remember it all."

Tsuneo snorted. "Concise and trying to ease the pain, that's you, Tameo. Well, at least what matters will be in the record. You make a good headman." He turned back to InuYasha.

"I hear you have wood that needs splitting into boards and a shed to be built. Let me take charge of that. It'd make me feel better if I could do something to make up for all the trouble my family put you through. Maybe that'll get it through their heads that I accept you. You're a good man, InuYasha-sama. Maybe one day, the rest of my ko will learn it too."

"I was going to need help with that anyway," InuYasha said. "I've got three down trees for boards. Do you think you can get Choujiro to help? Kinjiro told me he was the best."

This, for some reason, made Tsuneo laugh, and the elder sat down. "Kinjiro, eh? Seems my karma's all twisted up with that young sprout. Oh, I don't think there'll be any problem with that. I'll come see you in a couple of days and we can get started."

"You want me to enter that as well?" Tameo said.

Tsuneo nodded.

"In recompense, Tsuneo and his ko will cut boards and build a storage shed for InuYasha-sama," Tameo said as he wrote. He looked up. "What if InuYasha doesn't have enough wood?"

"Put it down that we'll make up the difference," the elder said.

"Contract things," Miroku said, as InuYasha looked up surprised. "This is in case anybody else in the family complains if you don't have enough trees cut. You'd be amazed at how family members can fight over the stupidest things."

"Feh," InuYasha said, crossing his arms. "You know my brother. Don't have to tell me that."

Tameo put his brush down with a contented sigh, and blew lightly on the paper to help the ink dry. "Well, friends, I do believe we've got all our business done. Anybody ready for lunch?"

"Lunch?" Daitaro asked. "Not a drink?"

"Lunch," Tameo said. "Fish stew. I think I'd rather eat first."

Tsuneo shook his head. "Thanks, but I want to go check on Haname. She's got a lot to deal with, and I don't want some gossip to break the news to her." He sighed. "I suspect my household's going to be a mess for a while. I'm probably needed there. Sometimes, I wonder why Akina doesn't run back home to her parents. Who knows, with Morio and everything else, this might be the last stroke. Aki was more than she could handle, but . . . "

"Kaede-obaasan was going to send Haname home today," Kagome said. "The last dose of medicine she took made her sleep, but Kaede expected her to go home after she woke up."

"I'll check there first, then." He gave her a small smile. "Thank you. After all that happened . . . " Tsuneo looked up at InuYasha. "You are a person worth knowing, and your wife is a good woman. I'm glad to have gotten to know you better. I just wish . . . "

"Keh," the hanyou said, nodding. "I understand."

Daitaro turned around and leaned an arm on the table, looking ready to stand up. "Want some company?" .

Tsuneo shook his head. "Better not this time. Haname still blames you for that time Joben fell off the roof. As bad off as she is now, and with so much she's going to have to chew on, I think maybe another time. Tell that son of yours that it's about time he got married. I wish them well." He gave the old farmer a small smirk. "Wouldn't want to interfere with you giving Chime the news about what to expect."

Daitaro took a deep breath. "There is that . . . "

Tsuneo walked toward the door. Before he left, he turned and said, "I'll come by in a day or two to see how Isao's doing and how Aki's holding up."

Tameo nodded.

Miroku stood up. "If you don't mind, Tsuneo-sama, I'll go with you. I can say sutras for your wife. I know she takes some comfort from them."

Tsuneo looked at the monk knowingly, and gave a small laugh. "Just prayers? Don't know if you're going to find anybody for your roofing party at my place - maybe Chiya-chan's husband or my other nephew. But yes, if you want to pray for my poor wife, you can certainly do that. She seems to like you for some reason, as much as she dislikes your partner. Anything that can smooth the rest of the day would be a good thing."

He stepped through the door, Miroku, with a nod to InuYasha and Kagome, following quickly behind him.

InuYasha looked at Kagome, and gestured toward the door. She nodded. "I think we'll be going home as well." Kagome stood up.

"Not surprised, cousin," Tameo said. "I am sorry all this happened, and how you got dragged into it. But maybe it'll all turn out for the better."

"Maybe," InuYasha said.

Kagome nodded. "I'll come by later to see how Isao is doing.".

"Hisa's good at doctoring things like this," Tameo said. "With my boys, she had lots of practice. If you don't make it back today, that's not a problem."

With some final goodbyes, the two left.

"One wild morning," Susumu said.

"I'd say so," Daitaro said. "Hope Hisa didn't make too much stew."

Tameo laughed. "I hope you have an appetite."


	101. Chapter 101

_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 101**

After he left Tameo's compound, Tsuneo hurried to the old miko's house. Taking a deep breath, he walked into Kaede's hut, not really sure what he would find. What he saw was his wife standing up.

"That's enough, Chiya-chan," an aggravated Haname said to her daughter. "If I'm going to go home, I need to be able to walk. You can't carry me."

Haname stood between her daughter and her daughter-in-law swaying slightly. Her bedding lay crumpled on the floor behind her. "If I fall," she said, "you can catch me, but I need to try to walk."

Tsuneo stepped forward. "If you fall, I'll catch you, if you let me."

Heads turned as he spoke. Haname looked at the man who had been her husband for long years with none of the anger she had thrown at him the day before, studying his face. She found no anger there, but plenty of worry and care. Their eyes locked for a moment, and she gave him a small, sad smile.

"I don't know who's better - me tripping or you catching," she said. She sighed and gave him a nod.

Kaede, standing to the side to watch how Haname was doing, looked calmly at the elder. "The meeting's finished?"

He nodded. Slipping off his sandals, he stepped up to the wooden platform and walked over to his wife. His daughter stood there, reluctant to give way. "Chiya-chan, shouldn't you be home?" he asked. "I'm sure your husband and children have been missing you."

Chiya glared at him for a moment, the nodded. "Okaasan needed me," she said.

"I know," he said, nodding "I had things to take care of, but those are done, and now I'm here. Go home to your family, daughter."

Taking a deep breath, she turned and looked longingly at her mother.

Haname shook her head. "Your otousan is right, Chiya-chan," Haname said. Her eyes were not unkind, but her mouth was set in firm determination, not to be denied. "You have been a help, daughter, but you have duties, too. Go home."

Defeated against the combined will of her parents, Chiya gave in. "If you need me, send for me," she said. Picking up a basket she had brought, she walked out of the house.

As Chiya moved, Tsuneo moved into position next to his wife, and he took her hand.

"Haname can go home as soon as she feels steady enough to go," Kaede told the elder. The old miko went back to her seat by the fire pit, where she was preparing packets of herbal medicine. "She needs rest and quiet while she heals."

"Bah," Haname said, looking at the healer. "Don't make me into an invalid, Kaede. Let's see how well I can walk." She took a step forward, and almost stumbled, and Tsuneo caught her.

"See. I am here to catch you. You don't have to prove anything to me, wife," the elder said, giving her a gentle smile.

"Not to you, maybe, husband," she said, leaning against him and closing her eyes in fatigue. "But for me, more than you know."

"You always had to do things the hard way," Tsuneo said, wrapping his arms around her.

"You knew that," Haname said. "You knew that before you married me."

"I did, indeed," Tsuneo replied. "I thought of it as a challenge. Sit down for a moment and catch your breath. There's no rush."

She nodded, and let him help her to the ground. Once seated, she turned to her daughter-in-law. "Go home, Akina-chan. We'll be there in a little bit. Would you make that special soup of yours for me, child? I don't think I'll be able to eat anything else."

Akina nodded and rested her hand on her mother-in-law's hand. She looked up at Tsuneo, obviously worried. "What . . . what did they do to Aki-chan?"

Tsuneo sighed. "They're going to have him work with Kinjiro and Daitaro for a while. He'll be in good hands."

The younger woman closed her eyes a moment and steeled her face, and then, giving her father-in-law a knowing look, nodded. "I'll . . . I'll go home and pack some things for him."

She got up, but before she could leave, Kaede handed her a paper wrapped bundle of medicine. "Take these," she said. "Haname will need to drink this tea the next few days."

Akina took them without a word, and headed out of the house.

Kaede turned back to Tsuneo and Haname. "I'll be outside for a few minutes. Come get me if you need me."

After the old miko left, Tsuneo turned back to Haname. "Ready to get up again?"

Haname grabbed his hand. "I . . . I have . . . " Her eyes searched his. "Why aren't you angry at me?"

"Hush, woman," Tsuneo said. "Don't speak foolishness. I know you weren't yourself yesterday."

"It all seems like a fever dream," she said, turning her head away from him. "But I remember everything I said."

He gave her hand a squeeze. "We'll get through it. Everybody knows you were bewitched. Even InuYasha harbors no grudge."

She shuddered ever so slightly at the mention of the hanyou's name, and nodded. "I can't help it, you know. He looks so much like . . . "

"I know," Tsuneo said, brushing a stray lock of hair out of her face. "I think he understands. That wife of his, I know she knows."

Haname nodded. "She seems . . . very committed to being with him. I was afraid there was something dark there, some magic . . . "

"I suspect it's merely the magic of being young and in love," Tsuneo said. He cupped his wife's cheek. The experience had left her looking frail and older than she was. He rubbed his thumb lightly across her cheek. "I've seen how they look at each other and act together."

She turned away from Tsuneo's touch and dropped her head. "Tell me about Aki."

Tsuneo sighed. "He's . . . well, he tried to beat up Isao to keep him from talking. I think perhaps he's more than we can handle right now."

"He tried to beat up Isao-kun? After Isao was hurt by that cow?" Haname looked shocked.

"I was there," Tsuneo said. "I'm afraid he got too good at playing the 'I'm sorry' game with us."

Haname covered her mouth with her hand, then suddenly turned away. "I've . . . I've failed you there, too." Her voice was filled with a deep sadness.

"No, you haven't. He had me fooled, too. It'll be good for him, to have to work with Daitaro. He's a smart one, and we know how well he straightened Susumu up when he was a boy."

The woman stifled a sob, and took a deep breath. "I..." She shook her head. "Help me up, husband. I want to go home to my own house."

Tsuneo nodded, and taking her hand, helped her to her feet. "If you get too tired, I'll carry you, wife."

"You carry me more than you know." Haname reached up, and gently stroked his cheek with her free hand. "I wish the weight wasn't so heavy."

"It's what I'm here for," Tsuneo said. "Ever since that first day when my father arranged our marriage, it was all I wanted to do."

This time, she couldn't stifle her sob, and began to weep in earnest. Wrapping her in his arms, he lifted her up, and carried her home.

While Tsuneo was at Kaede's house, talking with Haname, Kagome stood in the entry area of Tameo's house, saying goodbye to the women there.

Aomi, Emi's daughter pulled on Kagome's sleeve. "Up?" she asked.

"Ah, you have a friend for life," Emi said, watching her daughter out of one eye as she got ready to serve lunch.

"Not this time, Aomi-chan," the young miko said, squatting down to give the toddler a hug. "I have to go home now."

The small girl frowned, but she was picked up by her oldest sister Yorime. "Come on, Butterfly. Let's see if we can't go get Mitsuo and Suzume. You want to eat, don't you?"

Aomi gave a hesitant nod.

"Then let's go," said the older girl. "It's almost time for lunch."

This didn't please the little girl, who frowned even more.

"I'll come back," Kagome said as she straightening up.

"See?" Yorime said. "Let's go outside."

"Thank you," Emi said to her daughter. "You might see if you can figure out who's going to be here."

The girl nodded and opened the door. The sounds of children's laughter filled the air, muffled only slightly as she slid it closed.

"You're sure you won't stay to eat?" Hisa said, picking up a bundle of cloth off of a shelf. "You really are welcome."

Kagome shook her head. "No, I'd love to, but we really need to be getting home," she said. "Still, I did want to come back to say goodbye before we left."

"InuYasha's waiting for you outside?" Emi asked. She picked up a stack of bowls from the kitchen cupboard and moved back to the fire pit.

"Yes. I hope Miroku's not trying to tease him too much. I think he really needs some quiet time. A lot happened to him today," Kagome said as Hisa handed her the bundle, which were the clothes she wore to the house that morning.

"It has been an . . . intense . . . morning," Hisa said, nodding. "I can understand."

Emi lifted the lid off the big pot and began ladling some into a smaller container. "You'll have to take some stew with you, then. I made too much if everybody's going."

"I'm sorry," Kagome said. "I didn't mean to - "

"Nonsense," Hisa said, giving her a much bigger smile. "It's perfectly understandable. A lot really did happen this morning. I'm sure everybody will be talking about it for days. But you and your husband - you won't be the center of the news this time!"

This made Kagome smile. "That's a change."

"And a good one," the older woman said, nodding.

Emi walked over to where the two women were standing, and handed Kagome a small iron pot. "Please, take this. It really will help."

Kagome accepted the small pot. "Thank you. You two, you've been so helpful these last two days. I don't know exactly how to let you know how much I appreciate that."

"But you're our cousin!" Emi said. "Of course we helped!" She reached forward, and gave Kagome's arm a little squeeze. "You belong to us now."

"That's right. And we do take care of our own," Hisa said. She walked Kagome to the door. "Don't forget. The day after tomorrow - you and Sango-chan must show up her for our woman's circle. And tell Sango it's perfectly all right to bring her children. She has such beautiful girls."

"I won't forget," Kagome said. "I think Sango feels a little . . . shy or something around the other women here. Thank you for inviting her."

"Some people - they just don't know how to deal with people they can't put in neat little categories. But we'll work on that," Hisa said. "Sango-chan is worth it."

"You might as well come. From the sound of it, all the men are going to be at Houshi-sama's temple to work on the roof. As hard as he's talking to people, there may be more roofers than roof!" Emi said.

The women laughed.

"We'll be sure to be here," Kagome said. Bowing her final goodbyes, she stepped out into the sun.

Once back outside and finding her husband, Kagome joined InuYasha where he was sitting on the verandah along with Daitaro, Tameo and Susumu.

"I'm ready," she said to her husband. InuYasha nodded and rose to his feet.

"So, back up the hill?" Susumu asked. "You're going to leave me here with Daitaro to remind me of my wayward youth all afternoon?"

Mitsuo ran to the group of men, and pulled on his father's sleeve. The guard bent down and picked up the boy.

"Nothing you didn't earn," Tameo said, leaning against the wall of the building. "You're lucky I'm not joining in. What's up, little man?" he asked his grandson.

"Okaa said come to lunch," the boy said.

"Did she, now?" Susumu said.

Mitsuo nodded. "And I'm hungry."

"You sound like your ojiisan," Daitaro said, smiling at the boy. "I hear he's a bit hungry, too."

"So, old man," InuYasha asked. "You're staying?"

Daitaro nodded. "Hisa's fish stew is worth waiting for. You're sure you're going back?"

Kagome lifted up her pot. "Emi's sending us home with some."

"Good, good," Tameo said. "Well, I wish it could have been under other circumstances, but it was good working with you both today." He stood up straight and walked a bit closer to the young couple. "We need to find a reason for you two to come here without it being an emergency."

"Yeah," the hanyou said. "I'd like to just go through a couple of days where there's quiet."

"I think we're due," Susumu said.

Yorime stepped out of the front door. "Obaasan said it's time to eat, Ojiisan."

"Well, I guess that's our cue," Tameo said. "Have a nice, quiet afternoon."

And exchanging bows and goodbyes, InuYasha and Kagome turned and headed out of the compound.


	102. Chapter 102

_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 102**

As they passed the gate that opened onto the main street, Kagome looked up at InuYasha.

"I'm glad that's over," she said. "I hope we don't have another morning like that for a while."

"Yeah," the hanyou replied. He grabbed her and pulled her to the side when two boys chasing a dog came running up from behind them. "Hey, watch it!"

The older of the two boys turned around. "Sorry, sorry," he said, then turned around and continued his chase.

"Well, at least not everybody's looking at us like we're special," Kagome said as InuYasha let her go. "That's worth something."

InuYasha let her go, and then shrugged."I guess."

Something in InuYasha's voice made Kagome look up at him. He didn't meet her eyes. His face wasn't drawn into quite a scowl, but it was getting close.

"Let's just go home," the young miko said. "I was going to go to Sango's after we got done, but I think I just want a quiet afternoon with just us."

"Not going to argue with that one," the hanyou said.

They began walking.

It was a quiet walk. A few people waved at them while they passed, a couple of farmers heading back out into the field, and a boy coming back from the river with a fish for him family, but nobody stopped long enough to try to talk to them. It might have been because it was midday, and many people were in their homes eating lunch or hurrying to get there. But it might have been the sternness in InuYasha's eyes and the flaring of his youki that kept them away.

Kagome felt it as well. The quiet began to weigh on her. By the time they neared Kaede's house, she couldn't take it any longer, and had to say something.

"It was nice for Hisa to send some of her stew home with us." The sound almost echoed in her ears. It wasn't controversial, but it still seemed too sharp to her, and she looked up at InuYasha to see his reaction.

InuYasha muttered something she didn't quite make out. Shifting the pot she was carrying from one hand to the other, she sighed. "I know Rin will probably be glad to be able to go home. Kaede thought it would be better if she went to Sango's until Haname went home."

His ear flicked, and he nodded. "She goes there a lot, anyway. She likes the twins. Besides, it lets Sango get stuff done when Miroku's out."

"Ah," Kagome said, nodding. "That makes sense."

Kaede stepped out of her house, basket in hand, almost at the same time they passed by it.

"InuYasha, Kagome. Heading home?" she asked.

"Everything's done," Kagome said, nodding. "It's been a. . . . tiring morning."

"Not surprised to hear that," the old miko said, looking at both of them with her calm, but discerning eye. "Tsuneo stopped by a little while ago and took his wife home. It looks like you two had more trouble getting away from Tameo and Hisa than he did."

"Keh," InuYasha said, stuffing his hands in his sleeves. He let his eyes drift to the road ahead. "You'd think they'd want to get rid of us after all this crap."

Kagome gave her husband a look, but Kaede smiled. "That's what happens when Hisa has decided you are part of her family. It's not a bad thing, InuYasha."

He nodded, but it didn't change the look on his face.

"So, where are you going, Kaede-baachan?" Kagome asked, switching the pot to her other hand.

"Ah, I'm off to make sure Daisuke has taken his medicine today. His daughter found him in bed with the backache again." Kaede shifted her basket on her hip. "I'll probably stop by and see how Sayo-chan is doing as well. There's always someone who needs some help."

"I could come back this afternoon if you need me to," Kagome said. InuYasha's ear flicked at that.

"No, no, child. You two go home. You both have had a trying time." She turned her eye towards InuYasha, who was standing there stiffly, trying to hide his impatience. "And stay home tomorrow if you need it. There's nothing that won't last another day."

"You're sure?" the younger woman asked.

Kaede nodded. "Now go home, you two." Turning, the old miko walked down the road.

"Huh," InuYasha said.

Kagome turned a moment to watch the miko walk down the street. "Somehow, I feel like a child who's just been told to go to her room."

They walked on.

By the time they passed the crossroads which led to Miroku's house, InuYasha was still withdrawn. Kagome sighed, and shifted the pot she was carrying to the other hand again.

This time, InuYasha noticed. "If it's heavy, let me carry it for you," he said, taking the pot away from her.

"Thanks," she said. "I don't know if it's heavy or the handle just gets hard to hold."

"Yeah." InuYasha looked down at her. "You could have said something earlier."

"I didn't think of it," Kagome said. "The stew really smelled good when it was cooking. If you like it, I'll ask Hisa for the recipe."

InuYasha nodded then started to move off, but she didn't follow. He turned and looked at her, frowning.

"What?" His tone was harsher than he meant, and his ear flicked as he realized it. Kagome flinched at the sound, and looked up at him with sad eyes, chewing on her bottom lip."Sorry. I didn't mean for it to sound like that."

"All the way home, you've been shutting me out," she said.

He didn't say anything, but took a long breath.

"It's all right. You can talk about it, you know," Kagome said. She moved up to stand next to him and rested a hand on his chest, looking up at him. Her eyes shimmered, not quite filled with tears, but threatening. "I won't think anything bad about you."

"Kagome . . . " His voice was guarded, a bit confused.

She broke eye contact, and instead looked at her hand resting on the red fabric of his jacket. "Today and yesterday - so much has happened. I'm still trying to deal with it, too, you know."

"Yeah," he said. He covered her hand with his. "I...Sorry."

She looked back up at him. "What is it then?" Her eyes searched his.

He sighed and his own look softened as he watched her- not yet ready to smile, but losing that stony mask he would wear when facing emotional challenges. He gave her hand a small squeeze.

"It's hard to explain," he said.

Kagome tilted her head a little and lifted her free hand up to brush his cheek. "You're not mad at me or the others, are you?"

He shook his head. "I'm just trying to figure stuff out. All of a sudden, it's like I'm a real person."

"Of course you are," she replied, the corners of her lip turning up, just slightly. "It's not like I imagined you or something. You are really here." A bird flew by, spotted them, and veered off to the right. "See? That bird saw you."

InuYasha looked up, and watched it fly away.

"No, that's not what I meant," he said, looking back at her. Lifting her hand up, he laced his fingers in it. "I mean, I know I'm a real person," he replied. "But when a lot of people see me, they don't see a person, they see a monster, something that scares them, an inugami at best."

He put the soup pot down on the ground, and wrapped both arms around her. "To them, I'm not a person, not someone who belongs around other people. That's what they called me when I went to Kagemura - an inugami. Miroku got extra respect because they thought he was controlling me."

"They didn't!" Kagome said, her eyes flashing a little at the idea.

"Yes they did. It's not the first time that's happened." He slipped a finger under her chin and tilted her head up. "But here . . . even with everything that happened in the past, they look at me like I'm a man, not a monster - and it's just not you and Miroku and Sango. It's not fake, like in most places where they give me respect to my face because I'm stronger than they are, and they don't want me to hurt them." He let his fingers slide into her hair. "I've heard'em whisper too often about me behind my back." He sighed, and let her go. "I don't know how to explain it. It just feels weird."

Kagome leaned her head against his chest, and his arms wrapped back around her without thinking. "Don't you like it - being accepted?"

He pulled back to look at her again, and gave her a tiny, bittersweet lift to his lips. "I do. It's not that. I always . . . I mean, I was always being pushed away. It really hurt a lot when I was little, when my mother's family rejected me, and Sesshoumaru . . . Then I got to where it was like a scar, or a wall, maybe. I always wanted to belong somewhere, but I learned . . . " His voice trailed off, and he looked off in the distance. "It's not something I know how to believe in."

"You believe in us. I know that. You belong with me," Kagome said.

This time he gave her a real, if small smile. "Yeah." He pulled her close again. "That's the one thing I know I can believe in. And you belong with me." He kissed her forehead quickly, then loosened his hold. "But I never belonged to a village before. It's different. Nothing like how it was in my grandfather's household. I don't know what to do. And part of me keeps expecting everything to fall apart."

"I think," Kagome said, taking his hand again, "that they were accepting you all along, and you just didn't see it."

He shrugged. "Maybe. Tameo was. But Tsuneo?"

"Maybe it was actually getting to be around you and discovering you weren't nearly the monster that Morio guy was," Kagome suggested.

"Hell if I know," he said. "I'm still . . . It's hard getting used to people wanting me to live near them. It feels . . . " He looked down on her, and shrugged. But then, something clicked in his head. The change was almost instantaneous as a thought hit him, and he gave her a quirky smirk, the type that let Kagome know he was through with the deep thinking for the moment. "But I know one thing."

"What's that?" Kagome asked, returning his smirk with a curious smile.

"I'm hungry." He picked Emi's soup pot back up. "And if we don't get home soon, this pot of soup's not going to make it home. It smells really good."

Kagome laughed and they headed for the house.


	103. Chapter 103

_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 103**

As InuYasha and Kagome drew near their little house, almost reaching the verandah, the hanyou suddenly stopped, his ears focused intensely forward. He started to growl, but caught himself and stopped.

"Kuso," he said. "Here, now? Just when I thought . . . "

"What is it, InuYasha?" Kagome said. She looked around but didn't see or sense anything.

"Damn it boy," said a voice from behind the house. It was loud and irritated and sounded like it belonged to Kinjiro. "Don't hold it that way. Didn't your otousan ever teach you how to handle a shovel?"

"I can't believe it," InuYasha said, slamming one fist into his other hand. "We're never getting away from that brat, are we?"

"But it hurts," Aki's voice sobbed. "My back hurts, my hands hurt."

Kagome sighed, and rested a comforting hand on her husband's shoulder. "I guess Kinjiro was serious about wanting to get right to work."

A series of complaints both from the boy and the man colored the air as Kagome lifted the door mat, about to step in.

"Doesn't sound like Aki's taking to being told what to do very well," Kagome said, frowning at the stream of talk.

"Feh." InuYasha scowled. "I'm not surprised. As tough as he is, I wonder if Kinjiro bit off more than he could chew. That brat is full of resentment. Damn hard to make someone do something if they really don't want to."

She dropped the doormat, and nodded, stepping a little closer to her husband. "Maybe Kaede should make him a Kotodama necklace," Kagome said, tugging on InuYasha's beads. "It worked on you."

"Hey," the hanyou said, prying her hand off the strand of beads. "Don't put me in the same group as that boy. I wasn't that bad, even when I was being really stupid."

She gave him a smile and a quick kiss on his cheek. "Nope, you never were, really. Maybe at first. You did come after me like you were the bad guy, you know."

He gave a little sigh, and got a funny look on his face. "Hey, you get shot with an arrow, sealed to a tree for fifty years, and then suddenly woken up by a beautiful girl who pulls your hair, see how clear you can think . . . " He kissed Kagome's forehead. "Between that and being thrown into everything that happened right afterwards, I'm surprised Kaede didn't turn around and reseal me on the spot," InuYasha said, pulling her closer for a real, if brief kiss.

"You have a point," Kagome said, pulling away enough to look up at him. "But Aki doesn't have that excuse."

InuYasha let Kagome loose and nodded. "I guess we can't complain too much. Sooner he gets done here, the sooner he goes somewhere else."

"You're right," she said, giving him a small approving smile. "Give me the stew. I'll heat it back up. If you're really hungry, I can give you an onigiri right now to hold you until the stew reheats."

InuYasha looked toward the side of his house as they heard Aki complain. "I can wait. I'd rather eat the rice with the stew. I'll go work on the tree while you're doing that. " He turned back to her and handed her the pot. "Pickles?"

"Of course, silly man. Have I ever forgot the pickles? I still have some of the pickles that Sayo-sama sent over. Or we have some of Chime's."

"Those are good," InuYasha said. He grinned. "Make sure there's enough."

"I better, if I want any to eat myself." Smiling, she walked into the house.

InuYasha lifted up the doormat to let her go in, and as the mat door rattled behind her, he walked over to the side of the house where his woodpile stood. The logs that had been knocked down off the stack by Daitaro's cow were now back in place, and the pieces waiting to be split rested in a semi-contained pile. He took off his jacket, folded it and put it on the stacked wood and picked up his axe. Ignoring the wood that was waiting to be split, he headed further away from the house, toward the tree he had been limbing so it could be used for boards. It had a better view of the garden and the back of the house, and he was curious.

Stepping on the base of the trunk, he walked down the length of the half-limbed tree. The top of the tree pointed in the right direction, which made his efforts at least feel a little less like spying. Looking up, he got a glimpse of Kinjiro checking Aki's hands.

"Why are you getting these blisters?" the farmer asked the unhappy boy.

Aki held his head down and shrugged.

Kinjiro took his water container, unstoppered it, and poured liquid over the boy's right hand.

"Ow!" Aki said, trying to jerk away. "That stings!"

"You want me to help or not?" the farmer said. "I'm not the one with broken blisters."

Aki kept quiet while the man tied strips of cloth across his palm.

"If you had been working like a boy your age ought to," Kinjiro said, scowling at the boy, "instead of pulling pranks on people like Daitaro-sama, you'd have callouses on those hands of yours already, or know how to do the right things to save your hands from blisters."

"But . . . " the boy said. His eyes were wet, but at least he wasn't crying at the moment.

"Just get to work, boy." Kinjiro picked up his hoe and went back to what he was doing.

"Kinjiro must have gotten some work out of him already," InuYasha muttered, looking at the two of them.

The boy had a big dirt smear across one cheek and his feet and knees were already mud stained. The farmer, with one more glance at Aki, began working on restoring the garden bed. For a moment, Aki watched Kinjiro work as he picked up and leaned against a shovel that was almost too big for him to handle. From his place on the tree trunk, InuYasha wondered how Kinjiro was daring to let him work without tying him to a tree or his cart, but then he noticed that there was a rope tied to each of the boy's ankles, the length long enough to walk with, but that would keep him from running.

Kinjiro pointed and barked an order, and reluctantly, Aki lifted the shovel and shuffled to where he was told to go. As Aki began shoveling something into the wheelbarrow, InuYasha turned his back on the two and began to examine the tree to find the best place to start working himself. Choosing his target, he let the axe fly.

Two hits of the blade later, a large branch he freed rattled to the ground. As he moved to pull it free from the other branches, he heard a yelp from the boy.

"Kinjiro-sama! Look!" Aki said, pointing towards him.

"What?" the farmer asked from where he was bent over a row he had been hilling. He looked up and saw InuYasha dragging the branch to the pile of cut limbs.

"That mo . . . InuYasha-sama is here." Aki dropped his shovel. His voice wavered between angry and frightened. "You're not going to let him get me, are you? I still can't believe he let me go at Tameo-sama's."

"Of course he's here. He lives here, you know that," Kinjiro said. "This isn't the first time you've been up here. Why are you surprised to see him?"

Aki wiped his face with the back of his sleeve. "I'm . . . I'm not surprised."

Kinjiro frowned at him. "Then don't act like a baka. I helped him cut those trees so he could make boards, and he's finishing up the job. You didn't think you would see him? He has work to do, just like the rest of us." He lived up his hoe. "Get back to work."

Sighing, Aki nodded, and grabbing his shovel, he lifted part of a cow patty, still not very dry and attracting a few early flies, and tossed it into the cart.

For some reason, InuYasha grinned as Kinjiro used him as an example of someone who had work to do. "Somebody appreciates what I do," he said. "I think I could get used to that."

The hanyou moved to another place on the tree, and chopped through another branch, hearing the wood creak against the other branches as it loosened. It was too thick for the axe to bite through in one or even two blows. Leaping to the ground, he lifted it up slightly, and rolled another piece under it for support, and struck it again, twice. It gave way with a satisfying crunch. Grabbing the branch, he untangled it from its neighbors and added it, too, to the pile.

Aki paused before lifting another shovelful. He looked at InuYasha toss the wood onto the other branches. "Work?" he said, knitting his brows together. "He did all of that himself? I never thought youkai or warriors did stuff like that. Isao's otousan always said that he was going away to be a soldier cause farming wasn't worth the sweat. I thought only farmers had to work hard."

"Yes, work. He has to make a living, too." Kinjiro said. He walked down one of the rows of the garden, and plucked a weed coming up. "Only farmers work? That's a laugh. He might not grow rice, but he has a lot he does, too."

"But he's a youkai!" the boy said. "I know people who aren't farmers make other things. But a youkai doesn't make things."

"The manure's not going to shovel itself into the cart, boy," Kinjiro said. He reached into the pouch draped around his chest and took out a packet of seeds, and knelt down to put some in the ground. "The sooner you get it up, the sooner we can go down the hill and see what Matsume has for lunch. But don't be stupid. Even people with youkai blood have to eat, and like us, they need a place to live, and fire, and clothes to wear. How did you think they got it?"

"Magic?" Aki said, shoveling up more of the manure. "Ghosts don't need fire."

"The magic of sweat," Kinjiro said, He stopped at a section that had been well trampled and squatted down. "Right in the middle of the early daikon," he said, shaking his head. The farmer stood up, walked over to his tools, and picked up a rake. "Even magic takes effort. Even ghosts have to eat. Why do we offer food to the ancestors and kami, eh? Ghosts might not have to work with a shovel, but a hungry ghost will terrorize people. You could even say that's a type of work. The ghost does it until people do what it takes to feed it. "

Aki looked thoughtfully at the farmer."I thought magic just happened."

"It might look like that to you or me, but it's just another type of work. Nothing just happens," Kinjiro said, raking up the trampled area. "It takes doing, and doing is work. The yamabushi and sages and monks study hard, work hard, live hard to get their powers. From what I hear, some of their studies make farming look easy. How would you like to have to stand outside every day during the winter and pour ice cold water over your head several times a day?"

"They do that?" Aki asked, wide-eyed.

"Some of'em. And other hard, nasty things, like go days without anything to eat. Magic users do all sorts of weird stuff. Then there are artisans - woodcarvers, stone workers, potters. They all work hard. Look at all the women in the village who work in the fields and then go home and work at their looms to have something to sell on market day. I know your obaasan does that."

Aki nodded. "But . . . "

Kinjiro ignored his interruption. "You ever go by with Fumio-sama's working?"

"Sometimes," Aki said. "He doesn't like the boys hanging around."

"I can understand that. Smiths bend over fire hammering away in the heat." Kinjiro bent down over another section and added a few more seeds. "And Fumio just works on farm tools. Swordsmiths and the men who make other things work even harder at it. Silkworkers raise worms and stand up for hours to reel off the silk. Merchants have to worry about guilds trying to keep them away, and bandits stealing what they have to sell, and daimyo charging fees and all that traveling to sell their stuff."

He stood up, and dusted his hands a minute. "You said Katsume-sama went to be a soldier because they don't work hard. He was wrong."

Aki pitched a little more into the cart, then put down his shovel. "Wrong?"

"Soldiers have to practice all the time, with swords and spears and arrows, until their arms are ready to fall off," Kinjiro said. "I've seen Susumu come home so tired he could barely lift his chopsticks. And then when they do fight, they put their lives on the line. It's all work." He looked at the boy. "Which you obviously aren't doing. How are you going to ever get that manure in the cart if you don't shovel? No more questions until it's done."

Aki began shoveling again.

InuYasha snorted. "Magic, eh? So things I want just happen, eh? No magic I have can build a shed," and flashing his axe once more, he culled another branch. Ignoring the two working on the garden, he continued with his own work until Kagome stepped out on the porch and called him in to eat


	104. Chapter 104

_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 104**

InuYasha came in and washed his hands as Kagome made their lunch trays.

"No more yelling?" she said.

"No more for the moment. It looks like that Aki's actually doing what Kinjiro's telling him to right now." InuYasha dried his hands and took his place by the fire pit. "Smells good."

Kagome ladled out their soup as InuYasha sat down at his place.

"It does, doesn't it? Let me know if you want me to try to make this stew myself," she said, handing InuYasha his bow. "So Kinjiro's working on the garden again?"

"Yeah. He had the kid cleaning up after the cow while he was doing whatever it is he does with hoes and seeds. From the looks of things, they had already cleaned up around the woodpile," InuYasha said, taking a sip of his soup. He rolled it around in his mouth and smiled. "It is good. Yeah, I'd like to eat this again."

"I thought you might," Kagome said, putting small dishes with pickles on both trays. "I'll be sure to ask when I go back there." She popped a slice of pickle in her mouth, chewed for a moment. "I don't know which pickles I like best, Chime's or Sayo's. Kinjiro certainly didn't waste any time. I suspect he's trying to get done up here today."

"It'd be nice if he does. Maybe things could go back to normal. But Daitaro is right." InuYasha picked up a slice of pickle, and looked at Kagome's plate, and frowned slightly. "How come you have more pickle on your plate than mine?"

Kagome gave him a teasing smile. "Because you always steal at least two of mine," she said. "Daitaro is right about what?"

"About Kinjiro loving to work." He ate the pickle thoughtfully. "You're right. Both of them make really good pickles. I like both of them a lot." He picked up another slice. "It's kind of funny. You know how irritated and complaining he was all day today during the meeting?"

Kagome nodded, and sipped her own soup.

InuYasha picked up an onigiri. "He was out there, listening to the brat, answering his questions, and as calm as I ever saw him." InuYasha took a bite of the rice ball. "That boy's full of weird ideas. Like nobody has to do drudge work but farmers. He was really surprised to see me chopping wood. He said he thought that we lived on magic, like I just waved my hand and things get done."

Kagome picked up a pickle slice. "Magic, huh? What, you're just supposed to wish food into the house and we eat?"

"I guess," he said. " It'd be nice sometimes. I wish I could get the rabbits to cooperate. Just take off their own hides and hop into the kitchen." He took another bite. "And the fish, too."

"And the rice cook itself," Kagome said, laughing a little. "But even better would be for the dishes to wash themselves and the laundry to wring itself out and hang itself up on the line."

"It makes you wonder what type of stories they've been telling that boy," InuYasha said.

"You know how it is with stories. People don't have to work, or babies appear in peaches, or magic bags produce endless amounts of rice." She play-slapped at InuYasha as he reached over to steal one of her pickle slices. "Or magical men steal their wives' pickles."

He popped it into his mouth and chewed it with great delight, smirking when it was done. "Or beautiful women fall through magical wells to wake up enchanted hanyous."

"Am I in a story?" she asked, smiling.

"My favorite one," InuYasha said, smiling at her. "Especially the part where even after the kami had separated them, she found a way to come back and bring him back to life the second time."

Kagome gave him a warm, almost misty-eyed look at that, and a beautific smile. He reached out, touched her cheek with the knuckles of his left hand. While she was distracted, he stole another pickle slice. As she noticed, she pushed him away, and gave him a big mock frown.

"All that to put up with his thieving ways." She finished her soup, and put the bowl down on her tray. "And that's why I have more pickles on my plate than you do."

InuYasha was trying to figure out something else to say when Kinjiro yelled.

"Dammit, boy, get back here now!"

"What's happening?" Kagome asked.

Something crashed, and there was the sound of wood falling.

"Stupid boy. That sounded like the wood pile. I bet he's trying to run," InuYasha said, getting up.

"Aki!" Kinjiro yelled again. InuYasha could hear something running through the brush at the edge of the meadow. He hurried outside.

Kinjiro was in the front of the house as InuYasha stepped outside. There was a tumble of firewood scattered to the side of the house, and from the mud stain on his hakama, he guessed that Kinjiro had fallen while chasing the boy.

Looking at the trees across the clearing, the farmer threw down his hoe.

"He ran?" the hanyou asked.

Kinjiro gave a curt nod. "Cut his leg rope with the shovel while I was on the other side of the garden taking a piss, then knocked over your wood again and disappeared into the brush. I knew I should have taken the time to find some chain. Where the hells does he think he's going to run to?"

"Don't know, but we'll find out. I never knew such a baka kid," InuYasha said. His face grew somber. "I'll find him. He can't get away from my nose." The hanyou dropped to the ground, stiffing, looking for all the world like a dog homing in on the boy's scent.

Kagome stepped out of the house, and watched Kinjiro gape at the hanyou while he searched for the scent trail.

"You've seen him do this before?" Kinjiro asked.

"Oh yes," Kagome said, crossing her arms, but looking approvingly at her husband. "It might look odd, but he knows what he's doing."

"I've got it," InuYasha said, and standing up began moving in the direction the scent led him, downhill in the general direction of Daitaro's house.

"That . . . was interesting," Kinjiro said. "I've never seen anybody pick up a trail like that."

"He's very good that way," Kagome said. "I don't think there's any way Aki-kun can get away now. I wonder where that stupid boy thought he was going to go?"

Kinjiro bent over and picked up his hoe. "Who knows? Maybe he still thinks his obaasan can keep him safe from everything. He has another thing coming if he goes that way. I think if he makes it all the way home, Tsuneo might actually send him off to Odawara, or even north. For a generally clever boy, he's being a real stupid kid."

"I can't disagree with that," Kagome said, and after her husband disappeared into the woods beyond, she walked back in the house.

Not knowing that InuYasha was narrowing in on his scent trail, Aki, breathing heavily after his mad dash downhill, crashed through a thicket not far from the start of Daitaro's fields. Here, the rounded green of the hill gave way to bare rock, a jagged uplift about the height of four men, studded with fern and vines wherever they could get enough soil to take root. The base of the rock was hidden with a thick growth of weeds. It was hard to get to; the only path in was a narrow deer trail, easy to lose amid the tangle of new growth and last year's dry brown grasses. Aki walked along the rock formation until he stopped by a small bush that had a small tatter of cloth tied to it. Pushing aside some tall, leggy grasses, he found an opening, a shallow cave barely big enough for a man or a couple of boys his size to squeeze into.

"Not going to find me here," Aki muttered, as he crawled into it. "Nobody's ever discovered me and Isao's hiding place, especially someone as stupid as Kinjiro."

There was a basket in the little cave. He reached in and pulled out a water container. "Glad I left this here," he said, and took a drink.

"Going to treat me like a slave," he said, wiping his mouth. "I'll show them who's a slave. Stupid Kinjiro. Work this. Work that. What does he know?" He put the bamboo water holder between his legs and looked at his hands, bandaged from blisters, scratched, like his arms from the mad dash he had just made. "Obaasan wouldn't have let them do this to me if she hadn't got sick because I got stupid and let them catch me. Morio said it would have worked. Everything was going fine. Then I got stupid. And why'd he do whatever he did that got the kami mad at him? Is the hanyou's magic that good? Or am I the bad luck? Isao never would have said that stuff . . . "

He leaned back and closed his eyes. "Maybe it is me. I ought to go to the mountains. Morio-sama said - "

Suddenly there was a big tug on his ankle, and as he yelled in panic, he was unceremoniously dragged out of the cavelet and hoisted up in the air.

"I wouldn't believe anything that dumb ass said." InuYasha glared at the boy. "What in the hell did you think you were doing, running away from Kinjiro like that? Aren't you in enough trouble already?"

Realizing who had him, Aki began to scream in earnest, thrashing and trying to kick with his free leg. InuYasha's ears laid back with the noise, but he merely grabbed the boy's other leg, and tossed him over his shoulder.

"You think your hiding place was that special?" InuYasha said. "Hell, I knew about it before your old man was even born. Once I caught your scent, I knew exactly where you were going. I suspect Kinjiro, or at least Susumu used it when they were your age. Maybe even Daitaro."

"Let me go!" Aki screamed. He tried lunging up and grabbing the hanyou's hair, beating his back, and once made a grab for his ear.

"You can have all the fun you want," InuYasha said, shifted him further down his back. "It's not going to keep me from taking you back."

He began trudging through the brush, not being particularly mindful if any of the bushes or branches he passed hit the writhing, panicked load he was carrying. One arm kept the boy's legs from kicking him, the other made sure that even with all his struggling, he wouldn't slide off his shoulders.

"The monster's got me!" Aki yelled, in the desperate hope that someone would notice and care. "He's going to eat me!" When nobody responded, he began pulling the hanyou's hair again.

InuYasha winced at a particularly hard tug, but didn't slow down. Slowly it dawned on the boy nobody was going to run to his rescue. Instead, he let out a string of foul words.

"Your obaasan know you talk that way, stupid?" InuYasha said as the boy paused for breath.

"You don't talk about my obaasan," Aki said. "You're just a monster. She's too good to be in the same room with you." He began struggling again to get free.

"You are the dumbest brat I know of," InuYasha said. "I think even Shippou is smarter than you. You aren't going anywhere, except back to Kinjiro. Maybe he'll still work with you. You'll be lucky if he doesn't take your back to your ojiisan. Tsuneo sure doesn't deserve a brat like you to ruin his day."

"Shut up, monster!" Aki said, and pulled as hard as he could on the hanyou's hair.

"Right," InuYasha said "You can call me a monster. But you, brat, you shame your grandparents. You ruin Daitaro's sake, let your cousin get hurt, and then beat him up yourself, and let your grandmother get so wound up she has to be held and sent to Kaede-babaa's so she doesn't hurt herself. Your games led to my wife being attacked. All I did was drag you out of that little hole before the wolves or the youkai got to you, and am getting you back to where your grandfather said you were supposed to be. But I'm the monster."

"I'm not the one with claws and dog ears."Aki said. "Shut up! Obaasan said you killed Kaede-obaasan's sister, and you made that monster attack us three years ago. My cat got killed when the shouki fell."

"No way," InuYasha said, "Haname is wrong. You can ask Kaede-babaa yourself. It was the same monster that attacked the village that wounded Kaede's sister and made her think it was me. Sorry about your cat. But me and Kagome, and Miroku and Sango, and even little Rin, we all almost got killed going after that guy. No telling what would have happened to the village if we hadn't got him."

"Don't believe you," Aki said, giving him one hard smack. "My Obaasan wouldn't lie. She's good!"

"Feh." InuYasha said. "Everybody lies sometimes. But I never said she lied, just that she was wrong. And what about you? What were you doing trying to beat up Isao for telling the truth? I knew it was you who threw dirt at my futon. I could smell you. I could smell you the day you ruined Daitaro's sake, too."

"Liar," Aki said, stopping his pounding. He turned his head to the side and tried to push up so he could see the hanyou. "If you knew it, how come you didn't do anything?"

"You and your cousin weren't worth my time," the hanyou said. "I had a lot more important things to do than let a brat bother me." He jumped lightly over a log in his way.

This jarred the boy, and his face bounced off InuYasha's back. "Hey, watch it."

"Hmph," the hanyou said. "I don't know why. That's about as nice as you treated me and Daitaro and everybody else you've been messing with."

Aki fell silent for a moment and gave up hitting, laying there without struggling. Once, when Inu skipped over a small boulder he gave a grunt.

As they cleared the brush, they found themselves near the fence of one of Daitaro's fields. InuYasha could see the road just ahead from it. "Won't be long now," he said. "We'll get home in a few minutes."

Instead of answering him, Aki moaned.

"Now what?" InuYasha asked.

"I need . . . I need . . . " the boy muttered.

"What?" the hanyou said, clearly irritated. His ear flicked.

"I'm going to be sick," the boy said, and started to gag.

InuYasha sighed and let the boy slide off his shoulder, keeping a firm grip on one arm as the boy bent over and began to retch.

Shinjiro, who had been working in the field near the road, spotted the two of them. Seeing the boy doubled over, he climbed the fence, and hopped down to watch Aki.

"Yo, InuYasha-sama," the farmer said. "What do you have there?"

Aki hacked and sputtered.

"A runaway," InuYasha replied. "And a smelly one at that. Lost his stomach getting packed around like a bag of rice."

Aki finished, spit, and looked up. He still seemed a little green, but tried to pull away from the hanyou toward the farmer. "Shinjiro-sama! Tell him to let me go!" Aki cried. "He's going to eat me!"

"We couldn't be that lucky," Shinjiro said. "I don't think InuYasha-sama's taste runs to troublesome boys."


	105. Chapter 105

_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 105**

InuYasha glared at Aki. "I can think of a lot of things more tasty than this stupid kid," he said to Shinjiro. "Like your okaasan's pickles."

Shinjiro laughed. "Haha-ue does make good pickles. I hope she teaches her secrets to Erime." He shifted his eyes from InuYasha to Aki. "But I don't think you're here to talk about food. So, this boy's been giving you trouble?"

In the field behind him a cow lowed, then slowly meandered over toward the fence line.

Aki spit again, getting the last bit of bad taste out of his mouth, and dragged the back of his hand across his mouth. Looking up, he noticed the cow heading their way. "Is that . . . " Aki asked, eyeing the cow with serious wariness.

"Oh yes, that's the beauty that you pestered and who chased you up toward InuYasha-sama's house." Shinjiro gave the boy a wicked grin. "They say cows have long memories. I could let her out and see if she remembers you."

The boy began to pull, trying to break free of InuYasha's grip. "Don't . . . she tried to bite me!"

InuYasha stood there, letting the boy tug away. "Poor animal doesn't deserve that, getting a mouthful of this brat, even if he earned the bite," the hanyou replied. He looked at Aki. "You can tire yourself out all you want. I don't think you're going anywhere."

The cow reached the fence, swished her head and lowed again. Shinjiro turned around a moment, walked up to the fence, and scratched her ears. "It's all right, good girl. It's just that bad boy causing trouble again."

"Stop pulling, brat," InuYasha said as Aki tried to lunge away again. "Hard to believe how stupid you are today. I might be mad because you interrupted my lunch," the hanyou said. "But it's Kinjiro who's going to be dealing with you when we get you back to him. I'll bet he'll make me seem calm."

"Kinjiro, eh?" Shinjiro said. He gave the cow one more pat, and walked next to InuYasha and the boy. "You're right. I doubt if he's going to be very happy. And an unhappy Kinjiro is . . . " He shook his head. "Chichi-ue told me that Kinjiro had him today. I hear we're going to get the pleasure in a few more days." Shinjiro spit.

"That's what your old man asked for," InuYasha

"That's Chichi-ue for you. But Haha-ue must have suspected something was up. Even with all she has going on, she wasn't upset at all and took the news a whole lot better than I did. She's got a big heart. But if he's going to act like this . . . "

"I know. It seems a shame to dump him on Chime," InuYasha said. "I know she doesn't deserve this baka. If he gives her a rough time, maybe you should come get me."

Aki shook his head. "Don't . . . "

The farmer ignored Aki for the moment. "Me either. I'll have to remember your offer." Shinjiro said. He turned towards Aki, crossed his arms and glared. "You, boy, better get some sense in you before then. I don't look forward to chasing runaways when I ought to be paying attention to my new wife."

Aki returned his glare. "I don't have to listen to you."

Shinjiro tugged Aki's ear. "You will, or I won't have any qualms about sending InuYasha-sama out to look for you."

"Ow! Let go!" Aki said.

Shinjiro snorted, and released him. "Better yet, maybe I'll just let Chichi-ue's old bull take care of you. He doesn't take to stupidly very well."

The farmer looked up at InuYasha. "What do you think? Me, I'd take him at least to Edo. Sure there's someone willing to use another pair of hands. He could spend the next ten or fifteen years preparing fish to dry."

InuYasha shrugged. "I suspect Tsuneo might say the same thing once he hears about what happened today." He looked at the boy. "Your ojiisan was really getting fed up, brat. You heard everything he said today."

"Let me go!" Aki said. His face reflected a mix of fear and anger. "I want to go home!"

"Your home is with Kinjiro right now," the hanyou said. "And that's how it's going to be. I want to get you back there as soon as possible."

"And Kinjiro wants him back now."

The two men swerved and saw a very angry Kinjiro walking toward them, a rope in his hand and a hoe over his shoulder.

"No!" Aki said, pulling hard against InuYasha's grip. "Let me go! He's going to beat me!"

"I don't think so, boy." The hanyou glared at the struggling youth. "And even if he does, you need to learn to take your punishment like a man."

In a few minutes, Kinjiro had the hoe slung across the boy's shoulders, with his hands tied to the handle, and a lead tied around his waist. "I'll be back," Kinjiro said. "But first, we're going to go back to my place." He looked up at InuYasha and Shinjiro. "Chichi-ue has some useful things he keeps in his office to deal with people who break the peace. If I can't find some leg irons, then I'll put him in the lockup until I can get back and get my things. I've wasted enough time today on this . . . " He groped for the right word.

"Cow patty?" Shinjiro suggested.

"I hear that," InuYasha said. "We all have."

Aki began to cry. "I want to go home. I want Obaasan . . . "

"Not today," Kinjiro said, and holding the rope lead, gave it a tug. "You've got two weeks to learn to be worthy of the right to see her. Let's go."

The two men watched Kinjiro herd a reluctant Aki back to the road and then to the village beyond.

"I'd say he has his work cut out for him," Shinjiro said, shaking his head.

InuYasha nodded."I hope your old man knows what he's getting into."

"You're not the only one," the young farmer said. "Back to work." He headed back to the fence, and with a practiced ease, clambered over it. InuYasha turned and went back up the hill.

Dealing with Aki had left a bad taste in his mouth. Going home didn't make the feeling any better. Pausing in front of his house, he studied the small building, the woodpile, the clothes line - everything that was his.

"A house. Damn not much of one. I don't know if Haha-ue would ever have even seen the inside of a place this small. But after they kicked me out, I never even thought I'd have even this much to my name," he said. "Kagome - a woman who loves me. A place that's mine. Even some respect." He squatted down, looking at it all, the washtub leaning up against the front, the place where he accidently gouged one of the boards under the window with his claw, a scattering of wood chips that had trailed from his wood cutting block to the front.

"I . . . " he muttered. Suddenly, he slammed his fist into the dirt next to him, punching a depression into the ground. "A cage. A cage I just can't leave. I don't want to leave. Damn it. It's too much too fast. Why does everything have to be so difficult?"

He took a deep breath, felt the forest around the clearing, thinking about how it felt to be alone, with no sound but the wind, then heard his wife inside singing some little song.

"My house. My wife. I can't let a stupid brat like Aki tie me up in knots and ruin everything." Standing up, he dusted off his hand and walked to the door. He took a deep breath, trying to calm the knot in his gut, and then he lifted the door mat and stepped into the little building.

All signs of their meal had been erased. Emi's pot, empty and clean, stood at the edge of the wooden platform, waiting to be returned. Kagome sat where the light came through the one window of the little house. The light touched her ebony hair with bright highlights. She sat there working on her sewing, the kosode he knew she was sewing for him. She looked peaceful and content, and something in him lurched seeing her there. His throat grew tight.

She looked up and gave him a big smile, until she saw the sternness on his face. Her smile quickly turned to a hesitant frown.

"Did . . . did you find Aki?" she asked. "Is everything all right?"

"Yeah, he wasn't hard to find." InuYasha moved across the floor, and with his usual grace, dropped down next to her. "He was hiding up in a little hole in the ground that I used to use on new moon nights. I dragged him out, and was heading back when I found Kinjiro. He's taking the boy back to his place." InuYasha shook his head. "That brat's got problems. I never thought I'd say it, but I feel sorry for Joben, having that kid for a son."

"Sometimes, children that age . . . " Kagome said. She dropped her sewing in her lap, and reached out to rest a hand on InuYasha's arm. Her face was concerned, a little worried. "I wonder if any of what they are trying to do is going to work on him."

InuYasha shrugged. "There's a point a person's got to decide for himself, no matter what people are trying to do. I don't think it's really sunk into his hard head how much trouble he's in. Kinjiro is pissed."

"That's probably putting it mildly," Kagome said. She tucked her sewing in her basket. "Today hasn't been easy for you, either. I look at you and can sense how much he's twisted you up." She let her hand slide down and cover his. "I don't know how to make it better. Is there anything I can do?"

He turned and looked at her. She breathed in a bit at what she saw - his eyes were hot amber. "InuYasha?"

"It's just . . . " he started. "It's like the walls are closing in on me." He took a long breath and let it out slowly. "Let's get out of here."

"Get out?" She studied his face, not exactly sure of what he meant.

"I . . . I need to just get away from everybody for a while," he said, taking her hand in his. "Too many people. It feels . . . feels almost like I'm in a cage. I have to do something. Run. Go where there's nobody asking me stuff I don't know the answer to, some place where there's no rotten kids or kami or things they think I know but never had the chance to learn."

"Leave?" Her eyes flashed panic. She started to pull her hand away from his. "You want to leave the village?"

He didn't let her hand get away, and rested his other on top of hers. He shook his head. "Feh. That's not what I said. I don't want to move out of the village or anything," he said. The panic he caused flickered out of her eyes. "It's not that. I just need to get away for a few hours. Ever since we left to go to that blasted village and get that cat, there's been one thing after another after another. I . . ."

"It has, hasn't it?" Kagome said. She scooted closer to him. "It'd be nice to just have some time alone."

He nodded. "I feel . . . "

"Overwhelmed?" Kagome asked. She rested her head against his shoulder and he pulled her close, resting his head on top of hers.

"Overwhelmed. Yeah, I guess that's the right word. I'm scared if anything else happens today, I'm going to do something stupid. You don't know how I wanted to kick that stupid kid the way I do Shippou. Would have, if I wasn't scared he'd get too hurt."

"At this point, I bet Tsuneo wouldn't say a thing," Kagome said.

InuYasha snorted. "You're right. He probably wouldn't, not today. But he would tomorrow."

Kagome nodded. "So what do we do?" She idly wrapped a lock of his silver hair around her finger. "I'm nearly as wound up as you are."

"I know." He tapped his nose. "Let's get out of here and go for a run."

"A run?" Kagome searched his face.

"We can go for a while where there's nobody but me, you and the sky," he said. There was a deep longing in his eyes, the set of his mouth. "I need to do this. I have to do this. But I really would like you with me. Please?"

Kagome, seeing the pleading in his eyes, nodded. "Let me get my bow and arrows. I need to get used to bringing them with me."

"That's a good idea," he said, nodding. "I'll go tell Sango and let her know in case anybody comes looking. I'd like to be gone before Kinjiro gets back up here."

She nodded, and he dashed out of the hut


	106. Chapter 106

_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 106**

It only took Kagome a few minutes to wrap a few things in a carry cloth and grab her quiver. Before InuYasha got back from Sango's house, she was on the verandah waiting for him with her bundle tied around her shoulders and her quiver and bow draped across her shoulders, and a big, expectant smile.

He grinned back. "Going somewhere?"

"Just waiting for the right ride." Looking more relaxed and happy than she had in several days, she walked up to him and gave him a quick peck on the lips. "Know anybody who's going my way?"

Laughing, he turned around and let her climb on, and they were off, heading away from the village, across the river and toward the mountains to the west.

Kagome leaned forward. "Is it wrong, to feel so good about leaving everybody behind?"she asked, once they had passed the last of the village fields.

"I don't know," InuYasha said, "but that's how I feel, too." The hanyou leaped over a fallen log.

Resting her cheek against his neck, she began humming. After a moment, she started to sing:

"In the mountains  
>in the mountains<br>after living there,  
>with the wind in the pines,<br>a little house  
>can seem a noisy city.<p>

"In the mountains  
>In the mountains<br>Red are the azaleas  
>Red are the camellias<br>the wind calls out,  
>the wind in the pines.<p>

"In the mountains  
>in the mountains,<br>I hear the water fall  
>and forget how the city looks<br>beneath the green trees  
>swaying in the wind."<p>

"Yeah," InuYasha said. "That says it."

As InuYasha ran cross-country, avoiding roads and places where people lived and worked, Kagome could feel the tension leave him, the muscles in his neck and back unwinding as he put serious distance between them and the village. It was a beautiful afternoon to be traveling this way. Once they disturbed a deer and her fawn who bounded across the path they were taking, which for some reason, Kagome found nearly as startling as the deer did. Another time they flushed a group of birds. InuYasha occasionally leapt into the trees, just to hear Kagome's laughter, but as the forest gave way to higher ground and a stately forest of old pines, he did it less and less.

"I need to take a break," Kagome said. "My leg's getting a cramp."

"I'll find us a good place," he said.

A few minutes later, they found a clearing, a grassy meadow dotted with early spring flowers on a high spit of land. A stand of trees just leafing out stood to the right, a break from the evergreens beyond it. There was a small waterfall that cascaded downhill just beyond the edge of the clearing, marked by willow and hard to see.

"Nice." Kagome lifted her head up to look around as she slid off the hanyou's back.

"This will do, huh?" he said. "Not where I was planning on ending up, but I've been here before. Nice enough place for a break."

"Yeah." She bent forward, almost touching her toes. "I can tell I'm not really used to traveling by InuYasha back anymore. I really needed to stretch."

He laughed, his amber eyes filled with amusement and sat down under a tree. Lacing his fingers together behind his head, he leaned back against the tree's trunk and stretched out his legs. "And to think we used to do this all day. You on my back, me running like there was no tomorrow, like hell was at our backs."

Kagome walked a little bit around the meadow to work out her kinks. She gave him a playful grin. "And more often, we were running towards trouble, instead of away from it. We'll have to do this more often if you want me to get used to it again."

"Fine by me," he replied, a small smirk gracing his mouth. "Just say when. I could do this all the time and not mind it."

"Just say when, huh? Is this the cure for your bad moods?" she said, bending over one more time to stretch.

"Maybe," he replied. "Worked today."

"It did, didn't it?" She walked over and sat down next to him and leaned her head against his shoulder. "You look a lot happier. Where are we going to?"

"There's this place," he said. "I - "

He was interrupted by the sound of something crashing in the underbrush, in the direction of the stream. He sat up, pushing Kagome off his shoulder. "What in the hells was that?"

"Another deer, maybe?" Kagome asked.

The hanyou's ears rotated into the direction the noise came from. He shook his head. "Doesn't sound like one. It's too big."

There was another crash, louder than the first.

"A youkai?" Kagome said. "Doesn't have much youki if it is."

InuYasha rolled to his feet. "Plenty of weak ones out in the wilderness. I think maybe we should get out of here," he said. He squatted down and Kagome got up to get back on when a large red hand appeared at the top of the ravine.

"Kuso," he said. "This one's too big to ignore."

Kagome nodded as he stood up and drew Tessaiga. The sword transformed from ratty katana to immense fang almost as soon as he drew it. Light glittered off the blade.

"What . . . what is it?" Kagome asked.

"Get behind the tree," he said. "We'll find out in a moment."

The red hand was joined by another, and then a wild-haired and red-skinned head, graced with two massive horns. Raging eyes bulged out behind thick, brushy eyebrows. Those eyes swept across the clearing, searching.

InuYasha gave her a little shove. "Behind that tree, now!"

"What is it?" she asked, doing what he said.

"Oni," he said. "We're just not getting any breaks today." His look, though, didn't match his words. There was no irritation or even worry in his glance or his stance, and instead his face lit up with a dark glee. "This stupid monster doesn't know what he's in for today. At least this is a problem I know how to take care of."

"Oni?" Kagome said. Peeking around the tree, she watched InuYasha take a battle stance as he watched the monster crawl up into the clearing. It was big and ugly. "Been too long since I did this last," she said, pressing her back against the tree trunk. Her hands only shaking a little bit as the adrenaline raced through her, she pulled her bow free and grabbed an arrow out of her quiver. Even though it had been years since she had done it last under threatening conditions, the action felt natural, and somehow, reassuring.

"Stay out of the way," InuYasha said, as if reading her mind. "It's been a long time since the last time you were in a fight. I don't want you to get caught in between this ass and me."

"I will," she said, even as she could feel her husband's youki flaring. "Bet he's going to take his time with this fight," she whispered, looking at how InuYasha was moving. "Why some men think this is fun . . . "

The oni hauled himself out of the ravine, and glared down at the hanyou, and then he cracked a huge grin. "Where'd you come from? A little hanyou. Don't matter. I know a gift from the heavens when I see it. Been to long since I ate anything but deer. You'll make a fine dinner!"

"Feh," InuYasha said, circling. "I don't think so. If you have any brains in that ugly head of yours, you'll turn around and go back the way you came."

The oni, tall, nearly eight feet tall and broad to match, gave the hanyou a large, toothy smile, revealing two long fangs and a tongue long enough to touch his chin. "I can taste you already."

"And I can smell your stench, oni," InuYasha said. "Maybe I should throw you back in the stream so you can wash some of that dirt off."

The oni held a massive club in his right hand. Wrapping his left hand around it as well, he lifted it over his head. The only reply he gave InuYasha was to smash down the club at the hanyou.

InuYasha jumped out of the way deftly, but late enough for him to feel the wind from the strike. "So you have a big stick? You think that makes up for your lack of brains? You're going to have to do a lot better than that if you want me for dinner, asshole."

"InuYasha, be careful!" Kagome said from behind her hiding place.

"You don't have to worry about me," he said, not taking his eyes off his opponent. "It's just a dumb oni. It'll only take a few minutes to deal with him."

The oni aimed his club at the hanyou again, bashing the ground with a mighty blow. Dust and some rock fragments flew up in the strike's wake. "So there's two of you, eh? Dinner and breakfast!"

InuYasha dodged and landed behind the oni. "Over here, asswipe," he growled. "Or are you too scared to play?"

Moving surprisingly fast, the oni ignored him and ran toward the tree the hanyou had been talking to. "Something back here for me to eat? You got a woman stashed away? Soft and tender? They always taste better than the men."

"Kuso," the hanyou said. The oni had successfully gotten between him and Kagome. "That's the last thing I was trying to have happen."

Lifting his club, the monster was about to pound the tree Kagome was hiding behind when InuYasha leaped on his back, slashing with Tessaiga.

"No way there's anything there for you, ugly," the hanyou said, jerking his sword free. The blade had cut deeply into the oni's left arm. With a roar, the monster flailed and turned, throwing InuYasha off.

The oni dropped his club for a moment, and placed his right hand over the wound. Lifting his hand back up, he stared at the blood on his fingers as if it were the most surprising thing he had seen.

"I'm . . . I'm bleeding? Damn you, hanyou," he said, picking up his club. Turning his back on the tree, he began attacking the hanyou with blow after blow of his club. InuYasha danced and dodges as he struck, trying to lead the monster in the direction he wanted, but try as he might, he couldn't get the monster away from the line of trees. He drew blood twice more, once again to the monster's arm and once to his right thigh as the oni tried to kick at him.

The oni roared, obviously unused to losing. "Stupid hanyou! You are my dinner! Stand still and take it like a man."

"Hah!" InuYasha said, leaping. "I don't think so."

InuYasha's tactics began paying off. Slowly the monster began to move in the direction InuYasha was hoping for as he leaped and feinted, leading the monster there bit by bit. After dodging around him one more time, InuYasha managed to cut another slice in the oni's leg, and this one was deeper than the first one. As the blood flowed in a red stream down his leg, the oni, off balance, roared and swung his club wildly as his leg tried to give way. In a struggle to catch himself, he spun around. With what looked like it might be his lucky break, the oni caught InuYasha off guard and managed to throw him near the edge of the meadow. Spotting his enemy down on the ground, the oni righted himself.

"Now you're acting like dinner ought to," he said, and began moving in the hanyou's direction.

Kagome had been watching from behind the tree InuYasha had put her behind with a dread she never remembered having before. "I must be really out of practice for this sort of thing," she muttered, even while keeping her bow and arrows at the ready. She watched him dance and feint and strike, at both admiring his grace and fearful at what was happening. But when she saw him get knocked to the ground she could feel her heart in her throat. "No! InuYasha!"

Stepping out of the shadows, she took aim and fired. "Hit the mark!" she said, watching the arrow fly.

The oni stood over the hanyou and was about to bring his club down when the arrow, streaming bright pink light, struck the monster's left arm. As the oni roared, his arm was engulfed in that same light, and exploded into a cascade of bright pink dust.

The monster dropped his club and doubled over from the pain. InuYasha, scrambling to his feet, got himself into position and with a yell of his own, slammed the sword to the ground, releasing five fingers of light that raced to the oni.

"Dinner . . . " the oni said mournfully as the light embraced him and he was ripped into countless chunks of youkai flesh. As the debris rained back onto the meadow, Kagome ran over to her husband, who was busy grinning at the mess he had caused.

"Good shooting, woman," InuYasha said. His grin was broad and his amber eyes almost glowing at Kagome as he circled an arm around her waist. With his free hand, he rested Tessaiga over his shoulder. All in all, he seemed rather pleased. "You still have it, woman. And right at the right moment, too."

"Are you all right?" she asked, looking up at him. She brushed a bit of dust off his chin. Her eyes were nearly as worried as his were jubilant. "When I saw him hit you . . . "

"Feh," he said, unseating his sword and rotating his shoulder. "I'm made of tougher stuff than that. You know that." Sheathing Tessaiga, he brushed the dirt off his jacket and the knees of his hakama. "I might have a bruise, but doubt if it lasts an hour." He looked at her with a cocky grin. "Feels like old times, us fighting together, and you fussing over me after it's over like I was really hurt."

Kagome slung her bow over her head. "It does, doesn't it? But I forgot what it felt like to feel my heart in my throat when you fell this time."

He lifted up her chin. "I'm a hanyou, remember? I can take a lot before you need to worry." His cocky smirk faded into a true smile. "But still, it was really good to have you as backup again. That fall knocked the wind out of me. I might have had trouble getting out of the way without getting a whack. That was some number you did on his arm. You pack a pretty good wallop for someone who hasn't fought a youkai for a while."

She had a pleased grin on her face at his words of approval. "But I need more practice," she said. "I forgot the part that Hitomiko taught me, about using my own powers to push the arrow where I wanted it to go."

"Bah," InuYasha said. "It worked out fine. Wouldn't have been fair if you hadn't left me something to do." He gave her a quick peck on the lips. "You can't have all the fun."

Kagome just shook her head. "You have youkai guts in your hair," she said, noticing a bit of red nastiness in the silver next to his left ear. She turned to look back at what remained on the ground. "At least we don't have to sift through what's there looking for shards anymore. I won't miss that at all."

"Nothing quite like youkai guts, eh?" His amber eyes looked at her playfully. He reached up, and wiped a spot off her cheek. "Of course, sometimes the guts find you without trying."

"They do, do they?" she said, flicking off a tiny bit of dark red off of his arm, barely visible against the red of his jacket.

He looked into her eyes, a playful half-smirk on his lips, a look that slowly smoldered into something more than just the afterglow of the excitement of the battle. Her lips curled into a knowing smile.

With a sigh, he pulled back, stepping to the side of her as his arm went around her waist. "We better get out of here before something else nasty shows up. There's a hot spring not too far from here," he said in a voice that was too husky to be as casual as his words sounded. "Wanna go get cleaned up?"

Kagome laughed a little and smiled as she nodded. As he bent down to carry her out of the clearing on his back, she nuzzled one of his ears with her nose. He shivered slightly and his fingers gently caressed the back of her thighs.

"That's one difference than old times," she said. "You never tried to get me to go off with you alone to a hot spring after a battle back in those days, no matter how messy we were."

"Didn't mean I wouldn't have liked to, you know," he said. "I just knew it couldn't happen then, even with the way you looked at me. You looked just excited as I was a lot of the time. I'd be bouncing with energy after a good fight, and you'd give me that look, and your smell would drive me crazy. Probably needed cold water more than hot those times."

Her lips kissed the back of his neck. "You're right. I was excited. But you're right about the other thing, too. It couldn't have happened then. I was too young, and we had too much company. I was pretty scared of the thought of actually doing anything. Didn't mean I didn't daydream about it, though. I was old enough for that," she replied.

"Daydream, eh?" he said. "Probably a good thing I couldn't read your mind . . . or you read mine."

"So," Kagome said, "What sort of things did you daydream about?"

"You'll have to wait until we get to the spring before I tell you," InuYasha said. "Otherwise, we might never reach it. And I don't know a really good place to stop between here and there."

InuYasha leapt. Laughing, Kagome gave him a little squeeze as she held on, looking forward to whatever it was he was going to tell her.


	107. Chapter 107

_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 107**

_A/N - This chapter marks the one year anniversary since I started posting A Tale of Ever After (First chapter was posted December 2, 2011 on FF). Thank you everybody who's been reading! I appreciate your coming along with me as I share this vision of life after the Jewel Quest for our two friends. I hope you will continue to enjoy it!_

The route InuYasha took away from the battle site led them out of the pines. He was following a clearly marked, if narrow trail, some animal route going steeply up the side of a rise that was more rock and grass than forest.

"Is this where you were planning to bring me?" Kagome asked.

"One of the places I was thinking about, yes," he said, making a leap that had them bouncing across a short, stubby tree and onto the top of the ridge. He paused for a moment. "It's really isolated and away from everything. What do you think?"

Down below them was another mountain meadow. This one had no waterfall proper, but there was a spring bubbling out from the rock face, lined by moss and stone, and smelling lightly of minerals even from where they stood on the ridge. At the far end of the meadow, there was a gentle slope which led to a place where the trees began again and headed down the hillside.

"There's a good stream down in the valley," InuYasha said. "You can't see it here because of the trees. It's usually a good place to fish. We're a long way from the nearest village. Not even any hermits or yamabushi live near here. Or at least there weren't any nearby the last time I came through."

"It looks lovely," Kagome said.

He began half walking, half hopping down a fairly rough ridge. There were the occasional shrub or bit of grass, but it was mostly jagged and rocky.

"I can see why nobody comes here," Kagome said.

"It's easier from the stream side, but yeah, you really have to want to be here - it's hard for humans to reach, no matter which route you take. Birds, a few deer, rabbits . . . maybe a wild pig. I've never seen much else up here," the hanyou said.

As he leapt from boulder to outcropping, heading almost straight down, Kagome hugged his neck tightly.

"You're not scared, are you?" he asked, already knowing the answer. His hands held her to him securely.

"With you, never," she replied.

InuYasha hopped down the final bit of rock and landed in the meadow. It looked different once they reached the bottom. To the right forest covered the vista, following the landscape as it continued to rise. In front of them was the slope that led to the stream below. To the left, the spring shimmered. As InuYasha stopped and let Kagome slide off his back, she could hear almost nothing - the wind in the pines, the faintest sound of the water below. Somewhere a bird sang, announcing its presence, but that was it.

"Solitude," she said.

"Yeah," InuYasha said, wrapping his arm around her. "Kind of miss it sometimes down in the village. It never really gets quiet there, at least not to me."

Looking straight ahead, Kagome took in a view that made her throat catch. Hill after hill rose in the distance, some barren, some covered with greenery, but from where they stood, nowhere could she see sign of village or farmed field.

"It's amazing," she said. "What is this place?"

InuYasha put his arm around Kagome. "Don't know the name of it. I don't know if it even has a name, except maybe whatever the local kami call it. Unlike the guy back home, they don't make a habit of showing up to talk to me, so I never found out. Me, I just call it good. I come here sometimes just to think."

"I don't blame you," she said, walking around in a circle, looking up at the rock face they had come down and back at the vista in front of them. "Standing here, it'd be easy to believe you were the only person alive."

"Yeah. I don't think we have to worry about anybody bugging us here." He walked behind her and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her closer. "Your quiver's in the way."

She slung the strap across her head, and let it drop to the ground and pulled off the carry cloth. "I can fix that. Better?"

His hands snugged her close. "Much better."

They stood like that for a few minutes, looking at the view, looking at each other. InuYasha brushed his lips across hers and nuzzled the side of her neck, and Kagome could feel herself relaxing against him as his hands began to explore more than her waist. After a moment, he sighed.

"I better check to make sure nothing's going to sneak up on us. Two surprises in one day is more than I want. This place might be hard for humans to get to, but youkai are another story." He dropped his hands and stepped away from her, but not far.

"We'll need some firewood," she said. "Want to walk me to the trees over there so I can get started?"

He nodded. "Don't go in very far, all right? Not until I get back"

Kagome picked her bow and quiver back up, slipping them over her head. "Right."

They walked to the edge of the trees, and as InuYasha dashed off, she found enough deadwood to build a little fire, and headed back to near the spring.

Dropping the wood at a site she thought would make a good camp, Kagome picked up her carry cloth from where she had left it earlier, then walked around picking up some rocks. Passing a small tree standing near one of the pines, she started singing:

"In the center of the field  
>a little plum tree stands<br>a little plum tree stands,  
>in the center of the field<br>a little plum tree stands  
>do not take it lightly.<p>

"Yo, pine tree,  
>standing so tall<br>standing so tall -  
>Yo, pine tree,<br>standing so tall  
>don't take the plum tree lightly."<p>

She stood up and looked at the tree one more time, and picked up a rock at its feet."I promise not to take you lightly, little tree," the miko said, bowing, and then feeling silly, she hurried back to her campsite.

Humming the tune to her song softly to herself, she continued to work, making a fire ring with the rocks, and breaking the wood into usable pieces. Opening her carry cloth, she took out her tinderbox, and with just a little clumsiness, she managed to get the flint and steel to spark, and the sparks catch on a piece of tinder fungus. It didn't take long for her to blow it up into a real fire.

"Not bad, if I say so myself," Kagome said, feeding the little flame small bits of wood. "Only the third time, and the first time without InuYasha looking over my shoulder." She looked around. "Where is he, anyway?"

Shrugging, she took out a small jar she had been sure to bring with her, and turned it, examining it. "Looks like that made it here in one piece."

"What do you have there?"

Kagome looked up into her husband's eyes. "Oh, a surprise."

"Yeah?" InuYasha plopped down next to her. "What is it?"

She quickly recovered the container. "You'll find out . . . but not yet."

The hanyou chuckled. "I see you got the fire going. I told you that you could do it."

Kagome nodded. "That must mean I'm not just a helpless girl anymore." She smiled up at him. "What took you so long?"

"Never thought you were helpless, woman," InuYasha replied, smiling back. "I've seen you in action too many times. I know better." He held up a good sized fish. "Thought we might like some dinner."

"It looks delicious," Kagome said. "But I'm not ready to eat yet."

"If you're not ready to eat, how come you're not in the spring yet?" he said, laying the fish on the grass. "I expected you to be shoulder deep in water by now."

"Thought I'd wait for you," she replied, giving InuYasha a sultry smile. "More fun with the both of us."

It was a look that made him take a deep breath. "So what are you waiting for now?"

Kagome stood up, saw the fire in his eyes, and reached for her obi. "Nothing. But stay away from that jar."

"Why? Is it better than a bath with you?" he said, eyebrows arched as he began doing the same.

"You might think so," she replied, dropping her hakama, which she draped over the items that were in her carry cloth. Her chihaya soon followed. She looked over her shoulder. "Coming?"

He reached for the ties of his own clothes. "Couldn't keep me away."

As they walked to the spring he looked back over his shoulder, curious about what she might have brought. Kagome, shedding her kosode, noticed him and laughed. "Me or it?" She tugged on his hand.

Dropping his own kosode, he watched her bare form slip into the water. "Whatever you brought, it'd have to be pretty good to be better than this," he said. "Pretty good indeed."

"You can tell me later," she said, eyeing him as well as he stood there nude in the sunlight.

He grinned, and strutted into the water.

The water was hot, but not too hot for InuYasha's tastes. They scrubbed each other's hair, getting the last bit of detritus out, then just enjoyed the warmth.

"I wish my clothes cleaned themselves the way yours do, " Kagome said, bobbing in the water. "I'm pretty sure I'm going to have to wash my chihaya before we go. No way it could have stayed clean in that rain of bits."

"He did blow up really well," InuYasha said, nodding. "Dumb oni."

She moved over to sit next to him on a submerged rock. "You didn't have to fight him, you know. We had time to get away."

He pulled her close. "He'd have just kept wandering until he found someone who couldn't fight him back. Didn't want to give him the chance. That place looks isolated, but it's not too far from one of the main roads."

"You looked like you were enjoying yourself." She wrapped a bit of his silver hair around a finger and watched it unwind when she let go.

"Uh . . . " InuYasha said, looking at her hand. "Maybe it was something I actually knew how to do, and that felt good."

She looked up at him. "Easier than dealing with Aki?"

He chuckled. "Way more. I'd rather dodge oni clubs all day rather than try to figure out how to make a kid like him behave."

She joined in his laugh. "I bet you're not the only one in the village who shares that attitude."

He stared away into the water. "I just . . . " Shaking his head, he looked at her. "I thought we came here to get away from the village."

Kagome reached up and kissed his cheek. "So we did. Got anything in mind to take our minds off things?"

His eyes flashed and he gave her a cocky smirk. "Oh, I can think of a thing or two."

"Yeah? Like what?"

Suddenly, his arms were around her and he lifted her up out of the water. "You could tell me what you brought in that jar you didn't want me to see."

"Nope, not yet." She wrapped her arms around his neck as he began walking to the shore. "That's for dinner."

"Ah," he said. "It better not be sake."

That made her laugh. "I promise. It's not sake."

InuYasha let her down and she picked up her kosode. "I wish I had brought a towel," she said. "I didn't realize I'd be taking a bath."

"We'll dry," he said. "Nobody's around for miles. You don't even have to put on your kosode yet."

"But what if I get cold?" she asked, deciding to carry the garment rather than wear it.

"Oh," he said, his amber eyes filled with amusement and appreciation for the woman in front of him, "I suspect I can think of a thing or two."

She gave him a knowing look. "And we'd have to take a bath again, right?"

"Be worth it," he said, pulling her close. A drop of water ran down his bangs and landed on her chest.

"Maybe you should go shake off your hair. But make sure you do it away from the fire. I don't need a shower after just getting soaked." He chuckled as she walked over to the fire, stirred it and added some more wood. Picking up her hakama, she grabbed the carry cloth and wrapped it around her hair to wring some of the water off.

As he walked a safe distance away, he caught her looking at him and how her eyes drifted to more than just his face. Laughing, he bent over and shook off.


	108. Chapter 108

_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 108**

"My hair's going to be a mess," Kagome said. She was laying down on the ground, her ebony locks spread out to dry faster. Much to his chagrin, she had slipped on her kosode soon as her hair was wrung out, although she hadn't belted it. "I didn't think to bring my comb." She gave him a pouty frown. "It's not fair that your hair just falls in place."

"Can't help it," InuYasha said, smirking at her. His eyes, though, glowed in warm appreciation of what the kosode both hid and revealed. She had put it on because she was cold, she had told him, but it fell half open, revealing tantalizing glimpses of her pale skin. And where it did cover, it rested in interesting folds, outlining the shape of her thighs and curves of her breasts.

He had to break down too, and put on his hakama, because he had gone down to the stream to get them some drinking water. The ground was far too brushy to go down there in his all-together without ending up with more scratches than it was worth. That done, he had rejoined his wife, now sitting with his back to one of the trees that grew near the spring.

Kagome, looking at him with mock irritation, folded her arms over her chest, spoiling his view.

He laughed a little, and then patted the ground in front of him. "Come over here, and I'll finger-comb it. Before you decided you had to comb mine regularly, that's all I usually ever did for me anyway. It'll help."

Nodding she got up and sat down with her back to him. "Be careful. It's still kind of damp."

"I will," he said, as he gently began to comb through the silk of her hair, teasing out a few tangles. After a couple of minutes of that, he uncrossed his legs and nestled her closer to him.

"That feels nice," Kagome said, resisting the urge to lean backwards against his chest as he gently ran his fingers down her scalp and through the ebony black.

"Glad you like it." He lifted up a completed lock and tucked it over her shoulder, gently brushing a claw tip across the white skin of her neck. She shivered slightly, and backed a little closer to him.

"I like this place, too. So nice and private." Evidently, she had enjoyed the little touch, because she tilted her head forward, giving him better access to the area of her neck and back.

"Yeah," he said. "It's almost like it's a magic place - one with good magic." His fingers danced through her hair, stopping at a tangle. He picked the lock up and gently worked it free. "Nobody for miles. Just the sky and the wind and the trees and the grass." His hands dropped her hair and rested on the tops of her shoulders. "It's good to be with people, but sometimes, the quiet . . . "

"Sometimes, yeah." She crossed her arms in front of her chest and rested a hand on each of his, and leaned back into his chest.

In return he bent his head closer, to where she could feel his breath.

"I used to come here a lot when you were on the other side," he said, "especially when Miroku or the village was getting on my nerves. Since I started living there, I was always kind of worried that I'd do the wrong thing when I got wound up. You know what a jerk I can be when I'm like that."

"I wasn't going to say anything," Kagome said, smiling, "but . . . "

"Don't rub it in," InuYasha said, shifting his head so he could see the teasing warmth in the look she gave him. "This was one of the places that helped me let the anger go." He nuzzled her neck, and felt her shiver again in a good way at the contact. "As nice as it was alone, it's better here with you."

His hands slid off her shoulders and coasted down her sides to wrap around her waist, and he pulled her a little closer.

"We'll have to remember to come here again," Kagome said, letting her hands rest on his thighs. Her right hand began to draw random shapes along the red fabric as she talked. "I'm pretty sure there will be plenty of times things will happen at the village that will give us a reason to want to get away."

InuYasha kissed the top of her head. "Pretty sure you're right about that one. Maybe even more now that they're dragging me into everyday stuff, and I'm just not living on the fringes. You don't know how often I just don't know what to do or say. "

She twisted in his hold, and turned to face him, rising on her knees. "If that makes you cranky, just wait until the first festival we get pulled into. We'll probably want to come and spend a week here."

The look she gave him, and the scent of her skin sent shivers through his own body. But he waited, wondering what she had in mind.

It didn't take long to find out. Her mouth found his, a long but tender kiss, one that as she wrapped her hands around his neck, intensified. It grew into more than just one as he returned it.

They broke for air. "If we do, we need to bring more stuff." His voice was husky and his hands gathered her up and pulled her into his lap.

Her hand cupped his cheek as she looked up at him, eyes dark and half lidded, lit with a hungry fire.

"Like a blanket?" she asked

His mouth found hers again. "That'll do for a start."

Perfectly secure in their mountain meadow isolation, they let the world shrink to just the two of them, and they collapsed together on the green grass. Nothing mattered except the feel and taste of each other until Kagome pulled away suddenly.

"Ouch!" she said, breaking out of InuYasha's arms.

"What happened?" he said, leaning up on one arm.

Reaching behind her, she pulled out a broken twig. "Where'd that come from?" she said, throwing it away.

InuYasha frowned. "You got hurt? Let me see."

Kagome rolled over. There was a bright red mark on the back of her thigh where the stick had stuck her.

"At least it didn't break the skin, but you do have a little red mark." He rubbed it lightly with his thumb, then bent over and gave the red spot a little kiss.

She sighed. "Maybe if we move away from the trees . . . "

InuYasha shook his head. "Definitely need a blanket." He got up, walked over to his jacket and came back, spreading it on the ground. He unfastened his hakama. Kagome gave him a hot look as he stepped out of them, which made him laugh a little.

"Patience, woman," he said, grinning, and then rolling the hakama into a bundle, which he lay on the ground like a pillow. "Can't have you all scratched up. This will have to do for our futon today."

"It'll do," Kagome said, shucking off her kosode. Getting down and stretching out on top of his jacket, she held her arms open, and InuYasha lost no time stretching out beside her.

"I'll have to bring you here more often if this is what this place does to you," he said as she wrapped herself around him.

"It's just like one of my daydreams," she said, grabbing his forelocks, and pulling him close to brush her lips across his.

"Going to tell me more?" he asked when she let him breathe again.

"Maybe," she said, her eyes hot and her lips swollen, "I should just show you."

For a bit, they lay next to each other, eyes closed, hands busy, drinking in the taste of each other until they were nearly senseless. At one point, though, Kagome pulled up, and as InuYasha opened his eyes to see what she was doing, she gave him a wicked smile. "That's not all I daydreamed." She kissed the tip of his nearest ear, and felt it flick her nose as it moved at the sensation.

Her mouth brushed his lips, but as his hands reached up to pull her close, she whispered, "Not yet," and he let them drop back to the ground. With a gentle push on his shoulder, she nudged him onto his back.

Kagome leaned forward once again and kissed his collarbone, tasting the salt of his skin.

"Woman," he murmured, tilting his head back as she found the soft skin underneath his chin, dragging her tongue along it. He groaned. "What are you doing?"

"Pleasuring you," she said

She let her mouth slide down, kissing a line down towards his navel, her fingers dancing across his skin, along with her lips and her tongue.

"It's working." He swallowed hard as her fingers brushed his manhood, his eyes closed and his head lolled back on the red fabric roll. "Definitely working."

As she hit areas that he found particularly sensitive, he would moan, which intensified her attack. She moved back toward his throat.

With a hand on each of his shoulders, she rolled on top of him. He opened his eyes to see her smile at him wickedly, enjoying how she was affecting him.

"Now what, bold woman?" he breathed. "I see what happens when I bring you out into the wilderness."

"Bold woman, huh?" She laughed. "I'll show you bold." She ground her core against him, teasing his hardness, watching him roll his eyes back at the sensation. His hands found her waist, and as she leaned forward, his hands found her breasts, their weight heavy in his hands, and he brushed his thumbs across her nipples.

She, too, closed her eyes and tilted her head back while leaning into his touch. He arched up, bringing his mouth to the hardened tip of her left breast, running his tongue across it, then moving to the other. Kagome gasped a little and he slid his arms back around her, pulling her flat against him.

One hand tangled into her ebony hair as he found her mouth, but her arms wrapped around his neck as she returned his kiss aggressively, hungry, pulling him even closer.

With a quick motion, he rolled them over, his hips snugly between hers.

He stayed that way for a moment, resting his weight on his lower arms, gazing down into her blue-gray eyes, heavy with want. "My bold woman. You make me want you so much." His mouth found hers again, this time with a tender, gentle kiss, and then another.

She wrapped her legs around him. "Enough talk."

Sliding home, he agreed.

Afterwards, InuYasha lay there with Kagome pillowed on his arm. "It's getting late," he said.

"I guess," Kagome said, snuggling closer.

"So, do we want to spend the night here?" he asked, kissing the top of her head. "Or do you want to go home?"

With a sigh, Kagome sat up. "I didn't bring very much with me. Maybe we should try to go home." She reached for her kosode.

"That's what I was thinking. It can get pretty cool this time of year this high up." He watched her belt her kosode and walk over to the rest of her garments. "We could cook and eat the fish, and then head home if you want."

"Sounds like a good idea," she said, picking up her hakama. "You want to fix it? You're better with fish on a stick than I am."

He nodded, and walked over to where he left his kosode and fundoshi. Kagome, while enjoying the show, was busy getting her few things together, including her carry cloth, which she had hung up on a tree branch to dry.

"Hope we don't have too many more days like today," he said, wrapping himself up in his undergarment.

"It's ending pretty good," Kagome said as she tended the campfire.

"Yeah." He gave her a big grin. "A much better afternoon than morning."

It wasn't much longer before the fish was nearly ready to eat. When it was almost ready, Kagome pulled out the jar she had brought.

"Well," she said, handing him the container, "you wanted to know what was in it."

He looked at the jar curiously. "I had forgotten all about it." He gave her a wry smile. "You kind of distracted me there for a while."

"Did I?" she said coyly, giving him a grin."I almost forgot about it too, but you can open it."

He undid the stopper, and looked up at her with a big grin. "Pickles!"

She nodded, smiling. "I didn't think to bring towels or a comb, but I remembered to bring pickles for dinner." She leaned over and kissed his cheek. "Don't eat them all. I'd like one or two slices."

He handed her the fish for her dinner. "You can have all you want."

"Really?" She began to eat her fish.

"For putting up with me," he said, taking his own fish. "For making this afternoon special." He took a bite of one of his pickle slices. "That's worth at least three pieces!"

Knowing what she knew about her husband's love affair with pickled vegetables, she thought that was high praise indeed


	109. Chapter 109

_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 109**

The next day dawned bright and sunny. For once, Kagome was the first up.

This surprised her, since InuYasha was normally an early riser and a light sleeper. As she slipped out of bed, she watched him shift and move towards the warm spot she had vacated, but otherwise, he stayed asleep.

He looked too peaceful to disturb. Trying to make the least noise possible, she quietly got her day started - stirring up the fire, getting dressed, not in her miko robes, but instead, in her blue kosode and beige wrap skirt. She was even more surprised when she put the morning rice on, and he did nothing more than roll over.

"Yesterday must have taken a lot out of him," she whispered.

Not wanting to disturb him further, Kagome lifted the door mat as softly as possible and stepped out on the verandah, slops bucket in her hand, filled with water from her morning face and hand washing, along with the rice rinse water.

For a moment, she stood there, watching the morning unfold. It was clearly past dawn, but still fairly early, but not so late that the birds had finished their early morning greeting of the day. The sky held only a few wisps of cloud, and it promised to be pleasant and warm.

Kagome looked at the bucket in her hand. "I probably ought to go pour this on the garden," she said. "Doesn't look like we're going to get any rain today."

She was about to move off the verandah with her bucket, but before she moved off, her attention was caught by some birds nearby. It was courtship time, and one bird flew by and landed on a branch she could see from the porch and began courting the female sitting there. As she watched, putting the bucket down beside her, a third bird flew by, and the male of the courting pair dashed off to chase the interloper. Successful at his endeavor, he returned to the branch to begin his courtship dance all over.

"Such fighting, you birds! Kind of reminds me of Kouga and InuYasha." She smiled at the memory. "Those two sure went after it often enough."

"What does?" the hanyou said, stepping out on the verandah next to her. As the door mat rattled behind him, he wrapped his arms around her and rested his head on her shoulder.

"Oh, I was watching two birds fight over their girlfriend," she said, leaning back against him.

"Who won?" he asked, nuzzling the side of her head. It tickled her ear and made her jerk her shoulder up. In retaliation for her sudden move, he tucked her head under his chin.

"The InuYasha bird, of course," Kagome said, easily escaping his hold and turning around to give him a big smile. "Who else? The Kouga bird never really had a chance."

His eyes looked down on her, warm honey, still sleepy. "Oh yeah? I wonder if the InuYasha bird ever figured that out?"

"He should have. After all, the lady in question never tried to get away from him, no matter what the other guy said." She lifted up a hand and brushed the side of his face, letting her fingers move into his silver hair.

"Maybe he was insecure about it all," InuYasha said. A smile touched his lip, but his eyes, golden in the early light, held a surprising intensity. "Or maybe he was even scared that she would leave him." His hand slid under her chin and a single folded knuckle tilted her head up.

"Well, it all worked out," Kagome said, letting her hand move behind his neck. "After all, she was still there when he got back."

"Yes she was." His lips brushed against hers lightly, deepening into a tender, lingering kiss. "And maybe he's glad now that he'll never have to worry about that again."

"Maybe he is. I know she is," she said, and returned him his kiss, just as tenderly.

Kagome pulled back, looked up at him and smiled, as if she had just realized something. "Today's the fourteenth day since I've been back. We've been together for two weeks now."

InuYasha cupped her cheek. "Already? It feels like just yesterday when I was pulling you out of the well . . . and forever, all at the same time."

"It does, doesn't it?" she said, nodding. "In a good way. It's beginning to feel like the me who lived before I came back is kind of someone else. Once upon a time, there was a girl named Kagome, but that's an old story. Now there's a woman called Kagome, InuYasha's wife."

InuYasha nodded. "Yeah. It's been damn amazing. I wouldn't trade these days for the world . . . except maybe the part dealing with Joben's brat or that cat. But everything else . . . "

They kissed again, and afterwards, Kagome rested her head against InuYasha's chest. "You really slept in this morning. I thought you never were going to get up."

He shrugged. "Some days, even I get tired," he admitted, scratching the back of his head. "Must have needed it. It's rare I sleep like that. You didn't put any medicine in that tea we had last night, did you?"

She laughed and shook her head. "Would I do that?"

"I doubt it," he said, smiling back. "Anyway, I'd smell it if you did." His grin turned rueful and his ear flicked. "I'm just looking for an excuse. Got to protect my reputation." He pulled her close and kissed her forehead.

Chuckling lightly, Kagome pulled free. "I think you had excuse enough. Yesterday and the day before were pretty crazy," she said, picking up the bucket. "But today looks to be much nicer. First, though, I'm going to go get rid of the stuff in this bucket." She stepped off the verandah, and started walking around the side of the house to pour the water on her garden.

He walked out with her. "Nicer, eh? Have anything to do with the fact that you're not dressed in your miko clothes yet?"

She turned and looked at him. "Maybe so. Kaede told me I could have the day off, so I'm taking it," she said. Having reached the turned ground, she began to carefully pour the water from her bucket onto the garden soil, being careful not to disturb it too much. "Think you can deal with it? Not having to go down into the village?"

InuYasha grinned. "Think you can deal with me? No Kaede to kick me out of the room while you're doing your work."

She chuckled. "Deal with you? That's easy," she said, putting the bucket down. Kagome looked around and back toward the house. "It definitely looks different than when we left yesterday. Hard to believe that all the mess Aki made running out of here is all gone."

"Yeah. I guess Kinjiro got it all straightened back up after we left." InuYasha said, looking himself. All the wood that Aki had knocked over was back in its place, and the garden looked untrampled.

"It'd be easy to pretend that yesterday didn't happen, except I don't want to pretend away the good parts," she said, looking up at her husband from where she squatted down. Her look went from attentive to sultry. "Those I don't want to forget."

"Me either," InuYasha said, returning her look with one just as heated. "Something about seeing you standing in the sunlight just wearing your skin . . . "

Kagome laughed and gave him a playful shove as she started to stand up, but then something caught her eye in the garden bed. She moved closer, then bent down, looking at one row of the dark earth and spotted little specks of green where a few seedlings had pushed through. "Look, something's growing!"

The hanyou raised an eyebrow, looking at Kagome counting the little sprouts. "That's what seeds do," he said. He gave a little smirk as she turned to look at him. "Or at least that's what Kinjiro assures me of."

"I suspect," Kagome said, grinning as she stood up and brushed her hands off, "that he would know. We'll have to have him come back in a few days to tell me if these are what he planted or weeds. I don't know enough to tell the difference when they're this little."

She picked up her bucket.

"You might not know how to tell weeds from daikon, but do you know how to tell a hungry husband from one that's not?" InuYasha asked, taking the bucket from her hands.

"Oh, I suspect so," Kagome said, chuckling a little "A hungry husband gets grumpy if he waits too long. I wouldn't want that to happen. Want to go back in and see what I do about it?"

"Sounds like a good plan to me," he said, and as Kagome laughed, he followed her back in.

Back in the house, Kagome put the rice on to start cooking, while InuYasha picked up the futon. Together, they went outside to take the futon out to air.

"So, what do you want to do today?" InuYasha asked as he helped straighten the bedding on its line.

"Oh, home stuff," Kagome said. "So what do you want to do?" she asked, moving back in the direction of the house.

InuYasha shrugged. "I might go hunt up something for dinner. I could finish limbing that tree. There's not very much left to do on it. Feels funny, not having anything I have to do today. Forgot what it felt like to choose."

Kagome laughed. "Doesn't it? That must mean everybody's been keeping us too busy. Maybe by tomorrow, I'll be bored, but today, I'm just going to do whatever and take it easy in between."

They went back in and Kagome worked on fixing the breakfast soup.

"There's a market day next week," InuYasha said, bringing some more wood for the fire pit out of its cradle in the beaten earth doma. He sat down and stacked it where it would be handy. "They only have three a month, so you might want to think if there's anything we need."

"I'll have to make a list," she said, looking up from stirring some vegetables into the soup. "I've been so busy the last few days I don't even know if we're getting low on anything. I guess I'm still used to doing things the way they do them back . . . at my mother's place. I'm too used to being able to go to the merchants whenever I run out of things."

The hanyou nodded. "Around here you'd have to get to a town and not just a village to find a real merchant's shop. Not many in Musashi."

"Is that why Miroku keeps talking about going to Odawara?" she asked, putting the lid on the pot.

"I guess," he said. "Not something I'm looking forward to."

"You really think he's going to make a trip there?" she asked, getting up to get to her stash of pickles in the kitchen cabinet.

"Yeah. Usually when he starts talking like that, he's pretty much made up his mind. You want me to fill up the tea kettle for you?" he asked.

She nodded and handed the pot to him, and he walked over to the water container and ladled it full.

"That's why he's been pushing to get that temple of his reroofed. He'll be nagging at us to go before the rainy season gets underway. And probably everybody who has some special thing they want that they can't get at market day will be asking us if we'd pick it up, too." Walking back to his place, he sat down and put the kettle on the fire.

"It sounds like you've been through this before," she said, putting pickles into serving dishes.

"I have."He nodded. "Twice already to get things for that little temple of his." Kagome handed him a pickle.

"What's that for?" he asked.

"Maybe it's for all the time you'll have to go without them when you're out with Miroku," Kagome said, giving him a little sympathetic smile. She lifted the lid off the rice pot. "But I hope he doesn't drag you away very soon."

"Me, too," he said, and chewing the pickle slice, watched her finish dipping up their breakfast.


	110. Chapter 110

_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 110**

As Kagome cleaned up after breakfast InuYasha went outside to work on his firewood.

"Kinjiro did a good job," he said, admiring the stack that Aki had knocked down the day before. "I wonder how Daisuke-jiji is doing for firewood? Maybe I should think about taking some down tomorrow."

InuYasha was about to take off his jacket and get to work when Kagome came out of the house. She didn't say anything, so he stopped what he was doing as he watched her look thoughtfully up at the sky.

He looked at her curiously."What are you thinking about, woman?"

"I really ought to do some laundry. I never did get my chihaya washed yesterday," she said. "I was just checking the weather."

"It's not going to rain, if that's what you're worried about," he said, walking over next to her. "But I thought you said you wanted to take it easy. You call doing laundry taking it easy?"

Kagome gave him a wry little turn of her lips, amused. "I need to do it sometime. It feels like a good time to do it."

The hanyou shrugged. "Not my idea of relaxing, but then, here I am chopping wood." He gave her a small smile, amused at his own words. "If it makes you happy, why not? Want me to fill up the tub?"

Kagome beamed at him. "Would you? It's more work carrying the water than washing the clothes."

He walked over and grabbed the big tub from where it rested in the front of the house. "Sure. Why not?"

"Maybe it is silly of me to want to work. But it's not learning more about how to make medicines," Kagome said as Inu began to move the big tub. "Or even more tiring, going to meetings to deal with bad boys. It'll be nice for a change. I'll go get the things that need washing." She walked back inside.

Not exactly sure about his wife's reasoning, he decided not to try to understand it, and instead, just carried the tub to its place near the clothesline.

A sparrow landed next to the futon. "Hey, bird, get away from there. She doesn't need to be washing the futon, too!"

The bird turned its head, looking at him quizzically for a moment, then flew off.

"Must be something about birds today," he said. "I shouldn't complain too much, I guess. They started my day off nice. But," he said, shaking his fist at the nearby trees, "no messing with the futon!"

A bird began to squawk as he finished. Smiling, he headed back to the house to get the water bucket.

As he stepped inside, he found Kagome going through their things, making a small pile that included her miko robes. She picked up a clean under kosode. "Here, put this on," she said. "Your shirt needs washing more than this one does."

"Isn't that the one Hisa gave you when Tameo added you to the family?" he said, surprised. "You want me to wear your undershirt?"

"Hisa may have given it to us," Kagome said, "but I like the ones that have pocket sleeves. This one's cut with sleeves like the ones on your shirt. And yours really needs washing. After all that running yesterday . . . "

"Feh," he said, shrugging off his jacket, and taking off his under kosode. "It's been dirtier. You're sure I can wear that one?"

Kagome nodded, took his kosode and laid it next to the one she wanted him to wear. The cleaner one was just a little longer, but about the same width. In most other ways, it looked identical. "Looks like it'll work."

"Yeah," he admitted. "Just don't tell Miroku. He'd tease the hells out of me."

"I promise," Kagome said, "Although the one I'm making for you looks just like this one, too. He'd never know it was mine. Sango cut out the shirt I'm making for you, too. And it looks just like this. I bet Miroku's look just the same."

"He likes pocket sleeves, too," he said. "You should see all the stuff the twins give him to hold sometimes." He grinned. "It's a wonder he can lift his arms."

"I can believe that. I've seen how good at finding things Yusuko is, especially." She walked up to him and rested the palms of her hands on his chest, admiring his build, then looking up at his face. "It's a shame."

"What is?" InuYasha asked, resting his hands on hers.

"That you need to cover that up." She drew circles with her hands across his chest. "If I could, I'd have you run around like this all day." The smile she gave him was sultry. "That's a sight I'm much rather see."

"Like yesterday, bold woman?" he asked, giving her a smirk every bit as sultry. "I wouldn't mind if you were dressed the way you were yesterday, either."

"You mean splattered with youkai guts?" she asked, raising an eyebrow in mock disbelief.

"You know what I mean," he said as he leaned forward, close enough that she could feel his breath. "More like how you were dressed after your bath, with nothing but a towel around your head."

She giggled and tiptoed up to give him a quick kiss. "Then we'd never get anything done."

"True, which is why I need to put on a kosode," he said, letting her go, and bending down to pick up the garment she laid out for him. "And if I want to get my own shirt back, I guess I have to let you get busy, and not parade around like I did yesterday, even if you like the view." He shrugged it on.

"Yes, you do," Kagome said, picking up the dirty kosode and tossing it into the stack of clothes to be washed. "But it doesn't mean I don't like what I saw."

She continued to gather their dirty laundry together, but grinned at the look he gave her, hungry, with the promise of business to finish later as InuYasha grabbed the water bucket.

"Get your laundry, woman," he said, and headed out of the door.

He had gotten the first two buckets in the tub, and was filling the third when he heard a familiar jingle coming down the pathway. Lifting up the bucket, he turned to see Miroku heading up the path toward the house. Taking his water, he walked back to washing area and poured it into the tub.

"Laundry day?" Miroku asked, looking at the tub of water. "Kagome's home today?"

InuYasha shrugged. "Kaede-babaa told her to take a day off. This is what she wanted to do."

"The things women think are relaxing," Miroku said, shaking his head. "I'll never quite understand it."

Kagome came out about then, carrying a basket with her laundry. "Hello, Miroku. Getting ready to make your rounds?" She walked over to the tub of water, which she examined. "I think I need another bucket of water" she said, looking at InuYasha, who nodded. Kneeling down next to the tub, she put in a few pieces to start soaking.

"Not really," Miroku said, watching her start her washing. "I think I badgered everybody enough yesterday. If I start again today . . . "

InuYasha started walking back to the stream.

"They might think less of you?" the miko replied, pushing one of the kosodes down deeper into the water when it tried to float to the surface.

Miroku smiled, not admitting anything. "I will stop by to check on Haname later, I think."

Kagome nodded. "How was she doing yesterday?"

"Tired. Weak. Sad," the monk replied.

"I hope it all works out," she said, beginning to knead the water through the clothes in the tub.

"Indeed. Maybe, though, Haname will see what a good girl she has in her granddaughter. Setsuko has been very helpful. I don't know how that family ended up the way they are." He sighed, and shook his head. "To change the subject, Sango wants to know if you're planning on coming over today." He shifted his staff, which made the rings jingle. "I think she's a bit nervous about tomorrow, to be honest."

Kagome looked up at the monk. "Nervous? Why?"

Miroku nodded. "About going to visit Hisa tomorrow. It would be good for her to go, but . . . " The monk shrugged. "Someone in the village, I don't know who, must have made her feel unwelcome at the women's meetings before. But if you make a push, I'm sure she'd be willing to go. It'll be easier for her, not being alone."

"I know Hisa-obasan really wants her to come," Kagome said. She picked up one of the garments in the tub, examined it, and began scrubbing a particularly soiled spot before dunking it back in the water. "I'll be sure to stop in later."

"Good, good." Miroku nodded his head. "And don't forget Momoe. You promised to give her home a blessing, and when I came to get you yesterday, you were gone."

"Oh!" Kagome said, dropping the cloth back into the water. "I absolutely forgot. After InuYasha had to run after Aki . . . "

"We had other things we had to do," InuYasha said. He walked over to the tub and poured his bucket into the tub.

"Ah," Miroku said. "I let Momoe know we'd come back on the next auspicious day. Yesterday really wasn't a good day for a blessing, anyway. The next good one is in three days."

Kagome gave him a grateful look. "Thanks. I wanted to talk to Kaede about that before I do it, too."

"Not a bad idea," the monk said. "I'm sure she's had more experience, and knows what Momoe will be expecting a miko to do." He turned to InuYasha. "Kinjiro told me about your interesting afternoon yesterday. You caught Aki after he tried to run away?"

"Baka cut the rope Kinjiro had used to hobble him, knocked over as much of my firewood as he could manage, and headed for a hidey hole not far from Daitaro's place," InuYasha said. "I feel sorry for Kinjiro dealing with that brat. He's a real mess right now." The hanyou put the bucket he was holding down.

"I wouldn't feel too sorry," Miroku said. "Last I saw, Kinjiro had hobbled him with a chain. They were cleaning up some mess over by Daitaro's place, and he was complaining about how the chain felt on his legs. That was not a happy boy."

"Those are two stubborn people, Aki and Kinjiro." InuYasha walked over to the other side of the house with Miroku in tow. "It's going to be like hitting two rocks together, chips and sparks flying off from time to time. Still, my money's on Kinjiro. At least he has more experience at being stubborn than that brat."

"It will be interesting to see who gives in first," the monk said, nodding. "But Daitaro is no fool. Either that boy will be ready to settle down by the time he goes to the old man's house, or he'll be so rebellious that they'll have to think of something else to do with him."

"Yeah." InuYasha took off his jacket and picked up his axe. "He's a smart one, that old man. Me, I think Aki'll settle down. It's not all sparks and fireworks. I've listened to Kinjiro talk to the boy. He might even learn something. But I guess we'll see." He walked over to the tree he'd been limbing. "So how's tomorrow looking?"

"We'll have plenty of help. I've got promises from about ten people." Miroku sat down.

"I hope they're better at roofing than I am," InuYasha said. "I remember how stupid I felt when I put the roof on my own house. I was lucky people had pity on me."

"Oh, I remember," Miroku said, sitting on the ground near the house. "Ryota was very nice, rescuing you that way."

"He didn't rescue me," InuYasha said. "Just kept me from being any more of an ass than I already felt like that day. Started putting roofing mud down before I had sheathed enough of the roof. I'd have gotten out of there eventually. I just didn't want to have to break anything while I was at it." The hanyou picked out a limb and let his axe go to work.

"Whatever you want to call it, InuYasha. Still, I would have liked to have seen it," Miroku said.

"Probably a good thing you didn't," InuYasha said. "The way you tease, you might not have been here to see your son born."

"Point taken," the monk agreed, chuckling. "Kwannon is merciful."


	111. Chapter 111

_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 111**

Leaving InuYasha to his work, Miroku headed down the hill toward the center of the village. As he neared the turnoff to Daitaro's house, he found Daitaro and Tsuneo leaning against a fence, talking. Okuro, Daitaro's prize bull grazed contentedly in the field behind the fence, ignoring the two men even though they were looking in his direction.

Once again, the monk's staff gave him away, and the two men turned to the road and watched him near. The bull snorted, looked, and turned back to his grazing.

"Yo, Houshi-sama!" Daitaro called out once he was within easy talking distance. "Out to see which village wife needs a good talking to about how to reach Paradise?"

"Village wives have as much right to salvation as any," Miroku said, walking up to the two men.

"True," Daitaro said, nodding as he turned to face the newcomer, but he gave Miroku a conspiratorial wink.

"Actually," Miroku said, coughing a bit at the old farmer's words, "I'm off to say sutras for Haname-sama. I believe in her case, there is more need than just preaching about the Buddha's way. "

Tsuneo turned to look at the monk. The strain of the last few days was clearly marked on his face, but something warmed in his eyes at Miroku's words. "Good man," he said. "My poor woman could use all the prayers you want to say. I don't know exactly what that bastard of a yamabushi did to her, but she had nightmares all last night." He spit. "Maybe what the kami did to him was what he deserved, but I'll be glad when I don't have to see his ugly face around my house anymore."

"Heaven sees things with different eyes than we on earth do," Miroku replied, clapping the man on his shoulder. "But I can understand your frustration."

"Good answer," Daitaro said. "About all anybody can say right now. Maybe it'll make more sense later."

Miroku nodded, and looked at Tsuneo thoughtfully for a moment. "When I stop by, I can leave her with this ofuda that might help," he said, reaching in his sleeve for a piece of paper marked with arcane symbols in black and red inks. He gazed down on it. "It can soothe the soul who's had magical abuse. I had planned on giving it to her today." He looked back up at the old farmer, sympathetically. "But if it's grief alone, I'm not sure it'll help with that. Grief is something that only time heals."

"If it can help," Tsuneo said, giving him an understanding nod of the head, "please do it. Even if it doesn't work on what's wrong with her, she might take some comfort from having it near her."

The monk nodded in return. "I'll do it, then." He started to walk off, but Daitaro stopped him.

"Is InuYasha back?" the old farmer asked. "I went up there yesterday afternoon, but they had gone."

"Evidently, they had some business to take care of," Miroku said, leaning on his staff. "He never did tell me what. But they're home now."

"Business?" the old farmer said. He scratched under his neck. "Probably the business of getting away from all of us for a while."

"He does that from time to time," Miroku agreed. "Although why he would want away from such excellent company . . . "

Daitaro barked a laugh, but Tsuneo nodded. "Don't blame him," he said, leaning back on the fence railing. "After yesterday . . . "

"Eh, well it's over," Daitaro said, shrugging. "Still, we may have dropped a lot on him that he's not used to dealing with, growing up wild like he did. One step at a time, that's what I always say. At least he came back."

"And I need to make the next step," Tsuneo said, pushing off from the fence railing. "Time to check out what he needs for that outbuilding of his."

"Want some company while you're at it?" Daitaro asked. "Be more interesting than trying to keep out of Chime's way this morning."

"Why not?" Tsuneo said, giving his friend a smile. He turned to the monk. "If you make it to my place, tell them I'll try to be home for lunch."

Miroku nodded. "Until later, friends." He headed down the road.

"He's not your usual monk," Tsuneo noted, watching Miroku head down towards the village.

"Well, I like him better than the proper monks I saw down in Odawara," Daitaro said, "The ones I saw were full of themselves and their holy ways, with damn little time for plain farmers."

"And grasping," Tsuneo added. He began walking in the opposite direction, heading up the hill. "The ones I've seen always have their hands held out."

"I'm not for sure that our houshi-sama's quite free of that particular trait, from some of the talk I've heard on market day," Daitaro said, chuckling as he followed. "I've heard he charges a lot to the big guys who hire him, although I've never really seen him turn away a poor man. But at least he doesn't do it here."

"A wise man," Tsuneo said. "And handy for us."

"True, true. And he has a good woman that keeps him in line," Daitaro said, grinning. "Even handier, with his eye for women."

Tsuneo guffawed. "Oh, I remember her big weapon. I'd stay in line if that was being aimed at my head," Tsuneo said. "Glad Haname never learned to use something like that."

"I hear they locked it up in the shrine," the old farmer said. "Might be a reason for that."

"Then it's probably a good thing your woman isn't trained the way the monk's wife is, either." Tsuneo grinned at his companion. "Otherwise, that head of yours would have surely been cracked long years ago."

"You might be right," Daitaro said, nodding. "Chime's never tried to brain me yet, and that might be the why of it. But if anything else goes wrong before the wedding she might just do it."

"Then you need to make sure it doesn't," the elder said. "I'd hate to have to go to your funeral. Where would I get my sake?"

Laughing, the men continued up the road.

While the two men walked on, InuYasha was nearly finished limbing the last of the trees he had chopped down. He flashed his axe one last time, and the final branch that needed to be trimmed came off the tree. Putting the tool aside, he grabbed the top of the trunk and began dragging it to where the other two he had already trimmed lay in their corner of the yard.

As heavy as it was, the tree gouged a trail in the dirt behind it. Right before he laid it down, Tsuneo and Daitaro made their way to the side of the house and watched, walking up that gouged dirt trail.

"Now that's rather amazing, one man pulling all that," Tsuneo said. "And not even using a chain or rope. Never saw anybody do something like that before, not without an ox."

"I've seen him do that type of thing before," Daitaro said, "And more. That boy has some power in those arms of his."

"Yesterday, he seemed just like one of the other young men," Tsuneo said. "A little wet behind the ears, but with a good heart. I knew some of the stories, but when he's just sitting there . . . "

"He really is," Daitaro said. "Just has these extra talents. Don't let those things color the truth of what you saw yesterday. I've been watching him a while. That was the real man we saw yesterday."

Tsuneo nodded. "I believe you."

InuYasha's ears flicked at their voices, the only sign that let them know that he knew they were there. Daitaro stepped up along side of the log. "If more people saw you do that, InuYasha, they'd sell off their oxen and just hire you instead."

InuYasha dropped the trunk into place, then dusted his hands off. He grinned at his company. "And if they did that, where would you be, old man?" he said. "Who would bring their cows to you and your bull?"

"Old Okuro would miss all the cows, that's true." Daitaro said, nodding. "And it'd be damn hard to keep him restrained. He'd be a moonstruck lover, looking for all his lost lady friends."

"You're too fond of that old monster," Tsuneo said, shaking his head. "Moonstruck lover."

"Well, why not?" Daitaro said. "He's been a good fellow. Lots of healthy children. We should be as lucky as him when it comes to all the ladies he's had his pleasure with."

"Good thing Chime isn't here listening," InuYasha said, picking up his axe and moving it to its place near the firewood rick.

"Oh, she knows him well enough by now," Tsuneo said, grinning, while giving Daitaro a friendly shove. "I doubt there's anything left to say that would shock her."

Daitaro snorted and rubbed his cap back along his head. "You're probably right," he said. "But she knows I'm all mouth. It's been a long time since I ended up sleeping in the barn."

"Maybe she just decided it wasn't worth it," InuYasha said, getting a drink from his bucket. "Too much effort on a lost cause."

"I suspect so," Tsuneo said, looking knowingly at his friend. Daitaro guffawed.

"So," InuYasha said as he watched the two old men, "What brings you two up here, besides the urge to tell bad jokes?"

"Ah, friend," Tsuneo said, attempting to regain a more dignified look. "The bad jokes are all Daitaro's fault. But as for me, I'd thought I'd come up to take a look at what you were talking about yesterday. The monk's not the only one who can organize work parties. That building of yours won't build itself by wishing."

With a nod, InuYasha dropped the ladle back in the water bucket. "I hope you know more than I do about what to do next." He began walking to the limbed tree trunks. "Here's my wood."

Tsuneo and Daitaro looked that the trimmed tree boles carefully, walking around them. Tsuneo tried to roll one over but couldn't. InuYasha gave it a little shove, and it turned.

"Those look like they'll make a fair bit of board," Tsuneo said, scratching under his chin as he considered them. "Still Choujiro'll need to look at them. He really is the best in the village at this sort of thing. They might split up, but he might want to saw them."

"Splitting takes less work," Daitaro said, tugging on his beard. "And the boards are usually stronger."

InuYasha crossed his arms, tried to slip his hands in his sleeves, and realized he wasn't wearing his jacket. He unfolded his arms and for a moment, he just stared at his fingers.

"But splitting takes more skill and the right trees," Tsuneo said. "We'll let him be the judge. He won't saw if he doesn't need to. Takes two people to do it right, anyway, but some trees you just can't split."

"True, true," Daitaro said. "And there's no good place here to set up a sawing pit."

InuYasha shrugged, not knowing that much about the subject. "Is it going to be enough?"

"Maybe," Tsuneo said. "We'll know more once it's in boards. Let's go see where you want to put the building up."

Kagome heard the men's voices talking about trees and boards, but wanted to get the last of her laundry done, and, since everything seemed to be going well, left them in InuYasha's hands.

She was on her last garment, her chihaya, the white jacket she wore as part of her miko clothes. The other things fluttered in the breeze as they hung up to dry, but the chihaya was being stubborn, not releasing the stains from her run-in with the oni.

"I wish, wish I had thought to bring a bar of soap with me when I came back here," she said. It wasn't the first time she voiced that thought while she was working. Scrubbing the garment longer didn't seem to do anything for the spots she was trying to get rid of. "Stupid youkai guts. Maybe if I put some vinegar in the water. Mama always swore by that."

She left it in the water, and went back into the house. Coming out, she carried a bucket and her vinegar jar. Putting the jacket and a fair amount of water in the bucket, she poured a hefty slug of vinegar into it as well.

"That's going to need some time. I think Mama always said to let it soak at least an hour. Maybe I'll go see Sango for a while and rinse it when I get back."

Drying her hands on her wrap skirt, she put up her vinegar, then went around the back to where the men were still talking.

Tsuneo paced off a square, and looked around him. "I think the location is good. There's enough room here. It shouldn't shade the garden."

"Miroku and Sango helped me pick the spot," InuYasha said.

Tsuneo nodded. "Looks like a good decision."

Daitaro frowned as he looked at the forest beyond the clearing. "What about that tree?" he asked, pointing to an oak tree that grew behind the area they were looking at.

"What about it?" Tsuneo said.

"Won't it be too close to the shed?" the old farmer asked. He moved over to the tree and looked up at it. "It's getting old and hollow. Be bad if a storm blows up and it falls."

Tsuneo turned around and looked at the landscape. "Doesn't look like it's tall enough."

"Eh, maybe you're right," Daitaro said, stroking his beard. "Let me pace it off." He began walking back towards the site Tsuneo was standing at.

InuYasha took a deep breath and rolled his eyes.

Kagome, watching her husband, worked hard at not laughing at the look on his face. She walked up to him. "Hey."

All the men turned to her as she spoke.

"Ah, Kagome-chan!" Daitaro said. "Having a good day?"

"I think so," she replied. "While you're busy here, I'm going to go to Sango's for a while. I had to soak my last piece of laundry. I'll rinse it out when I get back, so you can leave the tub where it's at."

InuYasha nodded. "I'll come down when we're through here."

Bidding the men farewell, she stopped to get her sewing basket, and headed down the hill.


	112. Chapter 112

_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 112**

Rin had shown up early at Sango's. Before Miroku had left for InuYasha's, he had been coaxed into watching his daughters while Sango and Rin had crawled over a long length of white cloth inside.

Now, after the girls had tired themselves out pretending to be dragons and Miroku had gone off to talk to InuYasha and visit Haname down in the village, the girls were playing more quietly, and Rin looked at long rectangles of cloth laid out in front of her.

"So, Sango-obachan, you really think I'm ready to sew a kosode by myself?" Rin asked. She touched the pile of pieces in front of her and then the two lengths of cloth she held in her lap. "It seems . . . so much." She ran her finger over the little bit she had already sewn. The rest of the fabric spilled over her lap, covering her up as she worked, making her seem even slighter than she was.

"I do," Sango said, smiling encouragingly. "I know I was making one for you, but you're doing well enough you need to start on one of your own." She didn't have any sewing on her lap. Instead she had a comb in one hand, and the other hand was wrapped around her daughter Noriko, who was sitting on her lap, wiggling and playing with a small doll while Sango tried to comb her hair. Her other daughter, Yusuko, was stacking some small wood shapes one on top of the other, and laughing when they tumbled down. Her son Naoya was taking a nap in his basket cradle, somehow able to sleep through all of his sisters' noise.

Noriko leaned forward as her mother worked, babbling a singsong rhyme that neither Rin nor Sango could quite make out.

"Stop moving, Noriko-chan," Sango said, pulling her daughter closer. "The sooner I do this, the sooner you can go play." Noriko pouted, putting the doll in the crook of her arm where she began to rock the doll.

Chika, the small cat Miroku had brought home, jumped on Rin's sewing.

"No, no, Chika-chan. Rin can't sew if you're using the cloth for your bed," the girl said, picking the small cat up and putting her down on the mat beside her. "You need to find another place for your nap. Rin's cloth won't work."

Sango narrowed her eyes and looked at the cat."If she keeps trying to do that, Chika-chan will be sitting outside looking for a nap in the grass."

Shaking her head at the idea, the cat began to lick her paw, then curled up into a ball next to Rin, content for the moment to sleep in a pool of light from the window.

Rin smoothed the cloth back out and began to sew again.

"Undergarments like this aren't that hard to make, since you don't have to match fabric designs or patterns," Sango said. "Putting the collar on can be a little tricky, and I'll help you with that if you need it, but the rest of it's fairly simple sewing. I watched how good you've gotten already at what you do, and I know you can handle that. But fancy kosode are made just about the same way. If the fabric has checks or designs, you just match up the fabric so they look good together. And sometimes you put a lining in. That's a bit more work, but it's not that much more different. So once you do this, you'll be able to make much nicer ones."

Rin looked at the fabric in her lap, then looked back at Sango, looking doubtful. "You're sure?"

The older woman chuckled. "Oh yes. With everybody I have to keep in clothes here, I know. I've had a lot of practice."

Rin gave her an uncertain grin, and nodded, getting back to her stitching while Sango finally got Noriko to sit still long enough to get the girl's hair into position for her hair bow.

There was a knock on the door.

"Could you get that, Rin-chan?" Sango asked. "My hands aren't quite free yet." She began wrapping the girl's hair with a piece of ribbon.

Rin nodded, looking a bit happy as she put down her sewing, glad for a chance to get away from the fabric for the moment. Sliding open the door, she beamed at the person standing there. "Kagome-obasan! Rin was hoping you'd come by today. She missed seeing you yesterday."

"Hello, Rin-chan, I'm sorry, too." Kagome gave the girl a big smile. "Yesterday was so busy that I just didn't get a chance to come over," she said, stepping inside. She put her sewing basket down on the edge of the wooden floor platform as she walked into the beaten earth doma. "But you're here earlier than I thought you would be."

Rin slid the door closed behind her. "Kaede-obaasan was going to check up on Haname-sama and Sayo-obasan and Isao-kun this morning, and thought Rin would like it better to visit Sango than follow her doing her rounds or staying at home. But she was surprised when Kaede told her you were taking the day off."

"You're taking the day off?" Sango asked, looking up at the young miko she sat down on the edge of the raised floor.

"Yes," Kagome said, nodding as she slipped off her sandals, leaving them near the door. "Kaede-obasan thought I could use it after the last two days. With everything that's happened, I think she was right."

"I can believe that," Sango said, letting loose of Noriko, who toddled out of her lap. "I hear yesterday was almost as . . . entertaining . . . as the day before. Miroku had some interesting stories to tell about Aki-kun's behavior." She stood up to get the tea kettle.

"You could say that," Kagome said, stepping up on the wooden platform. "And it wasn't just what happened with Aki-kun, either. I had a rather interesting talk with Haname-obasan yesterday, too."

Noriko made a beeline for the young miko. "Obasan!" She held her arms up, waiting to be picked up.

"Don't let her be too much of a pest," Sango said, filling the kettle and putting it on the fire.

"You're glad to see me, Noriko-chan?" Kagome asked, with a big smile.

The little girl nodded. Kagome bent over, picked the girl up, and carried her next to Sango, where she sat down. Yusuko, seeing what her sister was up to, tried going to Kagome as well, but her mother grabbed her as she passed by.

"Time to do your hair, now, pretty girl," Sango said. "So what happened with Haname?"

Yusuko frowned, but let her mother hold her and begin to work the comb through her hair.

"She was definitely not the person she seemed to be the day before," Kagome said. "It was . . . I don't know the right words. Like she had been possessed by whatever it was that the yamabushi had used on her. But not quite."

"Miroku mentioned something like that as well," Sango said, picking up a lock of the girl's hair to detangle.

Rin picked up her sewing. "Look what Sango-obasan started Rin on today!" she said, holding up the two lengths of cloth she was stitching.

"A kosode! Good for you," Kagome said.

As Rin lifted up her fabric to get back to work, it covered the calico cat. Chika mewed.

"Sorry, Chika-chan," Rin said. The cat, unimpressed with all this activity, walked over to the far side of the room in a dignified huff before laying down and going back to sleep.

"It's all rather interesting, how everything happened," Sango said. Yusuko tried to pull free, but Sango held her in place. "I'm not done yet, baby."

"I'm getting tired of interesting days, I think," Kagome said as she opened her own sewing basket.

As she pulled out the shirt she was sewing, Noriko, still not willing to give up the young miko's lap, showed Kagome her doll, a little wooden figure draped with bright red cloth.

"Is that your baby?" The miko asked.

The toddler nodded. "Aya."

"Aya?" Kagome said. "That's a pretty name." She said, sliding the toddler to the side. "Obasan wants to sew some now, but you can sit here," she told the girl.

"I bet you are," Sango said. "You're due for some regular, plain, boring days." She pulled Yusuko's hair up, ready to tie it with the bow, but the girl wiggled and the hair slipped out of Sango's hands. "Stop that, baby, or I'll never get done."

"Maybe after tomorrow," Kagome said. "Somehow, I suspect between Miroku's little work party and the women gathering at Hisa's, that tomorrow's still not going to be a normal day. Maybe not as exciting as the last two, but still not a plain day yet. I want one where I go to Kaede's, come home, make dinner, and go to sleep without a single exciting thing happening." She laughed a little. "That sound's so boring. But . . . "

"No buts about it, plain days are worth it sometimes," Sango said. She finished tying the bow in Yusuko's hair. "There you go, Yusuko," she said, patting the little girl on her backside. "You can get up now."

Yusuko slid off, then went and picked up her playthings.

"Plain, boring days," Kagome threaded her needle. "The thought of that sounds lovely right now. At least I got my laundry done this morning. InuYasha thought it was strange that I wanted to do something like that today. But after dealing with kami and yamabushi and everything we've done these last two days, washing clothes just seemed so . . . normal, I guess. No magic involved. It was lovely."

Sango laughed. "If you need days like that, you're always welcome to come over here." Hearing the tea kettle beginning to bubble, she got up and went to get her tea makings. "There's always plenty of normal over here to do. With three little ones, it's hard to get away from it."

Kagome smiled at her friend. "I bet."

Normalcy had not yet found InuYasha as he and the two farmers still studied the clearing behind his house.

Tsuneo, holding his chin in his hands was looking at a spot of ground Daitaro was standing at.

"But if you move the shed here," Daitaro said, indicating a spot a good bit closer to Kagome's wash area where the garments she had washed earlier danced in the midmorning breeze, "you'd get summer shade on the roof of the shed."

Tsuneo rubbed his chin thoughtfully, then nodded. "That does have some advantages," he said. "But it might not be so good to have it this close to the house. I believe our friend here," nodding in InuYasha's direction, "has a particularly sensitive nose. And that close to the house, the miso smell would bother me, much less him."

Even though he didn't have his jacket to hide his hands in, InuYasha still crossed his arms and watched the two men as they paced and considered. "Keh," he said, just to let them know he was still trying to pay attention.

The two men had been walking around and speculating on deciding what the best place would be for the last half hour. One spot was too near trees that could fall. One area would work well, but it would probably be too small to make miso, although it'd be good for pickles. One spot would get too hot during August. One spot, too wet during the summer rains. All the discussion was giving InuYasha a headache.

"Well," Tsuneo said. "We've got time discuss this further. First, let's see how much lumber we can get out of InuYasha's trees. Once we get Choujiro up here and see what we have to work with, we can make better plans."

"Yeah," the hanyou said, nodding.

Daitaro turned his head, and looked at InuYasha. The hanyou's ear flicked and he looked a bit dazed. "I think, old friend," he said to Tsuneo, "we may have given our young companion here a little too much to chew on today."

Tsuneo nodded. "You do look a bit overloaded there, InuYasha." He gave the hanyou an apologetic smile. "Sorry about that. It's not often we get to do something like this - have a nice bit of land to really put this type of building in and do it in the right place. Both of us, well, we've just had to squeeze in our outbuildings wherever we could squeeze them in. Excuse two old men who were indulging themselves. I suspect we got carried away."

InuYasha shrugged. "You know more than me. I figure you'll pick out the best way to do it."

"Maybe," Daitaro said, giving the hanyou a friendly swat on the shoulder. "Don't sell yourself so short. That was not a bad place you had picked out, even if the monk helped you settle on it. Anyway, we probably ought to get back down the hill. Chime will be sending my boy Genjo after me pretty soon if I don't show up. She's all aflutter about getting everybody's clothes right for the wedding. I told her it's not me getting married - it's my son. But that's not stopping her. She says it's for luck." He sighed, wearing a fond, but slightly exasperated grin.

"It'll be over soon," Tsuneo said. "Might as well let her have her fun while you can."

"True, true," Daitaro nodded.

"And I need to get back to my place," Tsuneo said. "No telling what ruckus has stirred up since I left. My wife, bless her, is as stubborn as they come, and if I know her, she's not resting like Kaede said." He looked back at InuYasha. "I'll get Choujiro to come by tomorrow or the day after. And then we'll take it from there."

"All right," InuYasha said, nodding. He wasn't sure what else to say.

The two men said their goodbyes and headed down the hill.

He watched them walk away and went to get his jacket. "Didn't know building a shed was going to be so complicated," he said, slipping the garment over his arms. "And I thought Miroku was enough to drive me crazy sometimes. Now I have a whole village."


	113. Chapter 113

_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 113 **

Once properly dressed in his jacket, InuYasha looked at the sky judging the time, and decided to go down to the river to fish and give Kagome a little more opportunity to spend with Sango before he went and got her.

He was a familiar sight down by the riverbank. The local boys, if any of them showed up, always found it fascinating how he would start his fishing by searching along the willows and weeds lining the river bank looking for the places where fish were likely to gather. Once he was on the prowl, a small group would start to gather to watch him as he checked his favorite fishing holes. Having spotted his prey, the hanyou would carefully move downstream and, silently slip into the water, or sometimes lie on the edge of the bank, and then with a lightning quick move of his hands, grab and pop the fish out of the water. Sometimes, he even managed to tickle it in. It was all very fascinating, and occasionally one of the boys managed a similar feat, and would brag about it to his friends, how he caught a fish InuYasha-style.

This time, three boys gathered to watch him work this magic, staying back far enough from the stream not to accidently spook the fish. The hanyou was lying on the bank next to his favorite fishing hole, where an undercut bank was also partially sheltered by a willow. He looked at the boys for a minute, grinning, then very carefully moved forward into position, his hand in the water.

The boys were not disappointed. A minute or two later there was a splash as he lifted his hand and pulled out a nice-sized fish to join another already waiting.

"That's a big one, InuYasha-sama!" said Akemi, one of the village boys who had a reputation for being a good fish catcher himself.

"Yeah, it is," he said, as he dispatched it before tying a willow branch through its mouth so he could carry it home.

"How'd you learn to fish like that?" one of the other boys asked. He was about thirteen, and belonged to someone on Takeshi's side of the village. He didn't stop to watch often, but his muddy knees showed that he had already been out to the fields already, and was taking a break.

"Got hungry," InuYasha replied. "You can learn a lot when you're hungry."

"I get hungry too, but I've never been able to catch one that way," the boy said. "Easier to pull weeds."

"Maybe I was hungrier than you," InuYasha replied. "And there weren't any weeds for me to pull to get my dinner."

Akemi nodded sagely and punched his friend in the arm. "You'll never learn to sneak up on a fish like that. I know you, Jiro. You're too noisy. Better use a line if you want any fish."

"Bah," the third boy said. "You just got a swelled head because you managed to tease a fish out of water last week. But your otousan doesn't keep you working like Jiro's does."

"Neither does yours. What's your excuse?" Akemi answered, giving the boy a hard look. "I've seen you fish."

"Bet it took some practice learning not to spook'em," Jiro said. He gave the two other boys a shove. "Better not get into a fight over something as stupid as who's too noisy to fish."

"It did take some practice. I got pretty hungry before I figured that one out," InuYasha replied. "Took me a while before I realized how well they see what's going on along the river bank."

InuYasha looked up as he heard a jingle of brass rings, and watched Miroku walk up to the boys. "Not everybody has the same gifts," the monk said to the boys. "That's why there's more than one way to catch a fish."

"Your way is the driest," InuYasha said, looking up at his friend.

"Dry?" Jiro asked.

"He buys'em from a fisherman," InuYasha said, standing up, and walking over to the monk. "See you later, boys. I'm going to take this home."

Miroku followed him toward the hill. "You have several young admirers, it seems."

The hanyou shrugged. "People fishing talk the same language. You're heading home?"

The monk nodded. "I didn't have as much to do in the village today."

"Ah," InuYasha said. "So that means you're free to come pester me?"

"Actually, I was thinking about lunch," Miroku said. "I just happened to see you. It's hard to miss when you go fishing. It seems you always get a few boys to watch."

"At least those boys aren't getting into trouble," InuYasha said. "I wonder how Kinjiro's managing with that stupid baka today."

"I got a glimpse of them, but didn't stop to talk," Miroku said, shaking his head. "They were working in one of the fields. I don't think Kinjiro's ready to trust Aki. He was still wearing that leg chain. It would be nice if he'd settle down and behave before his obaasan sees him. She's not doing well. And that won't help at all."

InuYasha shrugged. "For a kid who dreams of never having to work, he's sure learning the hard way about what work feels like," the hanyou said, shifting the fish to his other hand. "But as tough as Kinjiro is, it's not as hard as the lesson Aki would have learned if he had really gotten away and lost in the woods the other day. Bandits, youkai, hunger are harder teachers."

Miroku looked at InuYasha, and saw the introspective look in the hanyou's eyes. "It sounds like you know what that's like from first hand experience."

InuYasha's ear twitched. "Keh," he said. "It was a long time ago. Don't want to talk about it. Just glad he didn't have to find out."

They walked together, not saying much else, both lost somewhere deep in thought, until they reached the turnoff to Miroku's place. The monk was surprised when InuYasha followed him.

"You're coming to my place?" he asked.

"Kagome went there," InuYasha explained.

"You have to promise me something then," Miroku said.

"What is it, Bouzu?" InuYasha looked at him carefully. "You've been acting kind of weird since we began walking up the hill."

The monk shrugged. "After dealing with Haname and Morio, I need to do some meditation. If you go and get Kagome right away, everybody will come pouring out and I won't get a chance. I need you to give me a few minutes of quiet while I do it."

"I guess," InuYasha said, looking at his friend oddly. "But I'm not going to wait all day to get my wife and go home for lunch."

"No, no, It won't take long. It's just that . . . you know what it was like seeing what happened to that man."

"Morio?" the hanyou said.

Miroku nodded, frowning. "What happened to him . . . disturbs me."

"Feh," InuYasha replied. "I think it disturbs everybody who sees him."

"So you see my problem," the monk said.

"Yeah, yeah." InuYasha held up his catch. "Just remember, I've got fish here that need to get home."

As they reached Miroku's homestead, InuYasha taking up a post under one of the trees, a bit away from the building, and Miroku sat on a sunny spot not far from the window. He took a meditative pose, eyes half lidded, feet in a lotus position, hands cupped in the proper position for someone about to do serious meditation.

It was a calm day, with only a little breeze. Outside of some bird chattering in the distance, and the faint voice of the women inside, it was quiet. For a short time, Miroku held his position, his breathing soft and regular, tuning out the world. But after a peal of laughter came out of the house, the monk raised an eyebrow.

InuYasha's ears tracked the sound, hearing the women talk, and he frowned. "You're sure you shouldn't move further away from the house?"

Miroku looking up at his friend, shook his head and resumed his meditative demeanor. He held his concentration for a few minutes, but the discussion drifting out of the window began to win. Little by little, Miroku tilted his head towards the sound.

"And then Erime told her mother about finding Tama in the woods alone with Shigeo," Sango said. The voice was loud and clear, like she was near the window.

There was a rattle of china, as if Sango was picking up dishes.

"Shigeo?" Kagome asked.

Sango must have moved even closer, because her voice was quite loud. "Oh, it's been quite a sad story. Takeshi really doesn't approve of Shigeo's father, but he and Tama evidently have been lovesick for each other for over a year."

"She's so young," Kagome said.

"Not any younger than you were when you fell for InuYasha," Sango said.

A small smile touched the monk's lips. InuYasha snorted. Miroku shook his head, took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. Right after that, one of the twins squealed.

"Hush, baby. Don't bother your brother," Sango said.

"Rin will hold him, Sango-obasan," the girl's young voice said. She began to sing a lullaby, very soft and low. Miroku took a deeper breath, and let it out even more slowly.

Someone walked across the room to the cabinet. They could hear drawer being pulled open, then closed.

"That's one of the reasons his father arranged for him to be apprenticed to a fisherman down on the coast. He's supposed to leave in two days. And with everybody busy getting ready for Erime's wedding, evidently, she decided to sneak off to meet with him." Sango's voice wavered between sad and disapproving.

"And after she promised not to," Rin said. "That's what Kaede-obaasan said."

"They had to see each other one last time?" Kagome asked. "I'm not surprised."

The monk nodded.

"Her family's been worried about her," Sango said. "Since they announced that he was going away, she'd been rather sad and staying to herself."

Noriko did something her sister didn't like, because Yusuko yelled a very clear "No. Mine!"

At his seat near the window, Miroku winced and the sound. InuYasha, getting tired of watching the monk in a losing battle to stay focused, was irritated. "You should move, Bouzu."

Miroku half-closed his eyes. "Form is emptiness, emptiness, form," he said softly, but made no sign he was moving.

"It's hard being kept away from the one you care about," Kagome said. Her voice was sad but sympathetic. "I know exactly what that feels like."

"Noriko, leave your sister's toy alone!" Sango said. "I hear that Takeshi went and had a long talk with Shigeo's father after they were caught yesterday. I don't know who said what, but maybe the two of them will get lucky and there'll be a wedding soon."

The baby started crying, and Sango evidently picked him up. "He's probably hungry. I better feed him."

"Okaasan will take care of you, Naoya" Rin said.

Miroku sighed. The hanyou, at the end of his patience, gave his friend a sharp look.

"Hey, Bouzu, you listen to this type of stuff a lot. How do they find so much to talk about?" InuYasha asked. He made no effort to keep his voice soft; in fact it was loud enough to be heard in the house.

Miroku turned his head and looked at the window, then he looked back at his friend. "It's a woman's gift," he replied. "I know that I could never compete."

"You're joking, aren't you?" InuYasha said. "You forget, I've heard you rattle around before."

"Teaching, maybe," Miroku said, ignoring InuYasha's look of disapproval. "A monk is supposed to do that. That is why I find it a good thing to come out here and meditate."

"More likely so you can eavesdrop, just like you're doing now," InuYasha said. "If you were serious, why'd you sit where you could hear them?"

As soon as InuYasha began speaking, the conversation inside quieted. A door slid open and Sango walked out, followed by Kagome. "Eavesdropping again? Perhaps that means it's time we start talking about you, husband."

She handed the monk her son. "I hear you had a long meeting with Chiya-sama yesterday afternoon. Want to tell us about it? It couldn't have just been to say prayers for her mother."

Miroku looked honestly shocked, glancing at his wife, and then at InuYasha, who was stifling a laugh. "The temple roof, dear Sango. I was talking to her husband about helping out tomorrow, and she gave a small donation towards the new statue of Jizo we're going to get. That's all."

"That better be all the help she's giving," Sango said, giving him a meaningful look.

"But Sango, my dearest, you know . . . " Miroku said.

"I know that you shouldn't be eavesdropping, husband. Watch the children while I fix lunch."

"Of course, of course," Miroku said. Looking a bit dazed, he stood up and grabbed one of his daughters who was coming out to see what was happening.

"And I need to go home and do the same," Kagome said. "I'll come by tomorrow after lunch and we can go to Hisa-obaasan's tomorrow."

"You're sure she told you for me to bring the girls?" Sango asked, her voice a bit unsure.

"More than once. We'll have a good time," Kagome said. "Better than watching the men work on the temple roof."

"I suspect you're right about that one," Sango said, laughing.


	114. Chapter 114

_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 114**

Kagome packed her sewing basket and said her goodbyes just in time to rescue her husband from being turned into Yusuko's Mount InuYasha.

"Ready?" she asked, trying not to laugh at her husband's look of relief as she walked up.

The hanyou nodded. "Sorry, girl," he said as he plucked her from his lap, and put her gently on the ground. "I have to go. Kagome-obasan says so."

"Come back later?" the little girl said.

"Maybe." InuYasha stood up. "But I know your otousan will play with you." He gave Miroku a pointed look. "He's good at games."

"I really was trying to meditate," Miroku said, as his daughter climbed onto his own lap. "I really was. I couldn't help it if the conversation was so interesting."

"Right," the hanyou said, giving him a disbelieving look "That's why you didn't get up and move? See you later."

He turned around and nodded at Kagome, but couldn't quite hide his smirk as Miroku muttered, "But I really was," then yelped as Yusuko did something she wasn't supposed to.

The hanyou and the miko headed home. Once they were out of human earshot, InuYasha asked,

"So, Erime's sister really got caught with Shigeo?"

"No. Sango made all that up," Kagome said, trying hard not to laugh.

InuYasha turned to her, surprised. "What?"

This time, she couldn't hold the giggle back. "It's true that Shigeo's father and Takeshi are arranging their marriage, but the rest? That was all for Miroku's benefit. Sango knew he was out there."

"Huh," the hanyou said, shaking his head. "Didn't know Sango had it in her."

"Oh yes," Kagome nodded. "It's not the first time we've heard him rather close to the window. I think it's a game that he and Sango play with each other. It's not like she would hide this type of stuff from him. She calls it his sneaky practice."

"He really looked like he was trying to meditate," InuYasha said. "He came back from going to Haname's off centered. I think seeing Morio got to him."

"That might be true," Kagome said. "But still he sat where he always sits when we're talking. It's a place where he can hear everything everyone is saying. Sounds . . . well, suspicious to me. He really does like to know what's going on. If he had your hearing, no one in the village would be safe. No telling what he'd do with all that gossip."

The hanyou snorted. "You're probably right about that."

"But that comment about Chiya-sama surprised me," Kagome said, looking up at her husband. "Has Miroku done anything that would make Sango feel uneasy about her?"

InuYasha shrugged. "Not that I've ever noticed, but Chiya doesn't like to come around me very much. She does like to talk to the bouzu a bit. Always dropping off small donations. Maybe she said something to Sango that made Sango feel like Chiya doesn't approve of her. Wouldn't be surprised. Chiya's got a reputation for being as shrill if not shriller than her mother." He turned to look at Kagome. "And married monks are unusual. She may not know what to think about her. Maybe Chiya feels Sango cuts into the time he could be doing monk stuff or something."

"Huh," Kagome said, her brows knitting together as she thought about it. "In the time I grew up, married monks were normal, and single ones who never married weren't. Funny how that goes."

"I think they must do everything different where you come from," InuYasha said. "That time is weird."

Kagome laughed. "Maybe so." She switched her sewing basket to her other hand. "Anyway, what did you learn about the shed?"

This time, it was InuYasha who got the confused look and frowned. He shook his head and took a long breath. "I'm not really sure. Seems that Tsuneo and Daitaro have lots of opinions about it."

"Like what?" she asked.

"All sorts of things. Like why and where to put one. They even come in more shapes than I realized. I'll be glad when they actually start building it, because they got me totally confused." He put his hands in his sleeves. "I don't know if they were just having fun thinking about building it or were messing with me on purpose."

"I bet it was the first one," Kagome said. She rested her free hand on his arm. "You know they both think well of you, especially Daitaro."

He nodded. "That's what Daitaro said. It just makes me feel . . . I don't know." He held up his catch. "Kind of like a fish out of water?"

"Well, you're not a farmer." Kagome tugged on his sleeve to get him to uncross his arms. "I don't know anything about them either, and I bet I would have been just as confused."

He took her hand. "I guess. Anyway, Choujiro will be here in a couple of days, they said, and they'll start seeing how much wood those trees will make."

"You think everybody will leave us alone this afternoon?" Kagome asked.

"We can hope," InuYasha said. "If they don't, we can run off again."

Kagome smiled. "We can, can't we?"

For once, when they reached their house, there was no sign of anybody nearby. They stood on the verandah for a moment, while InuYasha turned around and looked, just to make sure.

"Good," he said. "No Kinjiro or anybody else."

This made Kagome giggle a little. "You know, that sounds bad to say, but very good at the same time."

"It does, doesn't it," he said, smirking. "But the good really outweighs the bad today."

"I agree," she said, nodding. "Let's go inside. I still have a couple of things to do before we have lunch."

"Like what?" he said as they entered.

Kagome slipped off her shoes. "I need to get my chihaya washed and rinsed, so it'll have some time to dry before tomorrow."

InuYasha watched her for a moment as she walked across the room and put up her sewing things. "I'll go fill up the water for tonight." He grabbed a bucket and headed outside.

He had to go back and forth from the stream several times to get enough water for their drinking and bathing uses. The first time found Kagome hanging up the jacket to dry.

"Your soaking work?" he asked, lifting the lid on his outside water bucket, and pouring fresh water into it.

"More or less," Kagome said, frowning at one faint brown mark on the upper back. She touched it and sighed. "It'll be good enough to wear, I think. Sunlight will help, too."

The next time he came back in, Kagome was cutting up the fish he had caught. "You had good fishing while I was at Sango's," she said as he began to fill up the water barrel they used for drinking and cooking. "Didn't take you very long."

"Yeah. Fish must have wanted to get caught," he said. "A group of boys gathered to watch. It's funny how they like to see me do that. They've been trying to use my technique. One of them caught a fish that way last week. What're you going to fix with them?"

"Grilled for lunch, stewed for dinner," she said cryptically, and went on with her preparation.

He shrugged and went back outside.

When he came back the last time, with water to heat for their bath later than evening, he left it on the verandah. The house was starting to smell with the scents of cooking food. Following his nose, he went inside, only to be given instructions on what to do with the water in the laundry tub.

"And I thought today was supposed to be our day off," he said, as he carefully used the water on the garden, the same way Kagome had done it in the morning. "Is this what we're supposed to do to rest?"

After a lunch of grilled fish and rice, Kagome announced that she wanted to mop the floor. He helped her move the little bit of furniture that was movable outside - their small chest, the wash stand, the low table. She added her sewing basket to the stack, and then got to work.

Not knowing what else to do, he went to the side of the house, took off his jacket and began to chop wood. But for some reason, it wasn't a satisfying task, so he picked up an armful of wood and went inside. He walked toward the wood cradle at the back of the beaten earth floor of the doma, being sure not to get anything on the wooden platform. Kagome, humming and wiping the floor as she moved around on her hands and knees, smiled at him as he walked in.

"You always seem to bring the wood in when I'm mopping," she said. "You did that the first time I cleaned the floor."

"I did, didn't I?" he asked, stacking the wood carefully. "You were singing about crows."

She laughed a little. "Mama used to sing that one to me when I was little and she was teaching me how to do things. I just sort of use it as my housework song. Nearly done here."

And with that, she went back to work.

After that, there was really not much for him to do. Kagome, on the other hand, seemed to be finding plenty to do. While the floor was drying, she found a nice spot in the yard to sit down at, put her work basket on the low table, and pulled out the kosode she was working on.

"That looks almost done," he said, plopping down next to her.

"Maybe tomorrow." She was focusing on one of the sleeves. "It takes a while to do all the hemming."

He picked up the bottom of the garment and ran a finger along a seam. "You do good work. I don't know why you were nervous about it."

"You do good work, too," she said, smiling. "I don't know why you get nervous when people notice."

"Feh." He laid back and watched the clouds float by.

After the floor was dry, InuYasha moved the furniture back in and Kagome reorganized her clothing cabinet. Together, they brought in the futon and cover, and Kagome rolled them up and put the bedding in its place.

Trying to stay out of the way, he sat in a corner of the room watching her work. Finishing up with the clothes cabinet, Kagome went out, and took the dry clothes off the line and came back with them in a basket. She sat it down not far from where he was sitting. Adjusting the blue scarf she had tied around her head, she smiled at him, sat down and began folding a kosode.

"It's been a nice day," she said. "I got just about everything I wanted to do done."

"Good," InuYasha said. He tried not to frown, even though all this activity confused him. It surprised him how happy this was making her, how content she seemed.

"I'm pretty sure I'll get your under kosode finished tomorrow" she said, folding the garment's sleeves just so. "All I have left is hemming the bottom. I'm glad to know you're going to have something decent to wear."

"Thanks," he replied. "You need to make something for yourself next."

Nodding, she began folding his regular under kosode. He hadn't realized how patched and mended it was before. She ran a finger along one mended place that looked like it was pulling open. "I might have to fix this one again. This shirt has seen a lot of action."

"Keh," he replied, not exactly sure what to say. "It happens when you get into fights. Sometimes, I get cut. That cat put some hurt on my shoulder. Shame my kosode can't heal as well as I do."

"I guess." She folded it with as much care as she had done her own garment. "Now that you have another one, I'll be able to take the time to fix this one better."

It didn't take her long to do all the other pieces - her hakama, some towels, a few other things.

He gave her a half-smile, and then sighed, dropping his eyes back to the floor.

"Is anything the matter?" she asked as she picked up the now folded clothes.

"No," he said. He watched her feet as she walked across the room to their clothes cabinet. She opened a drawer and, it squeaked a little as she pulled it open.

"Need to fix that," InuYasha said.

"That would be nice," Kagome said. Humming her little song, she put her kosode, wrap skirt and hakama away in their drawer. Closing his eyes, InuYasha could hear the rustle of the linen cloth as she lay the garments down and smoothed them. Opening another drawer, she put away his shirt and his extra fundoshi. She closed that, and he could hear the rustle of her clothes as she moved away.

"Are you sure everything's all right?" she asked, pausing a moment. Her hands were filled with towels.

"Keh," he said. For once, he kept his ear from twitching. She began to move away.

Keeping his head low, InuYasha watched Kagome's feet as she walked to the kitchen cabinet where she put up the towels and began going through the herbs Kaede had given her. His ears focused in on her as she moved, following her progress as he listened to the sound of jars being shoved and moved as she searched for just the right one. Evidently, she found what she wanted, and he heard her close the cabinet. Once again he watched her feet move across the room as she brought a packet of something that smelled sweet, like honey and wild flowers to put in the drawers with the clothes. He liked the smell well enough, which was a good thing, since all of their clothes, except for his fire rat, smelled like it now.

InuYasha looked up at her, and he swallowed, trying to think of something to say, but couldn't. Kagome closed the drawer with her clothes which squeaked again, and she smiled at him. He dropped his head back down and clasped his sword, pulling it out of his obi and laying it down next to him as he watched her feet move across the smooth wooden floor in the direction of the fire pit.

She knelt down by the low table that she used to prepare their meals. He could hear her pouring some water into a bowl.

"Thanks for filling up the water bucket," she said.

"Yeah," he replied. "Needed something to do. Got enough for our bath, too."

"That's nice. I've done enough today that a bath will feel good," she said.

As his ears tracked her movements, he could swear he heard her smile. The smell of dried fish reached his nose, joining the smell of her slow cooking stew. He looked up to see her taking several dried fish out of the container she stored them in, and he watched out of heavily lidded eyes as she cleaned them and added them into the bowl of water to soak, something she did every day to make soup.

Standing up, she walked across the floor again to the wash basin. She washed her hands, took the water outside, emptied the basin and came back inside. Replacing the basin, she dried her hands on a clean towel she kept there. After that, she went over to the shelf where she kept her cookware, and picked up another bowl.

InuYasha watched her walk briskly back to the area by the fire pit, put down the bowl, and move towards him. Her feet moved closer and closer to him. He got that tingling sense of anticipation he would get sometimes when he hunted and knew the prey was near at hand. He tensed, imperceivably. Kagome, totally unaware of the change in her husband, smiled once more as she passed him and began to reach for something on the shelf of the clothes cabinet.

Suddenly, two strong arms wrapped around her.

"Woman, you walk too much," InuYasha said. "This was supposed to be your day off, but you're making me tired just watching you."

Kagome's eyes went from irritation to amusement, watching the look on her husband's face, pouty, intense, and in need of some attention. "I was just trying to get dinner started," she said, her eyes searching his, but with unspoken laughter. "I thought you liked to eat."

"Dinner can wait," he said, giving her a stern mock frown. "You've been working too hard. You haven't rested at all - I can't let you go back to Kaede-babaa's all tired out. I think you need a nap."

"A nap?" she said. "But I'm not sleepy."

His hands reached around her waist and loosened the bow to her wrap skirt. "Yes, a nap." He let the garment fall open. His lips found hers, and gently claimed them. "I'll have to join you to make sure you get some rest."

He unfastened his jacket as he moved towards their stored bedding. "You stay there. I'll roll out the futon," he said.

"Hentai," she said, but she gave him a sultry grin.

He smiled. "Only for you."

Dinner was late. Neither of them really seemed to mind it.


	115. Chapter 115

_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 115**

The next morning found a relaxed InuYasha and Kagome walking down the hill into the village. They managed to get downhill without running into Miroku or anybody from Daitaro's household, but as they headed toward the main part of the village their luck changed.

"Yo, cousins!" Susumu said, waving at them. For once, he was dressed in farmer's clothes, a plain kosode, short hakama with stained knees, and on his head was a rush hat. He balanced a rake over his shoulder and stood next to another man, bowed under a large bundle of rice straw tied on his back.

"Getting out early today?" InuYasha asked as they reached the farmers.

"It looks that way." Susumu, smiling, dropped the rake to the ground, and leaned on its handle like it was a walking stick. "Have you met my cousin Koichi?"

Koichi nodded at the hanyou and miko. "Don't think we've ever had a chance to talk before."

Kagome bowed to the farmer. "I don't think we have. It is good to meet you."

"Heard a lot about you, Miko-sama," the farmer said. "Most of it's even good."

Susumu gave his companion a nudge. "Behave, Koichi." He looked up at Kagome. "Ignore him. He spends too much time in the barn. Off to see Kaede-sama?"

The young miko nodded, then raised an eyebrow. "Out of your guard uniform today? I don't think I've ever seen you dressed to do farmwork before."

Susumu chuckled. "Even I have to do my share of work in the fields."

"So you say," Koichi said, snorting. "If you want to call showing up once in a while your share."

"Well, I try," the village guard said. "It's not my fault things keep happening that I have to attend to."

"No bad boys for you to chase today?" InuYasha asked.

"Heh," Susumu said, shrugging. "I hope not. We got through yesterday without too much trouble, amazingly. Kinjiro is getting better at anticipating what he wants to do. We need some quiet times now."

"Things have been a little hectic lately," Kagome said. "But here's hoping. Maybe it'll start today."

"Not going to happen," Koichi said, shaking his head. "Not with Hisa-sama on a tear." He shifted the straps to his load."You catch up with me when you can, Susumu-sama. This isn't getting any lighter." He began to head out past the paddy fields to the dryland fields beyond.

"Hisa-obasan on a tear?" Kagome asked, turning back to Susumu.

"I wouldn't worry about it," Susumu said. "She's just getting ready for the women coming over this afternoon."

"Ah," Kagome said, nodding. "My mother would get like that before having visitors."

"Sometimes," Susumu continued, pushing back his hat, "it sort of . . . well, when she's like that, she intimidates the men around her."

"So," InuYasha asked, with just a bit of a smirk, ""From the look of things, you might be one of the ones she intimidates. That's why you're heading out to the fields today?"

Kagome giggled a little, putting her hand over her mouth.

"I really do have work I need to get done," Susumu insisted.

The group began moving toward Kaede's house.

"Uh," InuYasha said, looking at the village guard, "the fields are the other way."

"True, true," Susumu said, grinning. "But since I found you here, I thought I'd walk your way a bit. There's something I'd like to talk with you about."

"Talk, eh?" the hanyou said, putting his hands in his sleeves. "Funny how when people ask that, it usually means they want you to do something."

"Uh," Susumu said. He scratched the back of his neck. "That's what I tell my father when he says that to me."

They reached Kaede's house. Stopping in front, Kagome looked at Susumu, curiously, but decided it could wait. "Well, have fun with your discussion. Some of us have other work to do." And giving InuYasha's hand a little squeeze, she went inside.

"So, child," Kaede said, looking up as Kagome walked into her house, "You seem like the day off did you some good."

"I think so," the younger woman said. "It was a nice day. I got a lot done that I just haven't had time to do." She slipped off her sandals, then went over to sit near the older miko.

"Good, good. Perhaps child, with you having a husband to take care of, we might want to do that regularly." Kaede poured some tea in a cup and handed it to Kagome. "This old woman doesn't always remember that sometimes, a wife has to think of other things."

"Sometimes," Kagome said, nodding, picking up her teacup. "But really, I mostly did laundry."

Kaede smiled, and sipped her own tea. "Well, even laundry is something different, and that can be restful by itself."

"Funny," the younger woman said. "I was trying to explain that to InuYasha, but I'm still not sure he understood it."

The two women laughed a bit.

"Well," Kaede said, "I think today may be a little different, too. And perhaps it will be a bit busy before it's all over. But in a good way, no doubt, surely nothing like two days ago. Before you know it, things will be calming down again, and the village will go back to its normal, sleepy self."

"At least until the next special event," Kagome said, smiling. "Family festival next month?"

"Aye, there's that," Kaede said. "And after that the barley harvest. And then the village festival and the rice planting . . . " She returned the girl's smile. "There is always something. But with good fortune, no more bad yamabushi magic, and just the usual always somethings."

The old miko picked up the basket she had along side of her. "Even our work isn't always the same. Instead of making medicine this morning, we're going to check up on some people who aren't doing so well. There are times when there are enough ill people that it's just easier to go to them rather than trying to bring them all to my house. Easier on them, too. People who are ill often feel better in their own beds with their own families caring for them." She already had several packets of herbal medicine in the basket. But she went over to the shelf and plucked down a small ointment jar.

"I know that's the way I like it," Kagome said, nodding.

"And that will take care of the start of the day," Kaede said, looking over her shoulder. "We'll see what the afternoon turns up."

"The afternoon?" Kagome asked. She watched the older woman walk back to her basket and pick up her empty tea cup.

"Well, there's the meeting at Hisa's." She nodded as she accepted the empty cup from Kagome. "This will sort of be your introduction to a lot of the women here." Kaede put them on the nearby shelf.

"Should . . . should I be nervous?" Kagome asked, tilting her head to look at the old miko.

Kaede shook her head."No, I don't think so. Between being under Hisa's wing and with everybody talking about the kami rescuing you, the real problem might be you get too much attention."

"I . . . I've had a little bit of that already," Kagome admitted, standing up. "Momoe-sama asked me if I would bless her house. I was going to ask you about what I should do."

"Ah, that poor woman - she's certainly had a run of bad luck these last few years. Well, it can't hurt." Kaede said, and grew thoughtful. "What to do? I'll have to think about that. I suspect she's expecting something different than I would do. You certainly won't have any trouble purifying the house. Maybe some sacred salt might make her feel good, as something she can see. Or one of the old prayers. Let me ponder that a bit."

Kagome nodded.

"But other things might keep us busy as well. I was particularly thinking that with all those men working on Miroku's temple, we might have an injury or two. I put together some salve and herbs for strains and hurts, just in case. And bandages." Kaede pointed to a box not far from the fire pit. "If something happens this afternoon, that box will have most of what we need."

"Better to be ready, just in case," Kagome said.

"Exactly." Kaede sighed. The two of them stepped off the wooden platform and put on their sandals. "Sometimes when you have this many men in one place . . . "

"Oh, I know," Kagome said. "And it looked like Miroku tried to corner every able-bodied man in the village into showing up."

"I'm pretty certain he at least asked them all. If we're lucky, they won't be falling over each other trying to compete for who's the best." Kaede shook her head. "Sometimes I wonder about that monk."

Kagome stifled a giggle. "So who are we visiting today?"

"Daisuke-sama is still not feeling well, and he's hurt his back, too. I thought perhaps he will be more cooperative if someone else is there when I dose him," Kaede said. "He can be rather obstinate. Sora's middle child has a fever. I think it will pass, but we should check on him." She picked up her basket off the wooden floor, and slipped into teacher mode. "Most of the time, children's fevers pass, but sometimes they get too high, or the child won't drink or other things, like their tummies won't hold food or their bowels won't stop running, so never underestimate them. More than one child I know has passed on because his mother waited too long to come get me."

"I remember once my brother got sick and had trouble with throwing up," Kagome said, lifting the door mat. "My mother was rather frantic."

"And we need to check on Haname and her family. Morio, poor man - we might need to start giving him something to calm his nerves." Kaede said, sighing as she stepped outside "From what I hear, he's been a real handful for Joben to handle." She shook her head. "And after that, I think we'll see if we can find any spring herbs ready for the picking. I am thinking the mitsuba might be coming in by now."

Kagome nodded and followed Kaede out of the house.

"Where's your husband, by the way?" Kaede asked, not seeing or sensing InuYasha near at hand.

"Susumu was here waiting for us. I think he wanted to talk to InuYasha about something. I'm guessing that's where he's at."

After Kagome left them, InuYasha and Susumu moved to the center of the village, where a tall, wooden tower stood, bare wood scaffolding and a ladder leading up it. At the top was a small platform with a rail, a small roof and a gong.

"Let's go up here. I want to show you something," Susumu said, standing by the ladder. He started climbing up. InuYasha, smirking, took a leap, bounced of two of the support bars and reached the top early enough to offer Susumu a hand up.

"Sorry," the hanyou said. "Just thought I'd take the easy way for me up."

"Couldn't resist it, eh?" Susumu said, not at all displeased. "I take it heights don't bother you at all."

"Not in the least," InuYasha admitted, moving to the far side of the platform to get a better look. "I probably feel safer up high than on the ground sometimes."

"Handy thing, that, not being afraid of heights," Susumu said, walking to stand next to him. He gripped the railing. "There are some men I've brought up here that I've almost had to carry down."

InuYasha snorted and crossed his arms. "This isn't tall at all. You should get up in some trees I've been in."

"I'll let you have the trees, cousin. You land better than I do, from what I've seen. But still, our watch tower is tall enough," Susumu said. "So, InuYasha, just look around you and tell me what you think."

InuYasha slowly circled. He noticed that from the platform, he could see most of the houses in the village, most of them scattered along the main street, although there were a few higher up on the hill to the north and a few scattered in patches around the fields. There was a view of the main shrine as well, up on the ridge that ran into the hill where he lived. He could see the edge of Daitaro's property, but not the farmer's house, nor Miroku's temple or home, much less his own home up near the top of the hill. But it did give him a good view of the road leading in and out of the village center, along with the paddy fields, and some of the dry fields beyond.

"You can see a lot," he said. "Be hard for anybody on the road or coming from the south to surprise you." He rubbed his chin. "Not the best view of the river though, or the east once the ground starts to rise."

"True," Susumu said. "Not much we can do about the river view. Too many rocks and trees. But anybody coming that way would have to cross the fields, so I don't worry too much about it."

The hanyou nodded. He watched Akemi, one of the boys who like to watch him fish, head toward the fields instead of the river, a hoe across his back. The boy looked up at the tower, caught sight of the two men, and waved.

InuYasha waved back, then turned around facing the north. "Better view than the tree I like to sit in."

"It's higher though," Susumu said.

"Yeah. And better for spying on what's going on," he said, looking at the village guard.

Susumu snorted. Another man walked by and called up to them. Susumu waved back. He turned back to InuYasha. "It's not really so good for spying. It's too easy to see who's up here."

"Probably a good thing," InuYasha said, leaning against one of the support beams. "Otherwise, Miroku would be up here all the time. Never knew anybody worse than him about wanting to know everything that was going on with everybody."

This time Susumu did more than snort. He laughed hard.


	116. Chapter 116

_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 116**

"So," Kagome asked Kaede as they stepped out of the front door of the older miko's house, "where's Rin-chan this morning?"

"Ah, she went out to the garden already," the old miko said.

"Already?" Kagome looked surprised.

A dog hurried by, followed by Sayo's son Daichi, who in turn was followed by Asami, one of the girls who worked in Toshiro's household.

"Come back here, Daichi-kun!" the girl yelled. She nodded briefly at the two women, then hurried after the boy.

"I wonder what that's about?" Kagome said as she turned to look at the two, then shook her head.

"With Daichi-kun, no telling, especially with Sayo not really able to chase him down," Kaede said, chuckling. "He's been driving everybody crazy from what I hear. His mother's about the only one who can really get him to sit down and behave. I'm sure everybody else is going to be quite happy when the new baby gets here." She shifted her basket. "What were we talking about?"

"Rin-chan," Kagome said.

Kaede nodded. "She said she was going to weed the early mustard, but I suspect she wanted to check on the azalea bushes near by. They were beginning to bloom the last time I was there."

"Ah," Kagome said. "I seem to remember during the year I was here fighting Naraku that she was very fond of flowers."

"She still is. She wants to know the name of everything that blooms, and has filled a corner of my garden with lovely blooming things - iris, chrysanthemum, peony," Kaede said. "I think today she's excited because some of her flowers are coming up."

"I understand that one," Kagome said. "You should have heard me yesterday morning when I saw some things growing in my garden."

There was the sound of a boy crying out, and a dog yelping. Kaede turned around, as did Kagome, but neither of them could see anything. "It sounds like Asami caught up with Daichi," Kaede said. "I wonder if she's going to have any luck getting him home."

The old miko shook her head and started walking again. "Now where was I . . . ah, Rin-chan. I doubt if there's enough in the garden to keep her busy all day. I wouldn't be surprised if she goes over to visit her friend Iya afterwards, though. You know Sango started her working on her first under kosode?"

"Yes, I was over there yesterday when she told me all about it," Kagome said. "She seemed both rather proud and rather intimidated by the project."

Kaede nodded. "I do believe you're correct, but I think pride is winning over on that one. She asked if it were all right for her to take her sewing to see Iya."

"I'm glad to hear that," Kagome said, smiling. "I was wondering what she was going to do this afternoon without being able to go to Sango's."

"She'll find something," Kaede said. "She's good at keeping herself amused, and without getting into trouble, like some children we know."

They heard Daichi sobbing, and Asami walked from behind one of the buildings, dragging the boy behind her. Then both women exchanged knowing, and somewhat thankful glances.

"Children in trouble . . . it's not just Aki-kun, I see," Kagome said.

"No, not at all," Kaede said, with just a slight, knowing grin.

While Kaede and Kagome walked down the main street of the village, InuYasha watched Susumu laugh about Miroku's tendency to want to know everything going on, and for some reason this amused him, and he grinned at the guard.

His ear flicked as he heard Daichi cry out as Asami caught him. He looked out down the street, but not seeing anything in particular, he shrugged. Children shrieking in a village wasn't an out of the ordinary event. He turned back to Susumu. "I can see why Tameo had me build where I lived. No way to know what's coming from there."

"That's true," Susumu said, nodding. "It's always been a weak point in the village defense. Best we had before you moved over there was if Daitaro let his bull out."

This time it was InuYasha who snorted. "I don't know what's worse, putting up with bandits or trying to get Okuro back in his pen." He looked up at the high country behind the village. "That animal has a hard head."

Susumu nodded. "You're much easier to work with."

The hanyou smirked. "That's not what people have always said."

"Besides," Susumu said. "It doesn't take a whole group of men and maybe a cow to get you to do the right thing."

They chuckled.

"Sometimes, it takes more than just a cow," InuYasha said. He turned around looking at the vista one more time. "So if it's not good for spying, what do you use this tower for?"

"See the gong there?" Susumu said, tipping his head toward the large round piece of metal that dominated the middle of the tower platform. It hung from a wooden frame, and a wooden striker rested in a cradle next to it.

The hanyou nodded, and leaned toward it, carefully tapping the metal. It rang just a little at his touch.

"If there's an attack coming," Susumu said, "or if there's a some other problem, like a fire in the village, that requires getting people together, someone in the guard will come up here and sound the alarm. You heard the call last year when the village was attacked. Kinjiro got up here and sounded the gong while those closest to the raiders started the defense."

"I remember," InuYasha said. "Made me think of a temple bell."

"Not as sweet or as loud, but it does the job," Susumu said. "If we expect attack, someone will stay up here to keep watch, but usually we just come up here to get people's attention."

InuYasha nodded, and looked at Susumu curiously. He was about to ask him a question, when Susumu bent forward. "Look who's walking this way."

The hanyou followed where Susumu was pointing, and saw Kaede and Kagome walking their way. "Wonder what they're up to?"

The guard leaned forward and waved. "Kaede-obasan! Cousin! What brings you out today?"

Kaede looked up. "Taking care of the sick," she said. "How's Isao?"

"Doing better," Susumu said. "I left him with Chichi-ue."

The old miko nodded, and was about to walk off, but Kagome stopped her for a moment.

"I thought you were going to the fields today?" Kagome said.

"Oh, I'll make it yet," Susumu said. "Once I'm through talking to your husband."

"If he ever gets to the point," InuYasha said, leaning forward and smiling at his wife.

The younger woman chuckled a little, then following Kaede's lead, waved farewell, and began to walk away. The two men watched as they left. The two women were followed by a sobbing Daichi and irritated Asami.

"Seems like Aki isn't the only one that gets into trouble," Susumu said. "I suspect that one day, that boy's going to end up explaining to the elders why he did something stupid."

"Like you?" InuYasha leaned against one of the support timbers.

"One day, I'll have to tell you that story," the village guard said, grinning. "I swear it wasn't just my fault."

The hanyou chuckled. "Still I have to give you this much. It's hard to spy on people if you keep drawing their attention to you," InuYasha noted.

"That's another problem for me," Susumu said, grinning as he nodded. "I fail at spying. I much rather talk with people."

"Talk," InuYasha said. He folded his arms and stuffed his hands in his sleeves. "You're good at that. So can you talk about the reason you brought me up here today?"

"You think I have a reason?" Susumu asked, his grin turning into an amused smirk.

InuYasha took a deep breath, gave him a knowing look, and waited.

"You're right cousin." Susumu looked off toward the fields. "You've been fighting for us for three years now, even if we don't count what you did about that evil youkai who killed Kikyou-obasan," Susumu said, turning to face InuYasha, no joking in his eyes. "I think, if you want, we should make that official. Chichi-ue agrees. We'd like you to become a member of the village guard."

The hanyou tilted his head, not quite sure of how to respond, studying Susumu as he thought. "A hanyou as part of the village watch? I've been saying your family is weird."

"Why not?" Susumu said. "You've been doing the work anyway."

InuYasha shook his head. "It doesn't mean that much when it's not official. Everybody helps when there's bandits or a fire. But putting me in the guard? You're sure you want to involve me in this? You think the village will be happy with it? And what happens when word gets around?"

"You underestimate yourself, cousin," Susumu said, giving the hanyou a companionable slap on the shoulder. "Chichi-ue thinks once the word gets out, it'll help keep the bandits away. You have a bit of a reputation in this part of the world."

"Feh," the hanyou said. "Gossip. I hear a lot of stupid talk." He moved his ears for effect. "Doesn't mean much."

"I would really like it if you helped us with the sentry work. We're short one man since Koutou went off to Odawara. I already know I can count on you in case of attack." Susumu looked back out over the fields. "Most of the time, it's easy work. Someone's in charge of being on alert every week. It's that person's job to walk around the perimeter, to be the person who will get here to alert others if there's a problem. Fire, and sometimes fights during harvest and festival time are our real problems. Bandit raids are a lot more likely after harvest as well. Or when it's the dead of winter and people are getting hungry."

InuYasha nodded. "Hungry bellies push people hard."

Susumu met InuYasha's eyes. "But you're partially right. There are still a few people who will complain, like Seiji."

InuYasha nodded. "He really has a problem. You were there. You saw how he was willing to let those kids be kidnaped rather than let me go after them."

The village guard shoved back his rush hat and nodded. "He is . . . what he is. I don't know who's left, after you got those kids back, who would still agree with him. But the Three Families will all back you. Tsuneo seems to have taken a liking to you in spite of his grandson and wife. If we need to work something out later to keep the peace we will, but I think you ought to be part of protecting the village." He leaned over the railing, and watched as Koichi, coming back for more straw, spotted them and waved. He waved back, then turned around.

"You carry a sword by birthright. You live here. By the natural order of things, the ones the monks and samurai keep telling us is the way the heavens say it should be, your job ought to be protecting the village, so that the farmers can work in peace, if you want to take it. I'm not telling you that you have to do it, mind you. But it's open if you want it. The grumblers just need to deal with it."

"If I agree, then what do you want me to do?" InuYasha asked. "I damn well am not going to take over as leader," he said, eyeing Susumu, who grinned back. "You're stuck with that job. But if I want to help, what do you have in mind?"

"I knew it wouldn't be that easy," Susumu said, shrugging. "I guess I'll be stuck with this job until someone's old enough to take it away from me. Next ten-day, it'll be my turn to be night patrol. You can work with me those nights."

InuYasha studied the landscape, watching a group of three farmers head out to the fields, and a woman head home from the river with a basket of clean laundry. Two boys and their dog were walking down the main road, tossing a ball back and forth. A woman walked down one of the dyke paths between paddies with a basket in her hand filled with gathered greens and a baby strapped to her back. A chicken squawked near one of the houses, and a man was singing a rude song about his sexual prowess as he worked around the house.

He took a deep breath. Even though he didn't exactly know where his place was in this community, he knew it was his community. He sucked on his bottom lip a moment, then turned to Susumu. "I'm willing to do this, but up front, I have to tell you, I can never be on patrol on the nights of the full and the new moon."

"Never?" Susumu asked, his voice curious.

InuYasha nodded, then looked back over the fields. He couldn't think of any way to explain the new moon and not put himself at risk, and some full moons, he just wasn't fit company for most humans. It was easier to let Susumu make his own assumptions. "I have . . . obligations those nights."

Susumu shrugged. "If we have you the rest of the month, that's a good thing. We'll work something out. You may find the middle ten-day of the month all yours."

InuYasha nodded.

"Well, let's go tell Chichi-ue," Susumu said, heading for the ladder. "He'll want to write it down in the records. And maybe, he'll appreciate a little company while Haha-ue's on a tear."


	117. Chapter 117

_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 117**

After leaving InuYasha and Susumu, Kaede led Kagome to a small house on the other side of Toshiro's compound, plain but neat. There was a plum tree nearby and a garden patch behind the house, and only one tiny shed. It was not a rich house. No animals lived here, neither in the shed behind the house nor wandering about on the grounds and the building looked weathered. Still the grounds were cared for and the yard freed from straggly weeds.

"This is where Sora lives?" Kagome asked.

"Yes," Kaede said as they neared the small farmhouse. "Her husband Denjiro is related both to Toshiro and to Tsuneo, although not closely to either."

"Aren't most people here related to each other?" Kagome asked.

The old miko chuckled. "No doubt, no doubt, child. But in this case, Toshiro's officially the head of his family, and he belongs to Toshiro's ko. But Denjiro often does work for both families."

"Ah," Kagome said, nodding.

Two young children were out front playing with a small bucket and a handful of pebbles as they walked up, taking turns at trying to throw the rocks in the bucket. The older of the two, a girl, looked up as the two miko stopped in front of them. She gave a little nod of her head toward the two women, then sent her brother in to let their mother know they had company coming.

"Well, Kameko," Kaede said, smiling at the girl, who dug her toe into the ground, a little intimidated by the older woman. "How is your brother doing today?"

"Sick," the girl said, not quite meeting Kaede's eyes.

Kagome smiled at the girl. "Your name is Kameko?"

The girl looked at her a moment, nodded, and then looked back at the ground. She was a pretty girl, even though her dress was worn and undecorated, and looked like it had perhaps been cut down from a larger garment. About eight, she clung to a small stick toy.

"Haha-ue wouldn't let Ani-ue play with us today." She looked up, and gave Kaede a frown. "He has a fever."

"We'll see if we can't get him better," Kaede said. "And keep you from getting sick, too." She dug into her basket and pulled out a small sweet and handed it to the girl. "This is for you. I have another one for your brother and sister."

The girl looked at the little treat in her hand for several moments, then looked up at the older miko. "For . . . for me? Just me?" Kameko acted almost shocked at the idea.

"Yes, for you, child" Kaede said, smiling. "You don't need to share it."

Still shocked, the girl popped the sweet into her mouth and began chewing, "It's good," she said, and then, as if embarrassed, ran around to the back of the house.

"What was that about?" Kagome asked.

"I put some medicine in it just in case," Kaede explained. "These children don't get sweets very often. I wanted to make sure she didn't feel like she had to give it to her brother. Older sisters often seem to feel like they have to make sacrifices." She knit her brows together, as if that triggered an old memory, and she sighed. "But sometimes," she continued, shaking her head, "they really shouldn't."

"Ah," Kagome said. She looked at the house again, noticing the cracks in the boards and its small size for a household with several children. There was laundry hanging up to dry at the side of the house, and the garments waving in the breeze were plain and well patched. It dawned upon her that Denjiro was not well off, and probably had to work for both Tsuneo and Toshiro because he didn't have enough land to support his own family.

Sora, wearing a checkered kosode and a plain blue wrap-skirt came to the door shortly afterwards. Her face was drawn and tired. Kagome wasn't sure if it was because she had a sick son or a harder life.

She bowed, seeing the two women waiting. "Miko-sama, you didn't have to come by and check on us. I could have sent my daughter if my boy got worse."

"I just wanted to see how your son was doing," Kaede said. "It's not a bother, Sora-chan. You do yourself wrong by thinking that."

The woman gave Kaede a sad smile. "Sometimes . . . " She didn't finish that thought, but instead wiped her hands on her wrap skirt and bowed again. "And this is the new miko? The one who was here four years ago?"

"Yes," Kaede said. "This is Kagome."

Sora didn't look at her directly, but instead looked at the older woman. "Well, if you think she's all right. Chiya-sama said – "

"I wouldn't put much into what Chiya says," Kaede said. "Sometimes, she speaks without knowing."

The housewife took a deep breath and nodded. There was a rattle at the door mat, and Sora's youngest son peeked out.

"So how is your son?" Kaede asked.

"His fever broke last night for a while," Sora said. Her hands fidgeted with her wrap skirt, unsure of what she should be doing. "But I think it's coming back up again."

Kaede gave her a reassuring smile. "That's to be expected," she said. "These things usually take three or five days to resolve. But that it broke last night is a good sign. May we see him?"

The boy's mother nodded, and held the mat open. "If you think its worth it, come in."

Kagome followed Kaede inside. As she walked into the small house, she saw the boy laying on a pallet not far from the fire pit. The coverlet spread over him was a faded indigo blue, a little threadbare, but it had been tucked carefully around the child, and a younger girl was playing in the corner. Her little brother, looking uncertainly at the women, went to join her. Something was simmering on the fire in a lidded pot, soup from the smell of it.

Sora wrung her hands together and looked uneasy. "I could make some tea," she said, moving towards the fire pit. "It's not the best . . . "

Kaede shook her head, "No, no, not this time, Sora-chan. It's the wrong time of the day for me. But my thanks."

The housewife nodded, and Kagome was sure she gave a small sigh of relief, before going to kneel down next to her son.

The old miko reached into her basket and pulled out a couple of the treats she had brought. "Give these to your youngest ones. I already gave one to your oldest girl. It'll help keep them from getting what ails your boy here."

Sora nodded and took the morsels from the miko's hand. "Will I have trouble getting them to eat it?"

"I doubt it," Kaede said. "They're sweet. I think they'll like them." The old miko knelt next to the boy, and rested her hand on his forehead. He looked up at her with fever-weakened eyes. "Hello, there, Toru-chan. Still feeling bad?"

The boy nodded. "My throat hurts."

"Ah," said the miko. "I thought it might." She rested her hand on his forehead, then felt under his chin and down his throat, then motioned to Kagome. "Do you mind if Kagome-sama touches you where I did?"

He shook his head. As Kagome got into position, she saw Sora flinch, then turned to look at Kaede.

"Go ahead," Kaede said, looking at Sora, who took a deep breath, and gave a little nod. "Put your hand on his forehead."

Kagome took a quick look at both women and gave the little boy a smile. "You're sure you don't mind?"

"No," he said.

Kagome lightly rested her hand on his forehead.

"How is it?" Kaede asked.

"His skin is dry. And he feels warm," the younger woman replied. "Too hot for normal."

Kaede nodded. "Fevers do that, most of the time. Now feel under his jaw. Notice how there are swollen places."

Kagome pressed her fingers gently on his throat and felt the swollen glands.

"Hentousen'en," Kaede said. "His throat has a sickness. His tonsils feel swollen."

"He had that during the winter, too," Sora said, her brows knitting together. "I was hoping he would be over it for the spring."

"Sometimes, it happens like that," Kaede said. She turned to the boy laying down. "Children can get more than one case in a year. I've brought you something that might make that feel a little better. Do you want to try?"

The boy nodded. Kaede reached into her basket and took out another of the treats that she gave the other children. "Try this. I'll leave some with your okaasan. Let her know if it gets hurting too much, all right?"

He nodded and put the treat in his mouth. "Tastes like ginger, and something else."

"Yes, it does," the old miko said, smiling gently. "Ginger is good for your throat."

Sora ran her fingers across Toru's head, then looked up at Kaede. "He's been sleeping a lot, yesterday and today."

The boy sucked on his bottom lip, almost as if he felt embarrassed. "I've been tired," he said.

"Sleep," Kaede said, straightening up, "That's a good thing. You'll be better soon if you rest well today and maybe tomorrow. Sleep will help."

Almost, as if on cue, the boy yawned.

Kaede turned to his mother. "Be sure he drinks a lot. It will help wash the fever out of his system."

Sora nodded. Kaede handed her two packets. "These are for him to chew on when the throat ache bothers him too much. And I brought some more of the medicine tea. Make him drink this too, at least three cups today."

"Thank you, Miko-sama. Is he getting better?"

"He will be," Kaede said. "This type of fever takes a few days, but he looks a little better than yesterday. His fever will probably go up in the afternoon. Make sure he drinks plenty, and sleeps as much as possible."

"Thank you," Sora said, bowing a little. "What about my other children?"

"It's not usually catching, although it can happen," Kaede said. "If any of them start to feel feverish, you can give them the tea as well. Send word, and I'll send over some more of the throat drops."

Sora nodded, and Kaede stood up. Kagome quickly followed. As the two miko began walking back to the door, Kaede turned to the housewife. "If he starts to complain about his neck, or he starts to cough, or his breathing gets bad, come get me," Kaede said. "But I don't expect that will happen. He looks better than yesterday."

"He does, doesn't he?" Sora said. She watched as the women began slipping their sandals back on. But before they could leave, she took a small cloth-wrapped parcel off of a shelf, and passed it to Kaede. "Please take this, Miko-sama. It's not much, but it's a token of how much this means to me, that you would stop by."

"You don't have to give me anything," Kaede said, looking at her sympathetically. "You know that."

"I know that, but it would make me feel better," Sora said, bowing as the miko accepted it. "Thank you."

Kaede nodded, and the two women left.

While Kaede and Kagome tended to Toru, InuYasha followed Susumu down the watch tower and the two of them walked over to Tameo's. As InuYasha walked into the compound, the first thing he noticed were more children than usual playing in front of the house, and fewer men working around the place than normal.

"Where is everybody?" the hanyou asked.

Susumu shrugged. "Well, Kinjiro's out in the field, and the last I heard Hougen was off taking some supplies up to Miroku-sama's temple site, and some of the others are off spreading straw, like Koichi was doing," Susumu said. "Like I was supposed to be doing before running into you. It's a busy time of the year."

InuYasha snorted. "And staying away from your mother?"

"That, too." Susumu grinned. "Those who don't, find themselves running errands and cleaning floor mats or other things."

"Feh," the hanyou said. He was about to say more, but as they walked up the path, they spotting Mitsuo who was being chased by his sister Yorime. The boy spotted his father, shrieked and ran toward the two men.

"Otou, Otou!" the boy said. "Neechan won't let me go in the house!" he said, stopping in front of Susumu.

Susumu fought off a smile as he picked up the boy, and worked hard to give him a serious look. "She won't?" he said, resting the child on his hip.

Mitsuo shook his head. "Haha-ue said to stay out. But I need to go back. I left Horsie there!"

"You left him behind?" Susumu asked, surprised. "Why?"

"Haha-ue took him," the boy admitted.

"And why did she take him?" Yorime asked, catching up to the men at last.

"I...I was riding Horsie on sister's head." Mitsuo admitted.

Susumu frowned at the boy. "Did she ask you to do that?"

The boy shook his head. "But she wouldn't play with me!"

"And are you going to tell Chichi-ue what she was doing when you tried to make her play?" Yorime asked, catching up with the boy. She frowned at him, obviously angry.

He shook his head again.

"Wasn't I combing Aomi's hair?" Yorime asked.

"Yeah," Mitsuo admitted. "But Suzume didn't want to play either!"

"That doesn't mean you had to ride your horsie on my head while I was busy, does it?" Yorime crossed her arms. Mitsuo glanced at his father, and his sister, and then hid his face in his father's chest.

Susumu let Mitsuo drop to the ground. "You need to behave, little man. The village women are coming over after lunch. Your okaasan and obaasan are going to be pretty busy this morning."

Yorime sighed, then patted her brother on the head and took his hand. "I'll keep you company right now, Mitsuo-chan. You can come help me. After that, we'll go see Matsume-obasan. I hear she's making sweet dumplings for lunch."

"I like those," Mitsuo said, nodding.

"If you're good and help me, Haha-ue might give you your horsie back," the girl said, leading him off.

"You think so?" he asked.

"You can carry the sticks for firewood for me, and I'll bring in the water," she said.

He sighed, but nodded. "All right. Let's go."

Giving her father and InuYasha a bright smile, she led the boy off.

"Yorime is definitely taking after her obaasan," Susumu said. "How do we have all these women who know how to handle us?"

"Luck, I guess," the hanyou answered. "Is it always like that around here?"

Susumu nodded. "Wait until you have a few of your own. You'll learn."

InuYasha gulped.

"With that woman of yours, you'll manage it fine," Susumu said, chuckling. He gave him a friendly pat on the back. "Now let's go find Chichi-ue. Maybe, if he's not too hard to find, I might even get some work done today."

The hanyou gave him an unbelieving look, but followed him as the guard headed toward the main house.


	118. Chapter 118

_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 118**

While InuYasha was dealing with the activity at Tameo's compound, Kaede and Kagome made their way to Kaede's next stop in her morning rounds.

"Daisuke is probably the second oldest person in the village," Kaede said, as they walked past Tsuneo's house. "He says Tatsuya's older than he is by two years, but they are both very old and hardheaded, and helping them when they're in need can be hard work. But perhaps that stubbornness is why they've made it this long."

"Maybe," Kagome said, nodding.

Hana, Joben's sister-in-law, a young woman about sixteen and still unmarried, was hanging laundry out as they walked by.

The woman hung up a striped kosode, evidently her last item, on a wooden rod to dry. Kagome noted the difference in quality between the clothes dancing in the wind here and what Sora had hung up on the line. The clothes drying there were more colorful and not nearly as worn out. For some reason, it never dawned on her before how some families in the village were barely making ends meet, and others were doing much better. She sucked on her bottom lip and thought about this, but that line of thought was broken by Hana's cheery greeting as the woman waved and picked up her laundry basket.

"Ah, Miko-sama! Are you coming by this morning?" Hana asked, walking towards the two women.

"Indeed we are, Hana-chan," Kaede said, shifting her basket. "You're here helping out today?"

Hana nodded. "Chichi-ue decided to send me here to help as long as they need someone. Ane-ue has her hands rather full, between Haname-obasan and that weird man," she said, putting the empty basket down. "Otherwise, I'd probably be working in the bean fields."

"Ah," Kaede said, nodding. "But first, we need to check up on Daisuke-sama."

This made the young woman smile. "Oh, I hear he was giving Hisako-sama fits yesterday. He came wandering down the path here yesterday, but I got Hiroki-kun to take him home. He's almost as much trouble as . . . "

There was a loud sound coming from the house behind them, and yelling voices following it. All three women turned to look, but whatever it was happened out of sight and nobody came running.

"What was that?" Kagome asked. "It sounded like something big fell."

"Morio?" Kaede said.

Hana sighed, and nodded. "Probably. I better get back to see what he got into this time. I'm afraid Tsuneo-ojiisan's going to kick both Joben-niisan and that . . . man out of the compound and down to the hut by the river. That's a nasty place, but Haname's not sleeping well, and this noise just makes her worse. If they do, I bet Ane-ue will try to get me to go down there to take care of them." She shook her head. "I hope it doesn't come down to that."

The old miko nodded. "We'll be by in a little while. You can tell Joben I brought that medicine I was talking about. It might help that poor man to calm down some."

Hana nodded. "That would be a good thing." There was a repeat of the noise, and more shouts. She picked up her basket and gave a quick bow. "I better go see what's going on." With that, she ran towards the house.

"Whatever was the old kami thinking?" Kaede said, shaking her head. With a shrug, she began walking to her next stop.

Meanwhile, at Tameo's compound, Susumu and InuYasha walked in the general direction of the headman's house.

"You don't think he's going to be inside?" InuYasha asked.

"Not really," the guard said. "I heard him say once to do that is to invite being rolled up in the bedding and put away in a cabinet."

InuYasha snorted. "Nobody said your father was a stupid man."

Several of the younger children were playing a game under the watchful eye of a teenaged girl who sewed as they tossed a ball back and forth. Aomi, Susumu's youngest, saw her father and toddled over to him.

"Otou!" she said, raising her arms to be picked up. He picked the child up.

"Have you seen Ojiisan?" he asked. The girl shook her head. "Obaasan said go."

"I guess that answers that," Susumu said. He let his daughter down. "You go play, Aomi. Otou needs to find Ojiisan." He watched her walk back to the circle. One of the other children tossed the ball to her, and she soon forgot her father.

"I guess we should start at the office," Susumu said, but just then, Emi stepped outside on the veranda, carrying a floor mat and gave them a wave.

"Looking for Chichi-ue?" she asked shaking out the mat. When Susumu nodded, she gave the mat one final shake and began to roll it up."Last I saw him, he went around the back towards the cattle shed. If you're busy, don't come in. Haha-ue is looking for someone to move the big cabinet."

"Ah, Emi-chan, you always treat me so well," Susumu said. "Don't let Haha-ue know I'm here, all right? I'm supposed to be out spreading straw." He rubbed the back of his head. "I don't know if she'd be more irritated that I wasn't doing what I said I was going to do, or more happy to find something else for me to do."

Emi laughed. "Then I'd hurry if I were you. She was just in the bathing room cleaning the floors. You might miss her if you're quick."

While Susumu was talking with Emi, Kaede and Kagome reached Daisuke's house.

Daisuke's house was just a little bit down the road. It, too, like Sora's house, was small, and obviously older, but the grounds around it had been planted with some low growing herbs and amulets and charms hung from the eaves. A stack of wood was neatly piled on one side of the building, split and ready to use. A bobtailed calico cat sat on the wood stack, sleeping, and a vegetable garden was planted behind it. Already some early things were tall enough to harvest.

"Does Daisuke live here alone?" Kagome asked as they neared.

The older miko shook her head. "After the last of her brothers and her only son passed on, Hisako-obasan moved back in with him to keep house for him, and, I think, because she was lonely, and liked her father more than her grandchildren. It was probably a good thing," the old miko said. "As sick as he was this winter, he might have died if he had been left on his own." She turned to Kagome and sighed. "Sometimes, the very old get childish, and stubborn, and don't eat or drink enough for their own good."

"Is he like that?" Kagome asked.

"You're about to find out," Kaede said.

"Otousan," a woman's voice said. "Are you going to be like that today, too?"

The two miko began walking towards the voice, which seemed to be coming from the side of the house.

"I don't want it," an old man's voice proclaimed. "You can just take it away." It was followed by a long, hacking cough.

When they rounded the corner, they saw the old man sitting on a stump along side of the house. Frail looking and thin, he was bent over, his shoulders stooped from long years working in the fields. He glared at his daughter with a face well lined by time and work and the sun. What little hair he had left was very white, stray wisps of it poking out from underneath his eboshi hat. His beard, long and untrimmed, was just as white.

Hisako, his daughter, returned glare for glare. Kagome remembered meeting the woman going into Tameo's complex three days earlier. This time, though, the elderly woman had no teasing smile. In one hand, she had a medicine cup. In the other she held a walking staff. From the way she was gripping it, Kagome wondered if she were nearly ready to use it on the old man.

Kaede stopped short of making herself known. "Let's watch a moment."

The younger woman nodded, and as she watched, Hisako held the medicine cup under her father's nose. Her tone was exasperated.

"Please, Otousan. Drink this. You know you'll feel better," she said. "Kaede-sama said you need to if you want to get rid of the backache." He turned his face, refusing the cup, and the shrillness in her voice went up. "It's bad enough you don't want your cough medicine, but you can't even stand up straight today."

The old man spat. "I'll stand the way I want," he said petulantly. " Besides, what does she know?" He shook his head. "If it was any good for me, it wouldn't taste like it was poison."

Hisako rolled her eyes and sighed deeply. "It doesn't taste like poison, Otousan," she said. "But maybe I should go find that kitsune and get him to turn it into sake. You seem to like that well enough. Maybe if you hadn't drunk so much last night, you wouldn't be feeling the way you do today."

"Wouldn't work," he said, scratching at his tummy. "It tastes so bad, I could still taste it through the magic. I don't think the kami from the August Fields could make it not taste bad."

"Otousan, that's not true." Hisako tapped her walking stick into the ground. "It may taste strong, but it doesn't taste like poison." She gave her father a hard look. "I take the same medicine every day, just so I can walk around and listen to you complain." She tapped her stick again. "Sometimes, I don't know why I bother. Maybe I should just move in with Mitsunari. It'd be better than trying to get you to help yourself."

"Then why don't you go? And take this nasty dose with you," he said, glaring at his daughter. "Then we can both be happy."

The old woman shook her head. "The wolves would get you, and you'd probably poison the whole pack. Maybe I should just ask Kaede-sama for a charm that would keep you from moving. Then you'd have to take it."

"Bah," Daisuke said, crossing his arms.

Kaede decided it was time to move forward. Kagome cautiously followed behind her.

"So, still trying to avoid your medicine, Daisuke?" the old miko asked, gazing at him with one solemn, disappointed eye. "And giving Hisako such a hard time while you're at it."

"Doesn't he always?" Hisako asked, frowning at her father. "Every day it's the same thing."

The old man looked up at the miko. Besides the irritation on his face, his face was drawn from obvious pain. But obstinately, he shook his head. "You two are always trying to get some noxious potion or other down my throat. I don't want to."

Kaede sighed. "It is, Daisuke-ojisan, your choice if you wish to keep hurting. But if you want to be able to move again, you need to take your tea along with using the ointment."

He ignored her, and looked at Kagome, instead. "And who are you, pretty woman?"

"You remember me telling you that InuYasha took a wife?" Hisako said. "This is her."

He looked at her, his old eyes taking her in appreciatively, almost to the point of rudeness. Kagome shifted her feet, feeling uncomfortable under his gaze.

"Heh," he finally said. "You married that silver-haired guy? The one who comes by sometimes and leaves me wood, even when I try to chase him off?"

"I guess," Kagome said, looking at Kaede and Hisako. For some reason, Hisako found all this rather amusing. "He told me he brings you wood sometimes. He never mentioned you trying to chase him away."

"He's a strong one, that young fellow of yours." Daisuke scratched under his chin. "He can carry a bigger load of wood than I ever managed. Looks kind of different, too. I've always wondered about him. How a young one gets hair that silver that young in life . . . "

"He was born that way, Daisuke-sama," Kagome said, bowing slightly. "And yes, he is my husband."

"Well good for him, getting a pretty thing like you to keep his bed warm," Daisuke said, nodding in appreciation. "If I had such a pretty thing to keep me warm at night, maybe my back wouldn't hurt so bad, either."

Hisako tapped her stick on the ground, and frowned at the old man."Otousan," she said. "Now why would a pretty young thing want to keep your bed warm at night?"

He shrugged his head. "Age and experience, maybe? A lot to be said for experience. Your Okaasan, she never complained."

Kagome coughed, and Hisako snorted. "At least not so you'd hear, old man."

The old man scowled at his daughter. "What - "

"Maybe you should just take your medicine, Daisuke-sama?" Kagome said, interrupting "You'd feel a lot better."

He lifted his head up and looked at the sky. "Why, Heavens? What are you doing, sending three people to pester this old man! Don't you think at my age, I deserve some respect?"

"You'd get more respect if you took your tea," Hisako said.

"She's right, you know," Kaede said. "We wouldn't keep pestering you if you'd just take it."

"Bah. Give me that," he said, grabbing the medicine cup from his daughter's hand. He swallowed it down.

Trying very hard not to giggle, Kagome looked up at Kaede, who gave her a small nod. The older miko handed Hisako the jar of ointment. "I thought you would probably need a fresh batch of this for your otousan today."

Hisako nodded. "When he won't take his tea, that's about all he'll let me do."

"Bah. After that, you ought to give me something to drink," the old man said.

"What you need is food," his daughter said. "Remember what happened to your stomach yesterday after you took your medicine?"

"More of your damned rice gruel, no doubt," he said. Slowly and painfully, the old man stood up.

"There's fish if you can keep that down, Otou," she said. "Come on."

Kagome and Kaede got ready to walk off, but the old man turned to them. "Come by more often, pretty woman. Tell that husband of yours I'm too old to do anything to make him worry."

Hisako rolled her eyes, and led her father inside.

"Is . . . is he always like that?" Kagome asked.

"No, not always," Kaede said. "He was being...well..well-mannered for him."

Kagome shook her head.

"But, like I thought, he behaved better around you. We may have to visit him together more often."


	119. Chapter 119

_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 119**

At Tameo's compound, Susumu and InuYasha wound their way around the back side of the big house, doing a quick check of the office, just in case, but finding no one there, the two men bypassed the path that led to the family shrine, and instead made their way toward the cattle pen and other outbuildings.

The air was rich with earthy smells - compost and straw, manure and cattle. Nearby was the shed they kept the miso in. Something else InuYasha wasn't sure of was fermenting near by.

An ox lowed, and a man said soothing things to it.

"This is the heart of what we do in the compound," Susumu said, as they rounded one of the buildings. "The rice, the stores, the animals, are all in this area. We may sleep in the house, but this is where things are done."

"I believe it," InuYasha said, nodding and looking at the few people around working at various tasks. "It's got the strongest smells of any place here."

Susumu laughed. "I do believe you're right. Can't farm without making smells, it seems."

Up ahead, they could spot a man with tied-back sleeves forking chopped straw into a handcart.

"Yo, Jun," Susumu said. "Hiding back here are you?"

"You might call it hiding, but some of us, we call it working." Jun, a big brawny man, neither old nor young, dropped his fork load of straw into the cart.

The two men rounded the corner of the building they were passing and saw Isao working there as well, raking up the straw that Jun scattered behind him.

"Of course, it is a good day to be seen to be busy. That's why I brought the young one back here with me." Jun jerked his thumb and pointed to where Isao was busy raking up straw that the farmer had scattered in his work. "He seemed kind of lost, and your okaasan wanted something for him to do. He's been more help here, I think, than he would be in the big house."

Isao, still bruised, but looking better all around, raised his head and smiled at the two men. "Susumu-sensei, InuYasha-sama," he said, bowing. "It's good to see you."

"You're looking better than the last time I saw you," InuYasha said, nodding at the youth.

"I feel a lot better, too. No more headache," Isao said. "Thank you for helping me."

"Keh," the hanyou said, crossing his arms, but giving the young man a kind look. "Hope you don't need help like that again for a long time."

"Found something that Haha-ue said you could do?" Susumu asked.

The boy nodded. "She said I couldn't do heavy lifting, or anything that put weight on my neck or head, or that made me dizzy." He pulled up a bit of straw with his rake. "Funny thing is, I got the feeling that Hisa-obaasan was trying to find something for me to do, to get me out of the house. She seemed really happy to send me out with Jun-sama. Did I do something wrong?"

Susumu laughed. "No, no, I'm sure you didn't." He gave a knowing look to InuYasha. "No, it's just that she's having company this afternoon. I'm surprised she didn't think up something for you to do to help her get ready. Maybe Haha-ue might have thought you needed some fresh air. She's smart about that type of stuff, but she always kicks all the men out of the house the morning before one of these things, except when she needs them to do the heavy lifting or carrying. You're lucky, though, that you didn't end up washing dishes or scrubbing floors."

The boy looked rather relieved. "Ah, I was afraid she was mad because Mitsuo kept trying to hit one of his sisters with a toy, and I made him stop."

Susumu shook his head. "Nope. That was a good thing. It's just she gets . . . intense . . . when something like this is going on."

"It's true, young fellow," Jun said. "Just like I told you. We've all learned to lay low on the days when the women come over. Even Tameo-sama." He tossed another fork full into the cart. "I'd rather be pitching straw any time than needing to go to the house on a day like today."

"Speaking of Chichi-ue, do you know where he's at?" Susumu asked. "Emi thought he'd be here."

"He was for a while. He went down to the west dry field," Jun said. "Something about preferring a sore back to Hisa-sama's eye."

"Ah," Susumu said, nodding his head. "Somehow, I'm not that surprised." He turned to InuYasha. "I guess we have some more walking to do."

"Sounds like it," the hanyou agreed. Nodding their goodbyes, and dodging little Mikio, Jun's youngest son, who was being chased by two of the older girls, they headed out of the compound and off into the fields.

Just like at Tameo's household, there was plenty of activity around Tsuneo's place. Several people were working around the outbuildings. A couple of roosters looked at each other warily before a dog ran by, disturbing their display.

"Hey, Akai!" Hitori, Isao's older brother, said. The dog turned and headed back to the young man. He had evidently been down by the river, and carried his fishing gear and a large fish. Even though he looked in Kaede and Kagome's direction, he chose not to acknowledge them, and moved on to the house.

Kagome looked at Kaede, who shrugged. "I wouldn't put too much in store by that," the old miko said. "He's always had a bit of an attitude. It's hard, sometimes, to believe that he and Isao-kun are brothers."

The young miko nodded. "With everything that's happened . . . "

"Maybe," Kaede said. They headed for the main house.

As they approached Amaya, Isao's mother was working in the kitchen garden. She was bent over one section of freshly turned earth and there was a stack of weeds in one corner. Near her feet, though was a basket of freshly picked greens.

"Amaya-chan," Kaede said. "It's a good day for gardening, is it not? If I wasn't so busy, I suspect that's just what I'd be doing."

Looking up, Amaya gave the two women a small smile, standing up and dropping her hand tool next to the basket. She was dressed in an old kosode and a plain wrap skit. It might have been merely practical for doing her job, but Kagome wondered if the fatigue and worry she saw in the woman's eyes and mouth had anything to do with her choice in clothes.

"Miko-sama," Amaya said, dusting off her hands, then bowing. "Yes it is a good day for it. I hope all is well. Hana-chan said you would be coming by."

"It is with us," Kaede said, watching as the younger woman bent over to pick up a basket she had filled with early greens. "I hope things are - "

There was a shout, and a child began crying. "Otousan!"

Amaya winced at the sound. "Now what?"

"Things aren't as quiet here as you'd like, I see," Kaede said.

"No, I am afraid not," Amaya said. "I'm hoping they will calm down today. I'd like to go see Isao-kun, but I'm a bit nervous leaving with Haname feeling this poorly, and . . . "

"Oh, I understand," Kaede said. "But Isao is feeling much better. He says his head doesn't hurt anymore, and the bruising is starting to fade."

Amaya smiled, a little bit relieved. "I am glad. Susumu is a good man for taking him in. Isao was very excited when I went to see him to take him his things."

"Good, good," Kaede said. "I am hoping everything works out well."

"Morio-kun," said a shrill, young voice. "Leave Haha-ue's pickles alone!"

"Not everything here is working out as well as Isao's position," Amaya said, sighing. "I don't know what we're going to do about him."

"But I want to," Morio said. His voice, whiny and a little frightened, boomed out of the house.

"Why Joben asked Setsuko to watch him is beyond me," Amaya said. "What's a girl her age able to do with a man his size?"

"Maybe we - " Kaede started, but was interrupted by another banging sound followed by the squawk of a chicken.

"Otousan!" the girl said. "Morio got into the pickle tub again!"

As they watched, Morio ran out from behind a building, carrying the lid to a pickle tub, followed by Setsuko, trying to catch up with him. Joben came out of the main building, and stood in the pathway Morio was taking.

"Morio-kun," Joben said, crossing his arms."You have to put that back."

"But . . . but . . . " the strange man-child said. "I need . . . " He dropped to the ground. "The youkai are going to get me," he said, looking up at Joben. "I have to have something to keep safe." His eyes grew big and sad and glittery. "Please, Joben-ojisan." He began to rock back and forth.

Kagome took a step forward, wanting to help. Kaede pulled her back. "No, child," the old miko said. "This is something Joben needs to learn to manage."

The younger woman let out a deep breath. "If you say so."

The man looked over his shoulder and saw the miko standing there, gave a terse nod, and turned back to his charge. "No, no, Morio-kun. You don't need a shield. There are better things to protect you than the lid from Akina-chan's pickle tub. I'll give you something else that will work better."

"You will?" Morio said, wiping his eyes with his sleeve. "You're sure it'll work. They want to eat me! I just know it."

"We'll put the lid up, and I'll give you an ofuda that will keep all the evil monsters away." Joben motioned to his daughter who came close. "Ofuda work better, you know. Much stronger magic." He took the pickle tub lid from Morio's hand. Even with reassurances, the cursed man was reluctant to give it up, but Joben finally pulled it out of his hands, and handed it to his daughter.

"Here, Setsuko-chan. Go put this where it belongs," he said. "I'm sorry this happened while you were watching him."

She nodded and went off.

"Now you, come with me, and I'll get you your ofuda," Joben said, lifting Morio back to his feet. "You need to stay away from the main house and play at the house where we put you. There are plenty of toys for you there, you know."

Morio wiped his eyes again. "But I get lonely there, Joben-ojisan. There's nobody to play with." He started to sniffle. "What good are toys if nobody wants to play with me? And when you go off and talk to the other people, I'm all alone. I get scared. Every time I hear a noise, I think it's the monsters."

Joben sighed again. "We'll have to see if we can find you someone to play with. I'll talk to Chichi-ue. He may know somebody we can ask over to play with you. But right now, Haha-ue needs lots of rest and quiet. You need to do what I tell you to do." He took him by the arm. "Come on, now, and let's go. You can be good for me right now, can't you?"

Morio took a deep breath, nodded his head and let Joben lead him away.

"Oh, my," Kaede said.

Amaya nodded. "I'm not sure why this happened, but we have a very lost and frightened boy in that body, and he's busy frightening everybody who comes around him."

"That's so sad," Kagome said. "I saw him playing with Susumu-sama's son the other day, and they were having a good time. He really thinks like a five-year-old."

"But has a body of an adult man," Kaede said. "I brought some medicine over that might help calm him down for a while, but he'll need more than that. I'll talk to Tameo and the other elders about this. Something has to be done before Joben or the rest of you can't take it any more." She sighed and shook her head. "I wonder if Kazuo had any idea . . . "

"Maybe there are some children who could play with him?" Kagome asked.

"Who's going to want to do that?" Amaya asked. She picked up her basket.

"The kami did say that Morio was everybody's responsibility," Kagome said. "Maybe someone would."

"Maybe so," Kaede said. She turned to Amaya. "So how is Haname this morning?"

"About the same, I think. Akina is with her right now. She might try to sit up for you, but she's been spending a lot of time sleeping."

"I'll go check on her, and leave the medicine with Akina-chan, "Kaede said. "Then we'll be on our way."

"Do you want me to be there?" Kagome asked.

"With as much noise and strife as there has been this morning, perhaps, child, you should wait here," Kaede said, shifting her basket on her hip. "She needs quiet to throw off the damage that spell caused her, and I'm not sure if she's getting it yet."

"It's all right, Kagome-sama," Amaya said. "I'll keep you company until Miko-sama gets done."

With a nod of acceptance, Kagome sent Kaede off to do her work, and Amaya went back to her gardening. Kagome walked over to where she was working. After a moment, she pointed to something growing.

"What's that, Amaya-chan?" she asked. "I saw some of that growing in my garden, but I never gardened very much before, and Kinjiro put the garden in and hasn't told me what he planted."

"You never had to garden?" Amaya asked, with honest surprise.

"No, never. We . . . " Kagome thought a moment, how to phrase it. "We had someone else grow all our vegetables. I only grew some flowers and herbs."

"Ah," Amaya said, bending over to pick up her tool. "You were rich? And you came back to living in a farming village?"

Kagome shook her head. "Not really. It's just that I lived at a shrine, and other people did the gardening."

The older woman looked at her, not sure of what to make of it, and shrugged. "This is tatsoi. In fact, it's my second planting of it. Kinjiro didn't tell you what he planted?"

Kagome shook her head. "Things got kind of crazy."

"Huh," she said. " Come see me if you need any help. The kitchen garden is my special place." She shook her head. "Men sometimes have no sense. Plant a garden and not tell you what's in it."

For some reason, this made Kagome laugh. She knelt down next to the woman, and they began to talk about early vegetables and weeds and Kinjiro. By the time Kaede came back out, Kagome knew she had found a new friend.


	120. Chapter 120

_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 120**

Haname was lying on a pallet in the main room near the fire pit, resting under a blue and yellow coverlet with her arm thrown over her forehead. Hearing the door mat rattle, she groaned. "Don't tell me Setsuko is still fighting over the pickle tub."

"Not this time," Kaede said, dropping the mat behind her.

The sick woman turned over to face the beaten earth doma and sighed as she saw her visitor.

"So, Kaede, I see you're here to poke and probe me again," she said. Her voice was too soft, and her face looked worn and strained, even as she tried to pull her dignity together to greet her guest.

"That I am," the old miko said as she stepped inside. "Although if you would rather, I could put this off until tomorrow."

Akina was sitting near Haname, working the spinning wheel. As Kaede stepped out of her shoes, she wound the last length of thread onto the spindle and moved closer to her mother-in-law. Haname patted her hand as Kaede stepped up on the wooden platform then wrapped her fingers around her daughter-in-law's hand, as if she could pull the younger woman's strength into her.

She looked up at Kaede, and gave her head a resigned shake. "No, you're here, so we might as well. Help me sit up, Akina-chan, so I can hear her tell me how sick I still am."

There was more shouting from outside, which made Haname wince. Akina turned and looked in its direction. "If it were less . . . noisy around here, you would be doing better, Okaasan," she said, sliding her arm under the older woman's shoulders in preparation to move her.

"It is what it is," Haname said, lifting her head to help her daughter-in-law get into position.

Kaede walked over and sat down next to them, resting her basket on the ground next to her. "I've brought some medicine that might help calm him down. It might even make him sleepy."

"I hope it'll taste sweet, because I don't know if we can get him to take it any other way," Akina said, taking a firm grip on Haname's hand. "Are you ready, Okaasan?"

"You might try mixing it with sweet bean paste," Kaede said as she rummaged through her basket and pulled out a small container. "But be careful not to let the little ones get into it."

The younger woman nodded.

"I'll leave that up to you, Akina-chan, or maybe Amaya-chan might help" Haname said, steeling herself to move. "Let's get this done."

"He's still getting headaches," Akina said wrapping Haname's arm around her neck. "Maybe we can do it then."

Akina lifted Haname up as smoothly as possible, but it was obviously a strain for the older woman to move, and she closed her eyes and grimaced as she shifted, panting a little, and then coughing as she settled down into a sitting position. Unwrapping herself from her mother-in-law, Akina patted her on the back to ease her cough, and then tucked the blanket around her legs and waist. Haname took a moment to catch her breath, but once she had, she quickly shooed her daughter-in-law off.

"That's enough, Akina-chan. Enough fussing over me. I'm not an infant. Put on the kettle, will you?" she said, patting her daughter-in-law's hand and giving her a faint, fond smile. "I'll be all right. But I'd like some tea while I'm sitting up."

Nodding, the younger woman grabbed the tea kettle. "Would you like some, Kaede-obaasan?"

The old miko shook her head. "Not this time, thank you. Kagome-chan is outside waiting, talking to Amaya-chan."

Haname coughed again. "You could have brought her in with you, you know," she said, reaching for a cup of water. When she was done, Kaede grabbed her wrist to take her pulse. "I wouldn't have minded."

Kaede concentrated for a moment as she felt the pulse. Pursing her lips she touched the woman's head and neck and throat.

"Yes, you would have," the miko said as she did these things. "Perhaps not minded, but you would have felt the strain. You have enough strain in your life now without adding extra."

"Bah," Haname said, shaking her head. "My whole life is strain." She began to cough again. "Don't tell me I'm getting a lung fever."

"Not yet, maybe," Kaede said. "You are a little warm. You need to sit up as much as possible. Laying down too much will let your lungs clog up."

Haname sighed.

"If it's too hard for you to hold yourself up, you can either sit next to the wall, or put a chest behind you for a back rest," Kaede said. She rocked back on her heels. "Are you still having nightmares?"

The ill woman made a bitter, if wry, face. "Only when I sleep."

"If they get too bad, you can take a little of the medicine I brought for the yamabushi." Kaede rested the palm of her hand on the bridge of Haname's nose, so that it covered the area between her eyes. "It might help you sleep more soundly." Once again, the miko closed her eye. "Your aura is still troubled."

Haname pulled away. "And what do you mean by that, Kaede?"

"That you're still throwing off the effects of that spell. Perhaps if you could get some dreamless sleep, you would heal faster," Kaede said, rubbing her finger on the bottom of her chin. "Sit up as much as you can today, and take some of that medicine tonight. If you're not doing better in a couple of days, we'll try something else."

Sighing, Haname nodded. There were more noises from the yard. "Calming him down might help most of all," she said. "Akina, do you think?"

Akina sighed. "I'll try, Okaasan." She reached for the jar that had the medicine. "How much of it?"

"I'd try five drops in whatever it is you're going to give him," Kaede said. "You can give him a little more, but no more than ten drops at a time." She turned to Haname. "The same goes for you. Start out with five drops in a cup of tea." The miko stood up. "And only lie down if you are going to sleep."

Haname grabbed her sleeve. "Next time, don't leave her outside."

Kaede gave the ailing woman a small smile. "I'll remember that," she said. And picking up her basket, she made her farewells and then left.

Kagome was bending down over a patch of greens as Kaede walked down the pathway.

"This is the best size to pick them," Amaya said, breaking off a leaf of a slightly purple green and handed it to the younger woman. "You can let them get a little bigger than that, but if you want to use them for their greens and not roots, if the flowers start to bloom, they get bitter. Too much after that, they get too tough for anything but the compost pile. But you can pickle the roots."

"They come up early," Kagome noted.

"Yes, they're one of the first things I plant," Amaya said nodded. "Next year, be sure to get some in as early as possible. If you want, you can come by and ask questions. No doubt I'll be more ready to talk to you than Kinjiro."

Kagome laughed. "I suspect you would be. Is it just me, or does Kinjiro seem . . . well . . . a little pushy? And he thinks everybody ought to know what he's talking about in advance?"

"Ah, you've noticed that, have you?" Amaya smiled at Kagome, chuckling a little as she stood up and brushed the dirt off her hand.

"I think," Kaede said, joining the two younger women, "everybody has noticed that."

Kagome stood up. "Done already?"

"I am," the old miko said, nodding. "And we still have time to go herb gathering."

"It's a good day for it," Amaya said. "Let me know if you see any good stands of fuki. That might be just the thing for Haname-obasan right now." She rubbed her back. "If not her, at least me."

"There's usually some up there. I'll let you know if it's up enough," Kaede said, shifting her basket to a different place on her hip.

"Well, I want to get these greens in. They'll be good with lunch," Amaya said, picking up her own basket. "Be sure to come back, Kagome-chan. We'll talk some more about gardening. And stubborn young farmers!" After a polite bow, she headed back to the house.

"Now that was an interesting experience," Kagome said as they watched Amaya head back to the house. They, too, began walking. "She knows a lot about gardening."

"I've heard that," Kaede said, nodding as they made it back to the main street. "She's been in charge of Tsuneo's kitchen garden for a long time now. Some of the other women are jealous of her skill."

"I can believe that," Kagome said. "How is Haname?"

Kaede sighed and frowned a little. "I was hoping she would be feeling better by this morning, but she's still nearly as weak as she was two days ago. I've told them to make sure she sits up some; laying down too long, especially for an older person, can make the lungs weak, and she's already starting to cough."

"Really?" the young miko asked, surprised. "So soon?"

Kaede sighed. "Whatever magic and potion that yamabushi gave her, it's taken a lot out of her. I thought she would just need a couple of days to recover, but she's taking longer than I expected. We might have to try something more serious if she's not starting to get better by tomorrow."

Leaving the main road, they walked along the dyke between paddy fields, green with growing barley, until they reached the dry fields beyond. Kaede continued her lesson.

"I do grow a lot of herbs," Kaede said. "But for some things, wild herbs are much better than similar ones we can grow in the garden. And some won't do well in a garden, no matter what we do."

One of the younger boys was coming back along the same path the two women were taking. He looked at Kagome with great curiosity as they passed, but didn't say anything. Once he was past them, though, he broke out into a run.

"What was all that about?" Kagome asked, turning to watch him go.

"Boys being boys, I suspect," the older miko said. "Toshiki is Iya's brother. I've heard he's excitable. For some reason, I get the impression he's a bit afraid of me."

"You?" Kagome looked at Kaede rather surprised.

"You're not the only one people talk about, child," Kaede said, patting her hand. "Sometimes, even old mikos get in the gossip. I think Toshiki heard the rumor that I turn bad boys into frogs."

Kagome almost choked on that one, then both women laughed. They passed by several other people working in their fields, but no one else reacted like Toshiki. Instead they nodded or called out a greeting as the two went by. Soon they had reached the end of the paddy fields and the canals used to fill them and the start of the dryland fields.

Kaede pointed to an old oak left growing on the side of the path. "That tree is on the border of Tameo's fields," Kaede said. "If we pass to the right from there, we'll pass by a large field that he plants in beans and hemp and eggplants. On the far end of it, is one of the meadows I like to go to in the spring. It has a few trees, and a couple of damp spots, which are very good for some of the herbs we will be using."

Reaching the tree, they took the turn and walked toward the meadow. About halfway there, Kagome was surprised to find Tameo, not too far from the fence that marked the property line, actually using a hoe as he worked in the field. He was singing as he bent over the earth.

The two miko stopped and watched.

"Young man, young man," he sang,  
>"Where are you going,<br>I'm going to the sake shop  
>to buy a fresh jug.<p>

"Young man, young man,  
>how will they measure it?<br>they'll put it on a scale  
>and weigh it right up.<p>

"Young man, young man,  
>how much will it weigh?<br>It weighs quite a lot,  
>as much as Fujiyama."<p>

"A lot of sake, cousin," Kaede said.

Tameo looked up, and put his hoe over his shoulder. "Indeed. Quite a lot."

"What would Daitaro-sama say about buying that much?" Kagome asked. "It seems to me that he would be complaining about the quality."

Tameo wiped his forehead with his sleeve, and laughed. "You'll have to ask him that one. He's the one who taught me the song. Maybe he wishes he could sell that much."

Kagome grinned and watched the old headman laughing. Kaede, evidently having heard that joke before, merely gave her cousin a smile.

"A good day to be out working," she said.

"Well, the work needed to be done," Tameo said, shrugging. "And we are a couple of days behind. And I've had enough paperwork to last me a while."

Kaede nodded wisely. "And the women are coming over this afternoon, too."

"There's that," he said. "You know my wife." He dropped his hoe, getting ready to get back to work. "Off to the meadow?"

"Indeed," the old miko said. "I think perhaps some of the mitsuba might be big enough by now. And Amaya has asked me to see if there's any fuki around."

"Saw some over there the day before yesterday, over by the low spot," he said. "Not sure what else. Still a bit early."

"I'm sure we'll find something," Kaede said.

"Good gathering," he said, and then lifting his hoe, he went back to work and singing.

"Young man, young man,  
>how much will you drink<br>from a jug as big as Fujiyama?  
>I'll drink it down to the bottom."<p>

Shaking her head, Kagome tried hard not to giggle and followed Kaede to the meadow.


	121. Chapter 121

_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 121**

As Kagome and Kaede headed off to find their herbs, Susumu and InuYasha walked down a different path heading for the same field where Tameo was working.

"So," Susumu asked as they neared his family's property, "are you ready for Houshi-sama's little party this afternoon?"

InuYasha shrugged. "No, but I can't see any way for me to get out of it." A rabbit dashed out of the brush in front of them. "That's the third rabbit we've seen. Maybe I ought to start hunting over this side of the village."

"More competition over here," Susumu said. "A lot of the boys come here looking for them, but nobody would complain. Nobody likes to come in and see what the rabbits have done to their bean fields. But as for me, doesn't look like I'm going to get out of at least showing up, either. Shouldn't be all bad though. I hear that Eiji's and Isamu's women are going to feed the workers. I wonder how Miroku swung that one?"

"Chiya, probably," InuYasha said. " And Eiji's got a son he's trying to convince Miroku to take in as an acolyte. I don't think Miroku's ready to try to raise any young monks, though, not with Sango having her hands full with the twins and Naoya."

"I'm surprised Chiya had any time for anything like this," Susumu said. He opened the gate to his father's field. "I hear she's been busy hanging over her mother like a shadow." Pushing it open, he walked through.

"I think it's been set up for weeks," InuYasha said, following him through. "Almost every day I've seen the bouzu, he's been talking about doing this. Probably had everything set up except for rounding up the victims."

Susumu pushed the gate closed. "He must really want to get that little building of his fixed."

"Yeah. He's got some idea of dragging me off to some monastery near Odawara to pick up some holy writings or something, and a statue of Jizo to install in the village." InuYasha's ear flicked. "He doesn't want to bring the writing stuff here unless he's sure the roof will hold."

"You don't look too pleased at the idea, cousin," Susumu said.

"He won't be the one carrying the statue home," InuYasha replied. "It's a long walk back."

"Ah," the village guard said, nodding. "I could see how that would color one's enthusiasm."  
>They heard the headman before they could see him. Following the pathway around the corner of the field, they found Tameo bending over and dropping seeds into the ground before covering them over with his hoe.<p>

"Young man, young man,  
>how much will it weigh?<br>It weighs quite a lot,  
>as much as Fujiyama.<p>

"Young man, young man,  
>how much will you drink<br>from a jug as big as Fujiyama?  
>I'll drink it down to the bottom."<p>

The headman's voice sounded soft and a little raspy, but quite content as he worked.

"Nobody's going to give you a bottle as big as Fujiyama, Otousan," Susumu said.

The old man stood up and brushed off his hands, and smiled at the two of them. "One can wish though." He adjusted the rush hat he was wearing to get a better look at his visitors, "Still, I'm not quite sure where I'd store it."

The hanyou snorted. "Don't think the village would be big enough. We'd all drown."

"Ah, InuYasha, you're probably right. You just missed your wife. She's with Kaede, over in the meadow over there," he said pointing. "Herb gathering this morning."

He nodded. "Not surprised. It's the type of day Kaede likes for doing that. I'll leave them alone for right now. Kaede may not have Haname's eye, but . . . "

Father and son chuckled at that. "Some things run in families," Susumu said. "My oldest is showing some of the same talent. I've seen how she looks at the other children."

"A useful talent when she has to put up with the likes of us," Tameo said, leaning on his hoe. "So, what brings you two out to where honest men work?"

"Doing other type of honest work," Susumu replied. He glanced at the hanyou. "I've finally pinned down our cousin to join the village watch."

"Did you now?" Tameo asked. He lifted his hoe over his shoulder. "Well, good. We'll have to get the papers written up when I get home this evening."

InuYasha stuffed his hands inside of his sleeves. "You're sure about this?"

Tameo nodded at InuYasha. "I'd been hoping to make it official ever since we gave you that land up on the hill. I think everybody but a few hotheads like Seiji have been wondering when Susumu would bring you in, especially after last year's bandit raids."

"Long as you're sure it won't cause problems," InuYasha said. He shifted, a little uncomfortable with the ease the two men had over the offer. "People talk . . . "

"People do talk, indeed. And I know what they're talking about after what happened two days ago," Tameo said, turning back to his farming. He lifted his hoe and began cutting a row. "And once the word gets around, it might even do us extra good. It'd be nice to go a winter without any bandits getting the wrong idea."

"That would be a good thing," Susumu said, nodding. "And now, maybe - "

He was interrupted when Kinjiro's voice bellowed across the field. "Dammit boy, get down here now!"

All three of them swerved in the direction of the voice. It came from behind a stand of trees. "Now what?" Tameo said, sighing. "That's the third time since I've been out here. I don't know what they're getting done over there, but whatever it is, Aki doesn't seem to want to do it. That boy . . . "

Susumu was about to say something, but Kinjiro's voice was followed by a totally different one, and younger one. "Help! Get them away from me!"

"That boy lives for trouble," InuYasha said, his ears focusing on the boys cries.

"Maybe we better go see," Susumu said.

The hanyou nodded, and leaving the headman behind, they took off to see what had happened.

Tameo shook his head and began working his hoe more vigorously.

"Young man, young man,  
>how much trouble will you make?<br>Quite a lot of trouble,  
>as much as Fujiyama."<p>

While the men talked, Kaede and Kagome began looking for usable herbs.

"Each season gives us something different." Kaede said as they walked through the meadow. "Even in winter there's usually something useful, roots or dried stalks, although the picking is slim then. This time of year, we're usually looking for leaves and shoots, and sometimes flowers. When it's high summer, we'll start looking for roots and fruits."

Kagome nodded. At first glance the meadow seemed mostly grass, nearly ankle high, but as she looked, she could see other things growing, some in patches, some singly. A few even had flowers out already. She bent down and looked at one plant that looked remarkably similar to the plants Amaya had been growing, already festooned with small yellow flowers.

"Wild mustard?" she asked.

"Yes, and some people gather them, but we'll leave them here this time," Kaede said. "This time of year, we'll probably find more that's food than medicine, although some can be used for both," Kaede continued. "That is not a bad thing. Those who eat fresh spring herbs seem to be healthier than those that don't, so it's always a good thing to put some in your cooking," the old miko said.

"They told me that growing up, too. Fresh greens have things in them that help keep you well," Kagome said.

"The ones who told you that knew what they were talking about, child," Kaede said. "I've seen what happens when there's not enough green stuff to go around. Sometimes, if the rains don't fall, everything gets dry and people suffer, and not just from hunger itself. It causes other sicknesses."

She stopped near a stand of bright green leaves not far from the edge of the meadow where some trees hung over the plants, and she knelt down. "Ah, this looks good."

Kagome knelt down beside her, looking at what she had found.

"This is one I was hoping we'd find." Kaede broke off a bit of a plant, then handed it to Kagome "Mitsuba. You can see why it's called three leaves."

Kagome nodded. "I've used it before, but I've never seen how in grew in a field."

"It likes shade, and for it not to get too dry," Kaede explained. "In a month or so, it will get little white flowers. But it's the leaves and stems we use. We can take a little now, but we'll really want to wait before we gather much more."

They gathered some, and put it in Kaede's basket. "Remind me to send you home with a bunch," the old miko said. "It really tastes good with fish when it's this fresh."

They gathered a few more herbs, Kaede pointing them out and discovering if Kagome knew them, and explaining what they were used for.

"Soon it will be too warm for this one," Kaede said, picking up a small plant with tiny purple flowers. "Hotokenoza. One of the first to flower, and the first to disappear with the warmth."

"Oh, I know that one," Kagome said. "I picked some of that the other day. You're right. I noticed it gets hard to find with the warm weather." She smiled. "I always thought the flowers looked like little snake heads when I was a girl."

"They do, don't they?" Kaede said, holding up a stalk. "It's funny what a child's eye will notice." She put some in her basket and rocked back on her heels. "I think, perhaps, we've had enough for one morning. Maybe - "

Suddenly, the air was pierced by the sound of a man shouting.

"What was that?" Kagome said, standing up. "It sounds like - "

It was followed by a much higher pitched scream.

"That's Aki, isn't it?" Kaede said. She sighed and slowly got to her feet. "He and Kinjiro must be working close by."

Kagome pointed to a wooded area. "It sounds like it came from those trees over there."

There was another high-pitched shout.

"That's on the other side of the field where Tameo was working," Kaede said. She balanced her gathering basket on her hip. "Do you feel any youki?"

Kagome closed her eyes a moment and extended her awareness. "None, except for InuYasha. He's not very far from here."

"That's what I thought, too. We better go see what happened," Kaede said. They began heading back toward the road.

While the two women walked to see what happened, InuYasha dashed toward the sounds of Aki's shrieks, leaving Susumu behind to catch up. As he got nearer, he saw Kinjiro looking up in a tree.

Seeing the farmer there, he relaxed and slowed down a bit. "No monsters here?"

"No," Kinjiro said, glancing at the hanyou. "Just an obstinate boy." He turned back and glared up at the boy. "Get down, baka."

As InuYasha joined the farmer and looked up, the hanyou saw what the problem was. Two birds were squawking and diving at Aki, trying to chase him away. Aki, instead of leaving, huddled in the crook of a branch, trying to protect his face from the birds' angry wrath.

"Get them away from me!" the boy yelled. "They won't stop!"

"You must be too close to their nest. The only way to stop them is to leave." Kinjiro said. "That's the only way to do it."

"I can't!" Aki said. "The chain's snagged on a branch, and I can't move. They're going to get my eyes if I move."

"He's got a knack for getting himself into messes, doesn't he?" InuYasha looked up carefully, spotting both the bird's nest and the broken branch holding the chain in place.

"Even better than Ani-ue was, growing up," Kinjiro said, spitting. "Maybe we should do the village a favor and let the birds get him."

"Help me!" the boy said, trying to hit out at his attackers. The birds dodged his waving arm with ease and pecked at the top of his head.

InuYasha stuffed his hands in his sleeves, and frowned. "How'd he get up there?"

"Decided he was tired of working already, and climbed up too high for me to get to him without climbing myself," Kinjiro said. "And before I could get there, the birds decided they didn't like what he was doing."

InuYasha sighed and began taking off his jacket.

"What are you going to do?" the farmer asked. "You don't need to get your eyes pecked out, either."

"Save his worthless butt," InuYasha said. "I can get there faster than you."

He leapt up into the tree rather effortlessly. Bouncing off two branches, he reached the boy. For a moment, the birds circled, taking in this new development.

"Don't hurt me!" Aki cried.

"Stupid baka," InuYasha said. "I'm going to put my jacket over your head. It'll keep the birds off of your face."

Aki didn't say anything, but didn't fight it when InuYasha draped the red fabric over him. One of the birds, seeing how things were, dived for the hanyou's ear, but after laying his ears flat, InuYasha turned his head and spoiled the target. The angry bird caught his cheek instead. It squawked and came in for another run. As InuYasha moved, trying to figure out how Aki was caught, the bird missed the hanyou's head and instead, grabbed at the sleeve of his kosode. Inu heard the fabric give way, but ignored it as he reached for where Aki's leg chain was entangled. With a quick tug at the branch that had kept it snagged, he freed it, and grabbing the boy, jumped down.

"Boy, you better turn out to be worth something in the end, because right now, you are a lot more trouble than you're worth," he said, putting the boy down on the ground and getting his jacket back.

The birds circled, then flew off, calling loudly in their victory at ridding their tree of the invaders, then went back to their nest as InuYasha and Aki moved to a distance they considered safe.

Aki blinked as he pulled off the hanyou's jacket, tears and a few bloody scratches marking his face. He looked up at InuYasha, saw the trickle of blood where the bird got to the hanyou during the rescue.

"You . . . you saved me?" the boy asked, looking up at the hanyou with big, surprised eyes as he handed InuYasha his fire rat jacket back.

"You wanted me to let the birds peck out your eyes?" InuYasha asked, slinging the coat over his elbow. Kinjiro joined them and nodded at the hanyou.

Aki shook his head. "No . . . but I never thought you would do something like that. The yamabushi said . . . "

"Feh," the hanyou said. "Why would you listen to anything that jackass said? He hurt your obaasan, gave your otousan a nearly impossible job, made your okaasan sad and put her to a lot of extra work, got you in trouble, and gave your ojiisan a lot of grief. Did any of them deserve that?"

Aki's eyes widened even more. "He . . . he hurt my obaasan? That's why she got sick?"

"You didn't know?" InuYasha asked, looking at Kinjiro.

Kinjiro shrugged. "I didn't tell him. I didn't realize he didn't know what happened." .

"Isao told me she had . . . a fit or something," Aki said. His face went ashen beneath the dirt smudges and bloody scratches. "Morio caused that? I didn't realize . . . I thought she got sick cause I got caught. She got sick because I . . . " He choked.

"The yamabushi used magic on her that clouded her mind," Susumu said as he joined the others. "It was hard on her body. It's going to take her a while to get well."

The boy slumped to the ground, slowly, and curled up on himself. "Morio-sama made her sick?"

"Yes, son," Susumu said. He squatted down and rested his hand on the boy's shoulder.

Aki didn't say anything for a long moment, and then took a deep breath. His body shuddered a little, almost a sob, but he swallowed it down. "He told me if I got caught to cause as much trouble as I could. That it would be my way of fighting the bad magic over the village. I believed him. Obaasan believed him. He gave her an amulet that would keep her safe from youkai magic."

"But not his own magic," Kinjiro said.

Aki sat up and looked up at the men around him, then dropped his head. "I thought he was a hero."

"Bah," Kinjiro said. "Heroes don't act like he did."

InuYasha nodded. "That's what the bad guys do."


	122. Chapter 122

_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 122 **

The two miko retraced their steps, heading back for the road and to the field where Tameo was. The headman was just covering up some seeds he had planted. He stood up stiffly, leaning on his hoe, and dusted his hands off. Looking around, he spotted the two women, then tipped his rush hat back a bit to watch them as they headed in his direction.

He moved over to the fence railing that marked his property line. "Ah, cousins. Somehow, after all that noise, it's not surprising to see you to again so quickly. Sorry your herb gathering got interrupted."

"It sounded a bit more urgent than what we were doing. The herbs will be there later," Kaede said, shifting her basket on her hip. "Who yelled?"

Tameo pushed his hat all the way off, pulled a small towel out from where it was tucked into his obi, and wiped his forehead. "Kinjiro and Aki, who else?"

"I thought it sounded like them," Kagome said, nodding. "What happened?"

"I'm not sure," the headman said, putting his towel back and readjusting his hat. He picked up his seed bag, worn and stained, and draped its straps over his head. With a quick tug, he smoothed it into place.

The younger miko frowned as she watched. "Shouldn't you be seeing what happened? I couldn't make out the words, but Aki sounded like he was in trouble."

"When is that boy not in trouble?" Tameo asked, shaking his head. "But Susumu and InuYasha showed up right after you left for the meadow. They went to investigate." He put his hoe over his shoulder. "I've done enough here this morning. I suspect it's time I ought to go see what's happening."

He climbed over the fence with surprising grace for a man his age, but oomphed as he landed. "Don't know why that feels harder to do every year," he said, shaking his head before he turned back to the women. "Well cousins, shall we go see what that fool boy managed to do this time?"

With a nod from Kaede, they began to walk.

"So what were they supposed to be doing?" the older miko asked as she following her cousin. He was leading them away from the village towards a stand of trees.

"Mulching the field on the other side of the wood lot," Tameo said. "Where Susumu was supposed to be helping before he ran into your husband, Kagome-chan."

Kagome looked down, a bit embarrassed. "I'm sorry," she said.

"I'm not," Tameo said, grinning at her. "Actually, I'm quite pleased how it turned out."

The young miko looked up, confused. "Why?"

"Well," he said, chuckling a little, "First of all, it allowed me to finish what I was doing before dashing off to see if my son needed any help - "

He was interrupted by Aki screaming, "Don't hurt me!"

The two women looked at each other.

"I suspect," Kaede said, patting Kagome on the hand, "InuYasha and Susumu have arrived."

Tameo shrugged. "Let's hope it's that. Otherwise, it means that boy finally pushed my youngest over the edge, and the thought of telling Tsuneo that news, with everything else going on in his life right now, is not something I'd even want to imagine."

Kaede sighed. "He does have his hands full. Morio . . . "

"Eh," Tameo said, pulling off his hat for a moment so he could scratch the back of his head. "I'm not sure about how we're going to deal with that one." He put his hat back on. "People have been dropping by to talk about it, and tell me he's done this or that, and its only been three days since it happened. Well, one thing at a time. First we find out what this scoundrel is up to, then we let Hisa and that monk have their afternoon. Tomorrow will be enough time to do something."

"Perhaps," the older miko said, nodding.

They neared the wood lot. Not far from the road, they could see Aki sitting on the ground, curled up in a ball, with Susumu next to him, and InuYasha and Kinjiro staring at the boy.

"Well," Tameo said. "It looks like nobody's killed anybody yet, so things might be looking up."

"Do you really think . . . " Kagome asked, shaking her head. "I can't believe that Kinjiro would . . . "

"After hearing Kinjiro rant about the boy yesterday, I wouldn't put anything past anyone," Tameo said, turning left to join up with the others. "I just hope Daitaro knows what he's getting in for. He's not as young as he used to be."

"Nor are you, cousin," Kaede said.

He put his hand in the small of his back. "And don't I know it. Been sitting in the office too much lately. I hope I get the stiffness worked out before the barley's in."

The three of them walked up to the cluster of men as Aki slowly pulled himself up into a sitting position.

"Oh, he's had a run-in with something," Kagome said, frowning at the streaks of blood she saw on his face. "And why is InuYasha out of his jacket?"

"I guess we'll find out in a moment, child," Kaede said.

InuYasha heard them talking, and turned their way. "We've got company."

"Well, Otousan, come to join the party?" Susumu asked. "And you brought help, I see. That's a bit of good luck." He patted Aki on the shoulder. "Just the person that needs to look at you, boy."

Aki looked up at the men anxiously. "Are . . . are you sure she'll want to take care of me? I heard . . . " He swallowed. "Can . . . Can Kaede-sama really turn someone into a frog?"

InuYasha shook his head. Kinjiro snickered. Susumu frowned at his younger brother, but then turned toward Aki and gave him a friendly grin "I asked that question once, too. Shinjiro had me totally convinced she did that. But, no, I've never seen her do it," the guard said. "If she could have, I bet she would have done it to me when I was your age."

"There was a point I think Chichi-ue would have paid her to do it if she could," Kinjiro remarked, still snickering a little.

"I might have," Tameo said. "You deserved it. Just ask your Okaasan."

"That bad, huh?" InuYasha asked, grinning.

"Well," Susumu said, shrugging. He stood up. "I guess after we – "

His story got interrupted by Kaede. "What got to you, boy?" she asked as she knelt down and got a good look at him. Taking his chin, she looked at the scratch marks. Two of them were quite close to his left eye. She picked up his hands and saw more marks on the back of his hands and his wrists.

The boy let the miko examine him, but he looked at her wide eyed and a bit afraid, swallowing hard, unable to say anything.

"I'm not going to bite you, boy," Kaede said. "I just want to know how you got hurt."

"He decided he was tired of working and went where he shouldn't have," Kinjiro said, scowling.

"Wouldn't be the first boy who's done that. Even a younger son I know has done it a time or two," Tameo said. He tapped his hoe once, and gave Kinjiro a knowing look, which made Susumu grin.

"See," he said to the boy, "even my brother isn't always perfect."

Kaede cleared her voice and looked up at the men. "Well?"

InuYasha lifted his jacket over his left shoulder. "He climbed a tree and disturbed some nesting birds," he said. "They didn't like his company. The boy couldn't get down, so I went up and got him down before they could do any more damage."

"Birds?" Kaede asked. Aki nodded. " Nesting birds can be quite determined. I've seen small birds chase off a hawk before. You're lucky they didn't hurt you worse than they did." She ran her thumb along one scratch, examining it, and he winced.

Kagome moved next to her husband, and reached up to touch the small wound on InuYasha's cheek. "Doesn't look like they liked you either."

The hanyou shrugged. "It'll heal, and a lot faster than his will."

Nodding, she looked at his arm, and saw the new rip where the bird had gotten too close. "It's a shame your kosode won't." She plucked at the fabric to examine the small tear.

"Sorry about that. I put my jacket over the brat before I got him out of the tree. His stupid leg chain had gotten snagged on a branch. I figured the way the birds were flying at him that his eyesight was worth a little more than my shirt."

"You're right," Kagome said, giving him a small smile. "But at this rate I'm going to learn a lot about mending."

He gave her a sheepish grin and began to shrug back into his jacket. "How are his eyes?" he asked Kaede.

"His eyes are all right," Kaede said, "All the blood seems to be from the cut on his forehead and his cheeks." She looked at the boy. "You, young man, were lucky."

"He would have been luckier if he hadn't tried climbing that tree instead of working," Kinjiro muttered, frowning.

"I – "Aki began, but thought better of it, and instead just nodded.

"That might well be true," Kaede said. "But I need to put something on those cuts to keep them from getting infected. I don't have what I need with me. We'll have to take him to my house."

Kinjiro nodded. "Might as well." He moved over to his cart, and started picking up his tools."I can see we're not going to get anything else done this morning."

Kaede began to get up, but Aki tugged on the old miko's sleeve. "Please," he asked. "Have you seen my obaasan? Is she better? Haha-ue came to see me, but nobody's told me about how my obaasan is doing."

The old miko sighed, and gave the boy a sympathetic look."She's tired and weak. That . . . that yamabushi makes too much noise, and she's not getting enough rest. Hana-chan said they were thinking of moving him to the house near the river. Maybe then, if things quiet down, she can start to get better."

"Is she . . . is she . . . " He tried to finish the statement, but couldn't. He hung his head back down. "It's all my fault."

"No, child, it's not all your fault." Kaede stood up. "In fact, very little of what you did caused her to be ill."

The boy nodded, chewing his lip. "They told me today it was Morio-sama's magic that hurt her." He looked up at the gathered men. Susumu nodded in affirmation. "It wasn't me?"

"That is what caused it, boy," Kaede said. "Have you been blaming yourself?"

He looked down at his feet.

The old miko patted him on the shoulder. "It wasn't your fault she got sick," she said. "But you can help her get better sooner by listening to Kinjiro-sama and Daitaro-sama. It would do her good to see you, but you cannot go see her until you show that you can behave. That's what Tameo-sama told me."

"That's true, son," the headman said.

"If I do what I'm supposed to, they'll let me see her?" he asked, looking at the men around him.

Tameo nodded.

"Now let's get you to my house so I can take care of those wounds," Kaede said. "Kagome-chan, you can go home with your husband. If I'm not there at the start of the woman's meeting, let Hisa-chan know what I'm up to."

The younger woman nodded.

Kaede began to walk off, then turned to Susumu and Tameo. She gave them a look with her single eye that was almost worthy of one of Hisa's looks. Susumu looked back at her with a nervous grin, as if he expected to be scolded. "When you go to the monk's this afternoon, please try not to let anybody fall off the roof. There's been more excitement in these last few days than this old woman really needs."

The village guard nodded. "We'll do our best."

Kinjiro got behind his cart, and began pushing. With a nod, the miko, Aki and the farmer began the walk back to the village.

"So now what?" Susumu said.

His father draped an arm across his shoulder. "Well son, now that you've spent most of the morning convincing InuYasha to join the village watch, you can take your brother's place doing the mulching. There's a good hour until lunch."

Susumu chuckled. "Trying to get some honest work out of me, Otousan?"

"It's either that, or go help your Okaasan. Your choice," Tameo said.

"You're a clever man, Otousan," Susumu said. "Mulching it is." He turned to InuYasha. "I guess I'll be seeing you this afternoon."

"Looks that way," InuYasha said. "Some things, neither one of us can get out of."

Chuckling, Susumu said his goodbyes, and then following Tameo, headed off to finish the work his brother had left undone.


	123. Chapter 123

_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 123**

Kagome watched Tameo and Susumu walk off to the field beyond the wood lot. Tameo had begun singing his song about sake again and Susumu just shook his head as the two men moved past the trees and out of sight. InuYasha moved closer and rested his hand on her shoulder.

"I bet Susumu's cousin Koichi's going to be shocked that Tameo actually managed to get Susumu out to work in the fields today," he said, grinning at Kagome.

She turned to face him, not laughing at his little joke. "I bet," she nodding.

InuYasha slid his arm across her shoulder, surprised at her reaction. "Something wrong?"

Her brows were knit together like she was trying to figure something out. "I think I'm confused. What was Tameo-ojiisan talking about? He was trying to tell me something earlier, but got interrupted. And this just now - something about you and Susumu and the village watch?"

"You heard right," InuYasha said, shaking his head. "That was what Susumu was doing all morning, trying to convince me to agree to join it." He barked a short laugh, then gave Kagome a wry, amused grin. "Don't know who's more confused, you at not understanding what was going on, or him for asking. Hard to believe that he's the same guy who stood next to Kaede the day I woke up and looked at me like . . . well, like he didn't know which was worse, me or that centipede youkai, or which one to attack. And now look what he wants me to do."

"I seem to remember he led a pretty brave fight against the centipede woman," Kagome said, leaning her head against his shoulder. "It's kind of hazy though. That was such a crazy day. I was too busy trying to get away from her to pay a lot of attention to who did what." She looked up at him and grinned. "And there was this rude guy pinned to a tree who seemed to think I was someone else."

InuYasha snorted. "Crazy, huh? I'd call it crazy. One moment, I thought I had died, and then there I was, trying to figure out what had happened and wondered how I was going to get free, and all of a sudden there was this beautiful girl pulling my hair as the centipede attacked. Still, I did get a look at Susumu during all of that. Never would have guessed that day that he'd think that I'd be someone he wanted to help defend the village."

"I never would have guessed that the rude boy who took a swipe at me trying to get the jewel that day would be the man I would grow up to fix lunch for today, either," Kagome said. "A lot of things have changed since that day. You hungry?"

"I'm getting there," InuYasha said, nodding. He gently took her by the shoulders, leaning forward to kiss her forehead, then let one arm drop until he captured her hand, and gave it a little squeeze. "Yeah, a lot has changed. Funny how that works."

Kagome intertwined her fingers with his. "I take it he got you to agree," she said. "Tameo-ojiisan seemed rather happy."

"Yeah." InuYasha shrugged. "It just sort of seemed to be the right thing to do. But I'm waiting to see how the rest of the village reacts. There's Seiji. I bet he's going to make some noise, especially after last year."

"He might, but who would agree with him?" This time she gave his hand a squeeze in return. "I get the impression people got angry about how he almost got those kids lost to the bandits. And besides, all three of the important elders seem to respect you. I'm sure Tameo-ojiisan and Susumu will handle any ripples just fine. You worry too much. From what I can't tell, Tameo is pretty on top of what the village can handle, and knows how to deal with people pretty well."

"Keh," the hanyou said. "I guess you're right. We'll find out soon enough. So, what's for lunch?"

"Pickles," Kagome said. She began walking.

"Pickles, eh? I bet that's not all. You always want more than that." He hurried after her.

Going home, they retraced the route InuYasha and Susumu had taken earlier. Before they had gotten very far, they had reached Kaede's garden patch. Rin, Iya and another girl Kagome didn't know were sitting at the far end of the field.

They had evidently given up gardening for the moment, and sat in a circle, talking, their gardening tools untouched. The girl Kagome didn't know gestured about something, and all three girls broke out in the giggles.

"Kaede-obaasan said Rin-chan would probably spend the day with Iya-chan," Kagome said, waving to the girls. "But who's that other girl with them?"

"That's Tazu, Hiroyo's youngest girl," InuYasha said. "From what I hear, she's almost as bad at teasing as Miroku."

As if on cue, the girls broke into another fit of the giggles.

"Looks like they're doing more than gardening," InuYasha said, his ear flicking in their direction. There was a basket with azalea blossoms and other things in it next to their garden tools. "Those flowers didn't grow in that patch."

"You know Rin-chan and flowers," Kagome said, amused. "Does it surprise you?"

"No," the hanyou said. "But they're so busy laughing, I'm wondering when they had the time to do it."

Rin finally looked up and noticed the pair. She waved as the other two girls turned around to see. She almost got up, but, but before she could, Iya whispered something in her ear. For some reason this made the girl blush, and after Iya repeated it to the third girl, all three began to giggle once again.

Kagome stopped for a second and looked at the girls. "Now what was that about?"

InuYasha shrugged. "Couldn't make it all out." He crossed his arms and put his hands in his sleeves. "Something about Rin liking only silver hair . . . "

"Should I be jealous?" Kagome asked, chuckling as she resting her hand on his arm and leaning in closer. The two began walking again.

"Feh," InuYasha said, his ear twitching. "Not me she has eyes for. I'm just her ojisan."

"You don't mean . . . " Kagome said, then shook her head. "Surely he hasn't . . . ?"

The hanyou shrugged. "There's something between the two of'em. It's not physical or anything. I'm not exactly sure what the bond is though. Nothing lights her eyes up brighter than when my bastard of a brother finally shows his face. But what it means to him, who knows? A pet, maybe? She matters to him, that's all I can say. Never have figured out why he let her follow him all that time."

Kagome turned her head and looked back at the girls, chewing on her lip thoughtfully. She took a breath, shook her head and decided it was time to change the subject. "So what did Susumu say he wanted you to do for the village watch?"

"He was talking about how the guards take turns doing night watch. Thought I'd be good at it," InuYasha said. He flicked an ear as a buzzing insect circled around it. "Wonder if he knows how well I see in the dark?" With a sudden move, he grabbed the bug, opened his hand, and watched it fly off. "Let that be a lesson to you, fly."

This made Kagome smile. "The man who slays big monsters letting a fly go." She leaned her head against his shoulder, then suddenly, she pulled back and stopped.

"What's wrong?" the hanyou asked, surprised.

"Night watch," Kagome said, looking up at him with knitted brows. "You take turns. For how long?"

"They change whoever's doing it every ten day," he said, tilting his head to the side as he watched her reaction. "Is there something wrong? You don't want me to make the rounds? If you're nervous, you can stay with Kaede-babaa those nights until I'm done."

"That's not it," Kagome said. "The moon. What about . . . "

He gave her a cocky grin. "I told him I had obligations on the full and the new moon. Didn't tell him what. Susumu seemed all right with it. I guess he thought it was a youkai thing or something." He lifted up his hand and brushed his thumb along her cheek. "He said I'd probably get the middle ten day."

"Well it is a youkai thing, sort of," Kagome said, looking at him approvingly. "Or at least a hanyou thing. That was clever, adding the full moon."

"I had my reasons," the hanyou said, arching his eyebrow and giving her a sultry smirk.

"Oh?" Kagome said. She lifted one eyebrow, wondering about the look he was giving her. "Something I don't know about?"

InuYasha, who, looking around and seeing nobody around, pulled her into a hug, his hand pulling her firmly against him. His voice dropped, and she could feel his breath. "You'll see."

"Oh?" she said, catching his drift. "Why didn't I notice last full moon?"

"You did," InuYasha said. His smirk got even sultrier. "Remember that touch homework?"

Kagome's eyes got big, and she pushed him away a bit. "No wonder we ended up like that. Why didn't you say anything? I could have put it off a day."

He let her loose, amused by her reaction."You think I knew that was going to happen?" he said. "Never been married before. Hells, never had been with a woman before. And everything was new and you had just started working with Kaede-babaa, and so much had gotten piled on us so fast that I even forgot it was the full moon." He raised his fingers to her cheek and brushed his thumb along the tender skin there. "I didn't know it was going to hit me like that. Until it hit me like that."

Kagome sucked on her lip a moment, but her eyes warmed. "Is it going to be that way every month?"

"Not sure. Maybe," he said. "My youki's always been a little stronger then. Does it bother you?"

The corners of her lip turned up. It was not quite a smirk, but what it suggested to InuYasha made him take a deep breath. She reached up and gave him a quick peck on the chin. "We better get home. This talk is making me hungry."

"Just for lunch?" he asked. His eyes glinted with something more than just wanting his next meal.

Kagome pulled away and sighed. "Food's about all we have time for. It looks like it's going to be a busy afternoon."

He joined her in sighing. "Yeah. But at least you won't have to listen to Miroku's jokes."

"There is that," she said.

As they made their way down the dyke between rice paddies, Kagome pointed out a small group of men who were standing around a hand cart near where the road up the hill began.

"That's not Kinjiro's cart, is it?" the miko asked.

"Don't think so," InuYasha said. He looked towards the older miko's house. "No, he's still at Kaede-babaa's."

"I wonder why they're there," she said.

"Well, that is the way to Miroku's temple," InuYasha said.

She looked up at him. "So soon? It's not even lunch time yet."

"I heard they're going to have lunch for the workers," InuYasha said. "That means Eijii's wife Kichi and Isamu's wife Yaya probably won't be at Hisa's today."

"I don't think I know either of them," she said. "How'd this happen?"

"Something Chiya volunteered to arrange," the hanyou said. "But I haven't heard anything about her helping."

"Huh," Kagome said. "Maybe with everything that's happened with her mother . . . "

"Maybe," InuYasha replied.

As they walked up to the road, one of the men waved at them. "Ah, Miko-sama, InuYasha-sama, it's a fine day, isn't it?"

"What are you doing hanging around here, Ryota?" InuYasha said. "I thought you'd have enough of me and roofs by now."

"Ah, Houshi-sama was persuasive," Ryota said. "And my Maki . . . I'm not sure what she has planned for this afternoon, but she wanted me gone." He shrugged. "Between the two of them, I had no chance."

"Maybe she just didn't want to feed you lunch." An older, but well-built man stood next to him, one hand resting on the hand cart. "As much as you eat, maybe she thought it was a good idea to let the Buddha feed you today."

"What do you know, Eiji?" Ryota said, grinning. "I've seen how much you eat."

"Eh, you just like my woman's cooking," Eiji said. The group laughed.

"Are you going to the temple now?" Kagome asked. "We could walk with you part way."

"Alas, Miko-sama, we're still waiting on my ever-slow brother," Eiji said. "Haruo will be late the day he goes to join the kami."

"Sounds smart, if you ask me," Ryota said. "Bet it's his wife. She always gets busy making cakes for Hisa when they have one of these things. And if he had to take them there, no telling what happened."

Eiji snickered. "I'd rather roof than get caught with that job. We'll see you later, Miko-sama. And you, sooner, InuYasha-sama. Are you going to be there for lunch?"

InuYasha's ear flicked, not sure of how to answer it. He crossed his arms.

Kagome looked up at him, and picked up on his unease. "Not this time."

"Keh." InuYasha nodded, and gave Kagome a smile. "Going home to eat my own woman's cooking. It's worth it."

Ryota laughed. "Ah, newlyweds. Have a good time. We'll see you when you get there."

Bowing their farewells, Kagome and InuYasha headed up the hill.


	124. Chapter 124

_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 124**

Lunch was pickles, tea and onigiri stuffed with dried bonito.

"Is this enough?" Kagome said, passing InuYasha his tray. "I know that there's going to be food at Hisa-obaachan's and at the temple."

"Fine with me," InuYasha said, putting his tray down. He grabbed a pickle slice. "How many women are coming to this thing that Hisa's doing?"

"I don't know," Kagome asked, playing with her teacup. "I forgot to ask."

"Knowing Tameo and Hisa, it'll be a good group," he said, picking up a rice ball.

"I guess," Kagome said. She took a deep breath and began to eat.

They grew quiet as InuYasha ate his share and watched Kagome, staring into the fire pit, mostly play with hers. He didn't like the way she was chewing on her bottom lip. Trying to break the ice, he reached out and snatched one of her pickles. She ignored him, and merely took another bite of rice.

"Something must be wrong," he said, looking at her with concerned eyes.

She looked up, startled. "I'm sorry. What did you say?"

"I just took a pickle from your plate and you didn't even notice," InuYasha said. "Are you all right?"

"I was just thinking." She reached for her dish of pickle slices, took one, and handed the dish to InuYasha. "Here, eat these."

"Kagome . . . " He put the dish down on this tray, and watched her as she stood up and got water to wash their dishes.

He hurried the last of his food down. "Why are you worried?" InuYasha said when she walked back over to pick up his tray.

She put his dishes in the water. "I'm not exactly worried."

"Right." He got up and walked next to her. "You look like you did when you used to have one of those math test things."

Kagome looked up from her dishwashing. "Math test things?"

He rested his hands on the top of her shoulders and squeezed lightly. "You're really tense."

"I . . ." she said. "Math test things?" She gave a little, but nervous laugh. "Am I that wound up?"

"Yeah," He said, leaning forward and kissing her forehead. "Even your scent says you are."

Sighing, she finished washing the last of the dishes, and drying them. "I guess I'm nervous about making a good impression or something."

He took the towel from her hand. "You don't need to be so nervous. You're going to be at Hisa-sama's. I'm sure nobody's going to be rude to you there. You anticipate too much."

"You're right," she said, giving him a small, rather embarrassed smile. "I shouldn't be so silly. I've just never been to one of these things before. I'm not even sure what to bring."

"Bring what you're working on," he said. Moving to the fire pit, he banked the fire for the afternoon.

She walked over to the clothing cabinet and opened a drawer. "I'm almost through with your kosode. I don't know if that'll be enough work to take with me." Pulling out a piece of printed linen, she ran her fingers over it. "I don't know if I want to cut out a new piece while I'm there."

The hanyou shrugged. "You'd know more about that than I would."

"I could start another towel." She put the length of fabric over her arm. "We still don't have enough yet."

"Yeah," he said, looking up and dusting off his hands. "Or you could bring all of it, and decide once you're there."

She added a length of white linen to her stash. "I guess you're right."

InuYasha walked over to where she was filling her sewing basket, grabbed her, and gave her a small kiss on the lips. "I bet you're going to have a better time than me."

"Want to trade places?" she asked.

InuYasha chuckled. "You really want to be crawling over that roof? I think Miroku asked every family in the village. If half the men show up, there'll be too many of'em. We'll be lucky if people don't get hurt just from trying to work in too little space. Maybe even make the roof crash."

"I hope not." Kagome said. "But I do know Kaede's put together extra supplies just in case."

She picked up her basket.

"And if I went to Hisa's, can you imagine everybody's eyes as they watch me try to sew?" He made the motions of pulling a needle through cloth. This made Kagome give him an honest laugh, and she caught his hands in hers.

"You've made your point," she said. "You go catch the guys falling off the roof, and I'll finish your kosode. We've given everybody enough to talk about as it is."

"Good idea," InuYasha said. "I wonder if Sango's as nervous as you?"

"Shall we go see?" Kagome said. Slipping on her shoes, she stepped toward the door.

There was a small crowd standing in front of Miroku's house.

"Huh. Didn't expect to see Miroku here," InuYasha said as they neared. The monk was leaning up against a tree talking with Daitaro and a couple of other men, while the old farmer's wife was standing next to Sango, Erime and another woman. "I figure he'd be over at the temple supervising or something."

"Maybe," Kagome said, glancing up at him, "he wanted to make sure you were going to show up."

"Feh. Wouldn't put it past him." He crossed his arms in front of his chest and stuck his hands in his sleeves.

"Who's that standing next to Daitaro and Shinjiro?" Kagome asked, shifting her basket from one hand to the other. "I don't think I've met him."

"That's his younger son, Genjo," the hanyou said. "Surprised you haven't seen him yet, all the times Daitaro's been around. That's Genjo's wife standing over there by Chime."

"I guess they've been too busy with the wedding and all the craziness here for me to get a chance to meet them," Kagome said.

The hanyou shrugged. "Maybe."

As InuYasha and Kagome neared, the first to spot them were Sango's daughters. One of them looked up from where she had been playing with a doll. She nudged the other twin. Suddenly, both of them stood, and started running up the path. "Obasan! Inu-ojisan!" they called out as they hurried to greet the new comers.

Sango moved to go after her daughters, but when she saw the couple walking towards them, she chose to wave instead. "There you are! I guess we can get started now."

InuYasha gave the twins an amused grin and picked up them up as they reached him. "You two are good runners."

"Go running?" Yusuko asked.

"You like to run?" InuYasha asked.

Both girls nodded.

He gave them a little frown. "Sorry, girls. Not this time," he said. "Your otousan wants me to do something."

Noriko sighed and turned to look at Kagome. Yusuko frowned.

Kagome laughing a little, gently ran her fingers through Noriko's bangs. "We have somewhere else to go. Did you forget? Maybe Inu-ojisan can take you on a run another time. You two look pretty," she said.

They were dressed better than usual. Sango had put them in their best clothes and had tied big hair bows in each girl's locks.

Yusuko touched her bow. "Dressed up! You like?"

The miko nodded. "Are you ready to go to Hisa-sama's?"

Noriko held her arms out to Kagome, who let InuYasha pass her to her. "Going to Hisa-obaasan's," she said. "You too?"

"That's right," Kagome said, letting the girl down, but holding her hand. "How about you, Yusuko?"

"Me too!" the other girl said. "Mama said we go."

"Good, good," Kagome said. "Let's go get the others."

"This is a surprise, seeing all you here," Kagome said as she and InuYasha reached the others.

"Not my fault," Daitaro said, scratching the back of his neck. "The monk here stopped by the house, and everybody decided to come with me." He turned and looked at Miroku. "You think he was worried about me not showing up?"

"I just thought you might like some companionship on the walk up," Miroku said. "I was going that way, after all."

"Why not?" Chime said. "It's more fun to go together." She smiled at the young miko. "And that's why we came, too. I'm glad you're going with us, Kagome-chan. I've been looking forward to today. It's a good chance for you to meet more of the women. But I thought you and Sango-chan might like to go with some friendly faces."

"Keh," InuYasha said, looking at his wife. She gave him a pointed look, but then smiled.

"You're right," Kagome said "I don't know why, but for some reason, I've been a little nervous about this afternoon." Noriko began to pull at her hand, trying to get loose.

"Me, too," said Erime. "This is my first time going to one of these."

"I think I might have been too busy getting everybody ready to get nervous," Sango said. "But we're glad you decided to walk with us, Chime-obaasan. I just hope the girls don't drive you crazy."

"Your daughters?" She held out her hand for Noriko, and Kagome let go. Suddenly though, Noriko was too shy, and decided to cling to Kagome's hakama.

Mariko, carrying a small child on her back stepped forward shyly and gave a short bow. "I know we haven't had a chance to talk yet," the younger woman said.

Chime said. "This is Mariko, the wife of my younger son, Genjo. I've been fortunate to get to keep her at home while we get ready for our big day. She's been a big help."

"Ah," Kagome said. She gave the younger woman a big smile "I hear you have been really busy."

"We're just about done," Mariko said. "Just in time, too. It'll be nice going down to the village and being able to sit and talk while we do the last of the sewing."

InuYasha let Yusuko down. "You need to stay here, kid. I have to go talk with your Otousan."

"No," the girl said, unhappy about being left.

Sango grabbed Yusuko's hand before she could follow InuYasha as he headed toward the men. "So Erime, your big day is almost here," she said.

Erime blushed, stealing a glance at Shinjiro. "Yes, yes. It seems like it's taking forever to get here. But today will help the time pass faster."

"Funny," Chime said, patting Erime's hand. "I've heard Shinjiro say the same thing."

Shinjiro looked up, hearing his name mentioned. "More than once."

"Definitely more than once," Genjo, his brother said.

Daitaro shrugged. "Those last few days always take forever."

"Your okaasan told me about how much you complained, husband," Chime said, laughing. "Shinjiro's been far more patient."

The old farmer laughed. "That's because I've been keeping him busy."

"Speaking of busy," Miroku said. "Lovely women, I am afraid I have to put your men to work."

"Make sure you take good care of them," Chime said. "They all have serious obligations coming up."

"Kwannon is merciful," Miroku said. "I have every intention of returning them to you just a little worse for wear."

"Yeah, yeah," InuYasha said, nudging Miroku away from the women and towards the path they needed to take. "The temple is this way, Bouzu. I know a lot of people must already be there. I'm surprised you're even here."

"Heh, Ryoto's up there," Daitaro said. "He'll either be stuffing his face or getting everybody organized. He makes a good foreman. Either way nothing's going to go wrong."

"Still," Shinjiro said, "We better get going if there's going to be any work for us left. With as many people as you asked, Houshi-sama, they might be done before we get there."

"Doubt if we're that lucky," Genjo said. "Ryota was talking about a competition."

After a little more laughter, the group separated, the women heading down the hill, the men heading the opposite way to get busy.

"Oh to be a fly on the wall at Hisa-sama's," Miroku said.

"Why?" InuYasha asked.

"Oh," the monk said, grinning, "I'm sure the talk there is going to be more interesting than the talk we're going to do,"

"You just have to know everything, don't you, Bouzu?" InuYasha shook his head.

"Monks and gossip, I hear they go well together," Daitaro said.

"Truth," InuYasha replied.

"You know me too well, friends, you know me too well," Miroku said. And with a gentle chuckle, he led his ragtag band of roofers to join the men waiting for them to get started.


	125. Chapter 125

_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 125**

As the men walked the short distance from Miroku's house to the little building he called a temple, someone was singing:

"Shrimp, why is your backbone bent?  
>I wrestled with the frog,<br>Yoi, yoi, yoi,  
>I wrestled with the frog<br>Yoi, yoi, yoi,  
>And he won."<p>

The men who had come early for the free lunch were finishing their meal. One of the younger men, a relative of Toshiro's named Hisoki, stood up in the center of where they were sitting, and beating on a piece of wood like it was a drum and danced in slow, exaggerated movements as he sang.

"Frog, why do you croak so loud?"

Ryota, sitting down and finishing his rice, gave a loud imitation of a frog, to much laughter. Hisoki gave him an evil look, and a grin, and then continued:

"Frog, why do you croak so loud?  
>I am singing to the rabbit,<br>Yoi, yoi, yoi,  
>I am singing to the rabbit,<br>Yoi, yoi, yoi,  
>To go away.<p>

"Rabbit, why are your ears so big?  
>To hear - "<p>

"Obviously, you didn't hear us coming," Daitaro said, as the group reached the waiting workers. "Maybe you need to borrow the rabbit's ears?"

"Or InuYasha's," Shinjiro said. "Nobody in the village hears better than he does."

InuYasha, not sure how he liked having his ears pointed out that way, stuffed his hands in his sleeves. His right ear flicked.

"It's true, you know," Miroku said. "Ah, what I could do with hearing like yours."

"Feh," the hanyou said. "There's probably a reason why the kami made sure you had normal hearing."

That brought chuckles from most of the other men, who began to eat their last bites of food, or, if they were done, standing up. Kimi, Eiji's wife and a couple of other women began cleaning up, while Yaya, Isamu's wife, put on more tea water on the fire.

"Well, Ryota," Miroku asked. "Are we ready to get started?"

"We going to get started with him here?" one loud voice said.

Ryota and Miroku turned to look at the speaker, still seated on the ground. The young man, not quite finished with his meal, was staring at InuYasha.

His companion, seeing the glare, popped his last bit of onigiri in his mouth, then nudged him. "What's your problem, Yoshimi?"

Yoshimi turned partway towards his companion, not taking his eyes off the hanyou. "I don't have a problem, Tadaki. But what's he doing here?" His voice rose loud enough for everybody to hear. "Do you think someone like that silver-haired monster ought to be working on a temple?"

"You've been talking to Seiji again?" Tadaki asked. "You know Houshi-sama and InuYasha-sama are partners. If there was a problem . . . "

"Why not?" Yoshimi said, standing up, and shifting his glance to Miroku "He's my older brother. He's been out of the village. He knows things, maybe more than a monk who gets married does."

InuYasha took a deep breath, and his ears lowered a bit. He unfolded his hands and flexed the fingers of his right hand. Shinjiro and Genjo stepped next to the hanyou while Miroku started to move toward the workers. Eiji and his brother Haruo got up to join Ryota standing next to the monk.

"You need to cool off, Yoshimi," Tadaki said, standing himself. "You're going to bring bad luck on us today and someone's going to get hurt."

InuYasha started to move forward himself, but Daitaro rested a hand on the hanyou's shoulder. "Watch," the old farmer said.

InuYasha turned to look at the old man, who gave him a reassuring look. Lifting an eyebrow, he studied the calm face of the older man for a moment, then gave him a nod.

While Daitaro was slowing InuYasha down, another man's hand rested on Yoshimi's shoulder. The young man swung around and into the eyes of Masu, the man whose children had been rescued by InuYasha.

"I'm not particularly sure your brother's right on this issue," Masu said. "If it hadn't been for that man, my children would have been slaves or dead by now."

Yoshimi threw off the man's hand, and lifted one fist, clenched and shaking. " You call him a man? Kuso! You think no proper people could have rescued your brats? You needed a monster? My . . . my brother said -"

"I don't care what your brother says. I almost lost my children because of him," Masu said, giving the younger man a little shove. "How would your vaunted brother feel if it was Nakao dragged off? What if it was your sister, huh?"

"Shut up!" Yoshimi shoved Masu back, and people started gathering around the two to separate them. "Maybe we wouldn't even have had any bandits -"

Suddenly the length of Miroku's staff wacked the angry young man on the side of the head.

"Ack!" Yoshimi swirled around to face Miroku.

"As the rain falls on all plants, the Buddha's compassion is extended equally to all," Miroku said. "Even stupid fools like you. Are you saying InuYasha-sama is beyond the Buddha's mercy?"

"But . . . but," Yoshimi said, clutching his ear. "But he's a youkai!"

"What part of extended equal to all says youkai are not under the Buddha's compassion?" the monk said, looking at him sternly. "You think the Buddha can't use youkai, too? Who do you think attend Bishamonten and Benzaiten? Youkai. You're calling them evil?"

"Maybe this wasn't a good idea," InuYasha muttered.

"Just wait," Shinjiro said. "Don't know why Yoshimi showed up anyway. He hates working on roofs."

"Kimi-chan's cooking, no doubt," Daitaro said.

Yoshimi, ignoring the talk between Daitaro and his son, glared at the monk, then circled around, looking at the men standing there, some with crossed arms, all unhappy with him. Ryota gave his shoulder a little shove. "Are you trying to bring bad luck on us all, by picking a fight in front of the temple?"

Tadaki grabbed his friend's sleeve. "Come on, Yoshimi. You don't want to get the Buddha or his servants as mad as that guy got Tameo's kami the other day."

The angry young man looked at the monk, Ryota and Eiji, then shot one more look of hatred towards InuYasha. "On your own heads be it. When people start falling off the roof, it won't be my fault."

Pushing his way through the crowd, Yoshimi left.

InuYasha let out a deep breath, as did several other people standing around. The tension that had been building suddenly dissipated, and people began to mill around. Masu walked up to the hanyou.

"Yoshimi's wrong, InuYasha-sama," he said, bowing to the hanyou. "I'll never forget what you did for me. Anybody give you trouble, you just let me know."

Not sure of what to say, InuYasha just nodded.

Miroku swung around and looked at his friend, gave him a small smile, and began walking toward them. "InuYasha may be a man of few words, Masu-sama, but I am sure he appreciated what you did."

Masa nodded, and went off to join the other men.

As he left, InuYasha frowned, and looked at the monk. "What was that crap about Bishamonten and Benzaiten?"

"It's true," Miroku said. "Benzaiten is associated with a white dragon. Some even say it's her husband. And they aren't the only ones."

"Feh." InuYasha stuffed his hands in his sleeves.

"Well, don't go thinking to run off to be a companion of one of the kami," Daitaro said, patting him on the shoulder. "You got enough to do keeping up with us and that wife of yours. And I need you to help with my bull."

InuYasha shook his head. "You're strange, Daitaro."

"You just noticed that?" Shinjiro asked.

Daitaro began to say something, but before he could, Ryota clapped his hands. "All right, men. I'm foreman here today. It's time to get the old roofing down. Let's get to work."

With a little good-natured grumbling, a couple of the men grabbed ladders and leaned them against the wall of the little temple, and started climbing. Others picked up tools, and a few other latecomers straggled in. Among them were Susumu and Tameo.

"We just passed Yoshimi racing down the mountain like he ate a hot coal. Did we miss something?" Tameo asked.

"Not much," Daitaro said. "Here to work?"

"Not me," Tameo said with a smile. "Hey Ryota! You have any work for this guy?" He tugged on Susumu's sleeve.

"How come nobody thinks I've been working today?" Susumu asked.

"Maybe because you didn't work today?" the headman said.

"You think he can do anything besides use a bow?" Ryota asked, scratching the top of his head. "I don't know . . . "

Daitaro was trying very hard not to laugh, but Genjo and Shinjiro exchanged glances, and snickered.

Tameo scratched his head, as if thinking. "He's pretty good with a hammer."

"Might be worth something," Ryota said.

"He's not afraid of heights," InuYasha said, with a small, tentative smirk.

Susumu laughed. "You're right there, friend. Neither are you. Let's get to work."

Kagome and the other women, unaware of the scene up at the temple, reached Tameo's compound not long after Yoshimi left the temple grounds. As they walked up the path to the main house, Riki, Jun's wife, who was one of the women who worked for Tameo, was herding a group of children into a circle with the help of Yorime, Susumu's oldest daughter, settling them down to play a game. There were more children there than just Susumu's and those who belonged to the other people who lived at the compound. Some of them Kagome had never seen. A couple of boys played off in a corner together, while Mitsuo, clutching his horse, watched them with big, hopeful eyes.

Noriko, being carried by Kagome, tugged on her collar. "Go play?"

"Not yet, baby," Sango said, patting her on her head. "We have to go meet Hisa-obaasan."

The sliding doors to the big house had been pushed open, giving more light and a better view of the courtyard, and offering a welcome to the women as they neared.

"We're not the first, I see," said Mariko.

"No," Chime replied. "But look who's here already." She gave Kagome and Sango reassuring pats. "Akiko and Fujime are here already. I was hoping they'd show up. We'll have a nice time."

There were more than the two women Chime had mentioned. As the small group entered the beaten earth entry and slipped off their shoes, the chatter that had been going on quieted Kagome could see five women already sitting in the room, with their workbaskets and sewing pulled out. The big cabinet that usually stood against one wall had been moved out of the room, along with Emi's spinning wheel and loom to make more room to sit. Water simmered in the fire pit, and there were low tables of cakes and sweets waiting to be eaten.

"So the group from the hill has made it," one of the women said.

Hisa, turning around from where she was handing a pot of tea to her daughter Emi, stood up gracefully, and walking to the front, smiled. "Come in, come in," she said. "I'm so glad all of you could make it. This is going to be a lovely afternoon."

Sango stepped up first, with Yusuko in her arms. The young girl twisted around to look at everything.

"Your daughters, they're beautiful." Hisa walked up to Sango, and beamed at Yusuko, who looked at the headman's wife shyly.

"This is Yusuko," Sango said. "I put her in a blue ribbon, because it's even hard for me to tell which one she is sometimes." She put her daughter down.

Hisa bent towards the girl. "Hello, Yusuko. Would you like a sweet?"

The little girl nodded.

Noriko, wearing a bright red ribbon pulled on Kagome's sleeve. "Me, too!"

Kagome stepped up, and let the girl slip down. "And this one is Noriko," Kagome said.

"Ah," Hisa said. Both girls let Hisa take her by the hand and lead them towards a low table, where she handed them both a sweet cake from a tray.

Aomi, Emi's youngest daughter, who was sitting by her mother, got up, and walked up to the two girls. She showed them the toy she was holding, a little stick doll. "Play?"

Yusuko and Noriko looked at their mother, both a bit shy and interested. She reached in her basket, and took out the toys she brought for them. "If you want to, babies. But be good."

They nodded and walked slowly up to Aomi. The three of them moved to the edge of the verandah.

"Don't go far, " Emi said, smiling at the girls. "Do what Riki and Yorime tell you to do."

"Well, that's a good start," Hisa said. "Let's go sit down. There are some people here who really want to meet you."


	126. Chapter 126

_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 126**

The group followed Hisa further into the room. "Kagome-chan, come and sit near Emi, and you, too, Sango," she said. "Come and meet Akiko, Fujime, Koume. Sora is still home with a sick child, so she won't be joining us today, and Sayo - I don't think Toshiro will let her out of the house until after the baby's born. Matsume will be here in a few minutes. She was making some treats, and it took a little longer than she thought."

"Erime," said Akiko, a woman about thirty. She put down her sewing for the moment and looked at the girl, her face marked with a welcoming smile and just a touch of mischief. "So, are you ready to join the grownups? I hope so, since you're about to be thrust into their ranks in two days."

Erime giggled and blushed, but nodded. "I think so. I hope so. Are you ready to have me sit with you, Akiko-obasan?"

"Maybe. But now you're a grownup. Are you still going to call me obasan?" Akiko said, making a place for her at her side.

"Probably, Obasan," the younger woman said, laughing as she sat down next to her.

Akiko chuckled and patted the girl's hand. "Is your mother coming?"

Erime sighed. "No, not this time. She said she was too busy getting the last bits of things done. I told Haha-ue she ought to take a break. She could sew just as well here or at home, but she says she always talks too much when she does."

Akiko, and the others near them laughed. "Oh, she knows herself too well. She does love to talk, and she's right - she ever has been good at using a needle and talking at the same time. Still, it's good you're here. What are you working on?"

The young girl blushed a bit, and pulled out some cloth out of her basket that was obviously in a fabric choice for a man, browns with yellow woven in a striped pattern. "I'm making . . . a kosode."

"Ah," Fujime said. A good twenty years older than Akiko, she smiled and nodded approvingly at Erime as she reached over and ran her fingers across the fabric. "I bet we know who it's for. Did you weave it?"

The girl nodded her head.

"Nicely done," she said. "My Haha-ue always told me a woman who can weave the cloth on her man's back is worth twice the price."

This caused Erime to blush a little deeper.

"Okaa," Akiko said, "we can't tease her too much. She might burst into flames."

Erime blushed even redder, but the laughter around her was happy laughter, and she smiled at the women she was sitting with.

Chime settled down next to her daughter-in-law to be, and with Mariko on her other side. Mariko unslung her baby and sat him in her lap as she settled down.

"Jinichi's getting so big!" Emi said as she walked over to them with a teapot in hand. "He's going to be able to wrestle his otousan soon."

"He already tries," Mariko said, picking up the teacup that Emi had filled for her. She turned to Erime. "Don't mind all the teasing." Lifting the cup deftly out of her little boy's reach, she managed to take a sip of the tea. "They did the same thing to me the first time I came. It must mean they're happy for you."

Erime smiled at her soon-to-be sister-in-law. "Akiko-obasan always did like to tease me."

"And everybody else," Chime said, pulling out her own sewing.

"Learn to be like your mother-in-law," Fujime said, cutting a length of thread. "She can talk as well as sew. And sometimes jab a bit without ever touching the tip of her needle."

As the women laughed, Hisa had Kagome and Sango sit between her and Emi's place.

"I'm glad you made it, Sango," Emi said, walking back with her teapot as Sango unstrapped Naoya from her back.

"Thank you for asking me," Sango said. Reaching into her basket, Sango pulled out a cloth to lay the boy on. For the moment he was wide awake and looked around at the gathered room with bright eyes. "I never . . . "

"Bah," Hisa said, interrupting. "You're always welcome here."

There were several nods around the room in agreement.

Fujime smiled as Naoya gurgled and stuck his fingers in his mouth. "My, my. He looks just like his father," she said, looking up at Sango. "I bet he's going to be just as much of a charmer when he grows up. What is he, a month younger than Jinichi?"

"About that," Sango said. "He's a sweet boy. Maybe he won't be quite so bad as his father, though," she said, brushing a finger through his fine baby hair, smiling. "My husband was never much around girls growing up. Naoya, well, he'll know what it's like to have a couple of sisters to keep an eye on." She patted him on the tummy. Naoya gurgled appreciatively, then tried to put his toes in his mouth.

"And, no doubt, they'll be keeping an eye on him. At least while they're younger," Emi said, threading her needle. "I know how that one goes. Poor Mitsuo, with two sisters watching everything he does, and a younger one to steal his toys."

Hisa, who was making another pot of tea, laughed. "You make that sound like it's a bad thing to have big sisters."

"Not at Mitsuo's age," Emi said. "Yorime and Suzume help so much. We'll have to see how it goes when he gets older. They aren't going to like it when he starts pulling brother rank on them and expects them to actually listen."

"Somehow or other, I suspect he might get a bit disappointed in that," Hisa said.

Kagome smiling as she watched the women banter, leaned toward Sango. "Tell me why I was nervous about coming here?"

Sango smiled. "You weren't the only one."

Nodding, the young miko took out her sewing and spread the kosode across her lap. As she started to thread her needle, though, Fujime gave her a careful look.

"And you, Kagome-sama," the older woman said, pulling her thread through the dark-blue fabric she was working on, "when will we be hearing news of your firstborn?"

Freezing for a moment, one hand on the needle, the other on the tail of thread she was pulling through it, the young miko blushed.

Sango started to chuckle just a bit. "Maybe you spoke too soon?"

Wide-eyed, Kagome looked at her friend, then across the room to Fujime. "I...I've just been married two weeks," she managed to say. "I haven't even thought about that yet." Ducking her head back down to hide her reddened cheeks, she concentrated her needle.

"And you call me a tease, Okaasan," Akiko said, nudging her mother. "Newlyweds, they have other things they're thinking about besides babies."

This made the other married women laugh.

"Hush," Chime said. "You're going to make Kagome-chan turn far too red and Erime, too." Pulling her needle through a length of dark cloth, she shook her head. "Give them some time to enjoy their husbands first."

Fujime turned the fabric in her lap to get a better angle for her next bit of stitching. "Ah, I remember those days. But it's what newlyweds think about that lead to babies, isn't that right, Hisa?"

There was some more laughter, and Kagome began to sew furiously. Trying hard not to laugh at her friend's reaction, Sango watching Naoya finally go to sleep, pulled out her own work.

Hisa took the kettle off the fire, and poured it carefully into her teapot. "Not just newlyweds, Fujime-chan. Otherwise, how would you have gotten such a full house?"

"True, true," she said, looking wistful. "My husband and I, we had fun back in those days. Akimori was such good looking man. Haruo really looks a lot like his otousan when we were that age." She sighed.

"He's still a good-looking man," Emi said. "Just more dignified." She reached over to a tray set in front of her and grabbed a rice cake.

"You mean he has grayer hair and a bigger paunch." She sighed. "But he's not quite as frisky as he once was," Fujime said, with a touch of regret in her voice. "He was so frisky in those days."

Akiko looked up at her mother, and shook her head. "Okaasan, I'm not sure I'm ready to hear about that" She cut the thread on the seam she was sewing. "In fact, I'm not sure if I'll ever be quite ready."

Her mother smiled."Your turn will come, Akiko," she said knowingly. "Enjoy your husband while you can."

Hisa decided it was time to change the subject and lifted up her teapot. "More tea, anybody? And we have some good cakes. Teruko made them. She said she was going to try to get by later."

"Haruo must have made her run late again," Fujime said. "That boy's always late. I'm really surprised some days she hasn't run back to her father's house."

"And Eiji is always too early," Chime said. "You've told me that yourself."

"And I," Akiko said, "am always right on time. How did you manage that, Okaasan?"

"Talent," Hisa said, taking a bite of one of the rice cakes. "Fujime-chan has excellent talents."

While Fujime laughed at Hisa's comment, Emi went around with the tea and cakes. While she was serving, Koume, who had been watching all the banter, put down her sewing for a moment while Emi poured her a cup of tea.

"So, Miko-sama," she said, picking up her tea cup and balancing it in the palm of her hand, "You've managed to bring quite a bit of excitement to our quiet little village the last few days."

Kagome looked up, not exactly sure of how to take those works. Koume, a little older than Fujime, was the wife of the village smith. She smiled pleasantly at the young miko, but her eyes didn't quite match her lips.

"I don't know if it was Kagome-chan who actually caused most of the excitement," Sango said, looking up from the blue fabric she was working on.

"True," Koume said. "But it certainly seemed to revolve around her and her . . . husband. A married miko. Sometimes, I don't quite know what to think of Kaede's ideas."

Sango raised an eyebrow at the hesitation in Koume's voice over the word husband. She looked at Kagome, who took a deep breath and was searching for the right words to say, and rested her hand on her friend's hand.

"InuYasha-sama is certainly not the blame for whatever craziness people put in their own heads," Hisa said. "And it wasn't just Kaede's idea to take Kagome as her apprentice. My husband and the other elders discussed it as well." She picked up her own sewing. "Plus, we all know that Kagome-chan has the gift. So why not? And the kami certainly approve."

Koume pursed her lips, but gave Hisa a nod. "There is that." She looked at Kagome again. "I'm sorry. I'm just an old woman set in her ways. But are you happy? Leaving home and having so much go on so quickly?"

"Yes," Kagome said, her posture relaxing a bit, and she managed to put on a smile. "I had wanted to come back for a long time, but I had to deal with a family obligation. It would have been nicer if the last few days hadn't had so much drama . . . "

"Drama. That's a good word. Like our little village was caught up in a play," Fujime said. "We're really not used to that. It has been rather . . . " She paused for a moment, tapping her chin. "What's the right word? Interesting? Unexpected?" She laughed, but not in an unfriendly way. "Anyway, it'll all give us something to talk about in the next few weeks, I'm sure."

"Indeed," Hisa said, taking a rice cake off the tray in front of her. She offered the tray to Kagome, who shook her head. "I think, though, once the dust all settles, it will all work out for the good."

"It already is working for the good, if you ask me," Hisako said, leaning on her cane as she walked into the house

"Ah, Hisako-sama, how good for you to join us!" Hisa said, stand up to help the older woman to her seat next to her and not far from Sango. "How is your father doing today?"

"Better, better," she said, settling down and resting her walking stick along side of her. "He actually took his medicine and ate enough today. He evidently wanted to impress our little miko-sama this morning when Kaede made her rounds." She gave Kagome a nod. "And he did what he was supposed to. It was nice for a change."

She looked across the room, "But you, Koume - you haven't been by all month. Did Otousan say something rude again?"

For some reason this made the woman laugh, "Oh, Hisako-chan, when doesn't he say something rude?"

Hisako laughed as well. "The day he stops is the day we know he's ready to pass on. So what have you being doing with yourself?"

"Dyeing. I'll have a lot ready for the next market day," Koume said. "Come by and see it. And you too, Miko-sama. My sister-in-law, she makes the prettiest cloth."

Kagome nodded, and smiled, a bit surprised at the invitation after Koume's original comments. "I will."

"Anybody that can get old Daisuke-sama to take his medicine is someone worth having in our village. Maybe a little excitement is worth it, if you ask me," Hisako said. "Emi-chan, could you bring me one of your mother's rice cakes?"

_**A/N This will probably be handy:**_

_Some of the Villagers in A Tale of Ever After_

_**Tameo**__ (village headman) He is Kaede's cousin._

_ his wife, Hisa_

_ son: __**Susumu **__who is married to Emi - they have several children, including Yorime, Suzume, and Aomi_

_ son: __**Kinjiro**__ who is married to Matsume. Matsume is expecting._

_Other families:_

_**Toshiro**__, one of the village elders and head of the second most important family. He is a widower_

_ Son: Yasuo. Married to Sayo. She is due to give birth in the very near future. They have several children_

_**Takeshi**__, nephew of Tameo _

_ Daughters: __**Erime**__ and Tama_

_**Daitaro**__, cousin of Tameo_

_Wife:__** Chime**_

_Son: __**Shinjiro**__, who is a widower and soon to marry Erime_

_**Genjo,**__ who is married to __**Mariko.**__ They have a son named Jinichi_

_**Tsuneo**__, village elder and leader of the 3rd most important family. This family does not like InuYasha being in the village._

_Wife: __**Haname**_

_Son: __**Joben**__ (married to Akina. Aki and Setsuko are his children.)_

_Daughter: __**Chiya **__ (Chiya is married to __**Michio**__, who is a cousin of Toshiro's. They have Nori, Masato and Asuka as children)_

_**Other villagers**__:_

_**Choujiro**__, one of the poorer villagers, who is not related to any of the three main faimilies. He is married to Yurime, and has a son, Daichi_

_**Daisuke**__, one of the oldest villagers_. _His daughter is __**Hisako**__. He has a greatgrandson through Hisako named __**Mitsunari,**__ but no other surviving children at the time of the story._

_**Fumio**__ is the village smith. His wife is__** Koume**__. They are the parents of __**Kimi**__, Eiji's wife_

_**Akimori**__ is the husband of __**Fujime**__. They are the parents of Eiji and Haruo and Akiko. _

_**Eiji**__ is married to __**Kimi**__. They have a son named Yoshi_

_**Haruo**__ is married to __**Teruko**__. _

_**Jun**__ is married to __**Riki**__. They have a son named Mikio, and they work for Tameo and live at his compound._

_**Koichi**__ works for Tameo_

_**Denjiro**__ is the husband of __**Sora**__. They are rather poor, and have several children. He does work for both Tsuneo and Toshiro's family._

_**Ryota**__, who is the best roofer in the village. He is married to __**Maki**_

_**Isamu**__ is married to __**Yaya**__. They are fond of Miroku, or at least the Buddha._


	127. Chapter 127

_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 127**

Tameo sat down next to Daitaro, looking at the little temple and the men gathered around it. He rested his hand against his lower back and rubbed. "Remember when our backs were that young?"

"Speak for yourself, cousin." Daitaro laughed. "I don't know if I can remember that far anymore."

Kimi, Eiji's wife came by the two older men, carrying a tray. "Tea, Tameo-sama? Daitaro-sama?"

"Thank you, Kimi-chan." Tameo watched as Kimi set the tray down and poured the green liquid into a cup. "How's that boy of yours? I don't see him here helping."

"He's supposed to be working on the soybeans," she said, as he took his cup. "Maybe he'll do what he's supposed to. I wouldn't be shocked to find out that he ran into Akemi somewhere along the way and they're down at the river." She offered a cup to Daitaro. Surprising his cousin, he accepted.

"Eh, steady work is hard on a boy his age," Daitaro said. "Yoshi's no different from any other boy of twelve years. He's better than I was at that age."

"He tries," Kimi said. "Please, let me know if you want more tea. I'll be over there," she said, pointing to a brazier where two other women were cleaning the last of the lunch dishes and heating water. "We're going to keep tea ready for whoever might want some." She picked up her tray, and bowing, went back to join the others.

Tameo watched her go, and took a breath. "If things weren't so . . . well, busy, at my place, I'd go home, and if my back didn't hurt, I'd go back to the fields . . . " he said, shaking in head. "Anyway, I see you can remember being a young one after all."

Daitaro chuckled. "It's fuzzy sometimes, but I get flashes," he said, then took a sip out of his cup.

Tameo said, grinning at his cousin. "And drinking tea?"

"Saving the good stuff for when the job's done," the old farmer said, patting the jug hanging from a strap across his chest. "Just in case we need a clear head, what with all those young backs up on the roof."

As if on cue, one of the men moved one of the ladders while they watched. As he moved it, he stumbled, taking the ladder with him before he let go and it tumbled to the ground. An arm on the roof grabbed at the ladder and missed, almost taking the body of the man who belonged to it over the edge, but he was steadied by Genjo.

InuYasha leapt from the edge of the roof and landed on the ground, helping the man who had tripped, then moving the ladder back into position.

"Shinjiro, you let anything happen to you before your wedding, and your okaasan will skin us all," he said, looking up at the man, still held tightly by his brother.

Tameo turned and looked at his companion. "You might have a point there, Daitaro. Or else we need to get drunk enough not to care."

"Didn't bring enough for that," Daitaro said, and finished his cup of tea.

Shinjiro glanced at his father and Tameo looking at them working, and back down at the hanyou. "Don't worry, InuYasha. If I do anything too stupid, after all the preparations Haha-ue's done, Chichi-ue would make sure we're all properly tenderized so she wouldn't have much work to do."

Daitaro looked up at his grinning son. "You're damn right, after all the craziness this is putting us through. And Takeshi and his family would finish up."

Shinjiro laughed. Genjo handed his a roof rock that he passed to InuYasha. "Then we'll have to make sure nothing happens to me."

Back at Hisa's house, the pleasant conversation stopped as they heard a shout and a sudden wail from outside.

"Mitsuo, no!" Yorime's voice said, clearly irritated. "Leave those girls alone!"

Emi sighed and stood up. "Maybe I better go see what's happening."

"Boys will be boys," Hisa said as her daughter-in-law headed to the door to see what had happened. "If you think you need to stay out, I can manage."

Emi nodded and stepped outside.

"They're so sweet at this age," Sango said. She put down her sewing for a minute and brushed her son's hair. "Sometimes, I don't know if I'm looking forward to him getting older."

"They are indeed," said Fujime. "And they can still be sweet later, even when they grow up and turn into scoundrels like my sons."

"Okaasan," Teruko, daughter-in-law of Fujime, said as she walked in, carrying her own child. "You know that Haruo isn't a scoundrel. He just gets sidetracked."

"Ah, Teruko-chan, you're too nice to him," Fujime said, patting the mat next to her. "Didn't he make you late today?"

The younger woman shook her head. "Not this time. It was your granddaughter. She had to get changed at the last minute."

"Even little girls can have their scoundrel moments," Koume said, digging through her sewing basket looking for some thread. "After all, look what happened to mine - running off to marry Eiji. And her sister . . . "

Fujime laughed as she worked on basting two lengths of fabric together. "So it's not my son? It's your daughter who's the scoundrel there?"

Koume smiled back at her companion."Well, her father was thinking of that smith down in Edo . . . "

"You know my son and your daughter had wanted to be married for years," Fujime said. Kagome couldn't tell if Fujime was really irritated or mocking the other woman. "Not my fault she has your husband wrapped around her little finger. He might be good with hammering out metal, but she's good at hammering out people who try to tell her no."

Teruko, putting her daughter down next to her, nodded. She reached for her sewing basket. "She's very good at that, and it's a good thing she is, considering her youngest is almost as good at that as she is. She'll be having her own worries in about five or six years, I suspect."

"My father always used to say grandchildren are the best revenge a person can have on their own children," Fujime said. "When I least expect it, I keep finding it to be true."

The older women chuckled, while Teruko and Mariko sighed, and exchanged glances with Sango.

"Do they talk like this often?" Sango asked.

Mariko nodded. "More than you might imagine."

Koume laughed. "Oh, don't mind us. Fujime-chan and I have been making jokes about Eiji and Kimi for years. Everyone knew they were meant to be married since they were about ten." She knotted the thread she had been sewing with, and snipped it expertly.

"And she's been an excellent daughter-in-law," Fujime said. "And a good mother. She ought to have been here today. But since someone had to help them with taking care of the men working at the temple, she's available to talk about."

"That's why I knew better than to stay away," Teruko said. "Kimi made me promise to tell her everything you two said about her."

Kagome laughed with the other women, as she took the last stitches in her kosode, cut the thread, then held it up. "I think I'm finished."

"Let me see it," Sango said. She looked at the seams inside, and nodded. "You've done a good job."

"Is that for your husband?" Koume said. This time there was no hesitation over the word husband.

Kagome nodded. "It's the first one I've ever made."

"You've never made a kosode before?" Chime asked, surprised.

"No," Kagome said, looking sheepish. "Where I came from, someone else made all our clothes."

"And you gave all that up to come here?" Mariko said. She put down her sewing for a moment as her son stirred. Patting him on the back, she watched as he settled down. "You were rich and moved into a village of poor farmers?"

"We weren't rich, really," Kagome said. "It was just the custom that only some people sewed and other people did other things."

The women shook their heads rather unbelieving.

"Well anyway, I hope you like to sew," Fujime said. "You'll be doing a lot of it."

"Especially once the little ones start coming," Teruko said. "And especially if they're boys."

Sango handed the garment back to her. "And knowing InuYasha, you'll be doing a lot of mending."

"I've noticed that," Kagome said, folding the shirt. "I've had to mend his shirt twice this week already. I have a feeling I'm going to become an expert at it."

"If you need more practice," Akiko said, "just let me know. I'm sure I can give you plenty to practice on, with my brood."

Laughing, Hisa made another pot of tea.

While the women drank their tea, the men at the temple removed the rocks and crossbeams that were used to help keep the roof in place when the storms blew up.

Masu climbed partway up the ladder where Susumu handed him a rock.

"That's the last one," Susumu said. "How's the other side doing?"

"Good," Masu replied. He backed down the ladder and added his stone to the pile.

"Almost there," Hisoki said, peeking up over the roof ridge. "About half a dozen more stones. Your team wins this round."

"It's sure not because we have more people," Susumu said, dusting his hands off.

"Well, our side doesn't have InuYasha-sama," Hisoki said, grinning.

"Feh," the hanyou said, turning around to look up at the two men. "Still only have one pair of hands."

"But you don't need a ladder," Isamu said, joining Hisoki. "That gives you an edge."

"Just meant you got to use an extra one," Susumu said. "That should give you the edge."

"He's got a point," Shinjiro said.

Isamu laughed and went back to work.

"So what's next?" InuYasha asked.

"Tea for me." Susumu moved toward the ladder. "You want some?" He found no takers, and headed down.

"Remind me," Shinjiro said, "to figure out something extra for him to do later." While the hanyou chuckled, he began examining the boards. "First, we want to find out where leaky parts of the roof are. We may have to do more than just cover it up." He carefully began examining the roof boards.

Miroku and Ryota walked around the building from the other side. "So how does it look?" the monk asked.

"The winter wasn't very nice to your roof." Shinjiro touched one board, weathered and a little rotten around the edge. "Some of these boards must have been bad to start with."

"Considering we were having leaks, I'm not surprised to hear that," Miroku said.

"This is what you get for not letting me fix it last time," Ryota said.

Miroku scratched under his chin. "If I remember right, you were rather busy making sure about three other families had a good roof for the winter after that storm."

"And I for one am thankful," Hisoki said. "Haha-ue was sick enough last winter. It would have been worse if the rain had gotten in."

"Better karma for you anyway," Miroku said. "Maybe not so lucky for the temple, but we'll take care of it now."

"It was pretty busy," Ryota acknowledged. "So how many bad boards you see?"

"At least three," Shinjiro said. "We need to see how bad the sheathing is."

Isamu peeked back up over the top of the roof ridge. "This side's a little better. It gets more sun, but there are a few places . . . "

"Does that mean you can't just put shingles on the old boards?" Miroku asked.

"Not if you want the roof to last," the foreman said. "Although if you're in a hurry, we could just replace the damaged boards and forget the shingles."

"That's what we did last fall after the storm," Miroku said, shielding his eyes as he looked up at the men on the roof "It didn't stop the leaks. Besides, a temple needs a better roof than that. I wish we could afford tile. But Kwannon was merciful, and after that samurai decided to donate all those cedar shingles, who was I to turn him down?"

"I don't know if donate's the right word," InuYasha said. He bent down to look at the monk. "You might be a little more honest about it."

"Well, it was a reasonable fee for what we did for him," the monk said. "We did save his prize horse from that youkai. It was worth a lot more than the shingles."

"I guess," InuYasha said. "He seemed more worried about his horse than the men who were working on his lands."

"Eh, Samurai," Genjo said, walking up. "Not surprised. Funny how they think there's a limitless supply of farmers, but only so many horses."

"Just be glad they can't ride you into battle," Ryota said. "Let's get those boards up so we can see what we need to do."


	128. Chapter 128

_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 128**

While the men worked at discovering the damage under the temple roof, the women at Hisa's sewing party continued with their stitching. Kagome's just completed kosode for InuYasha was passed around the room for luck, although as each of the more experienced women examined it, Kagome wondered how much luck she was going to have getting everybody's scent out of the new garment before her husband would want to wear it. Still, the comments on the quality of the work made her happy.

After the shirt returned back to her, she carefully folded it and placed it back into her work basket, and frowned, tapping a finger against her lip as she wondered what to do next.

Fujime noticed her hesitation. "So, Kagome-chan," the older woman said, "Are you going to start a new piece of sewing or just watch all of us while we work on ours? We'd all love to hear more about that strange place you grew up at."

Kagome swallowed, knowing she couldn't say much about the future, and thinking quickly, put her basket in her lap and began pulling out the length of plain linen she had brought for towels. "I thought I would finish before we were done, so I brought some other material to work on. I still don't have enough towels yet." She laid the fabric down and got out her scissors out of the basket, and moved the container aside so she could start cutting, but Hisako, watching spied the dark-blue fabric Kagome had also brought peeking out of the top of the basket, and moved closer to have a better look.

"What's that piece of cloth for?" she said, touching it. "It looks very nice."

The young miko blushed a little for some reason, and pulled it out. "InuYasha bought it for me. He told me to bring it today because I ought to be making something nice for myself."

"Ah, a good-hearted husband," Akiko said. "It's nice to see that he wants you to have pretty things as well as practical. So many men don't seem to appreciate that. Hold it up."

Shyly, Kagome lifted up the fabric. It was dark blue with white blossoms trimmed with red scattered across it.

"He bought you that, without you asking for it?" Fujime asked, looking on approvingly, and a little surprised.

Kagome nodded. "The last market day."

"Good taste well as a good heart," Chime said. "You don't know how unusual that is in a young man."

"True, true," Fujime said. "That will made a lovely kosode. Why haven't you cut it out yet?"

"Okaasan, you heard her. She just sewed her first under kosode," Akiko said, putting down her own sewing.

"I remember cutting out my first kosode," Hisa said, picking up her own sewing basket. She smiled at Kagome as she lifted out her own work. "It was red and blue. My mother had bought it for my coming of age. I was so afraid of not making the design match."

"Is it hard?" Kagome asked. "Getting the pattern to match? I've never tried to do that before."

"With a design like this?" Sango said, brushing her fingers over a white blossom. "You need to be careful where the fold for the shoulder goes. Once you've lined it up like that, it's not too hard. It can be worse with a plaid pattern. There are so many places you can get out of alignment."

"Even that's not too hard," Chime said. She lay her own work across her lap, ran her hand along the seam she was sewing, and feeling, satisfied, picked it back up to take another stitch.

"Speak for yourself, Okaasan," Erime said, holding up the piece she was working on. "Sometimes the stripes aren't woven as evenly or as straight as they should be."

"True, true," Chime replied, patting her daughter-in-law-to-be's arm, and giving her an amused smile. "Although I believe you were the one who wove that cloth."

"Too true," the younger woman said with a slightly woeful look. "But do you think he will like it?"

"Of course he will," Mariko said. "Even if it's not perfect. Knowing Shinjiro, I'm not sure he'd even notice."

Some of the women chuckled at Mariko as Kagome looked at the fabric and chewed on her bottom lip, studying the design. "I don't know if I even know where to start."

Hisa gave her a smile, and reached over to pat her hand. "Would you like us to help you?"

The younger woman looked up, as if surprised by the offer, and gave the older woman a big smile. "That would be lovely!"

"That's what we're here for," Hisako said. "Not just to tease each other and drink all of Hisa's tea. Just like you were there to help me this morning. Don't be afraid to ask when you need help."

Kagome nodded, then handed the cloth to Hisa, who began folding it looking for the best place to begin.

While the women got up and moved around the length of cloth and discussed the best way to cut Kagome's kosode, the men at Miroku's temple also were kneeling down and looking, but instead of fine cloth, they were examining the roof, pulling boards that showed too much damage and that might be hiding leaks.

Ryota had made it up on the roof and was looking down at Miroku. "So how many places were you getting water from?"

"Four places," the monk said. "Does that mean there are only four bad boards?"

"Maybe," the foreman said. "Sometimes, though, the water gets tricky, and moves between the sheathing and the top and travels a bit before dripping. But that gives us an idea."

"This one has to go," Shinjiro said, tapping one of the boards. "Look how rotten it's getting." He began pulling it up.

InuYasha sat on the roof next to him, helping as the young farmer lifted it up. Their side of the roof now had five boards pulled up, and piece by piece the damage to the sheathing that was underneath the questionable boards began to be revealed.

"Ah," said Ryota, bending over the latest removal. "Look here. You definitely had a leak here." He pointed out the damage to the sheathing wood, where rings of discoloration had eaten through the clay used as sealer. It had sagged from where the water would push it down."This was a big one. Just look where the water's been getting through." InuYasha and Shinjiro looked at the damage. "There must have been a gap or crack in the board that covered it, even before it started rotting."

He turned the board over that Shinjiro had just pulled, and ran his finger down a long crack. "Who picked out this board? I'm glad I didn't work on this job. I'd be too ashamed to show my face on a roof again."

Shinjiro shrugged. "Don't remember who laid which board where. We were busy all over the village after the storm."

"Keh," the hanyou said, running a clawed fingertip over it. Rot had gotten into the bottom layer as well. "So what next?"

"We're going to have to patch this section," the foreman said. "Too much damage. Just replastering it won't be good enough." He scooted to the edge of the roof. "We need some sheathing," he said.

Genjo, Shinjiro's younger brother looked up. "It's that bad?"

"Yeah," Ryota said. "InuYasha, you want to get rid of that rotten piece? It's only good for firewood now. Too much rot to salvage."

The hanyou nodded.

"It's heavy," Shinjiro warned as InuYasha picked it up.

"Not too bad," InuYasha said. Balancing it on his shoulder, he leapt easily to the ground with it.

Shinjiro looked down at him. "Man, if we all could do that, ladder makers would be out of work."

InuYasha grinned up at him.

"Bring up the saw, will you?" Shinjiro asked Susumu, who was also on the ground. "I think Masu had it over on the other side."

Susumu, who was mixing up roofing sealer in a big tub, looked up. "Want some help cutting a hole?"

"Maybe," Shinjiro said.

Susumu nodded, dropped his paddle, and moved around to the far side of the building, passing by where his father and Daitaro sat in the shade, watching all the activity.

"He is handy with tools, that son of yours" Daitaro said, watching the younger man tease Isamu as he moved around the building before he disappeared out of sight. "He seems to like stirring the plaster well enough."

"Paddles, saws, bows . . . just another type of weapon," Tameo replied. "Put something like that in his hands, and he knows what to do with it, almost like an instinct."

"Unless it's a hoe," Daitaro said.

"Oh, he's good with that, too," Tameo said, grinning. "He'd just rather use other things." He took a sip of tea, and frowned when he realized it was too cold.

"Looks like they got one of the leaks" Miroku said, joining the two older men. "And that one was the worst. Every time it rained I had a tub under it."

"Sounds like it. That's the problem when so many roofs go bad at once, after a storm," the headman said. "Not enough time to do it all right. And although this is small for a temple, it's bigger than a lot of the houses here."

Miroku looked at the building that InuYasha referred to as a shack. It was bigger than many of the smaller houses including the hanyou's, even if smaller than the hondou he had lived at with Mushin, and nodded. "One day, we'll reroof it in tile," Miroku said, "like a proper temple."

Tameo snorted. "Maybe. If you get somebody like the magistrate at the crossroads or the daimyo down at Odawara to donate," he said. "Not a lot of money in a bunch of farmers."

"You might be right," Miroku replied, sighing. "Still, shingles are a step forward."

"It will look different," Daitaro said, nodding. "I think you have to get down to Edo or back east to find another shingled building."

"Hey, InuYasha!" Shinjiro said, watching InuYasha dump the rotten wood into the discard pile. Genjo was struggling to get the thin material to the ladder. "You want to bring that sheathing up? A bit more than my little brother can handle."

The hanyou nodded, took it from the younger man, and ignoring the ladder, leapt up to the roof with it.

"It's rather interesting watching him work, don't you think?" Tameo said. "I know I never thought after seeing how he acted the first time I saw him after Kagome-chan let him free that he'd ever turn out to be so . . . handy."

"He's a good worker," Daitaro said, nodding. "Just because he has that sword doesn't take that away from him. More than I can say for a lot of those type."

Miroku sat down next to them. "People often underestimate my friend, but he's always been quite capable, once he decides to do something."

Suddenly, there was a shout as someone near the roof ridge lost his grip and sent a board over the ridge, and it began to careen towards where Shinjiro and the others were working. InuYasha pulled Ryota out of the way before it could hit him, but after the hanyou let the foreman go, he took a step back and suddenly, the place he was standing on cracked, and losing his footing, InuYasha tumbled to the ground, landing on his back with a loud oomph.

"Damn," Tameo said, getting up. "Is he hurt?"

"InuYasha? A little fall like that?" Miroku said, shaking his head. He didn't bother to move.

Still, the headman walked over to the downed hanyou, along with several of the other men at the site.

Ryota looked nervously over the edge of the roof. "You, hurt, InuYasha? For someone who has no fear of heights, I don't think roofs like you."

InuYasha sat up, and looked up. "I'm beginning to think you're right." He got up, surprising Tadaki and Genjo, who had rushed over to help.

"You're not hurt?" Tadaki asked.

The hanyou shook his head. "Takes a lot more than that to slow me down," he said.

"Maybe not you, but your shirt didn't like it," Genjo said.

Looking down, InuYasha noticed his sleeve. The little tear he had earlier from the bird attack had lengthened, almost the distance of his sleeve. "Damn. Kagome's going to kill me."

"If that fall didn't wind you, much less hurt, I can't see what that wife of yours could do," Tameo said.

"You must have forgotten what she's like when she's mad," InuYasha replied. "Even youkai like my brother don't want to mess with her when she's like that."

While InuYasha got up and dusted off, Yurime, Choujiro's wife showed up with Matsume, and joined in with the discussion of what to do to show off the flower pattern. It was pleasant chatter, and finally everybody was happy with how the new kosode would look. Hisa and Akiko did the actual cutting, explaining just how they would handle the matching.

Finally it was done.

"See," Hisako said. "This is what we do for each other."

Kagome, folding the two cut out sleeves, smiled. "If I forget before I get it finished, can I come over to ask?"

"You can come over any time," Hisa said. "And you, too, Sango-chan. It makes the work go faster."

"Unless you're my okaasan," Erime said.

Hisa chuckled. "Your okaasan always had to do things differently."

Just as Kagome had finished folding and putting away most of the pieces, and began threading her needle to start the first seam, a shadow fell across the front door.

Koume's daughter Nahoi stood at the door. "Excuse me, Hisa-sama. I didn't mean to disturb your sewing party. Is my mother here?"

Hisa turned to look at the door. "Yes, yes. Come in. If you have the time, sit down and have some tea."

Nahoi stepped in. "Ah, there you are, Okaasan. I was hoping . . . "

"I told you where I was going," Koume said, frowning, and not looking up from her sewing. "Come and sit down if you want to work. Otherwise . . . "

"I've brought someone with me," Nahoi said, slipping out of her sandals. "I hope it's all right."

As she moved inside, another woman stepped up behind her. "I heard you were having another one of your sewing days, Hisa," the newcomer said. "I was surprised I never got an invitation. Perhaps you thought with my mother so ill, that it might not be a good thing to ask me."

Hisa sighed and stood up. Although she was trying to hide it, she was obviously not pleased about this uninvited guest. "Ah, so sorry. You're right. I really did think it might be a bad time for you. But come in, Chiya. Have some tea."


	129. Chapter 129

_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 129**

For a moment, the conversation died as the women looked up at the newcomer.

Hisa gestured to Emi's empty seat. "Please, come and sit down, Chiya-chan. You're welcome to sit next to me." She moved to her seat, and picked up the teapot.

Chiya looked around the room while Nahoi went to sit next to her mother, taking in the women in the room.

"Don't just stand there, Chiya-chan," Fujime said. "Have one of Mariko's rice cakes. They're very good."

As she stood there, Hisako bent towards Kagome. "Well," she said, quite softly, "I thought that she'd be too busy at the temple today helping. I'd heard she organized food and everything."

"I'd heard that, too." Kagome spoke just as softly.

Sango nodded. "Organized is the word. Kimi-chan and Yaya-chan were the ones going to do the actual work." Although her voice was soft, there was an edge to it, unlike Sango's normal tone.

Chiya's eyes landed on Kagome and Sango. "Thank you for inviting me in, even if you did forget about me, Hisa-sama," she said. She frowned, seeing Sango, but turned to the headman's wife, giving her the slightest of bows, and ignoring the honor of sitting next to the hostess. "I'll go sit near Koume and Nahoi, if you don't mind."

"Mind? Why should I?" Hisa replied, giving her a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes. "This is a day for pleasantness, not for obligation."

"Ah, pleasantness," Chiya said. "You are pleasant company, Hisa-sama." Chiya said. "It's more that I'm here with Nahoi," and giving Kagome, Sango and Hisako a dismissive glance, she continued, "and to be honest, I prefer the company on this side of the room. Things will be more pleasant that way."

She strutted across the room, ignoring the glance Sango gave her back and the uncertain look on Hisa's face as she settled down between Fujime and Koume.

Fujime, pulling her basket with her, scooted over closer to Akiko and Mariko to make room. "Did you bring anything to work on?" she asked.

"Not this time, Obasan," Chiya said, settling down between Fujime and Koume. "I just dropped by. My afternoon's a bit too busy to do sewing parties today. Between the temple and the fields and my family . . . "

"But not too busy to put in an appearance, I see," Koume said, focusing on her sewing and avoiding looking up. The tone, though, was not approving.

"Well," Chiya said, "I did run into Nahoi, and she told me where she was going, and I just tagged along. I was really headed up the hill, and this was on the way."

"A good bit away from your fields," Koume continued. "How is your father-in-law doing, by the way?"

"Ah, he's doing better," Chiya said. "He's back out working in the fields today, even though Michio wanted him to stay home another day. He made Masato go with him today. Masato's such a good boy. He never gives us any trouble."

"Must take after Michio's side of the family," Fujime muttered, softly to herself. She cut the thread she was sewing with and reached for her thread winder for a new length.

Akiko nudged her mother, who ignored her, and continued sewing.

"So Nahoi, what was so important that you came running me down?" Koume said, to change the subject.

"You were right, Okaasan. That weaving pattern's gone all wrong," Nahoi said. "I don't know what to do to fix it."

"Tomorrow, I'll come over and help," Koume said. She looked up at her daughter and sighed. "I thought you tied up your loom wrong. I told you something looked off. But fixing it will wait a day. Today's too far gone to start that."

"But what will I do until then?" the younger woman asked, frowning. "It's either weave or weed. And you know that roughing up my hands will make even more problems with the weaving."

"I have some sewing you could do if you need something, child," Hisako said. "My father needs a new kosode." She patted the ground next to her.

Nahoi got up and moved closer to the old woman. "I might as well. At least sewing won't harden my fingertips."

"Still, it's a good day for weeding," Akiko said, looking up from her work and tilting her head as she looked at the younger woman, an amused smile on her lips. "You're sure you wouldn't rather be doing it? I have some hand protectors if you really rather."

"Nahoi choose to go to the field?" Koume said. "Not while there's cloth or weaving around."

"You make that sound like a bad thing, Okaasan," Nahoi said, frowning as she accepted the lengths of fabric Hisako handed her. "You don't mind it when we get paid."

"My son says the merchants on market day think highly of your cloth," Chime said.

"When she doesn't mess up the warping, that's true," Koume admitted. "Well, we all have our talents."

"Some of us are better with a hoe, some with a needle," Hisa said, moving around the room with her teapot.

"And some," said Chiya, looking at Kagome and Sango, "seem to have rather unusual talents."

"It takes more than a hoe and a needle to make a village work," Hisa said, pouring Fujime a new cup of tea. "Where would we be if there were nobody to make indigo or hoes or defend the village?"

"And don't forget the silkworms," Fujime said. "That's a handy little business for some of us."

"If you have the knack for it," Akiko said, sighing. "I never got it."

"I seem to be better in the garden," Mariko said. Her son stirred, and she patted him on the back until he rested better.

"But you do such nice linen, Akiko," Fujime said, patting her daughter's arm "You know that's a talent too."

"So, Chiya, how's your okaasan doing?" Chime asked as Hisa offered Chiya a cup of tea.

Chiya sighed, and then pursed her lips. It was not a pleasant look on her face. "I saw her last night, and she was weak and barely able to walk," Chiya said. "It's a shame this happened to her. How could people push her to such anger? "

"We know who made her so angry," Hisa said, moving past her to Koume. She looked back at the young woman, displeased. "And it wasn't anybody who belongs to this village, not even your nephew, who is at true fault here."

"Counts what you mean by belongs here," Chiya said. "None that were born here, anyway."

"Well, the kami has blessed all the newcomers," Fujime said. "My husband, he saw it himself. So you can't mean any of them."

Koume nodded. "Kimi-chan saw it, too, before it was all over. She was rather amazed. It's not every day a kami manifests that way."

Chiya looked at the older woman, her lips touched with a small, but rather condescending smile. "She always was easy to impress," she said. "I remember when we were girls . . . "

"Oh, I don't know about that," Koume said, finally looking up from her stitching. "I seem to remember hearing a story or two about you, as well."

Chiya shrugged, and sipped her tea.

Kagome looked up at her. "Kaede-obaasan stopped by to see her this morning."

"Really?" Chiya said. She glanced at Kagome, and twisted her mouth into a grimace before turning to look at Nahoi. "It must be nice to just be able to stop and visit like that, don't you think? Even if your okaasan is irritated, she'll talk to you. Chichi-ue has made it clear that I am only allowed evening visits. He seems to think it's not good for her to see so much of her daughter."

"Surely, Chiya-chan, it's not that bad," Chime said. "Have you talked to your otousan today?"

Chiya shook her head. "He's made himself scarce," she replied, staring into her teacup. "I looked for him, but didn't find him."

"He came by early today to talk to my Choujiro about some work," Yurime said. "I don't know where they went."

"Ah," Chiya said.

"Amaya-chan told me about them fixing up the house near the river," Kagome said. "Perhaps he went there?"

"Odd," Chiya said, not looking at anybody in particular, but looking rather petulant, "how someone outside of the family should know more about what's going on than a child of the family." She sipped her tea again. "How right is that?"

Hisa, having made the rounds with the tea, began offering around the tray of mochi cakes. "Please, Chiya-sama, have one," she said. "I'm sure we can smooth the way between your mother and you. Everybody's just being cautious."

"Why do they need to be cautious about me?" she asked Hisa, who had no answer to give her. Sighing, she looked at the rice cakes. "Who made them?" Chiya asked.

"Teruko-chan," Hisa said.

"They're fresh," Teruko-chan said, nodding. I baked them this morning.

"Well, maybe," Chiya replied. "Although they won't be quite the same as my Haha-ue's."

"True," Teruko said. "Everybody knows she makes the best ones in the village. I wish I knew her secret."

"Me, too," Chiya said, and sighed.

Conversation stilled for a few minutes as Chiya ate in silence and the women attended to their sewing. She broke the silence. "Kaede never showed up? I was hoping to talk to her."

"No. I'm not sure what happened," Hisa said, returning to her place and picking up her own work.

"She had to take care of Aki-kun," Kagome said. "He got into a tree and got pecked. She was going to bandage him up. But I expected her here by now."

"That boy," Koume said. "I told Haname . . . "

"You told her what?" Chiya said, putting her teacup down. The sad, but petulant child look she had been wearing sharpened into a wary look. "My nephew is -"

"Your nephew has been a trouble waiting to cause your okaasan a heartbreak," Koume said. "And it finally happened."

"If Isao - " Chiya started. Her face hardened.

"If Isao hadn't been beaten up by your nephew, we might not know how much Aki-kun had been hiding about what he had been doing," Hisa said. Sango poured her some tea. "Thank you," she said, lifting the tea cup. "He was well and bloody battered by the time I got to him."

Chiya frowned and tried to think of what to say next, when Emi walked in, carrying a sleeping Mitsuo and followed by Aomi, and Sango's twins.

"The children are starting to get tired and a little cranky," Emi said. "I'll go lay Mitsuo down in the back." Aomi followed her as she went.

"That's not all who's getting cranky," Hisako said, loudly enough only Kagome could hear. Kagome raised her eyebrows, but said nothing, and went back to her sewing.

The twins, though, hurried to surround Sango.

"Look, Okaa!" Yusuko said, holding out a large rock. It was broken and had shiny mica flakes on the exposed face. The little girl moved it back and forth in the light, watching how it glittered as she moved it.

"Very pretty, Yusuko," Sango said. "Do you want me to hold it?"

The little girl nodded. Her sister looked at Kagome for a moment, then spied the dish of rice cakes next to Hisa.

Hisa, looking up from her sewing smiled at the girl. "Do you want another one?" Hisa asked.

Noriko nodded, then bashfully moved towards her mother's side.

Hisa took two small ones off the dish. "Here's one for you," she said. She handed the other to Yusuko. "And one for you."

Noriko sat down between her mother and Kagome. "Tired?" Sango asked.

"No!" Noriko said, but laid her head against her mother's side as she ate her treat.

Chiya drank the last of her tea, rested the cup on the ground, then leaned towards Koume and mock-whispered in a voice loud enough that everybody could hear clearly."Isn't it interesting, our village? My father keeps his daughter away from her mother. The headman protects youkai, and allows a married miko. And those two," she said, looking straight at Sango and Kagome. "One marries the man with dog ears, and the other one marries a monk and bears litters. And a kami comes out and says everything's all right. Such a strange place."

Koume gasped. "Chiya . . . " Her gasps were echoed across the room as hands stopped work.

Sango, her head up at the rude comment, held her daughters close to her. "Litters?"

Kagome's eyes went wide, and she stood up, letting the fabric in her lap flutter to the floor.

"How dare you," she said.

"Oh, look. The married miko is going to try to use the same tactics on me as she did to my okaasan."

"Chiya-chan," Hisa said, standing up. Her tone was the voice she used when Susumu or Kinjiro acted up, and those who knew it, knew trouble was going to follow. "I was standing with Kagome-chan that day. She did nothing to your okaasan. And Sango's daughters are beautiful and welcome. There is nothing wrong with them. Is there some reason you come to my house to insult my guests? "

Naoya, hearing the noise, woke up and began crying. Kagome, giving one more look to Chiya, and seeing the tears starting to form in Sango's eyes, picked up the baby, and knelt next to her, handing Sango her son and wrapping an arm around her.

"Don't listen, Sango-chan," she said, glaring over her shoulder at Chiya, who was glaring back with something like triumphant glee.

The girls, sensing something wrong themselves began to cry as well. As Erime and Chime went to help, Chiya gave a sharp single laugh. Teruko's and Mariko's babies joined in as the crying grew louder and almost drowned out her voice with their crying.

Akiko stood up, moving toward Teruko, who was picking up her baby and putting him over her shoulder. "Look what you've done. Take your petty jealousies and problems with your mother somewhere else. Why are you doing this?"

"What I'm doing?" Chiya said, above the children crying. "Look at you all. The whole world's turned upside down and you sit down to have a sewing party." She walked close to Hisa. Fujime grabbed Chiya's sleeve, afraid she was going to slap Hisa. Chiya, jerking, pulled her arm free. "I'm not the one who brings a married miko and a woman who lives with a monk under her roof," Chiya said, standing. "You might like scandals, but I for one, am tired of it all. "

"There, there, baby," Sango said, rocking her son. She opened her top and began to nurse him, after Erime finally managed to pry Yusuko off her arm.

Chime brushed the girl's bangs, and gave her a smile. "It's all right, little one. Don't be frightened."

Yusuko let out a fresh wail.

"Leave, Chiya," Hisa said, clenching her fists. "I'm going to assume the only reason you're acting like this is that you're distraught over your okaasan. I'll find Kaede and have her see if you need some medicine. If I thought you were in your right mind . . . The only one causing scandal here today is you."

Chiya's eyes flared, and although the look Hisa gave her could give grown men the feeling of being small boys being caught doing bad things, it had no such visible effect on her. Instead, she breathed deeply, trying to assert her dignity, and stood up. "Leave? I don't even know why I let Nahoi talk me into coming. Maybe I thought there was some virtue left in this village. But it looks like I'm wrong. I would prefer not to be in this type of company anyway." She lifted up her chin and passed the older woman. "I'll join the others helping the men at the temple. I prefer to have the Buddha's blessing over a group of people who think that . . . people like this are acceptable company."

And with that, she walked out.


	130. Chapter 130

_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 130**

For a few moments, the gathered women stared at the doorway, unable to speak, and the only sounds were the sobbing of the children inside and the laughter of the children still playing outside.

The door to the sleeping room slid open, and Emi stepped out with Aomi in her arms. "What . . . what just happened? That was Chiya? I'm amazed Mitsuo didn't wake up."

"That was Chiya," Fujime said, picking up her needlework and making several furious stitches before she gave up, tucked her needle in, and put the fabric back in her basket.

"I . . . I . . ." Nahoi said. She looked around the room as the women's eyes began to look at her. She dropped her sewing in her lap, then put it aside.

Hisako reached over and rested her hand on Nahoi's wrist. "Well, I bet you didn't expect that when you let her tag along," she said. "You really can't be nice to some people. Look at what they do."

Nahoi nodded. "To disrespect hospitality like that . . . " Looking dazed, she stood up, bowing deeply to the headman's wife. "Oh, Hisa-sama, I am so sorry." Her voice was thick with regret and embarrassment. "I had no idea that she was going to behave like that. She told me she just wanted to pay her respects before going up to the temple." She choked a moment, then continued. " Please forgive me."

With a loud sigh, Hisa dropped to the floor, and covered her face with her hands for a moment, then nodded her head. "I know, Nahoi-chan, I am sure that's just what happened. Chiya . . . she can be spiteful, but I'm not sure what triggered this one."

Koume put her sewing down and went to stand by her daughter. "I've warned you about being too trusting of that woman before," she said. "You really need to learn to tell her no."

"I know, Okaasan, I know. Ever since that day with Yoshimi, I get so confused." She looked up at her mother with tear-glistened eyes.

The older women hugged her daughter. "Don't mention that bastard here," she said. "After what he did to you . . . I never want to hear his name again."

"I . . . I'm sorry," Nahoi said, looking at the ground.

"Oh child," Koume said. "None of that was your fault. Come sit down."

Nahoi shook her head, then turned to Kagome and Sango and bowed once more.

"I am so sorry, Miko-sama, Sango-sama. Chiya saw me walking here, and she insisted that she come with me. All I wanted to do was have Haha-ue's help with my weaving. If I had known what she was going to do . . . "

Kagome nodded, rocking Noriko.

"Sango-sama, and you, too, Miko-sama, you should come visit my workshop, please." She looked at her mother for confirmation, and Koume nodded. "Let me offer you something for the grief I've caused you."

"No, no," Sango said, shaking her head. "It wasn't your fault."

"Please," Nahoi said.

"I'd take her up on it," Koume said. "She's the best weaver in the village, that is, when she ties up her loom right."

"And bring your daughters," Nahoi said. "I have some ribbon that would be perfect for them."

Nahoi, bowing again, turned to Hisako. "Bring your sewing by my place later, Obaasan, and I'll finish the sewing. Okaasan, Hisa-obasan, if you don't mind, I just want to go home."

Koume, nodded and brushed her daughter's cheek. "Go check the red yarn I dyed yesterday. It might be dry enough now."

The younger woman nodded, gave her mother a sad smile, bowed again to the women, and left.

"So much grief that woman can make," Mariko said, watching her leave. "Nahoi's never been quite right after that . . . monster of a man left her for dead. And Chiya knew it, too."

Sango took a deep breath, wiped her eyes with her free hand.

Erime wrapped an arm around her back and gave her a small hug. "See, it's not you and your family that gives us sad thoughts and grief. Don't let her get to you."

"Erime-chan is right," Chime said.

"If . . . if she was a youkai, I'd know what to do," Sango said, trying to smile. "But . . . but she's Tsuneo-sama's daughter. And she does so much for the temple . . . "

"She likes to obligate people," Fujime said, frowning. "But that's no reason to put up with this. Have you talked about what's going on with your husband?"

"Not . . . not really," Sango said, and sighed. "Maybe he doesn't realize . . . "

Yusuko, sitting in Chime's lap looked at the older woman. "Okaa sad."

"I know, pretty one." Chime brushed the girl's bangs off her eyes. "We'll try to make her feel better. If you smile at her, maybe it'll help."

Yusuko rubbed the back of her hand against the tip of her nose, and looked at her mother, giving her a small smile, reaching over to touch her shoulder. "Okaa feel better?"

Sango gave her daughter a smile back, a little bittersweet. "Okaa will be, baby. Thank you."

There was a knock on the door, and Isao stuck his head in the doorway. "Do you need any help? Jun-sama heard the noise and wondered if he should send for Tameo or Susumu."

Hisa looked up at the youth, still bearing the healing bruises of his run-in with Aki. "Chiya-chan just left. That's what caused all the noise."

"Chiya-obasan was here?" Isao asked, surprised. "But she always talked like she hated to come over here, even for sewing." He looked down at his feet. "She doesn't like Tameo-sama very much."

"Nor me, Isao-kun," Hisa said. "You don't have to beat around the bush." Emi walked up to her and rested a hand on her mother-in-law's shoulder. She gave the younger woman a reassuring smile and patted her hand.

"Who does she like?" Kagome asked, rocking Noriko back and forth as the toddler calmed down "She was always nice to me in the past, but it seems now I'm a villain, too."

"That's a good question, Kagome-chan," Hisako said. "I've wondered it a time or two myself."

"I know it's not me," Sango said. She patted the back of her son as he nursed. "She doesn't think much of me or my children."

"Most of us have had runs-in with her from time to time, her getting on her high horse about something or the other," Mariko said. She bounced her son in her arms, and he gurgled at her, calmed down now that the other babies had stopped wailing.

"She wasn't here for very long, Isao-kun," Akiko said. "Be glad you missed her. She seems angry with you, too." She watched Teruko calm down her child for a moment, stroked the woman's hair, and moved back to her seat.

"It was long enough," Fujime said, getting up and walking across the room towards Kagome and Sango. "She did enough damage in that little bit that I would hate to think what she would have done if she'd been here all along. She knelt in front of the two women. Noriko, who had just about gotten her tears under control, looked up at her with wary eyes.

"You're too pretty to be crying like that, little one," Fujime said. She pulled her handkerchief out of her sleeve. "Here. Will you let me dry your eyes?"

Noriko shook her head no. Sighing, she handed the handkerchief to Kagome. "Maybe she'll let you," she said.

Kagome took the cloth. "Thanks." Carefully she wiped Noriko's eyes and nose.

"Well, I think this was more than her usual snit," Hisa said, standing up. "Come here, Isao. I want you to run an errand for me." They walked outside of the house.

Emi watched her mother walk out on the verandah with the boy. "I wonder what Okaasan is going to try to do?" Still carrying her daughter, she moved back to her seat. "It sounded awful out here."

"It was," Chime said, running her hands through Yusuko's hair. "Better?" she asked the girl.

Yusuko nodded. Aomi gave her a little smile, and sliding out of her mother's arms, walked over to the girl and patted her on the back.

Fujime, not paying much attention to the little girls, rested her hand on Sango's arm. "I'm so sorry you had to do through that, Sango-chan. Your daughters are beautiful. And you, too Kagome-chan. I cannot understand why someone would just come over to cause trouble. And we'd been having such a good time."

Sango nodded, looked down at Naoya, who was still nursing, and looked back up at Fujime. "Why?"

"Why am I sorry? Because you didn't deserve that," Fujime said.

Sango shook her head. "Why . . . Chiya? Why would she do something like that?"

"Chiya's . . . " Emi said, searching for the right word. Noriko slipped out of Kagome's arms to join Aomi and Yusuko. The three toddlers sat in front of Emi, doing something with their stick dolls that looked like a dance. "She can be sweet like a peach if you're doing something she likes or if she thinks you're a benefit to her, and then sharp like a sword if she disapproves. But I don't think I've ever seen her backbite like this in public before."

"She's very jealous and resentful," Teruko said. She moved her child over her shoulder and began pat on his back.

"Oh yes," Akiko said. "And her husband and father-in-law just can't keep her under control. I don't know why poor Michio ever married that woman."

"I hear," Koume said, "that she badgered him into it. I know Haname never approved."

"No, she didn't," Fujime said. "Oh, I remember the battles those two had. Still have. That's part of her problem, I think."

"She really does get resentful of anybody who gets into Haname-sama's good graces," Teruko said. Her child gave a loud burp. "Good baby," she said. "I made that mistake, and she's never let me forget it."

"But that doesn't explain why she's been so . . . " Sango said. She switched Naoya to the other side to finish nursing.

Kagome rested her hand on Sango's shoulder. "What has she been doing to you?"

"Ever since Miroku and I got married . . . " Sango said. "It's not usually what she does, so much as what she says."

"That's Chiya's way," Hisako said. "And it's what she says to others when you aren't there, too."

Hisa walked back in. She carried a jug with her, and lifted it up for the women's inspection. "I think that after all of that, we all deserve a bit of sake."

"My husband would agree with you, I suspect," Chime said.

"Your husband would agree almost any time was the right time for at least a small cup," Hisako said, chuckling a little.

"You mean there's times he doesn't?" Koume said. She began packing away her sewing.

As Hisa began serving the sake, she said, "Well, I hope Chiya won't be able to cause as much trouble at the temple as she did here."

"I wouldn't put it past her to try," Fujime said. "I'm sure she'll try to seem so holy and devout, at least enough to impress people there."

For some reason, Kagome began to laugh. It started as a giggle, and grew into a full-fledged laugh. And it wouldn't stop.

"Kagome-chan?" Sango asked, confused.

"Kagome-chan, are you all right?" Emi asked. She got up and moved next to her. "You haven't even had any sake yet."

"More than all right," Kagome said. "I. . . just had . . . the funniest . . . thought." Slowly she caught her breath. "You do know who's over at the temple helping with the reroofing?"

"Half the younger men in the village that could get away from the fields?" Fujime asked.

"That's not all," Kagome said, catching her breath. "InuYasha. She did all of that to make sure she was away from 'those type' of people, and InuYasha no doubt will be there standing on the roof, in plain sight, working with all the men. Or talking to Miroku. Poor Chiya-sama. There's no way for her to get away from what she thinks of as 'those people' today." She picked up Sango's hand. "Is that wicked of me to find that funny?"

Hisako and Fujime began to laugh as well.

"The Buddha, I've been told, doesn't like ugly," Hisako said. Hisa handed her a small cup of sake, and she took a small sip. "Perhaps she'll get a lesson about how to behave, instead."

Hisa smiled back, and poured a little of the wine for Kagome. "Oh, I suspect she'll get more there than she bargained for."

"That wouldn't happen to have anything with you sending that boy off on an errand, would it?" Teruko asked.

Hisa gave the woman a smile. "It may indeed," the headman's wife said. She stopped in front of Sango, and handed her a cup. "Now, Sango-chan, I want you to tell us all about what Chiya's been doing to you. I hope she's not the one making you feel you need to stay up on the hill and not come join us. But if she is, this will be the right time to put a stop to all that nonsense."


	131. Chapter 131

_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 131**

The quiet of the woods above the village was broken with the sound of an axe being wielded.

Tsuneo, walking under the trees, followed the sound until he reached a clearing where he found his son-in-law Michio, Chiya's husband splitting up some deadwood into firewood lengths. The old farmer leaned up against a tree and watched for a moment.

Michio, caught up in his work, split the dead branch he was working on into several pieces before he looked up and saw his father-in-law there. Tossing the pieces into a large basket, he looked up at the man and smiled. "What are you doing up here, Otousan?"

"I could ask you the same thing," Tsuneo said, walking towards the younger man. "I thought you'd be up at the temple with all the other men the monk could hustle."

"Ah, but I am, in a way," Michio replied. "They ran out of wood for the tea water. I got volunteered to round some up." He picked up the pack basket and slipped his arms in the straps. "There's no way Chiya-chan would have let me get by without showing my face, although I don't know what's keeping her away so long."

"Eh," Tsuneo said, shrugging. "You know Chiya-chan. Always has to be in everybody's business, even if she doesn't know when to stop."

Michio sighed. "That's true. She's been pretty worried about Okaasan. I hope she doesn't find someone to take out her worries on."

Tsuneo took a deep breath. "Let's hope."

"So," the younger man said. "What brings you up here?"

"The same sort of worries that has Chiya-chan running around the village, no doubt," Tsuneo said, with a sad shake of his head. "I was looking for some quiet before I go face figuring out something to do with that...Morio."

Michio looked down, a bit embarrassed. "I'm sorry, Otousan. I forgot how much trouble all this means for you. Is there something I can do to help?"

Tsuneo shrugged. "Help me find someone to take care of him? Keep Chiya-chan from causing trouble?"

The two men began to walk. "I wish," Michio said. "Have you ever figured out how to keep Okaasan from causing trouble?"

Tsuneo gave a bitter, but short laugh. "Not really. Hardheaded women we have, it seems. Don't want to beat them, don't want to send them away. All we can do is put up with them."

They could hear the sounds of hammering, and the voices of men working, but not really what they were saying as they walked, growing louder with each step.

"Who showed up?" Tsuneo asked.

"Pretty much who you'd expect," Michio said, holding on tightly to his basket straps as he carefully stepped over a fallen log blocking the path. He turned around and watched his father-in-law step over the same obstacle. "Some of the younger men. Isamu's family. You know how supportive they've been of Houshi-sama and the fact that there's even this little bit of a temple. Daitaro-sama and his sons. Even the headman and some of his people."

"A good crowd, it sounds like." Tsuneo joined his son-in-law on the other side of the log.

"The hanyou's there," Michio said, as if warning Tsuneo.

"I suspected he would be." The older man nodded. "He's the monk's partner and best friend, after all. And the more I've talked with him, the more I like him."

This surprised Michio, who looked at his father-in-law with wide eyes. "After everything that's happened, you can honestly say you like him?"

"Yes I do." Tsuneo put his hand on Michio's shoulder. "After how he behaved dealing with Aki and Haname, both . . . he could have asked for a lot, even ruined us. An honorable man, who doesn't pull rank. Been too much gossip about him."

"But what about all the old stories?" Michio asked. "All the things Haname and Joben were saying?" He shifted his pack load on his shoulders again.

"Who knows? Neither of us were around then. You've seen how he's behaved since they killed that youkai that tried to take out the village. Don't know what happened once upon a time, or why the magic really kept him pinned in the forest. I just know the man we're dealing with now." He began walking towards the temple. "Coming? I'm going to have a talk with Tameo if he's still there."

Michio nodded and the two men continued walking toward the temple.

As they neared the compound, they heard the brush rattle, and turning saw Isao pop out from behind a scraggly bush, out of breath like he'd been running. He held his hand to his chest for a moment. Tsuneo looked at him. The boy's bruises were going from dark purple to a greenish tinge, and his face was red, but there was no sense of panic about him.

Catching his breath, the boy bowed to the two men.

"What are you doing up here, Isao-kun?" Michio said, a bit harshly. "I thought you were staying at Tameo's. You aren't running off, are you?"

"No, no, Obasan," the boy said. "Hisa-sama sent me up here. I have a message for Tameo-sama and Houshi-sama."

While Tsuneo and Michio questioned Isao and Hisa poured sake for the women back in the village, InuYasha was sitting on the ground where the women were serving refreshments, watching Kimi poking at the fire under the hot water. He took a sip of his tea, and muttered very softly, "Hope Kagome's having a better time than me."

Kimi looked up, grabbing one of the last sticks of wood and adding it to the flames. "Excuse me, InuYasha-sama, what did you say?"

"Nothing that mattered," he said. He rolled his shoulders, as if trying to relieve some stiffness.

"Are you sure you feel all right?" Kimi asked. "That was quite a fall you took."

"Feh," he said, his right ear twitching. "It takes more than that to even slow me down."

"I believe that," Eiji said, walking up to where the two of them were. He rolled his shoulders as well. "I've seen a time or two where that little wife of yours did the magic that pulled you down to the ground, once or twice out of a tree."

"Kagome-sama did that to you?" Kimi asked, rather surprised.

InuYasha looked at his hands. "Probably deserved it."

Eiji laughed. "Funny how our women can let us know when we deserve it, even if it's not always in such a dramatic way. You're sure you're all right? No headache? Your back doesn't hurt?"

"Nothing much," InuYasha said. "A little stiff, but that'll pass in a few minutes. My body has a lot of practice healing."

Eiji sat down beside the hanyou. "Mine has lots of practice getting injured, but alas, it never seems to learn how to heal any better." Kimi handed him a cup of tea, and he nodded his thanks. "Those shingles are going to give it another chance to practice, though, by the feel of it."

"But think of how you'll feel when it's done, husband," Kimi said. She grabbed a small basket and went and sat down on the other side of the hanyou.

"Sore," Eiji replied.

This made the woman laugh. "I'm sure I'll hear plenty about it, husband, while you moan and get me to heat stones to put on all your tender places," she said, smiling.

"Ah, Kimi-chan, you know me too well," Eiji replied.

"I ought to," the woman said, opening her basket and taking out a needle and a thread winder. "You've only been that way since you were ten." She measured out a length of thread and threaded her needle.

"Heh," Eiji said, swallowing some of his tea. "I bet you know what I'm going to say before I say it."

"Some of the time, husband, some of the time." She looked up at InuYasha, holding the needle carefully in her right hand, then bowed slightly. "If you would let me, InuYasha-sama, I could help keep your sleeve from ripping any more. You wouldn't even need to take it off. It wouldn't be a proper mending, but it would keep you safer while you work."

Eiji took another sip of his tea, and smiled. "That's my woman. Always trying to be Kwannon of the Hundred Hands, taking care of everybody."

InuYasha looked at the petite woman next to him, his eyes knotted up in surprise. "You . . . you want to fix my kosode?"

"It'll only take a little while," she said, smiling and nodding. "I just thought with all the work going up and down on the roofs and shingling, it would be easier for you." She held up her needle. "Even for you, taking a fall can't be a fun thing."

Eiji gave him a friendly pat on the shoulder. "That's Kimi's way. She likes to spread a little light wherever she can." He finished his tea.

"My . . . my wife is that way, too," InuYasha said, still rather uncertain.

"Ah, I remember Kagome-chan from the old days. Yes, she always tried to be a ray of light," Kimi said, "although, I think at times, you were a bit much for her patience."

Yaya, Isamu's wife returned to the fire. "Isn't that the role for all men, trying their women's patience?"

"Speak for yourself, Yaya-chan," Eiji said. He stood up. "We're not all like that, are we, Kimi-chan?"

"If you say so, husband," she said, looking up at him. Her smile was real, but just a little mischievous.

"Eh, whatever. I better get back before they send someone after me." He handed Kimi his cup, then looked back at InuYasha. "You might as well let her take care of your sleeve. She won't leave you alone until you do."

"Are you saying your wife tries your patience?" Yaya said. She felt the side of the teapot she was holding, made a face and poured it into her own cup.

As she prepared the next pot, he chuckled. "Would I do that?" Patting InuYasha on the shoulder one more time, he grinned. "I'll see you back up on the roof. Shingles or not, it might be a little safer for the likes of me."

He walked off, leaving a bemused InuYasha behind.

"Hold up your arm, please, InuYasha-sama," Kimi said. "This really won't take very long."

He looked at Yaya, who nodded, and sighing he complied. "You're really going to do this?" he asked.

She nodded, taking the first stitch. "It's a small thing to do, you know." Deftly, she began whip stitching the rip closed. "This really won't hold it long, but it might keep you from ripping it any worse. Kagome-sama's going to have quite a bit of work fixing this as it is."

He nodded, his ear twitching as he watched her work. "I thought you were friends with Chiya," he said.

"I am, as much as anybody can be her friend," Kimi said. "She really doesn't let people get very close to her." She took another stitch and looked up at the hanyou, and looked at his questioning eyes thoughtfully. "You mean, you're surprised that I'm being helpful to you? You expected me to be like her and her mother and brother, and treat you like an outcast?"

InuYasha didn't say anything, but his look gave his answer away.

Kimi continued her sewing. "It's . . . well, how do I put it? I try to follow the Buddha's way. I was taught a long time ago by a traveling monk, 'As the rain falls on all plants, the Buddha's compassion is extended equally to all,' and 'If one is slow in doing good, the mind finds delight in evil.' I'm just a simple woman, and that's all the wisdom he could give me, but I do try to follow it. So," she said looking up at him, "I try to be like the Buddha, and do the kind thing."

"Maybe you could teach Miroku a thing or two," InuYasha said.

"Oh, Houshi-sama is a good man," Kimi said, looking up and smiling. "He just has to learn some more dharma lessons. And give them, too."

InuYasha snorted. "He's good at giving them, yes. Maybe a little too much for his own good."

While Kimi sewed on InuYasha's sleeve, Ryota surveyed the work the men were doing on the roof at the temple. Susumu and Shinjiro were huddled around one corner of the roof, where they were putting the final touches on the sheathing where the big leak had been, but on the other side, the men, having already done their patching and replacing the few boards that needed it, were beginning to shingle.

"Hurry it up," Hisako said on the other side of the roof. "I don't like walking on a slant for nothing."

"Patience, man," Eiji said, picking up a pack of cedar shingles. "These things weigh more than they're worth."

"Be glad they're not tiles," Ryota said from his side of things. "You'd really be complaining about the weight."

"Whatever," Eiji said, grunting as he hefted the pack up on a shoulder and moved to one of the ladders. "They're heavy enough."

Isamu, watching all of this laughed, but not everybody was so amused.

"They're getting ahead of us," Genjo grumbled as he replaced a section of roofing plank. "We're not even ready to start the shingles."

"Not your fault," Ryota said, clapping the younger man on his shoulder. "You had the side with the worst leaks."

"My luck," the young man said, tapping the board into place.

"It's not like the monk's giving a prize," Shinjiro said. "If he was, I'd be claiming for us for having the most preparation work. But it'll save his precious hall. I'm sure Kwannon will remember who saved his head from leaks."

"And we won't be long here," Susumu said, looking up. "We're almost done. We'll be shingling soon enough." He laid his hammer down and looked around. "Where's InuYasha?"

"He went down to get some tea," Shinjiro said. "After taking that fall, don't blame him. You need him?"

"I was hoping he could bring some shingles up," Susumu said. "We're almost through here. Maybe I should go look for him."

"You just stay put," Ryota said. "I need to go talk to Houshi-sama anyway. I'll go tell him."

"I get the feeling you don't trust me," Susumu said, trying to look hurt.

"Oh, I trust you well enough," Ryota said, looking back with mock sternness. "Well enough to get sidetracked by Eiji or one of the other men, and take an hour to get back to work."

"Ha," Susumu said, grinning. "You only think you've got my number. I'd only take a quarter of an hour."

"Don't believe him," Shinjiro said, looking up. "He'd take at least a half an hour, especially with Chichi-ue around to talk to."

"Oh, don't I know it," Ryota said, walking down the ladder.

Giving Masu an encouraging pat on the back as he passed him, the foreman headed to where the monk was drinking tea himself with Daitaro and Tameo. Laughter came from the little group as he neared.

"So, Ryota," Daitaro said, motioning him to come join them, "Are all these young backs going to get the job finished in time for dinner?"

"Maybe," Ryota replied. He shrugged. "At least we'll have the leaks finished. If we don't get all the shingles on today, I'll round up a crew and get in done in the next day or two. We've got the hard part done." He sat down.

Miroku sipped his cup of tea and looked at the building and watched the work progress."I didn't realize it would take so much work to get it fixed."

"Me, either," the foreman said, nodding.

"That's always the way of it," Tameo said. "It always takes longer than you expect."

"Funny, my foster father Mushin always told me that," Miroku said, giving the headman a serious nod, "but I always thought it was his fondness for sake that made it happen that way." He looked knowingly at Daitaro.

The old farmer laughed. "You can't blame me for today. I haven't had a drop. Saving it for when the work is done."

"Can't blame anybody, really," Ryota said. Yaya, one of the women helping, came over with fresh tea. She offered Ryota a cup, but he shook his head. "There was more water damage than I thought. No wonder you were getting leaks."

"At least it'll be done before the rainy season," the monk said. Yaya stopped and refreshed his tea. As Miroku watched the workers while he drank a sip of the fresh cup, Hisako dropped a handful of shingles off the side of the roof by accident, and stared at the way they scattered on the ground.

"Maybe," Daitaro said.

Everybody but Miroku laughed.

"So when are you and InuYasha going to get the Jizo image?" Tameo said.

"In a few - " Miroku was interrupted by a loud woman's voice.

"Kimi, what do you think you're doing?" Chiya's voice called out. "And what are you doing here, you . . . you . . . This is no place for youkai!"

"I knew today was too good to be true," Daitaro said, standing up. "Trouble again."


	132. Chapter 132

_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 132**

Tsuneo looked at Isao, knitting his brows together. "Let me get a good look at you, boy." He slipped a hand under Isao's chin, looking at the bruises. "You see these, Michio?"

His son-in-law nodded.

"I know Haname liked to think that Aki-kun mostly got in trouble because Isao egged him on, that it was Isao who was getting his cousin into trouble, but I've learned it wasn't like that, was it, Isao?"

The boy looked at Michio and back at Tsuneo. "I...I...sometimes I took the blame for him." He looked at his toes, avoiding the adults' eyes.

"You're loyal, son, and that is good," Tsuneo said. "But sometimes, it's right not to be too loyal." He looked at his son-in-law. "Isao wouldn't be bruised at all if Aki hadn't been the one leading. He got tossed by a cow because Aki ran away and left him to face her. Then I saw him jump Isao myself." He ran one finger over a bruise near his chin. "How's your head, boy?"

"No more headaches, Ojiisan," Isao said. He looked in the direction of the temple. "But I need to hurry. Hisa-sama made me promise to get to the temple as soon as possible."

Tsuneo nodded and let go. "We're headed that way ourselves."

Michio tugged on his basket pack straps. "In fact, if we don't get back soon, Kimi will no doubt be sending someone to look for me. She was getting low on wood for the tea water."

"Well, let's not keep her waiting anymore," Tsuneo said.

Michio nodded and they began walking, Isao walking briskly ahead of them.

"Aki-kun beat him up?" Michio asked, leaning towards his father-in-law and speaking softly.

"After Isao began confessing to the things that they had done, and he was already injured." Tsuneo sighed. "This has not been a good moon for our family. Haname, Aki, and Isao."

"No, it hasn't," the younger man said. "And Chiya . . . well, you know how she gets. Fretting, fretting about Haha-ue, complaining you're not letting her spend enough time . . . "

"If she didn't drive Haname so crazy, she could probably come visit more," Tsuneo said, sighing. "But she just doesn't know when to let go, and that bothers Haname up so much, and my poor wife . . . " He sighed again. "Kaede-sama assures me it's just a matter of time, but I don't know. She's not getting better yet, and she's starting to cough. And with that crazy man . . . nobody's getting any rest."

Isao turned back to the two men, looking at them with a serious frown. He chewed his lip. "Ojiisan, do you need me to come back home to help? I could talk to Susumu-sama. I bet he would understand and let me come back, at least until Haname-obaasan is better."

Tsuneo shook his head, but gave the boy a gentle smile. "No, son. You're the one person in the family I know whose luck is moving in the right direction, even if you had to run into a cow for it to start. You stay with Susumu." He scratched the back of his neck. "We'll figure out . . . something."

The boy looked at his granduncle and nodded. "If you're sure."

"I'm sure, boy." Tsuneo patted the boy on his shoulder. "Get well and over those bruises and learn everything you can."

"You're lucky," Michio said. "I know a lot of boys who would like to be in your place. Chichi-ue is right."

They grew close to the temple grounds, and could see the men as they worked on the roof.

"They really look busy," Isao said. "I didn't know there'd be so many people here."

"A lot, but it looks like there's a lot left to do. You think they'll get done today?" Tsuneo asked.

"They found some bad places under the roof boards," Michio said. "It slowed them down, especially on this side."

"Well, I hope they get enough done. I need to get Choujiro free to do another job," Tsuneo said. "I'm hoping to get him started tomorrow."

As they grew closer, they could see Shinjiro and Susumu up on the roof while other men milled around with supplies. Susumu, spotting them, looked surprised to see Isao, but waved at the trio.

As Tsuneo was about to call out to the men on the roof, suddenly, they heard a loud, shrill woman's voice, and several people began heading to the other side to see what the problem was.

"That sounds like Chiya," Tsuneo said.

Isao sighed. "I was hoping I would get here before she did,"

He began running towards the noise, but Michio grabbed him by the collar. "Why?"

"Uh, something happened at Hisa-sama's house today," Isao said, swallowing.

They watched as Tameo and Daitaro headed toward the noise.

"Did it . . . did it have to do with Chiya?" Tsuneo asked.

Isao took a deep breath. "I didn't hear what happened, but I know it involved Houshi-sama's wife. That's why Hisa-sama sent me here, to get the monk."

Michio covered his face with his hands for a moment and then uncovered them. "I told her to stay away from there. I don't know what it is between Chiya and the monk's wife, but . . . "

Tsuneo patted him on the back. "Well, the damage is done. Let's go see if there's anything we can do to make it better."

While the trio hurried to the temple, Chiya stood on the other side of the building, hands clenched by her sides. Yaya, who was coming back from serving tea to the elders, hurried next to her.

"Are you all right, Chiya-chan?" she asked, her brows knitting in confusion. "Did something happen to upset you?"

Chiya ignored her.

Yaya may have felt confusion, but InuYasha, on the other hand, had no such problem. As he looked at the angry woman in front of him and took in her scent, he could feel the growl starting in the back of his throat as his ears lay back at her verbal assault. "What the hell's your problem, woman?" he said, glaring back at her, look for look. Not thinking, he started to rise. "Something wrong with someone being nice to me?"

Kimi, nearly finished whipstitching InuYasha's sleeve tear, rested a hand to encourage the hanyou to sit while she completed her work. He looked at her as she held up her needle, uncertain, but scowling, nodded once and complied.

"This is a holy place," Chiya said. "Since when are they for the likes of you? And a pure soul like Kim doesn't need your contamination."

"Why you-" he growled, tensing to leap up as soon as Kimi was done. "I knew you were a bitch, but I didn't think you were ugly enough to do it in public like this."

Kimi touched his shoulder again, and gave her head a little shake. Then she looked up at Chiya. "I am mending InuYasha-sama's sleeve, which got ripped working on the temple roof," she said, taking another stitch. "It is the Buddha's way, you know, to be compassionate to all people. And it happened to him doing work for the Buddha. It's only right."

"You shouldn't even be touching him, a woman like you," Chiya said. "Ever since he's come here, there's been nothing but problems. It's one thing for him to fight the bandits, but we don't need youkai contamination here. You ought to know that. I thought you were different from all the other people here pretending to be holy."

Kimi laughed, which only made Chiya angrier. "I'm just a farmer's wife. Don't make me into something I'm not, Chiya-chan." Kimi finished her task, and InuYasha leapt up.

"Get out of my face, woman," InuYasha said, making a fist.

Chiya stepped back a moment, meeting InuYasha's gaze, then pulled herself up, not willing to stop her confrontation.

Yaya's eyes grew large. "Something must be wrong with you, Chiya-chan. Did you have a run in with a black kitsune spirit? Come sit down," Yaya said, pulling on Chiya's arm. "Have some tea. I'll go get Houshi-sama to come chase whatever's poisoning you away."

InuYasha's ears flicked as he heard people moving up behind him. "I got asked to be here, stupid. Not that it's any of your business. I have the right to go where I want to. And don't you dare talk bad about Kimi for wanting to be nice. You could learn from her, bitch."

Chiya glared. "Who are you to – "

"I think I'll be the judge of who has the right to be here or not," Miroku said, joining the hanyou, and resting a hand on his shoulder. "It's not your job to give Kimi dharma lessons, Chiya-sama. You know InuYasha even helped me building this hondo. And he'll go with me when fetch the image of Jizo for the village."

"You need someone to carry it home," InuYasha muttered.

"True, true," the monk said. "Jizo will remember your deeds, I am sure."

The hanyou snorted.

"I...I...I just didn't want anything to go wrong," Chiya said. She stamped the ground once, and threw off Yaya's arm, her face a mixture of anger and embarrassment and frustration. "So much has gone wrong these last few days." She looked up at Miroku, then at InuYasha. "So much. And so much has involved . . . him" she said, pointing at InuYasha, "or his wife."

"Feh," InuYasha said, stuffing his hands in his sleeves. He let out a long, slow breath, but his scowl didn't budge. "Nothing either one of us did. Not my fault your nephew's such a brat or your brother brings home the wrong type of people. Had to rescue that stupid Aki again today."

Chiya clenched her own fists. "But . . . but . . . "

"He did indeed," Tameo said, patting the hanyou on his other shoulder. "I was there, and so were my sons. You're lucky InuYasha showed up, or Aki-kun might have lost an eye. He had a pair of nesting birds really angry at him."

"The way he hollered you would have thought they had already done it," InuYasha said.

"He was a bit noisy," Tameo said, agreeing. "I'm sure Kaede-oneesan got him all fixed up though. Not the first boy she's seen who had a run-in with a bird."

"I doubt if he'll be the last," Daitaro said, catching up to the rest of the men.

"Oh my," Kimi said, trying to change the subject. She moved to check on the fire under the hot water, adding another stick, and looked at her dwindling supply. "I hope Michio gets back soon. We really need some more wood."

Yaya pulled on Chiya's sleeve again. "Please, Chiya-chan. Let's go over and sit in the shade and practice our mindfulness. That would be better than arguing."

Once again, Chiya ignored her, focusing on the men in front of her. "How can so much be going wrong with my father's household, Houshi-sama? You say it's not the hanyou's fault. But ever since that . . . that . . . " InuYasha's eyes narrowed as she spoke, and she swallowed, paused, and shifted her eyes back to Miroku. "Ever since the young miko-sama has returned, my family seems cursed. My nephew and cousin and Haha-ue and Ani-ue . . . "

"Sometimes, Chiya-sama, we earn our own karma," Miroku said. "And I'm afraid in this case, the karma was not triggered by InuYasha or Kagome-sama."

"Damn right it wasn't," InuYasha said. "I don't need to listen to all this crap. You all can talk this all out. I'm going back to work," He turned to leave, but Miroku stopped him.

"Not yet, InuYasha," Miroku replied, resting a hand on the top of InuYasha's shoulder. His face was stern and his eyes reflected the same anger the hanyou felt. "We need to get this settled."

InuYasha studied Miroku's eyes for a moment and he reluctantly nodded. The two men turned back to look at the woman.

"Now, Chiya," the monk started, but he was interrupted by a tug on his sleeve.

"Houshi-sama! Houshi-sama!" Isao said. "Hisa-sama sent me up here with a message."

Miroku turned around, surprised. He looked at the boy and Tsuneo and Michio standing behind him. Tsuneo looked at him apologetically. But Michio looked livid, glaring past the crowd to meet his wife's gaze.

She stepped back just a little at the look she saw there. For a moment, she looked at him defiantly, but as if suddenly coming to her senses, she dropped her eyes and sank to her knees.

"You said you need to get things settled?" Michio said, pushing past the monk. "I think you need more than that, Houshi-sama." He walked over to the fire where he dropped his pack basket. Turning, he pulled Chiya up by her arm. "But first things first. Wife, what in the hell has gotten into you today?"


	133. Chapter 133

_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 133**

Susumu, hearing Chiya yelling, looked up from where he was tapping in the last board over the replaced roof sheathing. "What in the hell's that about?"

Sighing, Genjo turned as he put the last tap of his hammer on the board he was fastening. "Sounds like Chiya to me. She might have bought the tea, but I don't know if it was worth it if we have to listen to that."

"You've got a point." Shinjiro took a moment to wipe the sweat off his forehead. "I could think of other things I'd rather be doing."

"Like having Haha-ue have you try on your wedding clothes?" Genjo asked, grinning at his brother.

Susumu gave the board he was working on a final tap, and stuck his hammer in his obi. He looked back up to the top of the roof ridge. "Hey, Hisako, you see anything?"

"Yeah," the younger man said, stopping his own hammering as he peeked over the roof ridge. "You're right. It's Chiya. She's laying into InuYasha it looks like. Stupid woman."

Shinjiro looked up at the village guard and shrugged. "That's Chiya for you. Okuro has better sense sometimes, even when he's in rut."

"Bull always has good sense," Genjo said. "It's us who're trying to make him do other things that have the nonsense."

Shinjiro snorted. "You bring him home next time." His brother just laughed.

Susumu ignored them as he heard InuYasha bellow back at Chiya. "I think maybe I ought to go check it out."

"You think it's something to keep you from working?" Shinjiro asked. "Chichi-ue and your Otousan are here. You think they can't handle it?"

"Keeping the peace is my job, all rumors to the contrary," Susumu said as he scuttled over to the edge of the roof, and peeked over the edge, seeing the elders moving toward the noise, but the foreman standing there, scratching the back of his head, thoughtful.

"Well, send somebody to take your place," Genjo said. "We're getting shorthanded if we're losing you and InuYasha."

"Yeah, yeah," Susumu said, then turned to the foreman. "Hey, Ryota - what's going on?"

"Don't know, but it shouldn't stop the roofing," Ryota said. "Hisako, Choujiro, get back to work! Nothing you need to check out."

"I just want to know why Isao-kun showed up," Hisako said. "Isn't he staying at your place?"

"Isao?" Susumu said, surprised. "Yeah. I've been giving him a few days of light duty to get over the battering he took. But he was supposed to stay close to home today."

"Well, whatever," the young man said. "He's over there by Houshi-sama. Looks like Tsuneo's there, too, talking with Michio."

"Now I know something's up," Susumu said, moving to the ladder and heading down to the ground.

"You're sure you didn't plan this, to get out of more work?" Shinjiro said, watching him go.

"Not me," the village guard said. "You want to take it up with someone, talk to Haha-ue. Something must have happened, or Isao wouldn't be up here. Hope that stupid Aki didn't get into even more trouble."

Ryota sighed, watching Susumu. "I hope someone will stay here to get this finished."

Laughing, Eiji walked up to Ryota and clapped him on the shoulder. "You can't keep'em all from being curious. But I'm here. I'll go up to take Susumu's place on the roof if you get someone else to carry the shingles."

"Might as well. I suspect we might have trouble getting him or InuYasha-sama back to work if it's serious. Maybe InuYasha, but Susumu, probably not," Ryota said, resigned. "Hey, Isamu? Who's around to lug the shingles up over here?"

"I knew you could handle it," Susumu said as he walked past the foreman towards the knot of people on the edge of the compound who had gathered to see what was going on.

By the time he got there, his father and Daitaro had been joined by several of the roofing party.

As he watched, Michio pulled his wife down the path to have some words. The distance didn't give them any privacy as their voices got louder as he questioned her.

"Don't you have any sense, woman?" the frustrated husband said. "You put all this together and then you act like this?"

Susumu shoved past Tadaki, one of the younger men, to stand next to Tameo. "What brought all this on? I missed it all working on the roof."

The headman shrugged. "I'm not sure."

While he talked, Michio, obviously out of patience, began moving back toward the others, gripping Chiya's arm and dragging her along with him.

"Bet she's going to have a bruised arm tomorrow," Tadaki said.

"If she were my wife, she'd have more than a bruise," someone else muttered.

Susumu swung his head to see who it was. "Good men don't beat their wives. Even when they act like this." Nobody bothered to reply.

Moving the subject back to what was going on, Tameo said. "Chiya came up here spitting nails. You'd have thought she knew that InuYasha would be up here. I have no idea why she decided to complain about it."

"Bah," Daitaro said. "Has Chiya ever needed a reason to have a temper?"

InuYasha turned and looked at them. "Never needed a reason to say something rude about me. First time she ever said it to my face like that."

"She does seem more agitated than I remember seeing her," Miroku said, nodding.

Tameo scratched his chin. "Hope it's not more leftovers from that yamabushi's magic. If I had known what type of trouble he was going to be, I'd have chased him far away the first day he showed up."

"You'd probably have help doing the chasing," Daitaro said. "Joben, Tsuneo . . . "

"I wonder if your okaasan knows something," Tameo said, looking at his son. " I was surprised when Isao showed up. He says he has a message from Hisa."

Susumu scratched the back of his head. "Haha-ue usually knows what she's doing." He looked at the group. Michio had stopped again, and was facing Chiya, telling her something too soft to be overheard, although the hanyou's ears were focused that way, and from the scowl on his face, Susumu was sure he could hear what was being said. Chiya said nothing, but glared at her husband, then crossed her arms. Michio began pulling her toward the monk once again.

Isao, transfixed by the sight, still stood next to the monk.

"Hey, Isao-kun," Susumu called.

The boy turned and looked at the village guard, then hurried up to join him, and bowed.

"Well, son, what brings you up here?" Susumu asked. "Last time I saw you, you were working with Jun today."

Isao bowed a bit deeper. "I was, Susumu-sensei. But after . . . Hisa-sama sent me up here, Susumu-sensei. It's all right, isn't it? I'm not up here just to see what's happening."

Smiling, Susumu nodded. "When Haha-ue asks? Oh yes," he said. "Very much so. Something happened? It wouldn't have anything to do with why Chiya-sama is acting the way she is now, would it?"

The boy frowned, but nodded. "I was working with Jun near the house where the women were sewing when - "

He was interrupted as Chiya jerked hard, pulling against Michio's hold, but unable to free her arm. "Let me go! Don't treat me like a child."

"Then don't act like one," Michio said

"She's not going to go down lightly," Daitaro said. "I don't know who's more stubborn when they're angry, her or her mother."

Michio grabbed her by both arms, facing her."After what you just did? You shame our family. You think I have no honor?"

"Honor?" Chiya spat the word out like it was poison.

"You must, to behave like this in public." The men watched as he yanked her forward again, not stopping until he stood before Miroku and InuYasha.

Bowing, he looked up at Miroku. "I am not sure why my wife has acted in this manner. To shame such a holy work with an attack on the people helping, even after all the work making preparations . . . All I can say is I apologize for her rudeness." He bowed again. "And to you, too, InuYasha-sama. We wouldn't have a good man like Houshi-sama here if you hadn't befriended him." He glared once more at his wife. "Then we would have had no temple for our devotions."

Chiya made a face at the mention of the hanyou, but for once, decided not to speak.

The hanyou's ear twitched, not yet sure how to react. Instead, he stuffed his hands in his sleeves, and waited for some signal from Miroku.

"Is she bewitched, too? Like Haname-obasan was?" Isao asked.

"I don't think so," Tameo said. "At least I can't sense anything like that from her."

Miroku returned his bow with a nod of his head. He studied Michio for a few moments, trying to think of the right thing to say. "Peace is a river filled with the waters of forgiveness," he said. "I thank you for what you have tried to do, Michio-sama."

"Keh." InuYasha took a deep breath and looked at Miroku and back at Michio. "Can't keep other people from doing what they're going to do."

"Apologize, woman," Michio said, still holding on to Chiya. "You at least owe that much."

The monk looked at Chiya. "The Buddha said, 'Holding on to anger is like grasping a hot coal with the intent of throwing it at someone else; you are the one who gets burned.' It would be best if we all drop our coals right now."

She glared at her husband, a deep burning look that showed absolutely no fear, only resentment, then turned to Miroku and nodded. As they watched, she muttered something, took several deep breaths. Slowly the resentment was replaced as her mask of politeness slipped back into place, smoothing her face.

Turning to the monk, she bowed. "Please forgive me for upsetting this day and the work you're trying to do." Her voice was strained, and not nearly as polite as her face.

"It's not so much me you need to ask forgiveness from," Miroku said. "But your husband, and InuYasha-sama and Kimi-sama."

She turned to Kimi, who smiled at her. "I know these last few days have been hard, Chiya-chan. Remember how the way helps us to live in joy, in peace even among the troubled if we just let go."

"Let go," Chiya said, bowing. "Forgive me, Kimi-sama. I...I had no right to question your compassion."

Michio nudged her again, but didn't hold her arm. She turned and looked at the hanyou. Her eyes narrowed. InuYasha waited, not exactly scowling, to see what she would do, and a breeze lifted up his silver hair. She studied his face and swallowed, as if trying to say something, but she never spoke. Instead of bowing, her face grew harder, and she turned around, and headed away, at first walking, and then running. Michio began to move in her direction, but before he could reach her, Tsuneo wrapped his arms around her.

"What are you doing, Chiya-chan?" he asked, trying to hide his own anger at his daughter's actions unsuccessfully. It reflected in his voice and how he grasped her arms.

"I...I..." she started. "Otousan, let me go." She didn't struggle against his hold. "Kimi-chan said to let go. But I can't. You know how Haha-ue is. You have to deal with Joben and that . . . that man. Don't make me apologize to . . . to that thing who made all this happen."

"Are you sure she's not bespelled?" Tsuneo asked looking up at the monk as she struggled in his grasp. "She sounds as mad as Haname did."

All eyes but hers turned to the monk. He closed his eyes and held up a hand to his face, as if trying to sense something, but when he opened his eyes, he looked at Tsuneo with compassion but uncertainty. "Let's find out," Miroku replied, reaching into his sleeve. "I have an ofuda that should make it clear."

"It better be a spell," Michio said, darkly, staring at his wife. "If it's not, then you can take her home. Or better yet, send her off to take care of that crazy man of yours. I don't want her under my roof."


	134. Chapter 134

_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 134**

While Michio and Chiya were having words near the temple, other words were being said at Hisa's sewing party.

The room had gotten much quieter as the infants, now fed, began to drift off to sleep. Aomi, Emi's daughter, played with her stick doll next to her mother, but Yusuko had fallen asleep sitting in Erime's lap. Sango held onto Naoya, rocking him back to sleep.

"I might as well put this away," Akiko said, folding her half-made kosode and tucking it back into her sewing basket. "I can tell I'm not going to be getting any more work done."

"That sounds like a good idea," Fujime said. She put the last of her sewing tools away as well, and moved nearer.

They weren't the only women in Hisa's house that had given up any pretense to sewing. Hisako and Chime had long since gave up even trying, and instead, kept their focus on the two younger women.

Hisa, kneeling in front of Sango, refilled her tea cup. Putting the pot down, she touched Sango's arm. "You don't have to tell us anything if it's too uncomfortable, Sango-chan." The taijiya nodded. "We're here as your friends. We want you to feel welcome here, unlike whoever it was that made you feel unwanted."

"Those stupid women in Chiya's circle," Hisako said, knitting her eyebrows together. "Sora, Chisuzu, Kichi . . . Who else did this to you? I doubt if it was Kimi or even Amaya who made you feel unwanted."

"Kimi's always been nice," Sango said, nodding. "She's even helped me with the twins once when they had colds."

"That sounds like her," Mariko said. "I don't know why she lets Chiya get her involved with things."

Akiko shrugged. "I think Kimi has hopes she can get her to improve. I tell her she's not Kwannon, but she tries."

Sango nodded, watching her son as he grew closer and closer to sleep. For a moment the room grew quiet.

Staring at her friend thoughtfully for a moment, Kagome tilted her head."You don't think Miroku's doing anything wrong with her, do you?" Kagome asked. "Maybe not wrong, exactly, but that encourages her?"

Sango shook her head, and gave Kagome a bittersweet smile. "No. After all those times he drove me crazy . . . He still likes to look sometimes, I know, if he thinks I'm not watching, but, no ever since the last battle, and even before . . . and since the twins were born, he really has changed."

Fujime smiled. "I remember how he was back when he first showed up . . . no, no, he's nothing like that any more."

"He's had some opportunity, too. A couple of the girls that got married last year - they had real crushes on him," Mariko said, smiling at Sango. "He is a good-looking man."

"I believe Chou was particularly smitten," Teruko said. She pulled a cloth over her sleeping baby."It's probably good that her family married her out of the village. It was almost embarrassing to see how moonstruck she was. I felt sorry for her brother who had to keep pulling her home."

"Chou always was a silly thing," Hisako said. She pulled her basket in front of her, and looked at it thoughtfully, as if trying to decide whether to pick up her sewing, but shook her head. "Still, I hear she's happy. She and her mother-in-law get along well. It's a good thing, since her husband's off fishing so much."

Koume, who never had put her needlework down, nodded as she took another stitch. "That's what I hear. My husband goes down that way every couple of months or so. So anyway, at least we know whatever's going on, it's not Houshi-sama's fault."

Sango stretched her sleeping son down and covered him, and seeing her chance, Noriko let Kagome to crawl into her mother's lap. "Tired, baby?" Sango asked.

Noriko nodded, and snuggled up closer to her mother.

Sango stared down at her daughter's hair, and gently brushed a lock of it back into place. "You know, it didn't start out this way." She looked up. "When I first met Chiya, she acted so different."

"I'm sure it didn't," Hisa said, nodding. She passed around the tray of sweets.

"It never does," said Koume, taking one. "When things go bad like this, it's not all at once. It's just one little thing at first. And then another, and another."

Nahoi picked her sewing back up, obviously restless. "That's how it was with me. He was so nice at first." There was a wistfulness in her voice that made Koume look at her sadly. The older woman reached out and touched her hand. "If it had only been like that all the time . . . "

"I know, child," Koume said.

Sango sighed, watching them. She turned to Kagome."Chiya had always been rather nice to Miroku. Sometimes, before the last battle, I'd find her flirting with him. But she was even nice to me before we killed Naraku and you went away."

"I remember," Kagome said. "She was always nice to me, too. InuYasha says it was because of Kikyou." She shrugged. "I don't know. But she even helped while Miroku was unconscious."

"She did, didn't she?" Sango said. "Things started to change, though, after you left."

"I don't think she liked the idea of InuYasha-sama staying in the village," Fujime said.

"And I know" Mariko said, picking her own sewing back up, "she wasn't pleased that his brother comes to visit that girl staying with Kaede-sama."

"But Rin-chan is so sweet," Kagome said, surprised.

"And Sesshoumaru-sama is so powerful," Hisa replied. She refilled Chime's teacup, and then Kagome's.

"Once it was clear InuYasha wasn't going away, and Miroku and I were going to be married, and he and InuYasha were going to be partners, something happened. I'm not sure when it happened."

"Oh, I do," Hisako said, taking another sweet. "It happened right after you two moved into your house. She was wondering why you two should have such a nice house. After all he was a monk." Unwrapping the chimaki, she popped it into her mouth. "I was going to Kaede's, and she was hanging up clothes with Sora-chan. And there Sora was nodding the entire time, poor woman. She's always been too willing to listen to what Chiya's told her. Hasn't done her or her husband much good." The old woman chewed thoughtfully.

"But that shouldn't have been enough to make you feel unwanted," Fujime said. "Chiya talks badly about everybody at some time or other."

"I thought perhaps you were just shy," Chime said. "If I had known . . . "

"The first thing I noticed was at the village festival our first summer here. I had been asked to help set up some of the decorations, but when I got there, Chiya and someone else, Chisuzu, I think, said they had all the help they wanted."

"So that's what happened," Emi said, frowning. She lifted her teacup. "Since I had asked you to come and help, I was surprised when you didn't show. Chisuzu said that Houshi-sama had something for you to do at the temple grounds. I'm sorry I didn't come and talk with you afterwards."

"They didn't," Kagome said, her brows knitting together.

"Evidently, they did," Hisa said, also getting angry. She smoothed the fabric of one of her sleeves as she got her frown under control. "Go on, Sango-chan."

"Later, when I was carrying the twins, you were having sewing parties at your house, Fujime-obasan," Sango said, laying the now sleeping Noriko down next to her brother.

"Yes, I remember. It was my turn that winter."Fujime smiled. "Drove my husband crazy. But you only showed up once."

Sango nodded, looking at her hands. "Chiya came up after the first one and told me that you thought it might be bad luck for the winter if I came to any more of the sewing days. It had snowed hard the day after that meeting. Chiya wasn't alone. She had Sora and Benika with her that day. They just showed up and told me I wasn't welcome. I was making the sewing group nervous."

"She didn't!" Fujime said, her voice rising angrily. She started to rise, then caught herself, realizing it wouldn't do any good. "I wondered why you stopped coming." She shook her head. "I wish you had come and talked with me. I wish I had gotten around to going to see you. I thought it might have had something to do with your pregnancy."

Sango sighed. "It's . . . it's just . . . And I heard people talking about how strange I had to be, not being . . . how I wasn't trained like a real woman."

"Bah, I bet that comes from the same quarter," Hisa said. "Chiya, Haname, and their friends."

Emi nodded. "Mostly Chiya, I think. I heard her tell jokes to some of the other women when you went by sometimes. They weren't very nice."

"It got worse after the temple was opened," Sango took a drink of her tea. "She'd come around a lot, bringing little things, food, flowers, sometimes even money. But if I were there, or the children, she'd pretend we didn't exist and talk right over us. And she was always finding a reason to come by."

"Did you tell your husband what was going on?" Teruko asked. "I see him with you and your little ones. I know you mean the world to him. He ought to know."

Sango shook his head. "I knew he wasn't doing anything wrong. I..." She looked up. "I was raised differently than most women. I thought . . . I thought maybe it was me. When other girls were learning about how to do women's work, I was learning how to use a sword and to fight youkai."

"Bah," Akiko said. "You've always been a lovely person to know."

"And . . . and her family has always donated a lot to the temple. I...I thought if it was my fault..."

Kagome took Sango's hand. "It's not your fault, Sango-chan." Her eyes flashed, obviously angry. "Miroku needs to know what she's doing."

"He does indeed," Hisa said. "We're going to make sure of that. And if Isao can't pry him loose on his own, well, I'm sure Tameo will make sure he gets to hear all of this."

"You make much better company, Sango-chan," Koume said. "We might not be able to stop all the bad things, but this is something we women can do something about."


	135. Chapter 135

_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 135**

"You don't want Chiya to come home?" Tsuneo said, still holding onto his daughter.

Miroku, taking a stack of ofuda out of his sleeve walked towards the couple.

"Michio," Chiya said. She looked at her husband, frowning and uncertain, definitely surprised by his reaction. "Husband . . . you can't mean that."

"After how you behaved? In front of everybody and in front of the temple, too?" Michio said, clasping his hands. His face was stony. "And you were worried about InuYasha-sama contaminating things?"

"Daughter, maybe you should go and apologize," Tsuneo said.

"It's too late for that," Michio said. "She's shown everybody what she thinks of her husband."

Miroku stopped in front of the irate husband, and touched him lightly on the shoulder. "Perhaps it's not all her fault, Michio-sama. These last few days - there's been some heavy magic used on her family. Even if she's not directly bewitched . . . "

"Bah," he replied. "She still knows what really matters. I've known her a lot longer than you have." Michio threw off the monk's arm. "Go do your magic on her. Let's see what the truth is."

InuYasha, watching the woman, could see the reality of what was happening sink into her. For some reason, he didn't like what he was seeing, and his ears reflected his feeling. Daitaro put a hand on his shoulder. InuYasha turned around and looked at the old farmer.

"It's been building up for a while, son," Daitaro said. "Don't think it's about you."

Miroku started walking towards Tsuneo and his daughter once again. His face, too, reflected his discomfort in the whole spectacle.

Chiya took a deep breath and turned to her father. The tone of her voice was somewhere between outrage and incredulity."Otousan, are you going to let him do this? You think that stupid yamabushi did something to me?"

"If he didn't, daughter," Tsuneo said, giving her a solemn look, "then you are acting this way from some dark place in your heart."

"But . . . but . . . " She looked towards her husband, who was staring towards the temple, refusing to look at her. "It wasn't supposed to be like this."

"So often," Miroku said, as he reached the couple, "things aren't happening the way they are supposed to. Today, for instance, was supposed to be a pleasant day where people who wanted to honor the Buddha came together to work. I know you knew that. You helped make it look like it was going to be just that, getting the food and tea together."

"I wanted to help," she said.

He shook his head, his face sad, but his eyes determined. "Once, long ago, the Buddha said that thought manifests as the word." He looked at Chiya and then back at Michio. "There have been many words spoken today. I'm not sure all of them were well spoken or based on good thought. Now the question is why? Why are these bad thoughts happening? Is it the bad magic of the yamabushi, some chain of events he set up to make your life and your family's life hard, or some other darkness of the heart?"

He handed her an ofuda. "Take this. If there's magic on you, we'll see a sign."

Chiya reached out, her hand trembling, almost as if she had been asked to take a snake, then held it, closed her eyes and waited. For a moment, she didn't even breathe. Nothing happened. Opening her eyes, she let out her breath, and looked up at Miroku.

The monk tilted his head and gave her a sad smile. "It seems you are untouched by anybody's magic, Chiya-sama. Even though so much has touched those around you, you have not been bewitched."

"Didn't think so," Tameo said. "I may not be as good as the monk at sensing these things, but I didn't feel any spell on her."

"I knew it," Michio said, spitting on the ground. "Tsuneo, take your . . . your . . . kuso . . . your daughter home."

Tsuneo looked at his son-in-law and back at his daughter, who looked up at him with frightened eyes, moving her mouth without making a sound as if she were trying to think of the right thing to say. He looked back at Michio. "I know she's been hardheaded and hard to be around the last few days, son, with what's happened to Haname-chan and all that, but . . . "

"A woman who refuses to do what her husband tells her in a situation like this, who needs her?" Michio replied. He started to walk back toward the others. "I'm sorry, InuYasha-sama," he said, bowing to the hanyou. InuYasha returned his bow. Michio, with one backward glance at Chiya and her father, moved back towards the temple.

"I don't need any damn apology," InuYasha said, once he had passed. His voice was rougher than he meant it to be. "I...I...It's not like an apology would change her mind about me."

"That's not what this is about," Susumu said, looking at the hanyou, seeing his discomfort. "It's an honor thing between husband and wife."

"He's right." Daitaro nodded and patted InuYasha on the shoulder. "Their marriage gets rocky sometimes."

"It's not even the first time they've had this type of situation," Kimi said, moving to stand next to the men. "Chiya can be . . . hard to live with. She's been sent home before. Be assured it's not really about apologizing to you."

"Feh." InuYasha shook his head and crossed his arms. "Don't understand you people."

Before Michio got much past the knot of people watching, Chiya broke free of Tsuneo and dashed towards him. "Husband . . . "

He turned, and looked at her, his face furious. "You call me that when you've acted like this? You heard me," he said. "Tell me why I should bring you back home."

"Because . . . I . . . I . . . "Chiya looked back at her father. "Otousan, don't let him do this!"

Tsuneo, who moved toward the two slowly, shook his head. "It's his right, daughter, not mine." He sighed as he met his son-in-law's eyes, both understanding and anxiety reflecting in his gaze."These last few days, Michio. Perhaps I've made it worse, trying to keep Chiya from her mother's side as much as she's wanted to be."

Michio held himself so tightly that he was almost trembling."Don't make excuses for her, Otousan. What did you say earlier? With our women, we can only beat them or live with them, or kick them out. I can't beat a woman. But I need to know why I should live with her, why I should put up with her doing this to me time after time."

"She's the mother of your children," Tsuneo said, softly.

"And the cause of my shame," Michio replied. He turned back to Chiya. "How many times, woman, have you done just what I told you not to do, and where all men can see how little control I have over you?"

Tameo walked up to the distraught husband. "You shouldn't make a decision like this while you're in anger, son. You have lived with her for years now. You know what she's like."

"She saps my soul. I've heard the other men laugh. 'There goes Michio. We know who's the boss in his house.' " He looked at Susumu and Daitaro, his glare accusing. "I've heard them as they sit around in the evening swapping stories over sake." He turned back to Tsuneo. "I don't need this, having a woman tearing me down into nothing day after day."

"Michio, no . . . " Chiya said.

"Perhaps you two need some time to think things over," Tameo said. "It's a serious thing to repudiate your wife after this many years."

"Time," Michio said, almost spitting the word out. "How much time do I need to give her for her to learn how not to be so . . . so . . . "

Tsuneo took a deep breath, and let it out slowly, looking in great pain. "I cannot take her back under my roof," he said. "With my household in an uproar as it is, and Haname doing so badly, I can't let her back in. It might push my wife over the edge."

Chiya gasped and stepped away from her father. Her eyes glistened with unshed tears. "Otousan . . . "

"Your okaasan . . . she can't handle it," Tsuneo said. "She needs peace and not this shame and worry. I'm sorry, daughter." He looked up at the monk. "I hear that some temples take women who are cast off. And she has been very generous, from what I hear."

Chiya raised her hand to her mouth, smothering a gasp at her father's suggestion.

Miroku, who had moved back to stand with the others, seemed taken aback by Tsuneo's suggestion."True," he said, trying to keep his voice pleasant, but not quite succeeding. "But this one is so small. I don't even have an acolyte yet, much less any other monks. I cannot."

Michio spit. "Do with her what you want to do with her, Otousan. Take her in to take care of the crazy man. If I take her home tonight, I don't know what I'd do."

"Maybe Haha-ue would take her in for a day or two," Susumu suggested. "Long enough for you to calm down and decide what's really in your heart."

Chiya paled at the suggestion and sank to her knees, a sound suspiciously like a sob coming from behind her hand-covered mouth.

Tsuneo was surprised by his daughter's reaction. "Did something happen at Hisa-sama's today?"

Chiya didn't say anything, but crumpled into a ball, her head almost touching her knees. She sobbed again.

Tameo looked at Isao. "Did something happen at home today? Is that why Hisa sent you up with a message?"

The boy chewed his bottom lip for a moment, then nodded. "I...I didn't see it," he said. "But the women were really angry after Chiya-sama left."

"Daughter," Tsuneo said.

Chiya didn't respond, except to raise and lower her head as she wept.

The headman watched the distraught woman, and frowned. "What did Hisa send you here for?"

"She sent me to get Houshi-sama," Isao said.

"Me?" Miroku asked, surprised. "Why?"

Isao nodded. "It's because of Sango-sama. Hisa-sama said, 'Tell Houshi-sama that if he wants his wife to not die of shame or run off, he needs to come down to the house.'"

"What the hell," InuYasha said.

"Die of shame?" Miroku said. "Sango? What happened?"

"Did it have to do with something Chiya did?" Susumu asked.

"I...I think she said bad things," Isao said.

"I take it back," Michio said, moving next to the weeping woman. "I shouldn't kick her out. I should beat her." He started to aim a kick at Chiya, when Daitaro grabbed him.

"You're better than that, son," the old farmer said. "Don't let her pull you down to that level."

"Get up, woman," Michio said. "Get up. Get out of here. Get out of my house. Get out of my sight."

"But . . . "she said, looking up at him "where do I go?" Covering her face, she began to wail.

Kimi turned around and spotted Eiji, who had come off the roof to watch. She looked at him, like an unspoken question. He folded his arms, chewed on his lip a moment, and nodded. Moving next to the weeping woman, Kimi knelt down, and rested a hand on Chiya's back. "You can come to my house, Chiya-chan."

Chiya looked up, her tear-stained eyes amazed."But . . . but . . . I was . . . " She studied Kimi's face, and saw no real rancor there, only sympathy and concern. "I was so mean to you."

"It'll give the men some time to talk and calm down," Kimi said. "They'll do it better if you're not here."

"Go with her, daughter," Tsuneo said. He, too, looked amazed, but also relieved. "Thank you, Kimi-chan. We'll send word."

Kimi nodded and helped Chiya to her feet. Chiya looked at Michio, not saying anything, but with pleading eyes. He lifted an arm, like he was going to backhand her, but then thought better of it. "Just go," he said.

Sobbing, she let Kimi lead her away.

"Keep her away from me," Michio said, looking at his father-in-law. "I can't make any promises how I'll treat her if you bring her around right now. If you can't take her in, have her care for your crazy man. I need to think."

Tsuneo nodded.

"I'm going home," Michio said, and heading away in another direction, left the group gathered in front of the temple.

"An inauspicious day," Tameo said, watching him leave. "And everything seemed to be going so well."

Miroku nodded. "Indeed."

Tameo looked at the monk. "And it's not over yet. You need to go down the hill, Houshi-sama. I don't know what happened, but Hisa wouldn't have sent a message like that unless she meant it."

"But what?" Miroku said, confused. "Sango run away? After all we've been through?"

"Eh," Tameo said. "That's Hisa's way of getting your attention. She's really saying, 'I think that it's really important that we tell you something. And it involves your wife.'"

"Let's go find out," InuYasha said, folding his hands. "I need to know. Kagome's there, too. Something happened to Sango, it's going to have Kagome ready to blow up."

"Let me get my staff," Miroku said.

"Here it is," Ryota said, joining the others and handing it to the monk. "I heard what was going on. You're needed down below. Don't worry about things here. We'll get the roofing done."

Miroku looked back at the temple. A few men were still working.

"Your woman is more important than this building. Plus Chime and the girls are there. Go make sure everything's all right," Daitaro said, patting his shoulder. "Your legs are in better shape than mine."

Miroku accepted the staff. That seemed to snap him out of his confusion. "All right. Let's go see what could have upset Sango enough to get Hisa worried. But what in the world could have happened at a sewing party?"

"With that bitch, who knows?" InuYasha said.

"You may be right, friend." The two men, with nods to Tameo and the others, headed off in yet a third direction, not willing to run into the two women or Michio.

As he watched them leave, Daitaro unstoppered his sake bottle, and took a drink.

"I thought you were saving that until after the roofing was done," Tameo said.

"Didn't expect a scene like this," Daitaro said. "Some things are best not thought about sober."


	136. Chapter 136

_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 136**

Grabbing his sword and his jacket on the way out of the temple area, InuYasha followed Miroku towards the village. For a while, the only sound Miroku made as he headed down the hill was the jingle his staff made. InuYasha watched him, looking lost in thought, and decided, as they passed beyond the monk's house not to say anything until his friend was ready to talk.

As they neared the main road into the village, the monk stopped, and looked at the hanyou. "You didn't have to come, you know."

"Feh," InuYasha said. "You didn't think I'd stay away after a message like that, did you? Besides, like I said up on the hill, Kagome's there, too, and knowing her, anything that'd get Sango that tied up in knots is enough to have her ready to explode, too. You remember that time she shot Naraku and blew him into chunks, don't you?"

Miroku gave the hanyou a small, not very enthusiastic chuckle. "Yes, Kagome can pack a real punch with her temper with the proper motivation."

"I ate enough dirt learning that one," the hanyou said. Miroku chuckled again, a bit more honestly as they began walking again.

"But," the monk said as they moved down the road, "what I want to know is what could Chiya have done to get Sango upset enough that Hisa-sama would send for me?"

"Don't know," InuYasha said. "But even you must have picked up the fact that there was some bad blood between Sango and her. Don't know what it's all about, but remember when she caught you eavesdropping, how she came after you for spending time with Chiya?"

Miroku sighed. "I saw that, but I don't know what triggered it. She knew I was going, and why. But I've never done anything untoward with that woman, even before Sango and I wed."

"Doesn't mean she can't feel uneasy," InuYasha said.

"Sango, my lovely wife, has always been a bit uncertain about me." Miroku shrugged. "But she usually lets me know she's feeling like this."

"Uncertain? I think she was pretty well certain about how you behaved. You earned it, Bouzu," the hanyou said, "with some of the stunts you pulled in the past. But maybe this doesn't have anything to do with you, really. Might be a woman thing."

"Those days are done, and you know it," Miroku said. "A woman thing?"

"Feh," InuYasha said, crossing his arms. "Don't act stupid, Bouzu. A woman thing. The type of stuff they do that doesn't involve men at all. Stuff they talk about when it's just them. I know Kagome and Sango do the woman thing a lot, but it's good stuff. Doubt that's true with a bitch like Chiya."

"That woman thing," Miroku said, nodding. "You may be right. Sango always was a little shy around other women. But she doesn't tell me much."

As they passed Kaede's house, Maki, the wife of Ryota saw them, hurried over and bowed. "Ah, Houshi-sama, how goes the work this afternoon?" she asked. "Are the men done yet?"

Miroku returned her bow, and gave her an apologetic look. "Ah, not yet, Maki-sama. Your husband is busy telling everybody just what to do, and it's working, but they're not quite done. Something came up, and I . . . I had to run an errand."

She gave him a large smile. "No doubt, then, he'll come home in a rather good mood. He does like to make sure everything goes well."

"Keh," InuYasha said, grinning. "He seemed to be having a good time."

"Especially when you fell off the roof," Miroku said, giving his friend an amused, but biting glance.

"Feh." The hanyou shrugged. "I think he's right. Roofing work doesn't like me."

"You fell off the roof?" Maki asked, a little shocked. "Are you all right?"

"I'm fine. It takes more than a little fall like that to hurt a person like me." He gave Miroku a look that was much more biting than the one he received from his friend, and stuffed his hands further into his sleeves.

"Nothing bruised but his pride," the monk said, ignoring InuYasha's glare.

"Well, if everything's all right, I'll leave you two to take care of your errand," Maki said, then bowing once more, walked off.

"One day, Bouzu," InuYasha muttered, "you're going to have to help me figure out why I don't toss you across a field like I do Shippou."

"Because Kagome-sama would be unhappy if you did?" the monk said.

"Feh," the hanyou said. "One day, I just might not care."

Back up on the hill, Daitaro passed his flask to Tsuneo. "Sorry this happened to you today, old friend," the farmer said. "You're having a really bad run of luck. Have a drink."

Tsuneo nodded and took the sake bottle from Daitaro. "You're having to offer me drinks too often here lately. We need to stop that." He took a deep swallow.

"Do you think I ought to go down to the village to see what's up?" Susumu asked.

"I think you probably need to get back to work," Ryota said, giving the village guard a knowing smirk, "if you want my opinion. There's still a lot of work to be done, and if we want to get it done before dark, we need to get on it."

Tameo patted his son on the back. "He's got a point, son. It's not like we're expecting trouble, no matter why your okaasan sent for Miroku. InuYasha's with him, and besides, Jun and a few others are down there."

The village guard gave a nod.

"Come on," Eiji said. "Let's get it done. It's my turn at the night watch, and I'd like everybody to be home and calmed down before it all gets too dark. Maybe with all the young men tired out, it'll be an easy night."

"You should be glad you're on the watch tonight," Daitaro said. "With your house guest, you've got plenty of time to stay out of the way."

"True, true. Kimi-chan's just too kind for her own good. Or maybe that's mine," Eiji said, giving the men a wry smile. "But she and Chiya can have plenty of time to talk it out before I have to deal with it." He gave Susumu's sleeve a little tug. "Coming?"

Susumu let himself be pulled away.

Tsuneo handed the jug back to Daitaro. He offered it to Tameo, who took it, and took a tiny sip.

"You know," the old farmer said as he watched Tameo drink, "I'm getting mighty curious about what's going on down at your house, cousin."

The village headman handed the jug back to Daitaro. "You're not the only one." He looked at Isao, who continued to stand there, not exactly sure of what to do. At the moment, the boy was looking down at his feet, drawing shapes with his toe in the dust. "Well, Isao-kun, you've delivered your message. Did Hisa-sama tell you what to do after you did that?"

"Not really," Isao said. "She told me I should do whatever you or Susumu-sensei said I should do."

"Well," Tameo said, scratching under his chin, "I think we all should go home and see if she's going to need any help."

"But you told -" Isao said, surprised.

Daitaro snorted at Isao's reaction. "Sounds good to me, too." He turned towards Tsuneo. "What about you, old friend?"

Tsuneo, looking haggard and overwhelmed, shrugged. "I just want today to be over. All this has been too much for a man my age. And after your sake . . . "

"Lightweight." Daitaro chuckled, and put the jug's strap back over his head.

"I hear that," Tameo said. "Walk back with us. We can discuss what we can do to help ease your burden. I have an idea or two that might help."

Tsuneo looked at the two elders with the air of a man who has been beaten and was expecting more blows. "At this point, I don't know if anything will help," he said. "My son, my wife, my grandson, and that daughter of mine . . . "

"You know that Michio just needs to let steam off," Daitaro said, wrapping an arm around Tsuneo's shoulders, "and gain some face back. How many times has he sent her home? Three?"

The old man shook his head sadly. "The fourth time. But he never was quite so angry before."

"Eh," Daitaro said, "he'll get over it. He no more wants to get rid of Chiya than you do Haname."

"I hope you're right," Tsuneo said, his voice signaling his uncertainty. "I'm glad she's going to Kimi's tonight. Maybe we can keep the news from my wife for a day or two. She doesn't need this."

"Agreed," Tameo said. "Let's get out of here. You too, Isao-kun."

The three men began to walk, followed by the boy.

"So what's your plan about the yamabushi?" Daitaro asked.

"Well," Tameo said, rubbing the back of his neck, "the kami did say he was supposed to be the responsibility of the whole village. I was thinking . . . "

Back at Hisa's house, Sango looked at the headman's wife as it dawned on her what she was saying - that Miroku was on the way to Hisa's home.

"He really needs to know what's going on," Hisa repeated. "And there's no time like today."

"You . . . you sent for him?" Sango asked.

"I did indeed," Hisa said, refilling Sango's tea cup. "You shouldn't have to deal with such a backbiting woman trying to tear your life up."

"But . . . but . . . " Sango said. For some reason she began to blush a bit, and dropped her head down.

"Hisa-obaasan is right," Kagome said, patting her friend's hand. "If I knew what she had been putting you through, I would have told him all about it already."

"She's been making your life hard here for how long now?" Koume asked.

Sango picked up her tea cup. "It's been over two years."

"Are you worried that he'll think you're being jealous?" Mariko asked.

"When . . . when we were on the quest, even after we were promised, sometimes he would flirt or worse," Sango said. "I...I didn't handle it calmly."

Kagome, trying hard not to laugh, couldn't quite keep it in. "Oh, you handled him just right, I think. I remember those days."

"I seem to remember he was quite a handful," Akiko said. "Always flirting with the younger women, and even occasionally turning an older woman into a giggling girl."

"I remember one day . . . " Teruko said, smiling.

"Probably not the time to tell that story," Hisako said. Teruko sighed and nodded.

"He was good at that," Kagome said, nodding. "But Sango, that's one of the reasons I think you were special to him. He liked that you got angry about it. I think it proved how much you thought of him."

"Like a test?" Emi said.

"Exactly." Kagome picked up her own tea. "And you passed that test with flying colors."

"He . . . ever since the last battle, he's never done that again," Sango admitted. "We came so close to dying. For a while, when the shouki was so bad and his hand . . . the kazaana was close to killing him . . . everything else faded. All we wanted to do was die together. Afterwards, he never made me doubt him again." She shivered a little, caught up in the memory, then sighed and shook her head. "I just didn't want him to think I didn't trust him."

"I...I didn't know that had happened to you," Kagome said. "I was so busy trying to deal with what was happening to InuYasha, I didn't know what happened when we got separated. And then . . . well you know what happened at the end." She gave her friend's hand another squeeze. "But that's over, and now we have to deal with a different type of monster. Humans like Chiya are sometimes worse than fighting youkai. You can't just take your weapons out and beat up on them."

Sango nodded, and gave Kagome a small, tentative smile. "That's so true."

"This is one of those things that doesn't have to do with trusting your husband, Sango-chan," Hisa said, looking at her gently. "Women can be . . . cruel to each other, sometimes, without any men involved." She took a deep breath. "For whatever her reasons, Chiya found your weak spot, and decided that you ought to be kept away from the rest of us. And I for one am not happy about how she and her circle did it."

There was a nod of assent from the other women there.

"And things like this can fester if you don't deal with them," Chime said. "You need to let Houshi-sama know - not just for you, but for your daughters, too."

There was a rattle of metal rings at the door, and all eyes turned to see what it was.

Miroku, frowning, stood in the doorway, with InuYasha right behind him. "Tell me what?"


	137. Chapter 137

_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 137**

The room suddenly fell silent as all eyes turned to the monk and hanyou standing in the doorway.

Kagome reached over and patted Sango's arm. "It'll be all right. You'll see."

Sango nodded, and took a deep breath.

This was not missed by the monk as he stood in the entry with InuYasha right behind him. He could feel the hanyou's breath on his neck, but he took his time as he studied the room full of women. His daughters and his son, lay on a blanket near his wife. Several other children, mostly infants, slept near their own mothers. The women, pieces of bright fabric and baskets were scattered across the room, but Sango herself was surrounded by a small knot of women - Chime, Erime, Emi, and Kagome, with old Hisako near by, and Fujime sitting right in front of the sleeping children.

There was no sense of emergency in the room. As he looked at the gathered women, they looked back as he stood there, not yet stepping up, their glances curious and unsurprised for the most part, as if he was expected. Koume, though, met his eyes with something approaching disapproval.

"Did he really have to come?" Nahoi asked Hisako, looking embarrassed herself.

"He really did," the elderly woman said, speaking softly. "After what Chiya did, I'm surprised he's not knocking down the walls."

"I didn't mean anything bad when I let her follow me," Nahoi said.

"We know, dear," Koume said. "It was just one of those things."

"Sango?" Miroku said.

Sango, her eyes soulful and sad, looked up at him a moment before breaking her gaze and dropping her head, her cheeks coloring as if embarrassed by the whole event. Kagome, on the other hand, met his eyes, her look somewhere between expectant and angry, although the monk could tell that anger didn't seem directed at him.

"Get a move on, Bouzu," InuYasha muttered, nudging him a bit. "We need to figure out what's been going on. Kagome's all wound up, and it smells like Sango's been crying."

Miroku's brow knit together, and pulling his gaze from Sango's face, he nodded once. "Most confusing," he said, almost too soft for anyone besides InuYasha to hear as he turned to Hisa, who was sitting next to the fire pit, holding a teapot. "So what is it I should know, Hisa-sama?" he asked, in a much louder voice.

Hisa, returning his gaze with one equally penetrating, but not at all unsure or uneasy, rose gracefully to her feet, and bowed a greeting. "Ah, Houshi-sama, InuYasha. I see you made it down from the temple. It's always a little confusing when you come in at the middle of a conversation. Do come in. Sit down next to your wives, if you would like. I'm sure the women will be happy to make room for you."

"Indeed we will," Fujime said, moving back to sit with her daughter Akiko.

"Something's happened," InuYasha said. His right ear twitched as he watched Kagome, who gave him a little nod, but also a little smile, which let him know she was all right and under control. Seeing that he breathed a small sigh of relief.

"Of course we made it down," Miroku said, "With the message you sent with Isao, how could I not show up? That roof's not nearly as important." Miroku slipped off his sandals as he prepared to step onto the raised wooden platform.

InuYasha, wearing no shoes, stepped up before the monk was finished. Baskets and fabric were moved out of the way as he headed to Kagome's side. "This is going to be a day they'll talk about," he said as he walked across the room. "First we had trouble with that . . . that . . . " Hisa gave him a look, and he swallowed, hurrying to join Kagome. "With Chiya, and then we learned afterwards that there was trouble down here. Didn't waste any time after that."

Hisako, twisting her mouth into a knowing smirk, nodded at him as she moved a bit to give him room to sit down. "Ah, so Chiya-chan gave you problems up the hill as well?"

"Gave herself more," the hanyou said, seating himself with his usual easy grace.

Kagome raised a curious eyebrow as he sat down next to her. "Gave herself problems?" the young miko asked.

"You could say that," Miroku said, stepping up on the platform. "As angry as Michio-sama was with her, I'm certain she thinks so now." He began to walk across the room.

Koume, still resolutely sewing, looked up and quirked an eyebrow. "You'll have to tell us all about that." She took another stitch.

"When the time is right, Koume-chan," Hisa said.

For the moment Miroku only had eyes for Sango. Erime and Chime made space for the monk to sit down. But he stopped in front of Sango, instead of sitting next to her. Laying his staff down while being careful of the sleeping children, he knelt down and took her hands, looking at the red of her eyelids and the faint traces of tear tracks. "I would have never expected something troubling to happen to you in Hisa-sama's house, surrounded by the women here." His voice grew very gentle. "Will you tell me what happened?"

"It's . . . You know I didn't ask Hisa-obaasan to send for you," Sango said. The look in her eyes troubled him, seeing her uncertainty and a heaviness of heart that reminded him of the sadness that was there when she was grieving for her brother before he was freed from Naraku.

Miroku looked at Hisa, who nodded in confirmation. "It's true," the headman's wife said. She poured fresh water into her teapot. "But seeing what happened, I thought you needed to be here."

"It was something Chiya did?" He asked, giving her hand a squeeze.

Sango dropped her head again. "I didn't want you to think I was just being jealous. I wasn't being jealous at all. I was just sewing and talking to our daughters."

"I believe you," he said. She took a deep breath, but still avoided his eyes. "What happened that made Hisa-sama send a message like that to me? She said you were going to die of shame." Miroku dropped her left hand and slipped a finger under her chin so he could see her eyes. "What did she do?"

Sango chewed on her bottom lip.

"Let him know, Sango-chan," Chime said, gently.

Sango sighed. "Chiya showed up with Nahoi and began saying awful things."

"I didn't ask her to come," Nahoi said, distressed. "She found out I was coming and wouldn't leave."

Miroku nodded and looked at the young woman. She too looked troubled and even a little frightened. "I believe you, Nahoi-sama." He turned back to Sango.

"I feel so . . . so . . . stupid," Sango said, looking up at him. "If she were a youkai, or even a bandit, I'd know just what to do, and something like this would never have happened."

"You shouldn't feel like that, Sango-chan," Kagome said. "Sometimes, it's the people we have to live with that can be the hardest enemies. Taking down youkai can be easy next to dealing with them."

"Tell me," Miroku said. His look was still gentle, but his voice grew insistent. "What did she do?"

Sango nodded. "She said awful things about the twins and Kagome-chan."

"And you, too, Sango-chan," Hisa said. "Now is not the time to deny it. You have witnesses this time."

"What did that bitch say?" InuYasha said. "After seeing her light into Kimi, I don't think anything she'd do would surprise me." He took Kagome's hand and looked at her.

"She . . . she called the twins a litter," Sango said, looking down at the sleeping form of Noriko. "Like there was something animal-like because they're twins. Like I was an animal for having them."

Miroku brushed a stray hair from Sango's face. "There is nothing wrong with our daughters." His voice was soothing, but his eyes flashed as he too looked at his sleeping girls.

"That's what she did," Hisako said, nodding. There was a dark glee in the back of her voice, as if telling on Chiya gave her a special satisfaction. "Very nasty tone she had, too. Complained about how we had a married miko who was married to a man with dog ears and Sango-chan had a litter of babies. She wouldn't shut up and added it was a scandal for her to be living under the same roof as you, Houshi-sama."

"She said that to you, did she?" InuYasha said, looking at Kagome.

"She did." Kagome nodded. "It was the same sort of thing that Haname said when she was all wound up from the yamabushi's magic. This time, though, what she said about me didn't bother me at all. What she said about Sango . . . I wanted to . . . to . . . "

"To slap her?" Koume said, giving her a knowing look. There was a touch of approval and amusement in her eyes. "The way you bounced up when she started up on Sango . . . I was afraid you were about to hit her yourself."

"Maybe," Kagome said, nodding and giving Koume a sheepish look. Turning, she looked up at InuYasha, who, surprisingly, gave her a satisfied smirk. "When she talked about the girls that way . . . I sort of saw red. If Hisa-obaasan hadn't said something . . . "

"Wouldn't be the first time you were ready to jump on someone because they attacked someone you cared about," InuYasha said. He leaned over to whisper, "I told Miroku if Sango had been insulted you'd be ready to jump in. I should have bet him."

Kagome, trying hard not to giggle, gave her husband a small shove.

"I'd rather see you angry that way over a bitch like Chiya than sad," he said. "She's not worth getting sad over."

The young miko nodded.

"You hear that, Sango?" Miroku said. "InuYasha can sometimes speak wise words."

"Hey," the hanyou said, looking at the monk. "Sometimes?"

"She is a sad and unhappy woman," Miroku continued, ignoring InuYasha. "You know that, don't you? Nothing she can say makes you or our children less wonderful to me. She's eaten up by something dark in her heart."

"I know," Sango said. "It's just . . . "

Hisa moved next to Miroku, with teapot and cups in hand. "We discovered this has been going on a while, Houshi-sama," she said as she poured. "Today was not the first time Chiya has tried to cause problems for your wife."

"How come I never heard of it?" Miroku asked, looking first at Hisa and then at Sango, confused, and not just a little angry.

"Sometimes, Houshi-sama, it takes a while to put the pieces together," Hisa said. "Most of us hadn't realized this until today."

"The woman thing, I bet," InuYasha said, nodding.

"The woman thing?" Kagome asked. She looked at him, not sure of what he meant.

"Yeah, stuff that women keep to themselves," the hanyou said. "I was telling Miroku about it earlier. Like this sewing party. Or when you go talking to Sango about what's happening. Things you do that's woman to woman. I remember when I was a boy, seeing how women could be without a man ever getting a whiff of it going on." He sighed and shook his head, as if chasing a bad memory away.

"I think," Hisa said, smiling at InuYasha, "that your friend is a lot wiser than you give him credit for, Houshi-sama. We discovered that Chiya has been doing things to make Sango feel unwanted for quite a while now."

"Ever since that first village festival after you were married," Fujime said. "And she chased her away from my sewing circle and I didn't even know about it."

"And I heard her spreading gossip about Sango, more than once," Hisako said. "And it wasn't just her. Chisuzu, Benika, Sora . . . "

Hisa watched the monk as he moved to set next to Sango, settling down uneasily, as he continued to hold her hand. As the other women offered their information, Sango grew more withdrawn, her head bowed, and the monk more and more surprised by the conspiracy to make sure his wife felt unwelcome by what Chiya and her circle had done. Trying not to make Sango feel any worse, Miroku's face turned into a mask, although his free hand clenched and unclenched as he listened.

"Houshi-sama," Hisa said.

Miroku looked up at her.

"Would you and Sango-chan like a few minutes alone?"

The monk looked at his wife. Sango, not looking up, nodded.

"I think," Hisa said, standing up, "that the garden is looking particularly lovely right now. It would be a good time for us to get some fresh air, and give these two a few moments alone. Perhaps, we could say a prayer at the kami's shrine for them while we're at it."

There were nods of assent and one by one, the women stood up. Quietly, they slipped out of the house, taking care not to wake up the twins or Naoya.

InuYasha and Kagome were the last to leave. InuYasha tapped Miroku on the shoulder. "I'll be outside if you need me," the hanyou said.

Kagome looked at them both. "We'll both be near if you need us."

Miroku nodded, and watched his two friends step outside and slid the door closed.


	138. Chapter 138

_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 138**

There was a ripple of noise as the women filed out and their children ran up to greet them. A girl's voice shouted, "Don't do that!" to the laughter of one of the boys.

"Don't act like that, boy," one of the women said. "Your otousan won't be happy if he finds out."

"Sounds like Teruko," Miroku said. "That boy of hers. He would hang out with Aki sometimes. Must have picked up some bad habits."

Sango nodded her head, but didn't speak.

Slowly the voices quieted down, and the sounds drifted off as the women moved further away.

"Sounds like they headed into the garden," the monk said, resting his head in one hand, the other clasping Sango's.

"I guess," she replied. Naoya gurgled in his sleep. Sango leaned forward to tug at his blanket to make sure the infant was well covered.

"We have such beautiful children," Miroku said. "As beautiful and special as their mother."

Sango nodded, but didn't speak. Taking a deep breath as he studied his wife, the monk searched for what to say as the room grew quieter and quieter. Suddenly, Miroku tugged Sango toward him, nesting her head under his chin.

"I..." he started, as he wrapped his arms around her. "You're so strong, Sango-chan. I didn't even realize any of this..." He kissed the top of her head, running his fingers through her hair. "So strong to be living with this and not letting me know it."

She pulled back a bit to look up, chewing her lip, her eyes glistening. "I don't feel strong right now."

"But you are," he said. His eyes were serious and sad, yet his face showed his appreciation of the woman he was holding. "Look what you've been carrying. I...I had no idea." He kissed the top of her head again. "That woman . . . "

Sango reached up a hand and touched his cheek. Her upset was still there, visible in the way she held her mouth, in some ways more embarrassed than hurt. He covered her hand with his own. "You're not blaming yourself, are you? What if she called you names because we have twins? You've seen her children. Compared to hers, we have nothing to be shamed of."

Sighing, she nodded. "It just hurt."

"Chiya's good at stabbing people with her mouth," Miroku said, squeezing her hand. "She did a job of that today not just here, but up on the hill, too. I knew she was a resentful person, but I was too busy thinking about our position in the village. If anybody's guilty here, it's me."

"You didn't do what she did," Sango said, shaking her head. "You didn't tell me I wasn't wanted."

Miroku cupped her cheeks with his hands. "You are wanted, my beautiful Sango. So very much."

Sango pulled away, but took one of his hands in hers. "I don't think I realized what was going on, really, until today," She studied his eyes, concerned and penetrating, then rested her head against his shoulder. "I just thought . . . maybe it was . . . I was too different."

"There is no one like you," Miroku said. He snugged her closer to him.

"Yukinari!" a girl's voice shouted. "What would Akiko-obasan say if she saw that? Go get the ball!"

"Sounds like the children are giving Yorime a time out there," Miroku said.

"Children will do that." Sango sat up straighter.

"It's worse when they do it as grownups." The monk brushed a stray lock of hair out of his wife's face.

She sighed. "Growing up, I knew the other women in my village weren't sure how to behave around me. It was very rare for girls to be trained like me, and although they meant well, as I grew up, there was this barrier between us, like if they didn't know if they should treat me like one of the men or just another woman. But I was the headman's daughter, and a fighter. They didn't do anything like she did. But here I was the outsider, and a woman trained to fight, and married to a monk. I thought that was the real reason the women kept me on the outside. I didn't have a headman as father to smooth the way. It made it lonely sometimes, but I thought it was me. It wasn't until Hisa-obaasan started asking questions that I really figured out what was going on."

The monk sighed, and leaned his head on hers. "I always loved you because you were different - brave and strong. You were so much not like all the other women I had known." He sighed, playing with a lock of her hair. "I never really thought of how it would be like for you to settle in a village like this. I'm afraid I've made your difference even worse than it had to be." His arm tightened around her. "What have I put you through?"

"It wasn't you," Sango said, leaning into his hold.

A boy outside yelled something neither one of them could quite understand, followed by InuYasha telling him to go find somewhere else to run.

"It sounds like we have a watch dog out there," Miroku said.

Sango nodded, and gave a tiny smile. "I suspect Kagome's right beside him."

"Some people are meant to be together." The monk sat up enough so he could look at his wife. "She tamed a wild creature and turned him into a hero." Miroku brushed the back of his hand gently across Sango's cheek. "You, on the other hand, turned a selfish, cursed, desperate wayward monk into . . . "

"Into a happy, nosy, wayward monk?" she suggested.

He smiled down at her. "I was always nosy. That hasn't changed very much."

"I know," she replied, leaning against his shoulder. "You always want to know everything."

"So much for being a nosy monk. I feel . . . I feel I let you down," he said sighing. "As often as I've seen that woman . . . "

"It wasn't until today I realized that it was always her or one of her friends that was trying to keep me from the other women," Sango admitted. "It's not like it happened every day. There's always so much to do. I haven't had a lot of time to even try to fit in."

"But I knew you were lonely and not making friends, and I knew Chiya was . . . well, jealous that I was with you," Miroku said. "I've seen it happen before. Women who aren't really wanting anything more than attention, getting jealous over anybody who takes my time."

Sango gave him a questioning look that made Miroku give her a small, knowing smile.

"No, not you," he said, pulling her close. "The fact that you . . . put up with me, and pulled me away, for all my waywardness . . . it was your strength that got it through my head what really mattered, and your fierceness . . . it's nothing like women like Chiya want. They want to devour me. You," he said, kissing her on her forehead, before gazing into her eyes, "you are the other half of my soul." His lips found hers, and gently, and then more ardently showed his feeling. "Before you, there was always something missing."

"Miroku," she breathed.

His look grew more serious. "So why, my dear Sango, didn't you say something about how Chiya was treating you?" he asked.

Her eyes left his. "I knew you weren't misbehaving with her. And she seemed so supportive of your work . . . " She sighed. "I knew she didn't like me, but until today, with what she said about our daughters, about how I was a scandal . . . " She looked up at him. "I thought she was just an unpleasant person. I didn't know how deep her feeling ran. " Noriko turned over on her back as she slept. Sango looked down on her daughter, brushed a piece of hair out of her face. "I know how to fight youkai," she said. "I never learned how to fight mean, dark-spirited women."

Miroku pulled Sango back into his arms. "Sometimes, it's the dark-hearted humans you have to live with that are the worst monsters of all." He nuzzled her ear, just to watch her shiver a bit at the sensation. "And much harder to deal with. There's no Hiraikotsu or Tessaiga we can use to take care of them. For that, we need friends, and trust, to bring their darkness to light."

Sango nodded.

"But, woman, if anybody else does something like this to you again, tell me. Or at least tell Kagome-sama. This isn't the type of battle you should fight by yourself." He slipped a finger under her chin to get her to look into his eyes. "It doesn't matter if they support the temple, or anything I'm trying to do. No donor is worth what you are to me."

"But . . . " she said.

"No buts," the monk insisted. "We've fought a lot of battles side by side. Remember the time Akago had kidnapped Kagome, and we had to fight all those people, doing our best not to kill any of them?"

"I do. We fought well together, too," Sango said.

"Sometimes, living in a village can be like that," Miroku said. He pulled her closer, tucking her head back under his chin. "We will fight and win, and do the right thing and not kill anybody. And best of all, we don't have to fight this fight alone. We have allies."

"Kagome-chan and InuYasha?" she said.

"I do believe we have more than that. Look at Hisa-sama. I doubt very little gets away from her once she gets her mind made up. And from the way the other women behaved, I suspect more than just her." He laced the fingers of his right hand into hers.

"I think you're right," Sango said. She gave him a bittersweet smile. "I kind of feel sorry for Chiya. Hisa-obaasan has a lot more pull here than she does. And now . . . "

"A lot more," Miroku said, nodding. "And after what she did up by the temple today, Chiya's going to have even less pull. Some rough times ahead."

"What happened?" she asked.

"She was arguing with Kimi-sama and InuYasha when - " Miroku was interrupted when the door to the back room slid open, and Susumu's son Mitsuo walked out.

"Okaa! Where are you?" the little boy said, rubbing his eyes.

"Mitsuo-chan, she's outside with your obaasan and the other women," Sango said, sitting up.

"Have you seen Horsie?" the boy asked.

"I'm afraid not," she replied. "Maybe your okaasan still has it?"

"I need him. Horsie gets scared when I'm not there," the boy said.

"Well, then," Miroku said, "Maybe you should go outside and find her."

"Okaa!" Mitsuo cried, heading for the door. "Okaa!" He slid the door open and went outside.

The noise was too much for Yusuko, who popped up, rubbed her eyes, and cried out, "Otou!"

"Well look who woke up," the monk said.

The girl crawled up into her father's lap. "Otou! Time to go home?"

Sango smoothed her daughter's hair. "Did you have a good nap, baby?"

Yusuko nodded. "Dreamed about a big dragon!" she said, her voice rising as she gestured just how big.

This brought her sister to alertness, and Noriko crawled up into her mother's lap. "Okaa feel better?" she asked.

"Yes, Okaa feels better, baby," Sango said.

"Go home?" Yusuko asked again.

"Not quite yet, my beautiful girl," Miroku said, "But soon. If Okaa is feeling better, maybe we should go outside and tell the others?"

Sango nodded. She carefully picked up her sleeping son, and stood up. "I feel . . . ready to fight."

"I told you that you were strong, woman," Miroku said, getting up himself and picking up his staff. "Are you going to be strong like your okaa when you grow up?" he asked his girls.

Noriko nodded.

"Like Okaa!" Yusuko said.

"That's my girls," he said. "Let's go find the others."

And with a nod and a smile from Sango, they headed out of the house.

_A/N I have put my most recent list of villagers on my bio page for your convenience. Hope you like. Not everybody's on it yet, but most of the more important ones are._


	139. Chapter 139

_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 139**

While Miroku and Sango were busy discussing how Chiya had managed to cause all the problems she had, most of the women headed over to the garden where Kazuo's shrine was kept, along with some of the children. InuYasha and Kagome, though, sat on the verandah of Tameo's house, waiting in case they were needed. Most of the children who stayed were playing a game of ball, and the two watched as the game progressed.

At least InuYasha was watching. He turned a bit to glance at Kagome, who was staring off into the distance, frowning.

He tilted his head, trying to decide what was wrong, started to say something, changed his mind, and touched her hand. She looked at it for a moment, but turned back to stare at the yard, still not speaking.

"You could go with the other women if you'd rather do that than sit here," he said. His ear twitched as one of the girls gave a shout. "I don't mind."

Kagome shook her head. "I think I'd rather stay here. Sango was pretty upset . . . "

"Yeah," the hanyou replied. "That surprised me. It takes a lot to get Sango upset like that."

"Just the right something," Kagome replied, giving him a small smile. "I've seen her like that before."

"I guess," he replied, shrugging. "The woman thing?"

The miko nodded. Just then, Jun's son Mikio ran into the game and bumped one of the girls, who shoved him back. His mother Riki, who was watching the children, got up and grabbed him.

"Go sit over there, boy, if you can't play with the rest," she told him with a small swat to his rear. Frowning, the boy went and sat under a tree.

"What did she say to you?" InuYasha said.

One of the children tossed the ball and it rolled near the veranda. "Who?" Kagome asked, watching Suzume running after it.

"Excuse me, Miko-sama," the small girl said, grabbing the ball and running back to the others.

"That bitch." InuYasha stashed his hands inside of his sleeves. "She's been more trouble than she's worth today."

"Oh, the same old thing. It's a scandal about being a married miko, having people with youkai blood is bad luck. I don't think she believes it. She just said it to hurt me." She leaned up against InuYasha's shoulder.

"It doesn't sound like it worked," InuYasha said, touching her hand.

Kagome shook her head. "It just made me mad."

An older boy, who looked like he was about eleven, ran through the crowd of younger children scattering their game.

"Move, Hanshi," the boy said, "You're in the way."

"Will not," she said, crossing her arms. "You're not Chichi-ue, or even my brother. You're just my cousin. I was here first. We all were."

"You're just a girl," the boy said in a rather loud voice. "Get out of my way before I make you."

"Will not," she repeated.

The boy glared and made fists and took a step toward the girl.

InuYasha stood up. "Get the hell out of here, Toshiki," he said, his voice just as loud as the boy's. "Go find some other place to run. Leave those kids alone."

The boy swerved around, looked at the hanyou and gulped. Nodding, he stepped back and ran off in another direction. "I'm not going to forget this, stupid Hanshi."

As he ran, she stuck her tongue out at him. This made InuYasha grin as he sat back down next to Kagome. "Girl reminds me of you," he said. "Getting mad and holding her ground like that. She has spirit."

"Sometimes mad is the right way to be," Kagome nodded. "He was being a bully."

InuYasha shook out his sleeves. "Bullies don't handle being told no very well. Hope Akiko knows how her nephew is picking on her daughter. That brat spent too much time around Aki."

Riki looked up at the two on the verandah. "We'll be sure to let her know," Riki said, picking up one of the smaller children who was falling asleep on the grass. "Thank you for helping." She laid the child down on a blanket.

InuYasha nodded, and turned back to Kagome. "Bullies. Chiya's sure been trying to be one today. Don't know exactly what all was said here, but it sure got that woman wound up by the time she got up the hill," InuYasha said. "It seems like if she's unhappy, she likes to stir up trouble."

"I don't think I was her real target." Kagome looked down a moment, then back at her husband. "I really think she was trying to upset Sango, making sly little remarks about people who don't really belong to the village and that awful thing about saying Sango-chan was like a dog having litters because of the twins."

"I know some people think twins are unlucky, but anybody who knows anything about Sango and Miroku . . . " InuYasha tensed up, obviously not pleased.

"And they're such sweet girls," Riki said, coming up next to the couple. "Who in their right minds would say anything like that about them?"

"Someone who wants to hurt their mother," Kagome said.

"Keh," InuYasha said, stuffing his hands back in his sleeves. "And she was still spitting vinegar when she got up the hill."

Kagome gave him a wry, rather sad smile. "Funny, I laughed when she left. She was in such a huff to get away from us scandalous women, and I thought how she was going to act once she got to the temple and saw you there." She leaned back against him. "Sounds like she didn't act any better when she got there than when she left here."

"I'd say. She saw me next to Kimi and just lit into her," the hanyou said.

"Kimi-chan?" Riki asked. "Why would anybody want to attack her? She's like the kindest person in the village. My Jun calls her Kimi-Kwannon, cause she's like a little goddess of mercy." She looked at the children playing. Yukinari once again, stared at the ball that was rolling away from the area. "Are you still afraid of chasing the ball?"

The little girl, her thumb in her mouth, nodded.

"Suzume, go get it for her, please," Riki said. "I'm afraid Yukinari's just a little young for this game."

The girl quickly went and fetched it.

"How come you're able to manage so many children?" Kagome asked.

"Practice," Riki said, smiling. "I seem to get the job watching the children a lot. And I like them, and there's always a lot of them here. One day, maybe one of yours, too, Miko-sama."

"Everybody's trying to get me to have a child right away," Kagome said, laughing a little. "But some day. When the kami says the time is right."

"Keh," InuYasha replied, coloring just a little, thinking no doubt about what Myouga had told him about their having a child. Kagome touched his hand, and gave him a reassuring smile.

Riki, not understanding exactly what was going on, decided to change the subject. "So, InuYasha-sama, why did Chiya get angry with Kimi?"

He shrugged. "Like you said, Kimi's real kind. She saw I had a rip in my sleeve and decided she had to sew it up. She was still working on it when Chiya got there. I hadn't even taken my kosode off. She was sewing it while I wore it." He shook his head. "Chiya saw us and just started screaming at her. Don't know how she kept working during all that noise, but she did. Didn't get mad at all."

"That's Kimi-chan for you," Riki said. "Patience of Buddha. I'd probably have started yelling back."

"Keh," the hanyou said. "I told her a thing or two."

"A rip in your sleeve?" Kagome said, pulling on InuYasha's sleeve. "That little place where you tore it this morning getting Aki out of the tree?"

"It got a lot bigger when I fell off the roof." InuYasha gave Kagome a sheepish look. "I must have caught it on something on the way down."

"You fell off the roof?" Riki asked, her eyes wide in surprise. "And you're not hurt?"

"Feh," InuYasha replied, chuckling. "Takes a lot to hurt me. Only things that got hurt this time were my kosode and my pride."

"Your poor kosode." Kagome said with a sigh. "It's a good thing I just finished your new one. It might take me a week to get this one fixed."

"Is he always this hard on clothes?" Riki asked.

"I hope not," Kagome replied. "Otherwise, I might just have to quit the miko business and go into the mending business."

This caused both women to smile. InuYasha, though, was not nearly as amused.

While this was going on, Tameo, Daitaro and Tsuneo neared the main village street, with Isao right behind them.

Daitaro leaned on his walking stick, and rubbed his hat across the top of his head. "So now what, cousin?"

The village headman sucked on his bottom lip a moment, thinking. "Let's go back to my place and put the final touches on what we talked about. I'd like Hisa's input. This is going to involve more than some of the men. She's a good one for letting me know how the women will handle it." Tameo rested a hand on Isao's shoulder. "Run back to the house, boy, and tell Hisa-sama we're on our way. If she's still busy, let her know we'll head over to the office, but I'd like to talk to her when she gets a chance."

The boy nodded and hurried off towards the compound. They waited a moment to give him a head start, and began a more leisurely stroll down the road.

"Ah, to have legs like that still," Tsuneo said, watching the boy run.

"Speak for yourself, old man," Daitaro said. "I don't think I ever had legs like that."

"Been so long ago you forgot the time you outran my ojiisan?" Tameo asked.

That made Tsuneo crack up. "Even I remember that one. When they caught up with you finally, it was a week before you could sit down without a big fat cushion."

The old farmer coughed into his hand. "Maybe that's why I don't like to remember. Chichi-ue had a way with using tools, whether it was a hoe or a cattle prod or leather on his wayward son. That day didn't turn out like I expected. Today isn't what I expected either."

"Haven't been that many days this last tenday that have," Tsuneo said. His smile at the old memory faded as he thought about the present. "Hard to believe everything that's happened." He shook his head, and looked down at the ground as they walked.

Tameo patted the village elder on the shoulder. "Sorry it's been so hard on your family."

"Karma," Tsuneo said, nodding. "Maybe if I had put my foot down sooner like Michio did today . . . "

"Bah, that man never has been able to stay away from Chiya for very long," Daitaro said. "This too will pass."

"Maybe," Tsuneo said, shrugging. "Still doesn't change the fact. I got tired of fighting a long time ago, and just stepped back and let things slide. Haname, my son . . . " He rubbed the back of his neck. "Maybe we all earned it. Still, here's hoping we can salvage something out of this and get my grandchildren headed in the right direction."

"We'll give it a try, old friend," Daitaro said. "Aki'll be coming over to my place in a few days. We'll see if we can't make a farmer out of him yet."

"Good luck with that one, Daitaro. Hope you're not making a mistake." Tsuneo looked at Tameo. "Maybe your idea about to do with that man'll work, too." Tsuneo sighed, kicked a pebble in the path. "Don't mind me. All this in so few days. I'm just not sure of anything right now."

"One step at a time," Tameo said. "I think we have Aki convinced, maybe, at least for a few days, to stop pulling at the bit so hard. We'll get your house some quiet so your woman can get better. You and Choujiro will get that shed built for InuYasha, and that'll be out of the way, too. Michio will get over his mad, and your daughter will find something else to fret over that maybe the kami won't be upset about. Anyway, before long, it'll be the barley harvest, and then the rice planting, and we'll all be too busy to even think about it."

"Let's hope," Tsuneo said.

They passed Kaede's house and moved closer to Tameo's compound. From the distance, they could hear children's voices.

"You really think you can convince Denjiro?" Tsuneo asked.

"If the price is right," Tameo said. "He's got a lot of mouths to feed, and not enough land."

"His woman Sora's not going to like it, I bet," Daitaro said.

"That's why we get Hisa to help us," Tameo said, nodding. "If anybody could . . . "

"Couldn't we just ask Eiji and Kimi?" Tsuneo said, scratching his chin.

"It might come to that," Tameo said, nodding. "But after today, I suspect even Kimi will have had her fill for a few days. At least you won't have to listen to Chiya whine all night."

"Now that might be the luckiest thing of all to happen today," Daitaro said, chuckling a bit.

"You have a point," Tsuneo said. "Well, let's go find Hisa, and get it all figured out. The sooner I can get this done, the happier everybody at my place will be."

"That's the spirit, man," Tameo said.

The three, striding as briskly as they could, headed past the gate and into the compound.


	140. Chapter 140

_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 140**

Shortly before Tameo reached his compound gate, Isao ran into the compound, making a beeline for the main house.

"Hey, Isao-kun!" Hanchi, one of the girls playing in the yard, held up the ball in invitation. Several other voices urged him to join in. He shook his head, which made the girl frown.

"I've got something to do first. Maybe later," he said, shrugging, then slowing down his run into a walk, he skirted the game area, and headed for the front door of the big house.

InuYasha watched the goings on with a mildly amused look."Hey boy," InuYasha called out. "You came in here like you were being chased by a youkai. Something going on up the hill?"

Isao ran up to the verandah, and bowed. "Not that I know about, InuYasha-sama. When I left, Ryota-sama was busy making Susumu-sensei hammer shingles, and everything looked like it was going well." He looked around, and not seeing the monk, added, "I hope all is well with Houshi-sama and his wife."

InuYasha's ear rotated around as if he were listening to sounds inside of the house. "They seem to be doing all right," he said after a moment. "So why'd you come down?"

"Another errand. Excuse me, please," the boy said, looking at the door, and swallowing, as if he were a bit nervous about it. "But do you know where Hisa-sama is?"

Riki saw his hesitation about the door and laughed, just a little. "Don't look so nervous, boy. She's not going to eat you." Something caught her eye, and she looked out over the field of children, where one of the toddlers was heading toward the road. "Yorime, go check on Yukinari. Don't let her wander off."

Yorime hurried after the wayward girl as Riki turned back to Isao. "She's not in the house right now. She took most of the women into the Kami's garden."

"Ah," he said, nodding "The message I have is for her. Tameo-sama and the elders are coming here. He asked me to bring a message. Do you think she'll mind if I go tell her?"

"You're being quite the messenger today," Kagome said. "How's your head?"

"It's fine, Miko-sama." His face, still bruised, looked a sorry shade of yellow and green where it had been injured, but the smile he gave her was genuine and his eyes were clear, if beginning to look a little tired. "It feels good to be able to do something today." He bowed again, "I better hurry. Tameo-sama and Tsuneo-sama were right behind me when I left."

"Then go, boy," Riki said. "But if they're at the shrine, stand back a little bit until you can catch their attention. And you look like you've had enough running around for one day. If you're feeling like you need to rest, be sure to let her know. She won't want you exhausting yourself."

Isao nodded, and hurried around the house.

"I wonder what that's about?" Kagome said, looking up at InuYasha, who shrugged.

"Even Tameo-sama gets a little nervous around Hisa-sama when she's entertaining the women," Riki said. She gave the miko a rather amused grin. "Don't ask me why. Hisa-sama almost never raises her voice or gives him a cross look. Still, he probably wants her to know he's coming in, without wanting to interrupt anything. I suspect he'll head right over to his office."

InuYasha snorted. "Man knows his wife well. Don't blame him."

Kagome gave him a look, raising one eyebrow, and then snickered.

As Isao walked up the path to the garden, Hisako, tired of waiting, seated herself on a large rock.

"Well," she said, resting her walking stick next to her, "this will be a sewing day we'll remember for a while."

"It will indeed," Koume said, settling down next to her. "We'll be talking about whatever put it into that woman's mind to pull a stunt like that for a long time. You would think that with everything that's happened to her mother and her nephew, and even with her brother, she would have known better." She shook her head. "I hope Haname feels better before she hears about it. This will really upset her."

"That child?" Hisako said, scoffing. "Do something sensible when she's not happy?"

Fujime walked up to join them."I wouldn't call her a child anymore. Look how old her children are getting."

"Bah," Hisako said. "Her boy acts older than she does. I tell you, I don't know how her husband and father-in-law put up with her."

Teruko walked up, frowning at the conversation, and decided to change the subject. "I wish I had as much time to put into a garden as this," she said. "It always feels so . . . peaceful here."

"Knowing Haruo, he'd make you plant it all in vegetables, even if you did," Fujime said. She pointed to a stand of azaleas, pink with blossoms. "Can you imagine that, planted with daikon? Or maybe burdock?"

"Not that spot," Hisa said, coming up to join the other women. "Hemp behind and eggplant in front."

The women laughed.

"It certainly would look a lot different," Akiko said. "More tasty, perhaps, and some of the vegetables are handsome anyway . . . but not nearly as tidy. Don't know if the kami would like it as well."

"Oh, he's a farmer kami. He'd probably like what could grow here just fine," Hisa said. "I'm just not sure he'd like all the coming and going it'd take to make it all work. He gets to have his peace and quiet this way. And it'd probably be Kinjiro's job to do it, and I'm sure the two of them would get into an argument when my son would try to tell the kami what to do."

This brought out several snickers.

"I think we'll leave it the way it is, then, Okaasan," Matsume, Kinjiro's wife, said, resting her hand on her swollen abdomen. "I would like my husband to live long enough to see his child."

Hisa reached out and touched her daughter-in-law's hand. "Me too," she said smiling. "I think we'll leave everything just the way it is."

Mariko, standing next to them, pointed. "There's that boy." She shifted her son, who she was carrying on her hip instead of her back. "The one you sent up the hill to tell Houshi-sama to come here."

Hisa turned around. "Isao-kun?"

"He's looking rather tired," Chime noticed, standing next to her daughter-in-law.

"It's his first day really getting back to work," Emi said, nodding. "I'm not surprised. I wonder what he wants."

Isao hurried up to the knot of women and bowed. "Hisa-sama."

"Ah, Isao-kun," the headman's wife said, giving him a friendly smile. "Is there something I can do for you?"

"Tameo-sama sent me with a message," the boy said, standing up. His eyes were still a bit nervous, and he chewed on his bottom lip as he watched her.

"Did he?" she replied, touching him lightly on the shoulder. "Nothing bad I hope?"

"Now what?" Hisako asked, scowling. "Today seems one of those days when there's always something else . . . "

"Now, Hisako-obasan, let the boy speak," Fujime said, resting her hand on the elderly woman's back.

Hisa noticed the boy's hesitation, but gave him a warm smile."Did he ask you to tell me in private? We can walk over to the other side of the garden if he did."

Isao's eyes grew confused. "I...I don't think so." He frowned.

"Go on, boy, we're not going to bite," Koume said. He looked up at her, as if afraid of just that.

Swallowing, he began. "He said he was coming home, he and Tsuneo-ojiisan and Daitaro-ojiisan, but if the women were still here, he would go to his office." He looked up at Hisa, scratching the back of his head.

"Is that all?" Hisa asked. "I'm surprised he'd send a message for that."

"No . . . no," Isao said. "He said . . . he said . . . " He looked up knitting his brows together. "Oh yes, he wants to ask you something, and said come talk to him when you had a chance."

"Huh," Hisa said, looking a bit perplexed. "I wonder what he's thinking about now."

"Oh, with Daitaro with him, no telling," Chime said, but smiling. "They're always figuring out something or other."

"Or drinking sake," Hisa replied. She tapped her chin thinking. "Well, you look tired, son. Maybe you should go take a rest. There's some food at Matsume's if you want a snack." Isao nodded. "Don't let Jun put you to work," she continued. "I think you've done enough today."

"Thank you, Hisa-sama." Obviously relaxing at that news, he turned to leave.

"Wait a moment, boy," Hisako said before he took two steps. "What happed to Chiya-chan up on the hill? We know something happened, but nobody told us what yet."

Suddenly he was aware of all the eyes turned on him. Koume chuckled at the look on his face.

"Uh," Isao said, looking up at Hisa, then the other women. "She and Michio got into a big fight, and he told her not to come home. And then Kimi-sama took her home."

"What?" Fujime said. Her eyes got large. "Michio told her what?" There was a murmur of voices behind her, also surprised. "My daughter-in-law took her home?"

He nodded, and almost shriveled under the women's glances. "Michio-sama told her not to go home," Isao said. He turned to Hisa. "May I go? My head is beginning to hurt."

Hisa nodded. "Go take some of the medicine if you want, boy. You've done good work today. Thank you."

Isao bowed, then headed out of the garden.

"Now that's an interesting turn of events," Hisako said, leaning on her cane as she stood up. "Those men were holding out on us."

Koume laughed. "I don't think we gave them much of a chance to catch us up, Obasan."

"But that doesn't mean we can't learn more," Chime said. "InuYasha-sama is sitting with Kagome-chan . . . "

"True, true," Hisa said. "And with Tameo heading this way, I suspect we can find out much more." She looked at the group of women. "Well, friends, shall we head back toward the house? This deserves some investigation."

"Indeed," Akiko said. "This is a story I want to hear in detail."

"What was Kimi-chan thinking?" Fujime said, shaking her head.

"Sounds like you need to visit your son this evening," Hisako said. "I am sure Eiji will hear more than he wants to hear of all the details before it gets dark."

"I am sure you're right," Fujime said. She tapped her chin. "That girl has too kind of a heart."

Filled with questions, the group of women headed back towards the house.

InuYasha, not aware that an interrogation was heading his way, stretched out his legs.

"I wonder how much longer Miroku and Sango are going to talk," Kagome asked, turning back to look at the house.

The hanyou shrugged. "Maybe not that much longer. Sounds like they're getting things worked out."

"You can hear them?" Riki asked, surprised.

"It's not like I'm trying to," the hanyou said. "It's just that I can hear more than most people." His ears twitched as she watched, then flattened as one of the girls playing shrieked. "Except maybe when the brats make noise like that."

"I'm afraid the little ones are gifted in making those sounds." The woman gave him a sympathetic look.

"I've noticed," he replied. "Huh, we're about to have company."

The door to the house slid open, and the adults swerved to look. Instead of Miroku though, it was Susumu's son Mitsuo.

"Where's Okaa?" the sleepy-eyed boy said. "I can't find Horsie. Horsie's scared!"

"Your okaasan's with your obaasan in the garden, Mitsuo-kun." Riki sighed. "Did she take Horsie away again?"

Mitsuo wiped at his nose. "I guess."

"You need to not bother the girls, Mitsuo-kun," the farm wife said, shaking her head. "Then she wouldn't take Horsie away from you so often."

The boy stuck out his bottom lip in an angry pout. "It wasn't me! Horsie did it! He wanted to walk across Neesan's hair."

Kagome leaned towards InuYasha. "You're sure this kid's Susumu's?" she whispered, too softly for anybody but InuYasha to hear. "That sounds like a Miroku excuse."

The hanyou barked a loud laugh at that. Having missed the exchange, Riki gave them an odd look, then turned back to the boy. "Then you need to tell Horsie to behave himself better. Let's go find you okaa, Mitsuo-kun. Maybe it's time that Horsie's punishment is over."

She stood up and held out her hand, and he took it, then she turned back to the miko and the hanyou. "Yorime's here, but do you mind watching the children a few minutes? This shouldn't take long."

"Of course we will," Kagome said, trying hard not to laugh at the pouty face on the little boy as he tugged on Riki's hand, trying to hurry her. "Take your time. We're not going anywhere for the moment."

Riki and the small boy firmly in tow began tracing the same route Isao had gone just a little while earlier.

"I knew today was going to be a little crazy," InuYasha said, after Riki left. "But not this crazy."

"It has been a little wild," Kagome said.

"First I get attacked by birds because of a stupid kid. Then I get to fall off a roof in front of everybody," the hanyou said. "Then I have to listen to that stupid bitch tell me off for no other reason than she was mad at the world."

"And then you get stuck babysitting," Kagome said, leaning against him.

"That, too," he said, nodding. One of the girls squealed rather loudly as she caught a ball, which got the hanyou to flatten his ears at the noise once again.

"Maybe it won't be for much longer," the miko said. "Isn't that Tameo and Daitaro coming up the walk?"

"I'm hoping," InuYasha replied. "Yeah, them and Tsuneo. And from the sound of it, the twins are waking up."

"Ah," Kagome said. "That might put an end to their talk."

"Maybe. Sango sounds a lot calmer," InuYasha said. "Don't take this the wrong way, but soon as we can I want to go home. I..." He swallowed, trying to phrase what he was trying to say without upsetting her.

She gave him a gentle smile, touching his hand."You're not the only one tired of all the people today," Kagome said "Sometimes, it's good to get away from them all. I want to go home, too"

There was a shout from the group of children. She looked up and watched the ball they were playing with rolling away from the group and toward the house. It ended up next to the miko's feet. Bending over, she picked it up, and looked at it. It was a temari ball, wrapped in a pattern of bright blue and green and red threads, dusted with little bits of grass and leaves from all the times it landed on the ground.

"I had a ball like this when I was young. But I think this one gets a lot more use than mine did," she said.

InuYasha picked it up out of her hands and turned it around in his. "Never had one like that," he said, handing it back to her. "Pretty."

"Yeah," Kagome said. "I don't think they were making them when you were a boy. Otherwise, I bet your Okaasan would have - they're made to show how much your mother loves you." She looked up at InuYasha, who seemed a little saddened by what she was saying. "One day, I'll make them for our children."

"You're right," InuYasha said, his voice a little distant. "My okaasan, she would have. She . . . she did other things."

Hanshi ran up and bowed to the two of them.

"Would you like this?" Kagome asked, holding out the ball.

"Yes, please," the girl said. She met Kagome's eyes with no fear, and looked at InuYasha curiously. He gave her a small smirk, which caused the girl to blush a little. "Thank you!" she said as she quickly turned and ran back to the game.

"Seems we might be a little tired of people, but the people might not be quite tired of us," she said. "I think you might have a little admirer there."

"Feh," the hanyou said, crossing his arms.

Kagome leaned into his shoulder. "It shows she has good taste."

He snorted.

Tameo waved at the two sitting on the porch as he grew close to the yard. As he did so, several things happened at once. Miroku slid the door to Tameo's house open, and he, Sango and the girls stepped outside. Hisa, leading the rest of the women, rounded the bend on the path to the garden, even before Riki and her two charges reached it.

"How . . . " Kagome said, looking at Sango. Suddenly, her arms were filled with Noriko, who dove into her lap. "Well hello. Did you sleep well?"

Noriko nodded. Yusuko, not to be denied, joined her sister.

Sango gave Kagome a bright smile, although her eyes were still a little red from the tears she had shed earlier. "Better, Kagome-chan. Much better." She looked up at Miroku who gave her a tender smile.

"I think we made a few things clearer," the monk said. "And if something like this happens again . . . "

"I'll know what to do," Sango replied. She bent down and picked Yusuko up, and handed her to Miroku. Kagome in turn handed Noriko back to her mother.

"Good," InuYasha said, and looked at Kagome hopefully. "Now maybe we can go home?"

Daitaro snorted as the cluster of men reached the verandah. "Why would you want to go home? We just got here!"

"Home?" Fujime said, as the women reached the house. "You can't go home yet."

The hanyou stood up, swinging left to right as he looked at the elders, who were laughing and the women who were gazing at him with an intensity he found a bit disturbing. "Why the hell not?"

"You and Houshi-sama have to tell us all about what happened to Chiya," Hisako said, tapping her cane on the ground. "You didn't think you were going to get away before that, did you?"


	141. Chapter 141

_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 141**

"Uh-oh," Daitaro said.

InuYasha and Kagome, with Miroku and family close behind them watched as the women from the sewing party surrounded the verandah. InuYasha took a step back, almost bumping into the monk. The hanyou's ear twitched like mad as they closed in on him, and his body stiffened. Kagome took his hand, sensing his rising discomfort as he began to be crowded in by people he knew he shouldn't strike back at. He looked at her; she shrugged but gave his hand a reassuring squeeze. "I...I..."

There was a pause as he tried to think of something to say. Suddenly, Erime, next to Chime, giggled, breaking his concentration. "What?"

"I'm sorry," she said, bowing. "InuYasha-sama, the look on your face!"

Riki, trying not to laugh, also bowed. "I'll go check on the children." As she headed to where her son played under a tree, a distinctive giggle followed her.

"It's not funny," InuYasha said, scowling.

"You're right, InuYasha-sama," Koume said, pursing her lips and shaking her head. "Some things are always bad news. Is it true that Michio kicked Chiya out?" Koume asked. "The way she was acting today . . . "

"And that Kimi-chan took her home?" Fujime said, moving to stand right next to her. She took a deep breath, obviously distressed.

He nodded. "Don't know why. She barked at Kim as bad as she did me."

Hisako pushed in front of the other women. "Why didn't you tell us when you got here?" she said, tapping her cane on the ground.

Miroku chuckled at the older woman and then turned towards InuYasha with a rather amused grin.

"Don't just grin at him," Sango said, bending close to her husband. "Say something, Miroku," she whispered to him. "I don't know how much more of this InuYasha can handle on his own."

InuYasha turned and looked at her, his brows knitting. "You, too? You think I . . . " he started, before Kagome squeezed his hand again. He looked at her, and at Sango, then sighed.

"You women talk too much." He gave Kagome's hand a squeeze in return, freed himself only cross his arms, and stuff both hands in his sleeves.

He gave the old woman, who continued to tap her cane impatiently a solemn look. "You want to know what happened? That . . . that . . . " He took a breath. "Chiya insulted Kimi and me in front of everybody, including her husband. Michio told Chiya to apologize. She apologized to Kimi, sort of, but wouldn't apologize to me. I wanted to just leave and get back to work, but Michio wouldn't listen. He blew up and told her not to come home. That's what happened," he said. "Satisfied?"

Hisako refused to be intimidated by his glare. "But why?" she demanded. "Why would she do something that stupid?"

"You're gonna have to ask her, not me," the hanyou said, his scowl getting even deeper. "I don't know what makes a person like her work."

Kagome laid her head on his shoulder. "I'm sorry. I didn't know they were going to do this," she said in a voice too faint for anybody else to hear. InuYasha nodded and let out a long slow breath.

Miroku, putting on his professional face, looked at the semicircle of women surrounding them. "Ah, dear ladies," the monk said, "Don't be hard on my friend here. You do have to realize we were rather busy dealing with other issues when we got down here. I am sure you will forgive us for letting all of that slip our minds. I'm sure we would have told you if you had given us a little more time. It's just - "

He was interrupted by a cheer from the children playing as little Yukinari finally caught the ball for the first time since the children had begun their game. The three village elders, taking advantage of the distraction, pushed through the group of women and moved to the verandah.

Daitaro nudged the hanyou, chuckling. "Didn't expect this, I bet."

"Feh," the hanyou said. "It's not funny."

"Wouldn't have left you alone if I knew this was going to happen. Mean thing to leave a man alone in a situation like this." He lifted his sake jug. " Need a drink?"

As InuYasha shook his head, refusing the offered jug, Miroku snickered.

"There's nothing funny about this, Houshi-sama," Hisako said, pointing her cane at him. "This is important news. The last time Michio kicked Chiya out it was almost two months before they worked out their differences. I thought there was going to be a feud between Haname and Michio's father before it was over. This isn't some big castle town. We're just a small village. Things like this cause trouble for everybody."

"I bet," Kagome said, nodding. "How do you avoid running into people here when things like this happen?"

"It's quite difficult," Koume said. "People start to take sides, and the next thing you know, it's like a war. That's why it matters."

Teruko shifted the strap of her baby carrier as she moved a bit closer. "That incident's still causing trouble. Haname still won't stay in the same room with Michio or his father," she said. "I've seen her get up and leave if she saw they were coming. I was wondering for a while if Michio would ever get her back."

"You're right there." The headman scratched the back of his neck."It did take some diplomacy." He frowned, remembering. "If you could have seen how often Michio was here, begging me to do something. There wasn't anything I could really do officially."

"I remember," Tsuneo said, nodding in agreement. "Michio's a good man, and I like him a lot. He would come find me out in the fields and do the same thing. He didn't dare show up at the house after Haname threatened him with the wood ax. It was hard even live near her until Chiya got whatever it was out of her system. Those were hard days." He sighed. "Headstrong women. He would have taken her back three days after their fight, but she refused."

Hisako started to say something, but she was interrupted by a louder voice.

"Okaa, where's Horsie?" Mitsuo's shrill pitch rose above the adult discussion, and heads turned to look at the small boy standing beside Emi. "He needs me!"

Emi rubbed her son's head, looking mildly embarrassed at the interruption. She knelt down and gave her son a serious look. "Going to be good and not let him ride over your sister's heads?"

Mitsuo nodded, and Emi produced the small wooden horse from her sleeve. "Now go play. But be good." The boy took the toy, and ran off. "So sorry for the interruption" she said as Mitsuo joined Mikio and another boy who were playing with their own play fort under Riki's watchful eye. He settled down quickly and all three began a mock battle.

"Not just women who are headstrong," Chime noted, watching them play.

"And not all boys," Mariko said, quickly glancing up at her father-in-law, giving him a teasing smile. Daitaro, seeing it, tugged on his beard and swiftly looked back at the hanyou.

"Maybe she knows a thing or two, old man," InuYasha said. Kagome nudged him, but that didn't stop several snickers from the group.

Not paying attention to any of that, Nahoi stood next to Koume, frowning and sucking on her bottom lip as if what they were talking about confused her. She turned to her mother. "I...are you sure that Michio did that? That's not what I heard," she said. "Chiya-chan came by crying more than once saying how horrible he was to her. He didn't want her back, she said. He threatened to beat her."

"Alas," Hisa said, coming from the back of the crowd, "We all know that what Chiya says at times is not what really happens. She . . . well, tries to . . . "

"Get attention, or her own way." Fujime looked knowingly at Tsuneo, who merely nodded, a sad resignation on his face. "She's been known to say all sorts of things. Just look what she did to Sango-chan here . . . "

Sango nodded. "Has she always been this way?"

"Since she was a small child," Hisako said, slowly shaking her head in sad resignation. "I used to talk to Haname about it, but nothing ever came of it."

"I had no idea, even after living here for three years." Sango let her daughter down. Yusuko spotted Aomi playing next to Yorime, a little apart from the other children. Squirming out of her mother's hand, she made a beeline for the girl.

"Down, Otou," Noriko said, seeing her sister. She began to wiggle, trying to get out of Miroku's grip. "Go play!"

"Not being raised in a place means it takes a while to learn all these types of things," Miroku said, letting his daughter down, and giving his wife's hand a small touch.

"That's true," Hisa said. "This wasn't my birth village. There were so many little things I had to learn. Don't feel bad, Sango-chan. We won't talk about some of the mistakes I made when I was a young bride."

Tameo chuckled a moment, until Hisa gave him a glance, then the chuckle turned into a deep breath. "Well, we were both young then, Hisa-chan. It was a good thing my mother and the other good women knew all that, and watched out for you. I know I didn't help enough. But now look - you know everybody, and everybody knows you." He rubbed the back of his head. "And just about everything that happens, too."

"Not everything," Hisa said, tilting her head to the side and shaking it sadly. "I'd never have guessed this afternoon."

"I don't think any of us would have," Koume said.

"Still," Hisako said, leaning on her cane, "I wish I had been up on the hill when all this happened." She shifted her feet, and sighed. "This old woman's tired of standing. If you don't mind, I'd like to go sit down." With a curt nod at the rest of the group, she headed for the door.

As if it were a signal, one by one, people began to filter back into Tameo's house.

InuYasha watched them go by. "Feh," he said, talking to Miroku, "What good is it to see someone dig a deep hole and then bury themselves in it?" InuYasha said, stuffing his hands into his sleeves.

"Not necessarily good," Miroku said. "Satisfying, maybe."

Koume, one of the last women to head inside, nodded. "She's earned the right to be talked about." She began to move to the door of the house. "I think, though, if you don't mind, Hisa-chan, I probably ought to get my sewing and head home. If Kimi took Chiya in tonight, it might be useful if I'm closer to home."

Hisa nodded. "I understand. Thank you for coming. It was . . . interesting."

"It was, wasn't it?" Koume said smiling. "A day we'll be talking about for a while."

Tameo turned to InuYasha and Miroku. "Why don't you all head home?" he suggested. "I know I ought to be able to feed these nosy women all they need to know. We were there for all of it."

"I would like to get back to the temple," Miroku said. "I know Ryota's a capable man, but . . . "

"You think you ought to be there to see for yourself?" Daitaro said.

"Exactly," Miroku said, nodding.

Hisa nodded, but turned to Sango. "Please don't let today keep you away from us. We really do want you to come join us. If you hear any more negative things, come talk to me about it. You have friends here."

"Thank you," Sango said, smiling. "I promise."

Hisa turned to her husband. "And you can let me know that it is you wanted to talk to me about," Hisa said to her husband.

"Ah, I have an idea," the headman said.

"Don't you always?" Hisa replied, laughing. "I hope it means something good this time.".

Laughing just a little, Kagome and Sango went inside to get their things, while Miroku rounded up his daughters, who were not happy about leaving. A few minutes later, children safely in tow, the whole group began walking back towards the hill.


	142. Chapter 142

_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 142**

_A/N: Anonymous posting people who I cannot reply to and who ask about babies: I suggest you reread chapters 17 and 18, which explains why they will not be talking about planning a family like a normal couple. Thanks. I do answer all questions sent to me in comments if that person is logged in and accepts replies, but this has come up a number of times, and I thought I'd make a public statement._

_And once again, remember we're still on day 15 of InuYasha and Kagome's married life. They're far more into "We can haz sex nao?" than the thought of procreation, just like most newlywed couples_.

"Otou!" Yusuko said, stopping to bend down and look at something.

Noriko ran over to stand next to her sister. "Oooh."

"Well, what have you found?" the monk asked, as he walked over to see what new thing the two girls had discovered.

"Yusuko is the little explorer," Kagome said, watching Miroku ooh and ah over the flower his daughters were admiring.

"She does have a good eye," Sango said. "And Noriko is almost as good."

"My daughters are smart girls," Miroku said, looking back at the two women. "Like their mother."

Sango smiled at her husband. "But with your curiosity."

They were almost to the split to the path that lead to Miroku's house. The walk home had been filled with light, inconsequential talk, carefully avoiding the topics of Chiya and anything that had happened that day.

"Long as they don't pick up Miroku's hustle," InuYasha said, barely loud enough to hear.

Kagome shook her head and gave her husband a shove.

Miroku ignored the hanyou as he rejoined the adults. "I'm thinking in another year or so, I may start a school. Girls this smart deserve to learn what they can."

Yusuko, now bored with the flower, moved down the path, bent over again, and found a pretty pebble, ran back to Miroku. "Look, Otou!"

"Very nice," he said, accepting the stone from his daughter.

"Aren't they still going to be a little young to start school?" Kagome asked as Miroku tucked the pebble in his sleeve to join a couple of other ones there.

"Tameo's been hinting," InuYasha said. "I think they've been sending the brats who can afford it down to Edo to get their learning."

"Afford it?" Kagome said. Noriko walked up to her and offered her a small purple flower. She knelt down. "Very pretty, Noriko."

"Hold it?" the little girl asked.

The miko nodded, smiling. "Of course."

"Watch out," Sango said, laughing as Noriko ran to join her sister. "Your sleeves will get as full as the rest of us."

"Yes, afford it," Miroku said. "Someone has to pay the teacher for his time. The teacher has to live, too."

Kagome looked up at the monk, frowning. "But what about the children who can't afford it?"

Miroku looked at her. "The way of the world is hard," he said, rubbing his chin. "Still, if their parents really want them to learn, I'm sure we can work out something."

"It's not exactly like your world," InuYasha said, resting his hand on Kagome's shoulder.

She nodded, her brows still knit together. "I know that. But it just seems . . . "

Miroku decided to change the subject. "So," the monk said to InuYasha, "are you coming back to the temple with me? We're almost to the turn off."

InuYasha's ear twitched, and he frowned."Why? You don't need me," he said. "You heard Ryota. Roofs don't like me."

This made Miroku snicker. "You're sure it's roofs or just rotten boards?"

"Feh," the hanyou said. "What difference does it make? And look what happened afterwards. I've had enough of people today."

Kagome wrapped her hand in InuYasha's. "It's been a hard afternoon. Maybe we should just go home. I'm tired, and I still have to fix dinner."

"Home sounds like a good idea," Sango said. "I think we're all a bit tired. I know the girls are."

The monk shrugged as they reached the split in the road. "Well, if you're going to desert me this afternoon, I'll see you later. Hopefully, Ryota was able to keep the work going. But I do plan on calling on you if we have to finish up tomorrow."

"Whatever, Bouzu," the hanyou said. "Just not this evening."

Miroku picked up his daughters. "Come, my beauties. If Inu-ojisan won't come with us, he won't come with us."

"Won't come?" Noriko asked, and turned to look at InuYasha and Kagome.

"Not tonight, sweetie," Kagome said. "We'll see you tomorrow." She turned to Sango. "Sewing in the afternoon?"

"Sounds good," Sango said. "I suspect it will be much less . . . eventful at my house."

Waving goodbye, InuYasha and Kagome headed up the path to their own house.

As InuYasha and Kagome headed home, Kaede who had never gotten to attend because of Aki and two other villagers who had needed medical help, sat in her hut, enjoying the quiet.

"Such an afternoon," she said, taking her kettle off the fire. "So much for a relaxing afternoon with Hisa-chan. First Aki, then Shigeru and Mitsunari. How those two men could both end up hurt the same day. You would think with all the years between them, they would know how to fill a cart without tipping it over. Sometimes I think Shigeru does these things on purpose. I don't know why Toshiro puts up with him. I'm still not sure if his ankle was hurt as much as he claimed it was. But Mitsunari's back is going to hurt for a while."

She poured the hot water into the teapot. "There is a time where it is a blessing just to sit down to a cup of tea."

The old miko closed her good eye and breathed deeply, letting it out slowly as she relaxed. The air still smelled of the poultice she had made for Hisako's grandson Mitsunari. It was a pungent smell, but not unpleasant. Still it made her think of her own aches, and she poured the tea into her cup and wrapped her hands around the warmth of it gratefully.

Her quiet, though, didn't last long. She had just taken the first sip of the green liquid when the doormat rattled.

"Kaede-obaasan!" Rin said, peeking into the old miko's hut. "Are you here?"

"I'm here, child," the old miko said, holding her tea cup in the palm of her hand. "I thought you were spending the day with Iya today. I'm surprised to see you back already."

Rin walked in, but made no move to step out of the beaten earth doma at the front of the house and up on the wooden floor. "Rin was over at Tazu's with Iya, but then Kimi-sama came home," the girl said. She looked at the old miko, obviously distressed. "Rin was afraid you were at Hisa-sama's house, but decided to check here first. Kimi-sama said to come get you."

That surprised Kaede. She tilted her head, her good eye clearly fixed on the young girl who was nervously looking at her feet. "Whatever for, child? Did someone get hurt at the temple?" She put her teacup down and shifted to get the basket of emergency supplies she had put together just in case something happened.

The girl shook her head, although she wasn't exactly confident. "Rin doesn't think anybody got hurt. Kimi-sama had Chiya-sama with her, and Chiya-sama was crying hard and pulling at her hair. Iya, Tazu and I got kicked out once they got there, but then Kimi-sama came out and asked Rin to go get you."

"That doesn't sound good," Kaede said. "What happened, I wonder?" She got up, and began going through her herbs. "I suspect she'll need something to calm down if it was bad enough for them to send for you."

Rin shrugged."They didn't tell Rin, but on the way back, she saw Michio-sama talking to Choujiro-sama, and he was yelling about Chiya-sama." She looked up at the miko, chewing on her bottom lip. "Do you think . . . do you think they had a fight?"

"It's possible, child. They've had them before." Kaede sighed.

"But Chiya-sama was crying really loudly. Rin could hear her through the door. She was saying things about Michio-sama not understanding anything. And she talked like it was all InuYasha-ojisan's fault." The young girl frowned. "Why would she be blaming InuYasha-ojisan?"

"We'll have to find out," the miko said, lifting a box off the shelf. "But it seems these last few days, it's been one thing after another for Tsuneo-sama's family." She opened up the box and took a bag of herbs out. "I'm glad I made extra of this when Haname needed it. But I certainly didn't expect to be giving the same medicine to her daughter three days later."

"What's it for?" Rin asked.

"It helps people who are upset get some rest," Kaede said. "It sounds very much like Chiya-chan will be needing it."

"She was very loud." Rin stepped up on the wooden platform. "Can Rin help?"

"Maybe so," Kaede said. She looked thoughtfully at her herbs, and gathered a few more things. Rin took them from her hands and put them all into her basket. "We'll know when we get there."

Together, they headed out of the door.

As Rin and Kaede left their house, InuYasha lifted the door mat to his own home.

"I know I just took a day off yesterday," Kagome said, walking inside. She put her sewing basket down on the edge of the raised wooden floor. "But today was wild enough to make me want to take another day off tomorrow."

"Yeah," InuYasha said, letting the doormat fall behind him. "Too many more days like today, and I'll be thinking of moving somewhere with no people."

Kagome, turned to face him as she slipped off her shoes. "Too many more days like today, and I'll be asking you to go back to that nice place we went yesterday to stay."

He gave her a small smirk, and walked up to her, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her close to his chest. "Right now it wouldn't take much to convince me to go."

She leaned back into his arms. "Yeah. But where would you get your pickles?" she asked.

He snickered. "I did without pickles a long time. I suspect I could make do if I had to," he said, breathing into her ear. She jerked her shoulder up a little in response as it tickled her. "Maybe you could learn to make them for me. You're good at making things." His hands slipped from her waist and trailed up to brush against breasts. "Look how you turned this shack into a home."

"That reminds me," Kagome said, pulling away from his grasp, much to his chagrin. She stepped up on the wooden floor and grabbed her sewing basket. "I finished your kosode today," she said, fishing it out of the basket and holding it up. "You need to try it on."

InuYasha took it from her hand, and looked at it carefully, examining her stitching. "I told you that you were good at making things." Looking up at her, he gave her a small, pleased smile not quite matching the intensity Kagome saw in his eyes.

She smiled back, moved next to him, and undid the tie to his jacket. "You have to try it on, you know."

"You're sure you don't just want to see me get out of my clothes?" He smirked at her, watching her laugh a little as he did, but began shrugging out of his jacket.

"I always like to see you without your clothes," she said, smirking right back as he handed her his jacket. "But right now, I want to see how it fits."

He nodded and pulled off his kosode, handing it to her as well before putting on the new shirt. Tucking it in, he rolled his shoulders and stretched out his arms. "I don't know how to behave, wearing a kosode that doesn't have any rips in it," he said. "It feels good."

"Good," Kagome said, admiring him a moment before looking down at the kosode he had just taken off. She lifted the sleeve up that Kimi had patiently sewn. "Maybe this one can go a little longer before you get another tear in your shirt."

"That one's had a rough time," he acknowledged, taking it, and his jacket out of Kagome's arms before pulling her close, and letting the garments drop to the floor. "I can think of better things to do than get my shirt ripped." He gave her a quick kiss on the lips. "Unless it's you ripping it off of me." He kissed her again, this time, longer and slower.

Kagome was the one who broke the kiss, looking up at him as she smiled. "I think I'm hungry."

He pulled her close, and kissed her earlobe. "I know I am. You always make me hungry, woman."

She giggled, and pulled away. "I mean for dinner. You want to stir up the fire? I'll go wash the rice."

Sighing, he let her go and nodded. "But I know what I want for dessert," he said.

"First things first," she said, laughing just a little, and grabbing the bowl she used to wash the rice, began to fix their evening meal.


	143. Chapter 143

_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 143**

"You know," InuYasha said, stirring the fire, "I know Miroku thinks it's good to drag me into things like today, but . . . "

Kagome dipped up enough rice out of her rice barrel for their dinner, and put it in the washing bowl. "Too many people?" she asked, as she poured water over the grains to clean them.

"That's part of it," he said, not meeting her eyes, but frowning as he worked on the fire. "Don't know if I'll ever get used to people . . . well, acting like it's all right that I'm here." He threw some slivered wood on the coals, and blew on them gently to help them catch flame. Sitting up he looked at her. "All those years they didn't . . . I keep expecting something to happen. Like it did after that bitch showed up."

"Sounds like they still like you, in spite of people like her. Look at Daitaro and Susumu. They seem to really like you, and not just put up with you being Miroku's partner," Kagome said, swishing the rice around in the water.

"Yeah," InuYasha turned to grab some bigger pieces of wood. "Doesn't mean it still doesn't seem . . . well, weird. Look at Sango. Even I could see that Hisa and some of the other women think a lot of her, but she's never really felt like she was invited. Sometimes, what you expect is more real than real, I guess."

"That wasn't her fault or Hisa-obaasan's." Kagome carefully poured off the water into her slops bucket. "Someone was running interference."

InuYasha shrugged. "Doesn't matter why," the hanyou said. "It still feels . . . different or strange when you discover that the world's changed. It's like I'm so used to pushing against that wall of not being welcome that I feel . . . well, off-balance, I guess. It gets old. Right now, it just feels good to be home and away from everybody. Makes me tired or something."

"I agree with that," she said, nodding. She put the clean rice into the pot she was going to cook it in. "Sometimes, all of us need some quiet. Me, too."

"I guess," InuYasha said, agreeing with her, although his voice sounded a bit uncertain. He sat back, satisfied with how the fire was going. He looked over at Kagome, who was waiting to put the rice on the fire. "I think you can start cooking it now," he said. "Fire looks about right."

She nodded, and wordlessly put the pot on its tripod to begin cooking, and then returned to her table to begin chopping vegetables.

"Need any water?" InuYasha asked, dusting off his hands on his hakama legs.

She shook her head. "I have enough for dinner and the dishes."

"How about for a bath later?" He stood up.

"Yeah," Kagome said. She tilted her head and gave him a small, but appreciative smile. "A bath would be nice. I'd like to wash about half of this afternoon away."

"You're not the only one," he said, reaching up to scratch the back of his head. Fishing in his hair, he pulled out a piece of dry grass. "At least you didn't land in the dirt. My hair's going to need washing."

"I'm not surprised after what you told me. Talking about being off-balance - you falling off a roof," Kagome said as she rinsed a handful of greens. "You and heights go together so well." She looked up and gave her head a little shake. "You've managed to take me up and down places I'd never try to get myself. I know I don't have your sense of balance. I don't think I'd want to run around on roofs." She pushed the greens she had been cutting to the side, and began slicing an onion.

"Yeah. After this, I don't think I want to, either," InuYasha said, "at least when there's a roofing party going on. If Miroku needs another roof, I might help, but I'm going to stay on the ground." The hanyou moved over to where he had the extra water buckets. "Seems like every time I work on a roof, I break through and make a fool of myself." He leaned over and picked up two of them. "This is the second time, and Ryota was there both times - when we were putting the roof on this place, and now at Miroku's temple. He thinks the roofing kami don't like me."

She tried not to laugh, but couldn't help smiling. "Maybe it's not them? Maybe it's being around Ryota?"

"Whatever," he said, moving toward the door. "Works out the same. I just know I don't think I want to do any more of that for a while." He headed outside.

While Kagome attended to her dinner preparations, Fujime and Koume attended to other things. After a stop at Koume's house to leave Nahoi to her weaving, the two walked down the path towards the house Kimi and Eiji lived in. It was a snug little house, the second son's house, far enough away from the house Fujime shared with her husband Akimori, to grant them privacy, but close enough to the main house for easy access and sharing of the storage buildings and farming equipment.

A persimmon tree grew to the right of the house, and beyond that, clothes Kimi had hung up before lunch fluttered in the late afternoon breeze. There was something peaceful about the way it sat near the hillside.

The peace, though, was broken by the sound of a woman crying. "Curse him, curse him!" the voice said.

A cat, having enough of the noise, lifted its head, stood up, and moved off the verandah of the house for less disturbing quarters, stopping by the persimmon tree, where, hidden from view, someone was sitting. A hand reached out and scratched the cat behind the ear. Soon, it too was out of sight.

"Be glad that Eiji lives in his own house instead of under your roof," Koume said. "You could be listening to that in your own home all night."

"Bah," Fujime said. "Akimori would chase her out after the third outburst. You know how his nerves get any more. Lucky for her that Kimi has a kind heart and her own house."

"No doubt Fumio would do the same thing. Maybe even get a hammer from the forge to show her she meant business," Koume said, talking about her own husband, who was the local blacksmith, and made most of the metal tools for the village. "He is a quiet man, but when he has enough, he has enough."

"At least they live close. It's not like Haruo living on the other side of the village. I thought Eiji would move back in after his brother . . . " A shadow crossed her face, she took a deep breath and continued. "Well, I won't talk about the dead. Eiji said he was too comfortable where he was, he and Kimi-chan and the children. If I had known this day was coming, I wouldn't have bothered trying to convince him otherwise. Still, the heir ought to live with his parents. One day, maybe."

"Sometimes," Koume said, giving her friend a sympathetic smile, "things work out the way they should. Or maybe we just get lucky."

"True," Fujime said. She was about to say something else when a young girl of about ten got up from behind the persimmon tree and began moving toward them. She was a pretty girl, dressed in a blue and white kosode, with a matching blue ribbon holding her hair back, looking very much like a miniature version of Kimi. But she didn't have Kimi's composure, and in fact looked quite unhappy.

"Fujime-baachan! Koume-baachan!" the girl said, bowing politely to her grandmothers. "Haha-ue said that she thought you'd be coming by."

"She was right, Tazu-chan," Fujime said. "But why are you out here?"

"Haha-ue told us to leave when she got back from the temple," Tazu said, frowning. "She came home with Chiya-obasan, and made me, Rin-chan and Iya-chan get out of the house. Chiya-obasan was very sad. I would go to the temple to pray to Kwannon for her, but Haha-ue said the men were still working on it."

"They are," Koume said, nodding. "I believe your otousan is still up there."

"But what am I supposed to do?" Tazu said. She sucked on her bottom lip, obviously distressed. "Haha-ue sent Rin-chan to get Kaede-sama, and Iya-chan's brother came to get her, too. Everybody's gone home, and I can't even do my chores. I was going to cook dinner tonight for Haha-ue since she was busy all afternoon, but I can't even get the rice water because the bucket is in the house."

Koume smiled and rested a hand on her granddaughter's shoulder but looked at Fujime, an amused grin twisting her lips. "Listen to this. You won't hear that very often, will you, Fujime-chan? A woman complaining that she can't draw the water or cook?"

Fujime laughed. "Ah, Tazu-chan, enjoy the moment. There will be days in the future where you would love someone to chase you out of the house when it's time to cook dinner. But if you're looking for something to do, you can come home with me, and help me fix your Ojiisan's supper. And enough for your okaasan and otousan, too. I suspect they'll be needing it."

"Ah, that Chiya," Koume said, shaking her head. "She's disrupted so many things today."

"Well," Fujime said, "at least it wasn't a boring day." She looked down at her granddaughter, who was staring at her feet, still not quite satisfied with the way her afternoon was turning out. "Why don't you find your brother and tell him to come to my house for dinner? You know where he's at, don't you?"

"I think," Tazu said, looking at her grandmother a little doubtfully. "He was supposed to be working on the soybean field, but . . . "

"Well try seeing if he's still working there," Koume suggested. "If he's not, he's probably fishing with Akemi."

The girl nodded. "I know where they like to fish," she said, and took off.

A woman's voice shrieked from within Kimi's house. "Why? Why would he do this?"

"It doesn't sound like she's gotten it out of her system yet," Fujime said. "Not that I expected her to. Getting kicked out and even Tsuneo not wanting to take her in." Fujime shook her head. "She's in for some rough days ahead, I suspect. I just hope we won't be having to listen to this all night."

"You could come and stay at our place if it gets too nerve-wracking," Koume volunteered. "We're far enough away that you probably couldn't hear it. Maybe Kaede-chan can give her something to calm her nerves. Or better yet, make her go to sleep. People are going to need clear heads to help figure out what to do with her."

"We'll see," Fujime said, nodding. "I would rather the grandchildren not have to listen to that. I might send them over if I don't make it." She took a deep breath. "I guess we ought to stop talking and go see how Kimi-chan is holding up. Why she told Chiya to come home with her . . . "

They began to move toward the door when Chiya shrieked again, a wordless wail. The two women looked at each other.

"Maybe we should send Kimi to my house as well," Koume said. "She may have the patience of Kwannon, but this can't be good for her."

Fujime frowned and rubbed the side of her face with a finger, trying to answer that, when they were interrupted.

"Is that Chiya making all that noise?"

The two women turned to see Kaede coming up the pathway, frowning at what she was hearing, followed by Rin. Chiya wailed again.

"She really is wound up badly," the old miko said. "You were right, Rin-chan."

"Tell us about it," Koume said.

Rin looked around. "Is Tazu-chan here?"

Fujime looked at the girl and shook her head. "No, child," she said. "I'm afraid I sent her to look for her brother."

"Ah, Rin was hoping she could talk with her," the girl said, sighing.

"What happened? I haven't quite figured out what is going on," Kaede said. "I never got to get to the sewing circle today. Mitsunari and Shigeru managed to turn over a cart on themselves this afternoon, and I'd been taking care of them."

"Michio, how could you do this?" Chiya yelled.

Rin winced. Kaede looked at her young charge. "Would you like to go find Tazu-chan?"

The girl, looking at her shoulder at Kimi's house, frowned, then turned back around to Kaede and nodded. "Yes, please."

"I suspect you'll find her down by the river. Yoshi-kun's probably fishing, if I know him," Fujime said. "She's supposed to bring him back. We'll see how long it takes."

Taking her leave, Rin ran off, just as Chiya made another wail, louder than the earlier ones.

"I don't think this is good for young ones to listen to," Fujime said, crossing her arms. "I'm glad that child left. It's not very pleasant for us older ones."

"True," Kaede said, nodding. "So what did happen? And why is she with Kimi-chan?"

"Chiya's husband threw her out again," Koume said. "We were just about to check on Kimi-chan. At least we're outside. She's in the middle of things."

"It must have been a wild afternoon," Kaede said.

"Oh," Fujime said. "You don't know the half of it. We have a lot to tell you."


	144. Chapter 144

_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 144 **

As Kaede looked at the house where Chiya was wailing her miseries, Fujime moved closer to the old miko.

"It started out as quite a nice afternoon. But then, Chiya showed up at the sewing party and - " Koume pulled on her sleeve and she stopped

There was a noise as Kimi lifted the doormat to her house. Kimi, sighing deeply, her head bowed down, stepped outside of her house, crossing her arms and hugging herself as she moved onto the verandah. The cat, abandoned by Tazu, saw Kimi, and walking with easy grace, walked back to her mistress, and rubbed her head against the woman possessively.

"Well, what are you doing, Akime?" she said as she bent to pick up the cat. "Did Tazu-chan leave you here alone? I'm surprised you didn't wander off with all the noise."

Petting the cat, she straightened up and saw the women gathered near the front of the house and gave them a small, sad smile.

"Ah, Kaede-obaasan, I see Rin-chan found you," she said, bowing politely to the old miko. "I wasn't sure what else to do. I hope you don't mind."

"Not at all, Kimi-chan," Kaede said, giving her a kindly look, her one eye taking in the younger woman's fatigue but determination to stay calm.

Kimi looked around the area in front of the house, then turned towards the knot of women. "Has anybody seen Tazu? I was going to send her off to get her brother."

"I just did that," Fujime said, moving next to the woman and resting her hand on her shoulder. "And don't worry about making dinner. I'll take care of them, and you, too."

"Thank you," Kimi said, smiling appreciatively. "Do you mind if they stay at your house tonight?"

"They'll be staying with one or the other of us," Koume, said, also moving next to her daughter. She straightened the younger woman's head scarf. "I'm wondering if perhaps you or Eiji ought to come by as well."

"Okaa," Kimi said, letting the cat down, "I'll be fine. Chiya needs to not be left alone, I think."

Koume pursed her lips, studying her daughter's face. "You always were a hardheaded child, for all your sweetness."

Kimi, shaking her head, smiled. "Ah, but Okaasan, you were a good teacher. As was Otousan."

"No doubt you're right, child," Koume said, as Fujime chuckled, looking rather smug. Giving her daughter a hug, Koume looked up at her friend. "You're not the first person who told me that, either."

"All this may be true," Kaede said, sucking on her bottom lip and Chiya let out another round of moaning about her husband and her bad luck. "But that does not answer what I need to know before going in. Whatever happened today? I seem to have missed a lot."

Kimi unwound herself from her mother's hold, deftly stepping back without tripping as her cat began to weave in and out of her legs. "You didn't tell her?" she said, looking first at her mother and then her mother-in-law.

Fujime shrugged, and then crossed her arms. "We were about to, when you stepped out of the house."

"Ah, my bad timing," Kimi said, giving Kaede an apologetic tip of the head. "It's a sad story." The cat meowed at her and she bent down and picked it up, petting it gently. "Chiya went up to the hill this afternoon to the temple, obviously in a bad mood. First, she got into words with InuYasha-sama, and then had words with her husband. So stupid." She looked at Koume. "And you call me headstrong."

Koume reached out and brushed the cat's back with light fingers. For some reason, the cat didn't seem to like it, and flicked her tail. The older woman pulled her hand back and looked up at her daughter. "You are nothing like that woman, my dear. Don't even put yourself in the same place."

"I should say so," Fujime said, nodding."It might be sad, but it was her own doing. Tameo-sama told us that Michio told her to apologize and she publically refused." She shook her head. "Defying her husband in public - and in front of all those men. She's lucky that all he did was tell her to not come home."

"She did that?" Kaede said, rubbing her chin. "I know she gets hot-headed, but that . . . "

"And before that, she had crashed the sewing party at Hisa-chan's and managed to insult both InuYasha-sama's wife and the monk's wife, too, and Hisa-chan while she was at it." Fujime said, shaking her head. "It was rather . . . " Her voice trailed off as she searched for the right word.

"Infuriating," Koume suggested.

"Yes, exactly." She looked Kimi in the eye. "She even denied that you saw what you saw when the kami manifested himself." The younger woman shrugged. Fujime raised her hands to her head, patting her head scarf, adjusting it slightly before turning to Kaede. "No doubt if you were there, you would have caught it, too."

"Perhaps," the miko said, taking this all in, but remaining mostly unperturbed. "She was unhappy with how I've been caring for her mother, I know. I got the impression she thought I was perhaps not healing her quickly enough."

The cat decided she had enough human company and wiggled out of Kimi's arms, walking back toward the persimmon tree. The women watched it find a patch of sunlight and curl into a ball.

"I have no idea what got into her today," Koume said. "I know she's upset about Haname-chan, but this . . . it's like she decided to burn all her bridges on the same day."

"Do you think it might be one last bit of the yamabushi's magic?" Kaede asked.

"Tameo said Houshi-sama tested her for magic, and found none," Fujime said. "It would have been so much easier to deal with if that was true."

"There are some medicines that can affect a person . . . " Kaede looked thoughtful for a moment. "I would like to believe there was something causing it." The old miko sighed. "Although, having watched her all these years . . . "

"Perhaps, if it were, and we told Michio . . . " Kimi said.

Koume wrapped an arm around her daughter. "You're too nice, daughter. Even if she took some medicine that was causing her to act this way, it doesn't explain everything. You didn't hear how we learned she had been going out of the way to keep people from befriending the monk's wife since they settled here. And I hear she tried to insult you, too, at the temple."

"She was doing that to Sango-chan?" Kimi asked, looking from her mother to her mother-in-law. "I...I thought, perhaps, she was just shy. We've talked, and she's a lovely person. I knew Chiya didn't like her . . . "

"Oh yes. She even told Sango-chan that I didn't want her at the sewing days I had," Fujime said, nodding. "That she was making the women uneasy."

"She didn't!" Kimi said, bringing a hand up to cover her mouth, honestly surprised.

"You're too good, daughter." Koume said, pursing her lips and resting a hand on her daughter's shoulder. "You've always been willing to put up with her, in spite of how she treats you. She insults you, and you take her home."

"It . . . it seemed like the right thing to do," Kimi said, looking up at her mother, apologetic but still determined. "Eiji agreed to it."

"Bah. He's on watch tonight," Fujime said. "He doesn't have to be home with her until quite late."

"After Michio told her not to go home, Tsuneo refused to take her in," Kimi said, once again looking at both women, and then finally at Kaede, as if to seek her approval."She needed some place to go. Wouldn't it be worse to have her wandering the streets this evening, the way she's behaving? Even her father's not willing to take her back home. Someone needed to."

"You were always one for taking in strays, daughter," Koume said, sighing. "She's going to be more trouble than that cat of yours."

Fujime just shook her head. "I'll never quite understand where you get that depth of kindness from, girl. And you seem to have infected my son with it as well."

"What do you think, Kaede-sama?" Kimi asked. "Would the kami want me to turn her out?"

The old miko took a deep breath while she considered. "I can understand why Tsuneo didn't want her under his roof tonight," Kaede said, shifting her medicine basket. "Haname's having a rough enough time trying to get some rest with that yamabushi stirring things up. I'm sure we'll get something worked out before tomorrow afternoon. You've done a kind thing. But now," she said, with an almost reluctant sigh, "perhaps we should go check on her. Interesting how her crying calmed down once you left the house."

"Isn't it though?" Koume said, twisting her lips into a mirthless, knowing smirk. "I wonder if she's listening?"

The women began to move towards the door of the house.

"Kimi's pet isn't the only cat around here," Fujime said, speaking softly to her friend as Kimi and Kaede entered the house.

Koume looked at her hands and chuckled. "I think she brings out the cat in all of us when she's like this."

As the women were entering Kimi's house, InuYasha was leaving his to go fill up his water buckets. As the door rattled close behind him, the first thing he saw was Miroku, near the edge of the clearing. The monk was sitting under a tree, head down and staring at the ground.

The hanyou, carrying a bucket in each hand, strode gracefully to stand in front of his friend. As his shadow fell across the monk, Miroku looked up, his lips narrowed and his eyes troubled, but he didn't speak. Instead he sucked on his lip, as if he was actually having to think about what to say.

InuYasha frowned at this uncharacteristic behavior. "What in the hells are you doing there, Bouzu? Don't you have some place better to be than staring at my house?" He put the buckets down.

Miroku sighed, sitting up straighter. "Actually, I was waiting to see if you were going to come out."

InuYasha's ear twitched. "Don't you have some other place to be, like your temple or something? I thought you were going to check on Ryota."

"Probably," Miroku said. "I haven't gotten that far yet."

"Bah. Your temple's closer than my house." InuYasha hefted the empty buckets onto one shoulder. "I'm off to get some water."

Miroku stood up and dusted off the back of his robes. "I was going to go look at what the men had done at the temple, but instead, I found myself walking here. Perhaps I needed to think about things. Or talk."

"Feh," InuYasha said as he began walking towards the stream. "Talk, huh. How did you know I would even come out? You could have just knocked."

The monk nodded. "I know. If you hadn't come out, I might have eventually done that. Still, I'm not sure if I want to talk with Kagome-sama around."

InuYasha frowned. "What's she got to do with it?"

"Nothing, really." Not carrying his staff, he did a rather InuYasha-like thing, and put his hands in his sleeves. "I would perhaps just not want her to hear it. There is the woman thing, and then there is the man thing, too."

InuYasha stopped walking and turned and looked at his friend, seriously. Miroku's eyes were troubled-looking; it gave him a distant look, the type of look a man gets when wrestling with himself. InuYasha hadn't seen that look on his partner since the days when he was close to dying from shouki poisoning, and he was trying to hide it from Sango.

The hanyou took a breath and let it out slowly while he digested that bit of information. "This is about that bitch Chiya, isn't it?" he said.

"Perceptive, my friend," Miroku said, giving his friend a sad, small smile.

"Bah," the hanyou said, starting to walk back towards the stream. "Didn't take much perception. After what happened today, and you showing up here looking like that . . . "

Miroku closed his eyes a moment, and shook his head. "I've been such a fool."

"A fool, heh?" InuYasha said. "You haven't done anything you shouldn't have with that woman." It wasn't a question. "She might have wanted you to, but I know better."

"Nothing like what you're thinking of," Miroku replied. "No, I have been a faithful husband ever since . . . well even before the battle with Naraku."

They reached the stream where InuYasha got his water. He put the buckets down, and laid one into the stream on its side to fill.

"I know you have," the hanyou said. "Still wouldn't put it past Sango to come hunt you down if you got an itchy hand nowadays. Just cause she hasn't had to do it, doesn't mean she wouldn't."

Miroku chuckled, a mirthless sound. "Oh, I have no doubt you're right about that. Still, I love her more than my life, her and the children." He sighed. "It still doesn't mean I'm not a fool."

"You're obviously here to tell me about it, so tell." InuYasha squatted down to keep an eye on the water in the bucket.

"I knew that Chiya was . . . not fond of my lovely Sango," Miroku said.

"Heh," InuYasha said. "I bet everybody in the village knew that one. She's been jealous of Sango since word went around that you were intended to each other." He lifted the bucket up and set it on the ground. "She reeks of it sometimes, especially when she comes up to talk to you when Sango is there."

Miroku nodded. He looked down at his feet, pausing for a moment. "Still, temples are maintained by the donations of those who are moved to donate," Miroku said. "And Chiya and her family have always been generous in their donations."

InuYasha put the other bucket in the water. "Especially Chiya."

Miroku looked at InuYasha, studying the hanyou's face. "I was raised in a temple. This is how I know to make my way in the world. But . . . but . . . did I trade Sango's happiness for an extra bowl of rice?"


	145. Chapter 145

_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 145**

For a moment, InuYasha stared at Miroku, who looked at him expectantly. The hanyou's face moved from surprise at the monk's question, to irritation, as his lips drew down to a solid scowl and his eyebrows knitted together.

"No you don't, Bouzu," he said. "You're not going to use me that way. I'm not here to make you feel better about yourself." InuYasha glared. "Why are you asking me? Go find someone who understands living in a village, not the hanyou who spent most of his life being chased away from people." He stepped into the stream, ready to pick up the water bucket.

Miroku wilted for a moment and dropped his head. "Why am I asking you? Because you're my friend," the monk said. He picked a new spring leaf off of a shrub he was standing next to. He straightened his shoulders and smiled sadly at his friend, before dropping his eyes again as he twirled the leaf in his fingers. His voice grew soft and questioning. "And I need to understand this. I've done what I can to give Sango and my children a good life. But . . . " Taking a deep breath, he let his words drift off.

InuYasha, still standing in the water, turned away from the bucket to look at Miroku. He crossed his arms, stuffing his hands into his sleeves. "I'm not the person to ask," InuYasha said. "I don't understand any of that stuff you do. Or really, why people even listen to you. I've seen you in action too often."

"I know sometimes you think I'm just hustling people," Miroku said, dropping the leaf and glancing at his friend. The look the hanyou gave him confirmed his assumption, but the monk shook his head. "It's not that simple, although I cannot say I haven't sometimes used my position to my advantage."

The hanyou snorted.

"That was probably deserved. Still," Miroku said, tilting his head and scratching the back of his neck, "it's supposed to be for the good of their souls. And this is how monks have always done it, since the days of the Buddha. We're supposed to give them the chance to get good karma from supporting the Buddha's work, and help them with their sorrows and hurts, and it's supposed to make us humble and compassionate towards those who support us. Together, as one, we are supposed to work for the salvation of all." He sighed. "At least, that's how Mushin taught me."

"Compassionate, eh?" InuYasha said. "Is that what you call it?" He shook his head. "Seen some mighty rich monks over the years, while the peasants who fed them were mighty hungry."

"I did say supposed to," Miroku said.

InuYasha shrugged. "I guess."

Miroku's face grew serious and his eyes stern. "You know I've never taken advantage of the village."

"Keh," the hanyou said. "I know. You're not like that damn yamabushi was, hustling people and leaving them worse off than before. Even so, you're the one who's got to live in your own skin. If you think you've been doing the right thing, why are you bugging me?"

Miroku sighed. "Right now . . . my skin is feeling, well, a little uncomfortable." He looked down at the ground and scuffed his sandal back and forth, like a child who was being called down and scolded. "Did I step over the line? I knew Sango was lonely. Remember, I told you about it the day after Kagome came back?" ,

"I remember," the hanyou said. His ear flicked at the sound of a bird flying overhead. "You thought it was because she was trained as a taijiya, and she and the other women were uncomfortable with each other. She hides it pretty damn well. I didn't realize it until told me." Bending down, he picked up the full bucket.

"She's the one who thought that," Miroku said, nodding. He gave the hanyou a sad, thin smile. "She does hide it well, but there were moments . . . She would see women laughing together and I could see the longing in her face. We talked about it a few times. I even tried to get her involved in a few things, like the sewing parties at Fujime-sama's house a while back." He shook his head. "She didn't tell me exactly what happened at them, but I knew she felt uncomfortable about even trying after a while. And now I find out that . . . that woman . . . had been trying to make Sango think she wasn't welcome."

"She didn't tell you who was making her feel bad?" InuYasha said, stepping out of the stream.

.

Miroku sighed. "Sango never wanted to talk much about it, and only asked me to stop trying to get her to do things with the village women. She claimed she was too busy, but I never quite believed that. She only mentioned Chiya saying something about how she made the women uneasy once." He looked up at his friend. "But the names she did tell me, now that I think about it, were women who tend to be in Chiya's circle."

"Feh." InuYasha picked up the first bucket where it sat beside the stream. "And I thought you kept up on the gossip." He began moving back toward the house.

"Unfair, InuYasha," Miroku said, frowning. "It's not like I was hearing talk about it. Don't you think I would have done something? Sango said Hisa-sama and the other women didn't realize it either. Why should I be the one who figured it all out?"

InuYasha stopped for a moment, and gave Miroku a hard look. "Maybe because Sango's your wife, and you have more reason to care," the hanyou said. "And you live with her."

"I do care," Miroku said. He grabbed his friend's sleeve, which jostled the bucket InuYasha was carrying in that hand. "You know that. Don't tell me I don't. I tried to ease her way."

InuYasha put the buckets down, but didn't say anything, and merely crossed his arms.

The monk took this as a cue to continue. "There was always something going on. Getting the temple built. Funerals. Our own work. And then the children. Somehow, the fact she was spending most of her time up here or with me just . . . " He tried to think of something, but shook his head. "You didn't even realize it until I told you."

"I'm not married to her, either," InuYasha replied.

"I don't think Kagome-sama would be happy with you if you were." Miroku's lips curled up in a bitter, sad grin. "I doubt if I would be, either."

InuYasha ignored the monk's attempt at humor and took a deep breath, his scowl softening as he let it out. "Go home and talk to Sango," he said. "This ought to be between you two, not you and me. I can't wave Tessaiga in the air and all of a sudden make you feel right. This isn't some youkai to take down." He picked his buckets back up. "Kagome's fixing dinner, and it's been a hard day. I just want to go inside, eat and talk to my own wife. You should do the same."

He gave the monk one last look before turning around and heading into the house. "But if even the women didn't figure it out, maybe you're kicking yourself too hard. Still, if I were you, I'd stay far away from that bitch."

The monk nodded. "I intend to."

With a curt nod, InuYasha moved onto the verandah, put down the buckets of water, and went inside.

Miroku sighed once again. "Maybe you have a point friend. Maybe you do." Taking a long, deep breath, he turned and went down the path.

While Miroku and InuYasha talked, the small group of women in front of Kimi's house gathered around as first Kimi, and then Kaede walked inside, quickly followed by Koume and Fujime.

Chiya lay curled up on a mat in the corner of the house against the farthest wall. It was obvious that she had been crying, even if the women hadn't been there to hear her outpouring. Her hair was unkempt and her head scarf had come off sometime during her tirade. The neckline of her kosode had slipped a bit, as if she had been tugging on her clothes during all of this. There were scratches on her cheeks as well. She was still not out of tears. Even as the women walked in, she sobbed quietly to herself.

After the door mat rattled closed behind Fujime, she took a deep breath and slowly sat up. Finding her scarf, she dabbed at her eyes with the cloth, gaining some control as she turned toward the women. That done, she pulled the neckline of her kosode back into place, and sat up with as much dignity as she could muster. Her nose and eyes were very red, and she had bright blotches on her cheeks from her outbursts, above and beyond the scratches, but she didn't look like a woman who was feeling defeated as she looked at the four newcomers. Instead, her eyes were angry.

She twisted the scarf in her hands. "I'm surprised there aren't more of you. Come to gloat?" she said. "'Let's go look at Chiya, the woman whose own father didn't have a place for her?'" She turned to Kimi. "You're the one who invited me here. I thought you were my friend, to offer me sanctuary when my own family wouldn't, but you invited these people in?"

"I am your friend," Kimi said, stepping barefoot onto the raised wooden floor. "That's why I sent for Kaede-sama. Fujime-okaasan and Koume-okaasan came because they were concerned, not because they wanted to gloat."

Koume coughed, covering her mouth, but kept her face neutral. Kimi gave her a sharp look, but said nothing.

"How are you doing, child?" Kaede said, as she slipped off her sandals and stepped up on the raised wooden floor.

"How do you think I feel?" Chiya said, glaring at the old miko. "If you had never let those people use our village . . . "

"Those people had a destiny that was tied here," Kaede said, refusing to react to the woman's anger. Instead, she merely sat down next to her. "We have been over this before. It was what I was supposed to do. I'm here to see if I can help you." She sat her basket next to her and reached for Chiya's wrist.

Chiya pulled away, not willing to let the miko touch her. "Help? Everything started to fall apart when you let them in the village. Now I'm . . . How would you feel if you were ripped from your family because . . . because of that . . . " She covered her face with her hands.

"Oh, I know very well what that feels like," Kaede said. "First I lost my parents, and later, my sister was taken away from me. Youkai were involved with that, too. Or did you forget what happened to Ane-ue? These were the people who avenged her for me."

The distraught woman had no words to reply to that, and instead, picked up the scarf in her lap and began to twist it again.

Kaede took a long breath, shook her head, and turned to Kimi. "We need some hot water. The herbs I brought need to be made into a tea."

Kimi nodded and moved to the fire pit where she put a kettle on to heat.

"So you plan on dosing me with the same thing you gave Haha-ue to get her under your control?" Chiya said.

"I only gave her medicine to help her rest," Kaede said. Her voice was touched with the almost exasperated tone an adult has when explaining things to a rebellious child. "I can assure you, she's far from under my control." She grabbed for Chiya's wrist again, and this time, Chiya let her fatigue show and sighed as the miko wrapped her hand around her wrist, feeling her pulse.

"Or anybody's, if you ask me," Fujime said, stepping up onto the platform. Koume followed her up.

Chiya looked at the knot of women, the fire going out of her eyes. "I'm too tired to fight any more. I've been fighting all afternoon," she said, hanging her head down. "Do with me what you want."

"I want to help you get better, so we can figure out what to do tomorrow," Kaede replied.

"As do we all," Kimi said.

"A good night's rest will help you most of all right now," Kaede said. "Your pulse says you are definitely in need." She picked up her basket and began going through the medicines she brought.

While Kaede selected from her herbs, Fujime moved next to her daughter-in-law. "Kimi-chan, I'll fix the dinner for you. I suspect you'll have your hands full."

"That would be lovely, Okaa-san," Kimi said, nodding, poking the fire with a stick. "You're sure you don't mind having the children stay with you right now?"

"Not at all, dear," Fujime said, sitting down next to her daughter-in-law. "And if they make your otou too nervous . . . "

"Then they can spend the night with me," Koume said, joining the two women. "You know your father. Nothing rattles him."

Chiya pulled her hand away from Kaede again, covered her face, and began to sob. "But who is going to take care of my children tonight?"

"Perhaps you should have thought of that earlier," Koume muttered.


	146. Chapter 146

_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 146**

The door mat rattled shut as InuYasha walked back into the house. Kagome looked up from her cooking, and didn't like the tenseness she saw in how her husband was carrying himself, or the look on his face.

She gave him a gentle smile as she bent over the fire to see how done the rabbit she was grilling was. "I heard voices outside. Who were you talking to?" Kagome asked. "Everything all right?"

He nodded. "I guess. It was just Miroku," the hanyou said. Moving gracefully in an easy glide that did nothing to relieve the sense of aggravation he was radiating, he walked over to the firewood cradle and picked up several pieces. Hopping up on the raised floor, he walked over to the opposite side of the fire pit from Kagome, where he added them neatly on the stack he kept there, his eyes, rather broody, avoiding hers.

"Do you think it's going to get cold tonight? That looks like a lot of wood," she said.

"No. Just wanted to make sure there was enough." He grabbed one of the big kettles. "I could start heating the bath water."

"If you want to," Kagome said, "Although it is a little early. You might want to wait until the soup is done. There'd be more room. It won't be that much longer."

"Feh." He put the pot down.

She lifted a lid off the soup pot, and added a small handful of vegetables. "It was a hard afternoon. I hope Sango's doing all right."

InuYasha shrugged. "I don't know. Miroku didn't mention how she's doing."

She looked into the pot, and added the rest of her chopped vegetables. "I wonder if Daitaro has any more mushrooms. That was the last of them."

"We can ask, I guess." His right ear twitched.

"So what did Miroku come over for?" Kagome said. "I hope he wasn't trying to get you to go back to his temple."

"No," the hanyou replied. He picked up a stick, and poked at the fire. "He's just trying to figure stuff out. The things Chiya did - he really didn't expect any of that. Although how someone as nosy as he is, missed it . . . "

"It sounds like a lot of people missed it. He's not the only one," Kagome said. She tasted the soup, frowned, and turning, added a pinch of some dried herbs to the mixture. "A lot of people will be trying to figure things out tonight. Michio-sama, Tsuneo-sama, Hisa-obaasan . . . "

"What about you? It sounds like she threw some ugly your way, too," InuYasha asked, throwing the stick in the fire and moving next to his wife. "You trying to figure things out, too?"

Kagome reached out and touched InuYasha's head. "I'm just trying to figure out how someone can act like Chiya did." She gave the soup a stir, a taste, then put the lid back on. "That's better."

"Don't ask me." InuYasha shook his head as he stuffed his hands in his sleeves. "Even trying to think about it makes my head hurt. I'm tired of trying to figure people out."

Kagome gave him a sympathetic nod, then turned back to her work table and began slicing some pickles.

"Figuring people out is hard work." She looked over her shoulder, to catch his nod, and then took a long slow breath as she tried to figure out how to shake the withdrawn mood he was settling down into. An eyebrow went up as she thought of something.

"I say we don't think about it any more tonight. I'd rather not have a person like Chiya be with us at dinner time."

"Feh," InuYasha said. "She's not ever coming here."

"She is if you're still thinking about her." Kagome stopped her slicing, and picked up a piece of pickle and handed it to her husband.

He lifted an eyebrow at the offering, took it, and popped it into his mouth. "Maybe you have a point."

"I know I do," she said, returning to her cooking. "I can think of other things I'd much rather do this evening."

The tone of her voice caught his attention, and he got the slightest touch of a smile."So what you would rather do this evening instead of talking about that bitch?"

"Eat dinner, take a nice bath," she said. She wiped her hands and moved a little closer to him.

InuYasha pulled her close, nesting her head under his chin. "Anything else?"

"Oh maybe," Kagome said, leaning into his hold. She let her hand rest on his thigh. "But only if it's just me and you."

As InuYasha let Kagome improve his mood, Tameo patted Tsuneo on the back. "So friend, are we ready to get this plan started?"

The men were walking up the hill toward the temple. Tsuneo looked at the village headman. "You're sure Kisoi agreed to this?"

Daitaro offered Tsuneo a drink from his bottle. The elder shook his head. The old farmer shrugged, took a tiny sip, and stoppered the jug."You heard him, man," Daitaro said. "He liked the deal. Living down in the house near the river's a lot better place than that shack he shares with his woman Nana and their kids. Give us time to fix his place back up. He liked that part a lot."

"And enough rice to make it through the year won't hurt. This way he won't have to hustle extra jobs from me and Toshiro to make ends meet," Tameo said, nodding. "I've tried to bring him in as one of my hands, but he's a proud man. Even though he can't make enough to support himself on his little bit of land, he doesn't want to go that route. But this . . . it's paid work. He gets to keep his pride."

Daitaro nodded. "And with three boys the right age, maybe we can keep that man-child entertained enough until we figure out what to do with him."

"You think there's anything we can do with him?" Tsuneo said.

"Well, the kami wanted us to do this, so there has to be some good from it," Tameo said, scratching the back of his neck. "Don't know what, but he's never been very capricious. Something'll work out. Besides, it'll get him out of your woman's hair."

Tsuneo took a deep breath, nodding. "That alone will be worth something. I just hope Kisoi knows what he's getting into. And that his wife won't squawk too much."

"Or that daughter of yours," Tameo said, giving his companion a sympathetic look.

Tsuneo rolled his eyes and shook his head. "Oh, she'll squawk," he said. "She's always been a great one for that. But until or if Michio changes her mind, she won't have a lot of choices. Until Haname-chan is better, there's no way she's coming under my roof. Those two are like flint and steel even when they both feel well."

"True, true," Daitaro said. He picked up his jug, looking thoughtfully at it, sighed, and shook his head, letting it drop back into place.

"That's why we'll be sending other people around every day to check on things. Maybe it'll keep the peace," Tameo said

The group fell quiet for a moment as they neared the work site. They could hear hammer blows as they grew closer. Ryota barked some command that was impossible to make out, but whatever it was, it was followed with laughter.

"Not quite done yet, from the sound of it," Daitaro said. "Still, sounds like they're having a good time. But I bet Susumu really won't mind being pried loose a little early."

Tameo laughed. "You're probably right about that one."

Back at Kimi's house, Chiya faced a group of not nearly as amused women.

"What did you say?" Chiya asked, glaring at Koume. She got to her feet. "You think I don't really care about my children, Koume-obasan? You think I planned this afternoon?"

"Chiya," Kimi said, "please sit down."

The angry woman ignored her. "I didn't plan any of this. It's not my fault that . . . those people were at Hisa-obasan's sewing party. What was she thinking? It's not my fault that . . . that white haired freak was at the temple. How dare a youkai show up at a holy place!"

Everybody but Kaede also got up. The old miko continued working on her medicine, although she did glance up.

Koume, though, was not so placid. "I'm tired of this, woman. You've brought this on yourself."

Chiya moved around the fire pit to stand in front of the older woman. "I did what?" She held her fists clasped in front of her body. It looked like she didn't know if she wanted to strike out or cover her face, and instead, just clasped them.

The old woman was not intimidated. "It's not our fault you decided to insult everybody you had the chance to this afternoon either. Even after what happened, you're still doing it. What were you thinking of, insulting the wife of the village headman in her own house?"

"She shouldn't have had that . . . monk's woman there!" Chiya said, dropping her arms. "It's a scandal!"

The older woman took a deep breath, and suddenly her face dropped whatever shreds of politeness she had left, and she leaned forward, wagging her finger like she was scolding a child. "That is enough out of you, woman," she said, taking a step closer."What's more of a scandal, that we have a happily married monk where we had nobody nearby to do the Buddha's work, or we have a woman who has children only six or seven years younger than he is fawning all over him every chance she gets?" She held her hands in front of her in a supplicant position, the way a person making an offering would, rocking side to side in mockery. "Houshi-sama, this. Houshi-sama, that. Please, Houshi-sama, have some rice cakes. Sorry I didn't make enough for your family. Please, Houshi-sama, I'm so sad. Here's a bottle of sake. Please chant the sutra for me. Please, please, please, pay attention to me!" She shifted posture, crossing her arms. "How dare you complain!"

Fujime and Kimi, shocked, pulled at Koume's arms. Chiya, shocked, just stood there, open-mouthed.

"Okaa!" Kimi said. "Please! Isn't it bad enough now?"

"But it's true, Kimi-chan," Koume said, shaking off her daughter. "Everybody in the village knows it. We've been talking about it for a long time now. And now we find out she's been doing everything she can to make his wife miserable." Her eyes narrowed, she crossed her arms in front of her. "And you call Sango-chan a scandal? Your husband should have kicked you out months ago."


	147. Chapter 147

_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 147**

At Miroku's temple, Susumu peeked over the roof ridge, a location that had a clear view of the path down the hill. A lone figure was walking up the trail.

"Hey, Eiji, is that the monk?" he called down to the ground, where Eiji was packing a basketful of nails to the workers on the other side.

Eiji looked around and then up at the roof. "Where?"

"Coming from his house," Susumu said. He pointed in the direction with his hammer.

"You gonna work, or you going to play lookout?" Shinjiro said. He was near the roof ridge himself, closing in on finishing his section of work. Positioning a cedar shingle, he nailed it into place.

"Knowing Susumu . . . " Genjo, Shinjiro's younger brother said, grinning.

"I just wanted to know," the village guard said. He grabbed a shingle and got back to work.

"Yeah, that's him," Eiji said. As he spoke, Miroku cleared the last bit of brush that lined the pathway and stepped into the temple clearing, head bowed and chin on hand, looking deep in thought.

"Hey, Ryota," Eiji said, moving to the other side of the building as he shifted his basket and moved on. "Houshi-sama's back."

Ryota, standing on the roof, checking some completed work, looked up. "Good. Must mean things are under control with the women," he said, and began moving toward the ladder.

Miroku took a quick glance at the roof as he moved onto the grounds. Although there were scattered bits of shingle and board on the ground, the roofing itself was mostly done. Even the place where InuYasha had fallen through was patched and now reshingled, although the debris the hanyou had scattered when he landed was still scattered around.

"You think his woman crisis is over?" Shinjiro, watching the monk and how he moved, asked Susumu. He scooted up to the roof ridge himself to keep watching.

"Hmm," the village guard said, as they both watched the somber figure. "I guess. It must be, or at least enough for him to come back." Susumu moved back to his work, and tapped a nail into a shingle. "He doesn't look very happy, though."

"I'd say," Shinjiro replied.

Genjo pulled himself up to the ridge. "Wonder what happened? I guess we'll find out soon enough. Between Mariko and Erime-chan, someone will spill the beans."

"Or Emi," Susumu said. He glanced over at Shinjiro. "And if the women hold out on us, I bet your otousan will get all the news out of him."

"You're probably right about that," Shinjiro said. "Houshi-sama likes to talk, and Chichi-ue can be very good at finding out things." He looked over the edge of the roof, where Isamu was walking by. "Could you pass up some nails? Eiji was supposed to have put them down by the ladder," he asked the man. "I'd like to get this done before midnight."

"Wouldn't we all?" Isamu said, and handed up the nail bag.

Ignoring the chatter, Miroku wandered to the spot where Yaya, Isamu's wife, was manning the tea pot in Kimi's place.

Seeing the look on his face, she gave him a sympathetic look as he neared, which he returned with the faintest wisp of a smile. "Ah, Houshi-sama," she said, holding up her pot. "Would you like a cup?"

The monk nodded. "Please."

"They are getting quite along in the work," she said, handing him a cup. "Is InuYasha-sama going to return this evening?"

"I don't think so," Miroku said, sipping his tea. "I believe he's had enough of people for one day."

"Considering what happened," Yaya said, nodding, "I'm not surprised. I would be too, I think, if I were in his place. I am sorry Chiya-chan caused such a problem today. Since all that happened with her mother, she's . . . " Her voice dropped off. Looking at how distracted Miroku seemed, she suddenly found tending the fire under the hot water something that needed her attention.

"When a fish meets a fish hook," Miroku said, softly. "If he is too greedy, he will be caught."

"Excuse me, Houshi-sama?" Yaya said, looking up at him, with her head turned.

Miroku took a sip of his tea, and shook his head. "I was just remembering something my old teacher said once. It doesn't matter."

Yaya decided to change the subject. "I certainly hope Kimi knows what she was doing, taking Chiya-chan home. Chiya can be . . . difficult when she's like this. Are you going to go talk to her about what happened?"

Miroku shook his head. "No, not today. I...well, I suspect it would be bad karma for the both of us. Maybe tomorrow, or the day afterwards."

"I...I can understand that. It can be hard to keep one's mindfulness when there's a lot of emotion running," Yaya said.

"A lot of emotion, yes," Miroku said. He took a deep breath, half-closed his eyes as if he were meditating, and let it out very slowly. Looking at Yaya, he gave her a sad, regretful smile. "Today, perhaps I am like the man who carrying a lit lantern, searched the night for a fire."

"Houshi-sama?" Yaya asked.

"I'm afraid I would take her to task in a way that would not be good for her soul, and so not much of a dharma lesson at all. As you say, mindfulness is hard when you are full of emotion. Even for monks." He swallowed the last of his tea and noticed that Ryota was waving at him. Handing her the cup, he stood up. "Thank you, Yaya-sama. Ryota-sama seems to be wanting my attention. You make very good tea."

Yaya looked at him with a pleased smile, but with concern and watched him walk off.

Ryota began heading toward the monk, but before he could get there, Chiya's husband Michio walked up.

"Ah, Houshi-sama," Michio said. "I hope everything was all right with your wife."

Miroku turned, surprised to see the man. Michio, standing in front of him, shifted from foot to foot and although his hands were clasped, his thumbs twirled around each other nervously.

"She seems to be doing better," Miroku said.

"Good, good," Michio said.

For a brief moment each of them stood there, echoing pain to each other, neither quite sure of what to say.

"Michio-sama, I -" Miroku started, bowing slightly

"Houshi-sama, I -" the older man said, simultaneously.

Ryota, watching both the men, stopped what he was doing. "I think you two need to take turns. It works better that way."

For some reason, this made both men laugh. It was not a mirthful laugh, but something bitter, especially for Michio, who did not stop laughing until he was on his knees and his laughter had turned to tears. He covered his face with his hands in shame, then taking a deep breath, wiped his eyes on his sleeve. Miroku knelt down next to the man.

Slowly Michio gained his composure. "Today started out beautifully. I walked out this morning and weeded the garden," he said. "Chiya picked some mizuna to fix with breakfast, and after we ate, she chased me out so she could start cooking for lunch. My son and I went out to work on the soybeans, and I left him there so I could . . . could come help here."

He looked at the monk. Miroku could see where the tear tracks had run down his cheeks. Suddenly, Michio threw himself on the ground like a supplicant. "I ask your forgiveness, Houshi-sama, for the rudeness of my wife. I had no idea she was going to make today such an unauspicious occasion. I...she's so headstrong, I never know what to do when she does things like this . . . "

Miroku rested a hand on the man's shoulder. "I know," he said softly. "Sometimes . . . "

"I don't know what to do," Michio said, sitting up. "Chichi-ue . . . he never wanted me to marry her. Hells, her parents never wanted us to marry, but Chiya was determined, and got them to relent so we did anyway. Perhaps I should have listened to them . . . " His voice drifted off for a moment, and then he swallowed and continued. "This is not the first time she has cost me face in front of the others." He struck the ground with his fist. "I can't take her back right now, not after what she did in front of everybody. Her otousan can't take her in yet. But I can't just leave her homeless." He stared into Miroku's face, hoping for answers. "I don't know what I ought to do."

A shadow fell over the two men. They looked up to see Tameo, Tsuneo and Daitaro standing in front of them. Daitaro fiddled with his sake jug, and Tsuneo looked almost as unhappy as Michio. Tameo, though, gave the two men a sympathetic look.

"You don't know what to do with that wife of yours?" the headman asked. "Well, don't worry. I think we have the perfect plan."

While the men encircled Michio, a different scene payed out at Kimi's house.

"Okaa," Kimi said, still shocked at her mother's outburst. "Please . . . "

"Please what?" Koume said. Her face was set, stony in its certainty, and her eyes adamant. "Please lie? Please pretend Chiya didn't make her own bed hard by being jealous of the monk's wife?"

Fujime, rested a hand on her friend's shoulder as she watched Chiya just stand there, mouth open, hands clasping and unclasping, shock on her face. "Even so . . . "

Kaede, having sorted her herbs, stood up, looking at each of the women in turn. She moved next to Kimi. "Kimi-chan," she asked, her voice calm and almost shocking in its calm after Koume's tirade, "is the water hot? I am thinking perhaps we all could use a dose of this medicine. This is a stressful situation."

Kimi didn't even look at the fire. "Not quite, Kaede-obaasan," the younger woman said, not yet ready to leave her place beside Chiya. "In a little bit, I think."

Chiya swallowed hard. "Stressful, Kaede-obaasan? Stressful? Is that what you would call it?" She shifted, taking a step forward towards Koume.

Kimi grabbed her by the arm. "Chiya-chan, no . . . "

"You might be the blacksmith's wife, Koume, but you can't talk to me that way!" Chiya hissed, trying to shake off Kimi's hold.

"Oh? And why not?" Koume said. She pulled away from Fujime. "If it's true, it's true. You should be glad I'm not going to go find that poor husband of yours. You don't think he's noticed how you fawn all over Houshi-sama? Wait until I tell him how you've been trying to chase the monk's wife away. We know all about your little scheme, and even the names of the women you used to help." She gave Chiya a small, but fierce smile. "It's only the fact that this would most certainly get back to your mother is the only thing holding me back. What happened up on the hill is going to be enough scandal for her. Poor Haname-chan does not deserve this right now."

This stopped Chiya in mid stride, and the color drained out of her face. "You wouldn't . . . "

Koume lifted her head high and gave Chiya a look that told her just how willing she was to do just what she threatened. "Keep acting this way, woman, and watch. Or you could just agree that it is time to grow up and practice some of the teachings that Kimi-chan and the monk have told you about, instead of pretending." She turned to her daughter. "I'm sorry, Kimi-chan, but we cannot all be the goddess of mercy."

Kimi nodded, but didn't say anything, merely looked at her mother and at Chiya and sighed.

"Come on, Fujime-chan, we have things to do," Koume said. "We have children we haven't forgotten about to feed." She turned around and began to walk toward the door.

Before she could take three steps, Chiya collapsed to the floor, and began to wail.

"The water's hot now, I think," Kimi said, and moved toward the fire pit.


	148. Chapter 148

_I do not own InuYasha or any character created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 148**

Kagome, giving InuYasha a heavy-lidded, sultry look, unwound herself from her husband's hold, and bending low to tend the fire under the soup, got back to fixing their dinner.

InuYasha watched Kagome stir the soup. He watched her lift the cover off the soup pot and the appetizing smells of what in it hit his nose as the steam billowed out, sharpening his appetite.

"You want another slice of pickle?" she asked, checking the meat they were going to have with the meal. She picked up the dish with the pickle slices and lifted it in his direction. "I think it's going to be a few more minutes."

InuYasha nodded and took a slice, and watched as she continued her preparations. His ear flicked and he leaned forward, resting his chin on one hand. With a skill that surprised him knowing how few days she had been doing it, she pulled the rice to the side and shoved it away from the flames to finish cooking. He got up, and leaned his sword against the wall, rolled his shoulders and stretched.

"Are you all right?" Kagome asked, looking up.

"Just a little stiff," InuYasha said. "Funny how falling off a roof can do that to you."

"I don't think I really want to experience that one myself," she said.

He nodded as he watched Kagome mix soy sauce and something together to put over their meat. "I don't think I want you to, either. I don't think your body's made for that."

"I think you're right," she replied. Taking her dish of sauce, she began to drizzle some on the meat she had cooking on skewers.

Suddenly, and for no reason he could really put a finger on, he felt penned in. He took a deep breath. "Got enough time for me to chop some wood?" he asked.

"If you want to," Kagome said. She studied his face. "I thought I had you ready to stop thinking about all the craziness today." She brushed a stray bit of hair out of her face. "I guess it didn't work."

He gave his wife a sheepish look. "I thought I was, too. I just keep thinking. Maybe I should have said something different to Miroku."

Kagome stood up walked over to the kitchen cabinet where she took out the dishes she was going to serve dinner in. "What did you two talk about?" she asked. "I thought you told me he was trying to figure something out."

"Yeah, that's what he said. He was wondering if he had been . . . well, maybe greedy isn't the right word, but . . . " InuYasha's ear twitched as he grasped for the right word.

"He was wondering if maybe he shouldn't have let Chiya donate so much?" Kagome asked, setting the dishes down on her work table. Next she got their dinner trays out.

"I guess," the hanyou said. "I think he was feeling guilty or something."

Kagome shook her head. "I doubt he has anything to feel guilty about. Chiya seems perfectly capable of manipulating things the way she wants. Kind of reminds me of how that kid Aki is, but grown up."

InuYasha snorted, at first amused, but then looked thoughtful at Kagome. "She is his aunt. You think it runs in the family, being a jerk like that?"

Kagome took the lid off the rice and began dipping it into bowls. She turned to him and shrugged. "It does sometimes. I've seen it before. But it may have more to do with how they've been raised."

"That whole family seems screwy, if you ask me," InuYasha said. "Maybe not Tsuneo, but look at'em . . . Haname, Joben, Chiya. And Aki, too. Only that brat's sister and Isao seem to have decent heads."

She put the rice bowls on their trays, and lifted the lid off the soup pot. "I suspect Akina and Amaya have had some influence. But that can only go so far." Ladling soup into one bowl, she paused before putting it down on InuYasha's tray. "So, what did you tell him?"

"I told him he should talk to Sango," InuYasha said, scratching the back of his neck.

"That's not bad advice," Kagome said, filling the soup bowls. "Why are you worried about what you told him?"

"Uh," InuYasha said, suddenly finding his hands rather interesting. "I sort of suggested that maybe he wasn't paying enough attention to what was going on with Sango not fitting in."

"Really?" Kagome frowned, pulling the skewers of meat out of the heat of the fire. "Do you really think he could have figured out what was going on? All the women seemed to be surprised." She spooned some of the soy sauce she had prepared over the meat, and divided it between each tray.

"Hell if I know," InuYasha said. "He was acting all guilty like what was going on was his fault. He's the one who knew Sango was lonely." He shook his head. "But mostly, I was just ticked off that he came and dumped all that on me." InuYasha looked up at Kagome. "What do I know about this stuff?"

Kagome sighed. "It can be hard to know what to say when things like this come up," she said.

"Keh," he said, "He's the one who listens to all the gossip. I didn't even realize she felt shut out until he told me so."

She moved his tray in front of him. "You can go talk to him about it if you feel you shouldn't have said something." She looked at the dish of pickles she was about to hand him, and added one more slice. "You did tell him to work things out with Sango. That's probably the thing he needs to do most."

"I guess," InuYasha said. "I'm not the guy to tell him if he's being too greedy or not."

"He asked you that?" Kagome said, rather surprised, handing InuYasha his chopsticks.

The hanyou picking up his soup bowl nodded, right before he took a sip. Kagome started laughing. "What?" he asked, putting the soup bowl down.

"It's just that . . . " She put her own soup bowl down before she could spill it, and covered her mouth with her hand. "It's just that if he asked you if he was too greedy . . . " She took a deep breath. "We all know what you think about that. You're the last person he should have asked."

InuYasha smiled. "Yeah. He must have really been feeling guilty to do that." His smile faded as a thought struck him. "You think he wanted me to chew him out?"

Kagome, picking up a pickle slice, chewed it thoughtfully. "You know," she said, "sometimes I wondered about Miroku. Like all those times he got Sango mad at him, like he liked her to slap him. I used to wonder if he wants to get punished sometimes."

InuYasha gave his head a quick shake. "Then why did he ask me, and not Sango?"

She picked up her rice bowl. "Maybe he thought you'd be safer. He's got to live with Sango."

"You have a point," InuYasha said. "After seeing how she was when she was carrying the twins, I suspect he's really careful about things like that anymore." He picked up a meat skewer, and continued to eat his dinner.

At Miroku's temple, the monk was not thinking about his guilt or innocence, or even Sango for the moment. Instead, he was looking up at the group of elders - Tameo looking rather pleased with himself and waiting for Michio's reaction, Daitaro, glancing over at the temple, looking for his sons, and Tsuneo, looking at his son-in-law with a face as sad and as drawn as the younger man.

Miroku stood up, straightening his robes as he did. "A plan, Dono?" he asked.

Eiji dropped what he was doing to move next to Ryota. "One I hope doesn't involve my household long term?" he asked. "I don't mind my dear wife helping for a day or two . . . " He looked at Michio and then Tsuneo, his eyes both apologetic but certain. "I'm sorry, but you understand."

Tsuneo nodded. "Letting Kimi take her home at all . . . " He gave the younger man a small resigned twist of his lips. "You're a good man, Eiji-sama."

"Well, we can't just leave Chiya to wander from house to house while she and Michio here figure out how to reconcile their differences," Tameo said, nodding at the seated man

"Is there anything that can be reconciled?" Michio said, standing up slowly. He dusted his hands off on his thighs and looked at his father-in law. "Are you in on this too, Tsuneo-otousan?"

"I helped put it together, if that's what you mean," Tsuneo said. He rested a hand on Michio's shoulder. "We need to do something. We'd like you to agree to it. It'd help matters."

Michio looked at Tsuneo doubtfully, and crossed his arms. "So what is it that you're planning? Where are you planning on putting her?"

"You mentioned it earlier," Tsuneo said.

Knitting his brows together, Michio frowned while he thought. "The house by the river? With that crazy man who thinks he's a child? You would do that to your own daughter? Leave her alone with him?" Instead of sad, his face grew stony. "I said that out of anger. You can't be serious."

"Do you think a woman like Chiya could handle a man who acts like a six-year old having a tantrum?" Miroku said. "That sounds rather . . . " The monk scratched the back of his neck. "Impossible. Even if she didn't get hurt, she wouldn't be able to slow him down if he ran."

"We're not idiots, Houshi-sama," Tameo said. "And rest assured, Michio, we have every intention of keeping her safe." Michio took a deep breath and gave the headman a terse nod.

Miroku raised his hands. "I never meant to insinuate . . . "

"He's a handful, all right," Daitaro said. "That's why we came up with this idea. She won't ever be alone with him."

"She won't, huh?" Susumu said, joining the others after escaping the roof. "So, Otousan, what have you cooked up?"

"We've hired Kisoi and his family to move in there with her," Tameo said. "You know how big he is."

"And how many children he has," Michio said. "Chiya-chan's not going to like that. She barely can stand her own."

"Michio!" Yaya said, shocked by that comment.

He looked at the woman, still sitting by her tea making things. He gave her a woebegone shake of the head. "Oh, you haven't seen her when she gets the headache. The children know better than to make a sound when she's like that."

"It doesn't matter what she likes," Tsuneo said. "She won't have much choice. She can stay there or run off."

"We have agreed. None of the other households will be allowed to take her in until we lift the ban," Tameo said. "We would allow you, Michio, of course, since you're her husband."

The aggrieved husband gave a bitter laugh. "What choices - me or the crazy man? I'm not sure which one is crazier. Me if I let her come home."

"It'll get better. This will give you time to save face, and her to consider things, maybe," Susumu said. He wrapped his arm around Michio's shoulder. "Give it some time." He looked up at his father. "What about Joben?"

"Oh, Joben will have to go for a starter," Tameo said. "I hear Morio is rather obsessed with not letting him out of his sight."

"Like a rock around his neck," Tsuneo said.

"So, Michio, will you work with us?" Tameo asked.

Michio shrugged. "What choices do I have? Not much. Do what you think fit." Shaking his head once more, he walked toward the far side of the temple.

Ryota watched him go. He nudged Eiji. "Go follow him, man. It's one thing if InuYasha-sama falls off a roof, but with the way Michio is feeling, he might do it in a more permanent way."

Eiji nodded, and trotted after the unhappy husband.

Ryota turned back to the men. "That's going to be one really happy household," he said, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "Joben and Chiya. They've fought like cats and dogs since they were small. And the crazy man. Did Emma-O inspire you so you could help those three work off their time in hell?" He shook his head. "I'm getting back to work. We might just finish before sunset if we hurry. Coming, Susumu?"

"I'm afraid I need him," Tameo said. "We're going down to tell Chiya. Official business."

Ryota shuddered. "Better you than me. I think I'll take roof ridges any day." And with a final shake of his head, he turned back to hurry the work party along.


	149. Chapter 149

_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 149**

Miroku walked up the path to his home. He looked at it thoughtfully as he neared. It was larger than a number of other houses in the village, thatched and not board-roofed. It even had sliding doors instead of a door mat. He had heard the gossip in the village, wondering why the headman had made sure a monk had such a fine house to live in.

"It's not about me," he muttered. "It's for them - Sango and the children. Isn't it?" He took a deep breath and contemplated his motivation as he drew nearer.

Smoke from the fire pit escaped through the roof vent, beckoning him invitingly. "I know I could live in just a shack, or even under a tree. I have done it enough when necessary. So why am I feeling guilty? Even InuYasha has a house. Is it wrong that it's a good one?" His foot hit a small rock, which skittered across the path and into the grass alongside of the road. "Well, Tameo wanted him to have one, just like he wanted me to. It was his decision that it was built this well. He said he wanted to honor the Buddha." He sighed. "Maybe I could have talked him into something a bit less grand. Still, I wanted the best for Sango, and he offered. Was that greed?"

He sighed. A lone sheet flapped in the late afternoon breeze on the clothesline stretched between two trees. "I'm surprised Sango left this out," he said, walking up to it. The cloth was dry, and he pulled it off the line. "Although as insane as everything has been . . . "

Tossing it over his shoulder, he passed the garden on his way to the house. Still an early spring garden, mostly filled with greens and some early daikon, the young plants in it were touched by the gathering shadows of the late afternoon. It showed the attention that Sango had been putting in it, things growing neatly, some fresh weeds on the compost pile not far from it. As he grew closer, a bird that had been scratching between two plants noticed him, and with a whirr of wings and a squawk, darted over toward the trees he had just passed.

Miroku turned to watch the bird, calling impatiently as it waited for him to pass."Now what mischief have you been up to, bird? You sound like Kagome-sama used to sound when InuYasha was being particularly hardheaded. It's not really fair, you know. I'm sure I'm causing you much fewer problems than he caused her." He sighed. "And I am surely not causing you the problems I've caused others today. Be patient." The bird hopped out of sight, deeper into the tree.

Shadows covered the verandah of his house. He stepped through them and was about to slide the door open when he caught the sound of his daughters singing. He paused a moment, listening to what sounded vaguely like one he would sing to them when he was trying to get them to sleep, their high, children's voices soft and pleasant. From where he stood, he couldn't make out the words they were using. He wasn't even sure what they were singing had any real words at all, but somehow, it stirred him more than most other music.

"What am I doing to you, girls?" he murmured. "Are you going to grow up with a shadow over you because of me?"

Miroku listened for a moment more and was about to go inside, when, something caught his eye. A well-handled stick doll rested next to the door, its paint worn, and the cloth that decorated it soiled from much handling. He bent down and picked it up. "I bet if you could talk, doll, you could tell a thing or two about this afternoon," he said, turning it in his hands. "Maybe more than I'll be able to get out of my wife." He shook his head. "I shouldn't think like that, but why she didn't tell me what was going on . . . We'll need to work on that. I wish it was as easy as talking to you."

Tucking the doll into his sleeve, and feeling a bit silly for talking to his daughter's toy, Miroku slid the door open and walked into building. He didn't say anything at first, merely stood there near the entry, and took in a breath of air. "Home," he muttered, too soft to really be heard. Everything seemed perfectly normal. Oddly, after what he had been through during the day, somehow that felt a little unnerving, and instead of being relaxed by it, he felt tense. But from the looks of things, it could have been nearly any evening with him coming back from the village or the temple.

His daughters were playing near one wall of the building, stacking things up and tumbling them down, which was currently one of their favorite games. Sango was in her place by the fire pit. The air was heavy with the rich smells of the dinner that she had been making, fish and vegetables and rice. Slowly, he let out a breath, unsure of what he had been expecting, and then realized, in spite of the uncertainty he felt, the normalcy was winning. He was hungry.

Sango, feeding Naoya, looked up and saw her husband standing there in the entry. Her glance in his direction grew a little unsure when he made no effort to move, but she still managed a sincere, if small smile.

"Welcome home," she said. Naoya, hearing her speak, stopped nursing, and turned to look at his father and gurgled at him, waving one hand that ended up in his mouth. Sango took that distraction to adjust her robe. "Are they finished with the roofing?"

The inertia that had Miroku pinned down in the entry broke with her voice. "They're getting close," he said, slipping off his sandals. "Tameo came back to get Susumu, but Ryota thought they still might finish this evening. I guess I'll find out tomorrow."

"Tameo-ojiisan came and got Susumu?" she asked, wiping her son's mouth.

Miroku sighed. "It was something to do with Chiya. We'll talk about it later. I am too tired of that woman to deal with her now." He stepped up on the wooden floor.

"If you want," Sango said, and then noticed what the monk had draped over his arm. "Oh, I forgot about that sheet. Thank you for bringing it in. I probably wouldn't have remembered it until tomorrow, and I bet I would have had to wash it again."

Miroku nodded, and began to fold it. "I'm not surprised. I'm surprised either one of us can remember anything. Today has been . . . well, not one of my favorite days." Sango started to get up to help him. "No, I can handle it," he said. "It's one thing I can do to make the day a bit better. Not much, but . . . "

"Miroku," Sango said, frowning a little as she looked more carefully at her husband, and saw the sadness in his eyes, the seriousness on his face, even as he wrestled with the white cloth. "You're not blaming yourself for what she was doing?" Her eyebrows knit together as she tried to think of something to say, but before she could speak the next sentence, the two girls, seeing their father, ran up to him and he scooped them up in his arms, folded cloth and all.

"That's another thing we will talk about later," he said. "I have more important women to deal with right now." He looked at one, and then the other of his daughters. "Well, my little jewels, are you being good for your okaasan?"

Noriko nodded, but Yusuko, frowning, said, "I lost my doll baby!" It was a frown that very clearly resembled the one he walked into the house with.

Miroku fumbled in his sleeve, and produced the stick doll. "Did she look like this?" he asked.

She grabbed the doll, and began babbling something to it, then smiled up at her father, holding it up for his inspection. "My doll baby."

"I thought it might be yours. She was sitting outside near the door. You need to be careful with your babies. You don't want to lose them. It would make them sad." He glanced at Sango, who raised an eyebrow, but didn't say anything.

Yusuko, ignoring the interplay between her parents, merely nodded at what her father said, and leaned back into his arms, holding the doll close to her chest. "Don't cry, baby."

"You always did know how to talk to girls," Sango said, putting Naoya over her shoulder.

"I don't know about that," he said, his face marked with a small regretful curve of the lips. A sad look touched his eyes again. "Even when they seem to like me, it seems I have a history of saying or doing the wrong things at times."

"Maybe sometimes," she said. She smiled, though, remembering their days on the quest. "A time or two or three."

"Enough times that I wondered at times why you didn't run away screaming." Miroku's voice was light, but his eyes were serious. "Between my hand and my eye and my stupid tongue . . . "

"I did think about it at times," Sango admitted, as she patted their son on his back. "But we were too busy chasing shards and monsters for that. And then one day, I no longer wanted to."

Miroku sighed, and gave her a grateful smile. "For which I will be forever blessed, but I gave you enough cause."

"You were worth the effort," she replied.

"But it doesn't mean I - "

Before he could finish that thought, a small hand pulled on his sleeve."Hungry, Otou!" Noriko said.

"This must fall in the more for later group as well, I see," Miroku said. "Other women are interrupting us." He kissed the top of Noriko's head. "But I do have a lot I wish to say to you, my lovely wife. I don't want to push all this aside."Sango, studying his face and seeing the glint of determination there, nodded, and having received her agreement, he turned his attention to Noriko, who tugged once again. "You're hungry? Have you been waiting for me to come home to eat?"

His daughter nodded. "Okaa said wait."

He looked at his wife, questioning.

"I would have fed them if you had taken much longer," Sango said. "I wasn't sure how late you'd be before getting home. I might have fed them already, but your son decided to eat first."

"He can be a handful, wanting a woman's attention just his father," the monk said, nodding. He looked at Noriko. "Well, then, let me put this sheet up, and we will see about not waiting for dinner any longer." He carried the girls over to the side of the room where Sango kept her clothing chest and put the sheet down on top of it. "Otousan is hungry too, so I guess we can eat soon as Okaasan is ready for us."

"I made that fish stew you like," Sango said. "I thought that stew would be a good choice. I didn't know when you'd be ready."

"I'll always be ready for you, Sango my dearest," he replied. His serious demeanor gave way to a twinkle in his eye and a small, knowing grin. "Don't underestimate yourself. Even if I don't always remind you of it you . . . you want me to get the bowls out?" he asked, putting his daughters down.

For some reason, either the words, or the look he gave her when he said them made Sango's cheeks pink, just a little, which he followed up with a knowing wag of his eyebrows. The girls, totally unaware of their parents exchange, came to sit down, one on each side of her. Sango shifted her son to her other shoulder as she sucked on her bottom lip and gave him an answering glance with just enough simmer to let him know his message had been received. "Bowls?" she said, somehow keeping all of what had been passed between them out of her voice. "Yes, please. My hands are a little full right now."

Naoya let out a resounding burp. "Finally," Sango said. "I was beginning to think all you really wanted to do was have Okaasan hold you."

"He's a smart man, my son," Miroku said, moving to the kitchen cabinet. "He knows what's important."

Yusuko giggled. "Loud baby."

"You think that's funny, now do you?" Miroku asked, removing the dishes they needed for dinner.

She nodded.

"You could be even louder when you were that small," Sango said, laying the baby down on a blanket next to her.

"She's not the only one who can be loud," Miroku said, carrying the dinner dished to the fire pit. He gave her another eye waggle.

"No, she's not," Sango said, meeting her husband's eyes, perfectly well aware of what he was insinuating. "I sort of think she takes after her otousan."

Miroku, chuckling sat down. "Maybe so, maybe so." As she handed him a bowl of rice, he grinned back at her. "Maybe later, we can have a contest to see who's the loudest."

"And wake the children?" she asked. "I don't think so."

"Perhaps Kagome-sama might do us a favor, then," he said, picking up his chopsticks.

Sango gave him a look, part incredulous, part scandalized, until she thought about it for a moment. "Maybe," she said. "But convincing InuYasha to agree might be the hard part."

"You have a point there," he said, and with a wistful, but thoughtful look, began to dig into his dinner. 


	150. Chapter 150

_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 150**

The main room in Kimi's house was filled with the sounds of Chiya crying and Kaede preparing medicines.

"You can pour the water now, child," Kaede said, putting the last pinch of an herb into the small bowl.

Kimi nodded and carefully poured the hot liquid over the herbal mixture, then sat the cast iron pot on a trivet at the edge of the fire pit. Kaede swirled the liquid around to hasten its steeping, and muttered some words over it that Kimi couldn't understand. Next, she took a small bottle out of her basket. Shaking it gently to mix the contents, she added several drops to the liquid.

"There. That should do it," she said

"What does it do?" Kimi asked.

"My teacher would have said it rebalances the chi, so that the person's mind is no longer troubled by the rages of having too much yang," Kaede said, looking at Kimi, who seemed a bit uncertain at that description. "I would say it calms a troubled soul and allows them to get some rest."

"It sounds like just the right thing," the younger woman said, looking at her house guest, who was laying in the corner, her face to the wall, curled up into a tight ball. Every now and then her body would shudder with another sob.

"Indeed," Kaede said. She gave the medicine another swirl, and chanted over it one more time, then carefully strained the potion into another cup. "It's ready."

Moving her large frame across the room with a surprising grace, the miko moved to where Chiya was curled up, and gently shook her shoulder.

The sobbing woman pulled her hands away from her face and glanced up at the miko, before dropping once again.

"Please, Chiya-chan, sit up," Kaede said. "I just want to help you feel better."

Chiya, her face red-eyed and puffy, looked at the miko once again. Kaede was not smiling, but she looked at the younger woman with a calming, no-nonsense gaze that somehow caught her attention, offered no judgment, but merely offered to help. Chiya took a breath and nodded, pulling herself up into a seated position.

"Here, drink this, child," Kaede said, offering her the cup of medicinal tea. It smelled of ginger and something else, with a bitter undertone. Chiya wrinkled her nose at the scent. "It will ease some of the pain of today. I cannot change the events of today, but I know that sobbing will not change anything. Rest will help more."

Chiya wiped her nose and eyes with the head scarf that had fallen off long before, and that she still had wrapped around the fingers of her left hand. She looked at the cup and back at the miko. "Is...is this the same type of tea you gave Haha-ue?"

"It is," Kaede said. "A strong medicine. It calmed her enough to sleep, even after everything that the yamabushi did to her. It will work for you as well."

Kimi came and sat beside her, and took her free hand. "Like Kaede-obaasan said, It will do you good, Chiya-chan, more than weeping all night. Please take it."

Chiya looked at Kimi, daubing her eyes. For a moment there was a spark of rebellion, and both women were afraid she would refuse, but then as suddenly as it appeared it faded, and Chiya let out a long, deep sigh, bowed her head, and nodded. "At least it will let me escape for a little while. I am so tired. I wish today had never happened." She lifted the cup, took a small sip, made a face, her nose wrinkling in disgust. "Tastes as bitter as this whole day has been." Quickly, she downed the rest of it.

Kimi gave the woman's hand a squeeze. "Would you like some sake to chase the taste?"

"No," Chiya said. "The bitterness . . . it seems right. Just like my life." She stared at the empty cup in her hands until Kaede gently took it back. That roused her for a moment. "Will it take long to work?"

"Not too long," Kaede said. "You should be feeling it in less time than it takes to fix a pot of rice."

Chiya nodded, then looked down at her hands.

"Can I get you something, Chiya-chan?" Kimi asked. "Fujime-okaasan almost always has some soup on this time of day."

"I don't . . . no, I don't think so." She looked up at Kimi, her eyes watering up again. "You're too kind, Kimi-chan. The thought of eating . . . I just can't do it."

"You might try some rice gruel, Chiya-chan, later. The medicine I gave you. It can be hard on the stomach."

The distraught woman gave Kaede a bemused look. "Fitting. To be sick after everything that happened. Maybe later, but not now. I don't think I could handle anything."

"Suit yourself. But if you do, rice gruel with extra salt will help calm your stomach." Kaede got up and moved back toward the fire pit. "I'll make up some more medicine in case you need it before morning."

As Kaede began mixing up a new batch, Chiya leaned against Kimi's shoulder. "I was so mean to you today, and yet you brought me home."

"It just seemed the right thing to do, Chiya-chan." She pulled her comb out of her sleeve. "Let me fix your hair. It'll make you feel better. It always relaxes me, to have someone comb my hair." She scooted behind her, and picked up a long lock of Chiya's hair.

Chiya made no move to stop her, but bowed her head. "Nothing . . . nothing will make me feel better."

Kimi ran the comb through Chiya's hair, and said nothing. After a moment, the soothing action or perhaps the medicine began to make the woman relax.

Unexpectedly, she began to talk. "I...I don't know why everything happened like it did today. It was like . . . like I couldn't stop myself. I got so wound up - not being able to help Haha-ue, or even getting to spend more than a few minutes with her. Knowing that I wasn't invited to Hisa-sama's for the sewing, I couldn't keep myself from going. And I was awful. I knew that InuYasha-sama would probably be at the temple this afternoon. Everything that could make me feel bad was happening . . . and something in me . . . It was like there was something in me that just wouldn't let go, like having a wound I had to keep touching. Seeing Houshi-sama's wife there, and her children . . . It was like a white-hot rod poking through me."

She covered her face and began weeping once again. Kimi stopped combing as she pulled away. "And now, everybody hates me, even my husband. Ah, Michio, why, why do we do this to each other?" She hunched over for a moment, shuddered, then pulled herself up. "I worked so hard to get married to you, husband. Haha-ue never has forgiven me for convincing Chichi-ue to give permission. And I treat you so bad." She rocked back and forth and back and forth. "What is he going to tell the children?"

She looked at Kaede and Kimi. "My girls, what will the other village girls tell them? And Masato. He's such a good son, so much like his father. Will people laugh at him behind his back? Or shake their heads, feeling sorry?"

"I don't know," Kimi said softly.

"I want to go home. Who's going to make their dinner? Nori won't take a bath unless you force her to do it. And Asuka gets nightmares when she's upset. But . . . but . . . but . . . I don't have a home to go back to." She began to sob again.

"It will all be dealt with, Chiya-chan. Don't worry about them. I'm sure their aunt will take care of them tonight." Kimi said. "And tomorrow will be another day, and we'll deal with it."

Chiya daubed at her eyes again, and leaned against Kimi's shoulder. "You're too nice to be my friend," she said. Her eyes were growing heavy and she yawned. "I'm not good like you, and everybody hates me."

"That's not true, Chiya-chan. Everybody doesn't hate you," Kimi said. "You're getting sleepy?"

"It is true, and I deserve it. Even Chichi-ue doesn't have a place for me any more." She yawned, and her head slumped forward.

Kaede looked at her. "You need to lie down, Chiya-chan. The medicine's starting to work, faster than I expected."

Kimi put her comb away and stood up. "I'll get you a cover. You can stretch out here if you'd like."

Chiya nodded, but then, as Kimi started to move away, she grabbed her hand. "You're not going to leave me tonight are you?"

Turning to face the exhausted, drugged woman, Kimi shook her head. "No, Chiya-chan, I won't. I'll be here all night."

"Thank you, Kimi-chan," Chiya said, resting her head on her arm. "You're the only one left. If you leave me, nobody will be there, and I'll be all alone."

She yawned again, and snuggled down. By the time Kimi got back with the blanket, Chiya was fast asleep.

While Kaede was preparing Chiya's medicine, InuYasha squatted by his own fire pit, far less patient. He held a piece of wood in his hand, and was studying the large water kettle he used to heat bathwater in. It sat on its tripod, flames licking up the side.

Kagome, cleaning up after dinner, giggled, watching how he was studying the flames, trying to figure out where to put the piece of wood. "I don't think adding more wood will get the bath water to heat any faster," she said as she wiped a rice bowl dry with a towel. "It'll just make it get hot in here."

Sighing, he tossed the wood back on its stack. "Yeah," he said, sitting back and watching the fire. Still, he looked at it with great intensity, as if his stare could hurry the process, crossing his arms and sticking his hands in his sleeves to increase the effect.

"Are you all right?" Kagome asked, as she walked over to the kitchen cabinet to put away the last of the dinner bowls. That job done, she hung up her towel to dry and went to sit next to her husband.

He glanced at her as she sat down next to him. "I guess."

Kagome leaned her head against his shoulder."You're not usually this anxious to get into the tub."

InuYasha sighed and wrapped his arm around her. "You're right. Maybe I'm just ready to put this day out of my head."

"It's certainly been a busy one." Kagome grabbed InuYasha's free hand and laced her fingers into his. "A lot of it was kind of nice. I met Amaya, Isao's mother, who I think wants to be friends."

"And I let Susumu talk me into joining the village guard. Maybe he should have been a merchant, not a farmer," InuYasha said. Some of the intensity flowed out of him as he held his wife, and the tension in his shoulders eased back. "Or maybe even a monk. He's good at convincing people." Looking down at their joined hands, he brushed his thumb along the side of hers.

Kagome saw what he was doing and gave his hand a little squeeze. "And maybe Kinjiro finally figured out why Aki kept fighting against him, and Aki knows why it was a bad thing. I can't believe he never realized that . . . that stupid yamabushi was the reason his obaasan is so sick. So by the time he gets to Daitaro's house, maybe you won't have to keep pulling him out of trouble."

"I hope," he said, resting his chin on Kagome's head. "I think I've done enough rescuing that brat for a while. It's somebody else's turn." The arm holding her close began to move up and down her side in long, gentle sweeps.

Kagome let go of his hand, and let her own rest lightly on his thigh. "And I got to meet Daisuke. I kind of think that Hisako takes after her father."

"You think?" InuYasha said. "Didn't know him when he was younger, but he's sure a character now. He needs someone like her to even begin to keep up with him."

"Yeah," Kagome replied. Her hand began to draw little shapes on his thigh. He looked down at it for a moment, then pulled her a little closer.

"Could have been a better afternoon, though," InuYasha said, planting a little kiss on the top of her head. "Even before Chiya showed up, I got to make a fool of myself falling off the roof. And I managed to rip my kosode twice in the same day And I wasn't even in a battle. That stupid bird. That stupid roof."

Kagome shifted in his arm, leaning over him so she could play with the string closing his jacket. "Your poor shirt. It's a good thing I finished the new one," she said. "I'll have to talk to Sango to see if we can figure out how to fix the one you're wearing." With a small tug, she loosened the bow that held it shut.

He pulled her into his lap. "Good luck with that." Patiently he let her push his suikan off his shoulders, and shrugged out of the sleeves.

She ran her finger along the line of whip stitching holding the tear in place. "This is what Kimi did?"

"Yeah. And for that she got chewed out," he said, but stopped when Kagome shifted and put her finger over his lips.

"We are not inviting her back into this house," she said. She gave him a quick peck on the lips to reinforce what she meant.

InuYasha tilted his head and gave her a wry look. "I'll try."

"You better." She began tugging at the tie that held his kosode closed. "Still, it seems like the men who worked there with you like you."

"Maybe," InuYasha said, watching his wife try to undress him while she sat on his lap. She couldn't quite get his kosode out of his hakama, and he knew he would have to move soon, but he let her slip the white fabric off of his shoulders. "At least some of'em."

"And Sango got to learn that people like her a lot more than she thought." Kagome kissed her husband's chin. "And Miroku now gets to know what was going on."

He shrugged out of his sleeves. "I can't get over him asking me if he was too greedy," InuYasha said.

"Wanna forget all about it?" Kagome asked. Her lips brushed the side of his neck.

"Sounds like a good idea" the hanyou replied.

Their lips met, and the gentle kiss accelerated to more than gentle, and more than one. Suddenly, the water on the fire bubbled up, and hit the fire below, hissing as it landed on the wood in the fire.

"Maybe we should take our bath first," Kagome said.

InuYasha took a deep breath, and felt the back of his head, where he pulled a bit of grass out of his hair, one more leftover from his fall. "Maybe you're right."


	151. Chapter 151

_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 151**

Dinner over, and bath taken, a much more relaxed InuYasha lay stretched out on his futon. His hands were clasped behind his head, although they were hidden by the cascade of slightly damp hair that fanned out behind him over the edge of the bed. Not yet ready for sleep, he rested on top of the covers, dressed in his new kosode, as he watched Kagome finish her bath.

A small appreciative smirk touched his lips as he watched her."You want some more hot water?" he asked. "There's still some on the fire. It feels weird, having taken my bath first."

Kagome laughed a little, and gave him a knowing smile."It's just fine." Watching him watching her, she scooped some water in her hands and let it dribble over her left shoulder. "I thought you should go first tonight, the way you kept finding things in your hair."

"Water was dirty enough," he said, nodding. "That's why I dumped it before letting you in. Who would have guessed how dirty you can get falling through a roof and onto the ground?"

"Most people," Kagome said, "don't get that experience. Or if they do, don't bounce back nearly as fast as you do, you know."

"Puny mortals," he said, grinning, sitting up. "Wouldn't wish it on them, though. I'm going to get a bad reputation if it keeps happening."

Kagome ran a cloth along her neck, tilting her head to expose her neck. "Maybe Ryota was right. The roof kami may not like you."

"At the rate I'm falling," the hanyou said, "I'm not sure I like the roof kami. I guess the feeling's mutual."

"I guess," Kagome said, nodding. She held up the washcloth. "Want to get my back?"

"I think, maybe, I'd like more of you than just your back," InuYasha said, standing up. "But this might be good for a start."

"Not much room in this tub for much more than a back scrub," Kagome said, her lips curling into a teasing smile. "You'll have to wait until I'm out of the water."

"That could be arranged," he said, walking across the room, stopping to take the extra water off the fire. He looked up at her as he bent over the kettle, and his eyes glowed amber-warm. "Unless, that is, you plan to spend the night there."

"I don't think so. But I'm not getting out until you get my back," she said, flicking a few drops of water InuYasha's way.

Laughing, he took the cloth from her, and began to scrub her back as she leaned forward. As he scrubbed, her face grew serious for a moment. "I wonder how Miroku and Sango are doing tonight? It was a hard day, and from what you said, Miroku was as upset as Sango was earlier."

"They've been through a lot worse than this," InuYasha said, dipping the wash cloth back into the tub. "I bet they'll put the kids to bed, talk a bit, and then enjoy some adult time alone." He ran the cloth gently between her shoulder blades, letting a small stream of water slide down her spine. Kagome shivered just a little at the touch. "I kind of suspect they do adult time a lot. One reason I wanted my own place. My hearing's too good to hang around them too long."

"Adult time?" she said. She turned her head to look at him, and there was a warm promise in the glance she gave him.

He leaned forward, dropping the cloth back into the water, and breathed in her ear. "Adult time interest you?" His hand slid down her shoulder, caressing the skin under her arm, as he reached around to cup her breast. "Maybe you could find out about it if you ever get out of the tub."

Laughing, she grabbed the walls of the tub, and pushed herself up. InuYasha watched the trickles of water outline her curves with some relish. "Enough bath," she said, her voice warm and husky. "You want to hand me a towel?"

As Kagome let InuYasha help her out of the tub, Miroku, devoid of his purple kesa and black robes, sat next to the fire in his own house dressed only in a clean white kosode. He poked idly at the flames with a stick. For the moment he had the main room of the house to himself. Dinner was over, baths had been taken, and now Sango was putting the girls to bed for the night to join their sleeping brother. The tension he had managed to put away while eating and playing with his children had come back with a vengeance after she headed to the back and the room grew quiet once the solitude left him with only his thoughts to deal with.

The quiet left few distractions. The only sounds were the popping of the burning wood and the soft murmuring voice of his wife putting the children to sleep in the back room and his breathing as he tried to get his thoughts in order. He gave the burning wood an extra push with his stick and the light from the flames flickered, casting shadows that danced across the room.

"My stupid blindnesses," he murmured, then tossed the stick onto the fire, where the flames quickly began to lap at it.

The door to the back room slid open and Sango quietly closed it behind her and moved towards the monk.

He looked up, surprised. "They're asleep?" he asked as she sat down next to him. "That was quick."

Sango nodded. "It was a busy day for them, with a lot of excitement. I didn't even get half way through their story." She leaned against Miroku's shoulder. "I think they had a good time."

"It was a rather . . . intense day. I'll say that for it," Miroku said, wrapping his arm around his wife as she rested against him.

"I'm glad it's over," Sango said, taking Miroku's free hand. She laced her fingers into his. "I've had enough for one day. I'm not used to so much excitement at a time any more."

He sighed deeply and she looked up. His violet eyes looked back at her, serious and not anywhere near unwinding. "You need to relax too, Miroku."

Miroku shook his head. "Not just yet. I fear . . . " he started, then swallowed. "I can't relax yet. There are too many things I need to say." He lifted their interlinked hands and rested her hand against his cheek. "I fear in all my effort to get us settled here that I have wronged you, my lovely Sango."

She looked at him, a little confused. "Wronged me?"

"InuYasha suggested that in my haste to get established here, I neglected you," Miroku said, dropping Sango's hand and wrapping both arms around here.

"Neglected me?" she asked. "How? You have your work but . . . " She rested her fingers lightly on his cheek. "I've never felt like you were neglecting me."

"I don't think he meant it like that," he said, giving her a small, sad smile. "It's more like he wanted to know why I didn't try to find out why people weren't making you feel welcome."

"Oh Miroku," Sango said, dropping her eyes a bit. A little color touched her cheeks. "How could that be your fault? I...I just assumed . . . "

"I know." He kissed the top of her head. "It wasn't anything obvious. InuYasha didn't even realize it was happening until I mentioned it to him." The monk sighed. "Maybe that's what I should have picked up on. People weren't talking about you at all, not really. Sometimes they asked how you were doing, or once in a while wanted to know if you were going to show up for this thing or that. It was never disapproving. Except . . . well, you know."

"It's . . . it's not your fault," Sango said. She sucked on her bottom lip as she thought about what to say. "I...well, I didn't realize what was happening, either, not really." She leaned her head against his shoulder. "Some of it is me, what I thought would be normal. I've never really fit in that well with women who were raised like normal women. Learning to be a taijiya put me in a different place. And I'm not a farmer, either. I wasn't surprised when a few of the women told me I made them uncomfortable."

"Perhaps. Maybe you should have told me more about that," he said. He leaned his cheek on top of her head. "Please don't take such burdens on yourself. "

"I didn't think of it as a burden," she said, resting a hand on Miroku's knee. "It was just how my life was."

He sighed and shook his head. "You deserve not to be lonely. And InuYasha's right in a way. If there had been any real bad feeling about you, I would have heard something, and maybe might have been able to do something about it. I'm afraid . . . I'm afraid I just put it out of my mind." Miroku slipped his hand under Sango's chin and tilted her head up to look at him. "We've been through so much together, my beloved wife. All this work, everything I've been trying to do in the village, even the exorcisms . . . it's not because I need any of this. I do it because I want you to have a good life, so our children will have a good life. But if anything I do makes your life unhappy . . . " His eyes searched her face. "That has never been what I wanted. Please, please let me know if what – "

His words were cut off as Sango put a finger on his lips. "I...I could have spoken up more, but what would that have accomplished? I have been happy, Miroku. Maybe I hadn't made a lot of friends in the village during all of this, but I have you, our daughters and our son. Just because . . . that woman wanted to make me feel bad didn't mean she really won. She can't take away what I have, and that is the important thing."

Raising herself up on her knees, she gave him a light kiss, and started to move back, but Miroku pulled her closer and returned the kiss, much more intensely. "My beautiful Sango," he said, cupping her face in both of his hands. "There was a time I would have willingly died to save you. Now I want you to tell me when these things happen. I want to live to show you what you mean to me, and how happy your life can be. No donor, no patron to the temple, nobody should come between us again. Promise me."

"Promise what?" Sango said.

"That if anybody makes you feel uncomfortable because of us, or says hurtful things about our children, or thinks that because I accept their donation to the temple that you do not have first place in my heart, that you will tell me. Don't think it's because you were raised differently. Don't hold back because you think it might interfere with what I do. Tell me about it. Don't protect them because you think that the temple is more important than you are to me. Don't – "

Sango cut him off again, reaching up and wrapping an arm around his neck as she gave him a much more inviting kiss than the first time. With her free hand, she took his and laid it to rest on her backside.

"We've talked too much," she said, giving him a warm and inviting look that sent a shiver from his heart to his groin. "It's time to put the day behind us." As his hand stroked the curve of her bottom, she pulled open the collar of his kosode. "We have a few hours before Naoya wakes up. Can you think of something else you would like to do before he does?"

He gave her bottom a squeeze. "I'm sure we can think of something."

After both Miroku and InuYasha had their adult time moments with their wives, and the village settled down to its midnight rest, someone knocked loudly at Kaede's door.

It took Kaede several moments to realize the sound she was hearing wasn't part of a dream. As she opened her eyes, the low glow of coals in her fire pit gave her just enough light to see by. The knocking continued, a bit louder.

"Miko-sama!" a man's voice called out. "Please, Miko-sama!"

The old miko sighed. It had been a long, hard day. "Now what?" she said, too softly to be heard outside. "Hasn't this old woman had enough for one day?" She stood up, and wrapping her blanket around her, she walked over to the front door.

Lifting the mat, she found Eiji standing outside, carrying a lamp. Next to him was one of Toshiro's house servants, Asami.

"I am sorry, Miko-sama," Eiji said, bowing.

"Nothing's wrong with Chiya-chan, I hope," Kaede said.

"No, no," Eiji said.

"It's Sayo-sama," Asami said. "Her pains have started. The baby's on the way."

Kaede sighed.


	152. Chapter 152

_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 152**

Kaede ran her hand over her hair, smoothing it as she looked at the two people in her doorway. "Ah, babies. They never did care much for this old woman's sleep. I seem to remember you were a middle-of-the-night baby yourself, Eiji."

Eiji covered his mouth with his hand as he laughed. "I've heard that story. Haha-ue always said I was contrary, since the moment I decided to come into the world." He shifted the lamp to his other hand. "It must run in the family. My little ones all chose the least convenient moments to show up themselves."

"Yes, yes, I know," the old miko said, smiling a bit. "I was there each and every time, you know."

"True," Eiji said. "I suspect you've met over half the village at least the very day they took their first breaths."

"No doubt," she said, pulling her blanket a bit closer. "Well, I've been expecting it any time now." The old miko turned to the young woman standing next to Eiji. "How is she doing, Asami-chan?"

"Her pains were getting pretty strong, but she was up and eating," Asami said. She, too, looked rather tired, as if roused out of bed. "I don't think her water's come yet."

"Well that's good. We have a little time," Kaede said. She began to turn back towards the inside of her house. "I'll just - "

"Kaede-obaasan?" a sleepy voice said from within the house. "Is something wrong?"

Kaede finished turning around in time to see a sleepy Rin sitting up in bed, yawning as she rubbed her eyes. "No, no, child," the miko said. "It's just that Sayo-sama is going to have her baby tonight."

"Is she?" the girl asked, brushing the hair out of her face, still groggy but growing more alert. "Tonight?"

"Yes, I believe so." Kaede turned back to Eiji and Asami. "Don't leave. I'll be out in a few moments."

"Take your time, Miko-sama," Eiji replied. "We'll be here."

Letting the door close behind her, she moved to the fire pit, and lighting a splint of wood on the coals there, Kaede lit a carrying lamp before moving to the chest where her clothes were. Rin watched her, not saying anything, but made no effort to lie back down.

"So, Rin-chan, what would you like to do?" Kaede said, shaking out her red hakama. "Would you like to stay here and sleep, or come with me, or go to Sango-chan's? I'm sure she wouldn't mind you staying there until I'm done." She slipped into the garment. "Babies sometimes take their time coming into the world."

"Like when Sango-obasan's twins came?" Rin asked, getting out of her pallet. She stretched, then shook a bit, then knelt to roll up her bedding. "Rin thought that took forever."

"Firstborns often do, and it was harder for her because she had twins." Kaede put on her jacket. "Sayo has had several children, and none of hers took nearly that long, not even the first. I'm fairly certain it will take most of the night, though."

"Is that good, not taking so long?" the girl asked. Finished with her bedding, she moved over to help Kaede tidy up her own bed.

Together, they folded her coverlet in half. "Quite good. Although they say it's the pain of birthing that bonds a mother and baby together, sometimes, it's much harder on the mother, and sometimes the child if it takes too many hours." Kaede walked up to Rin, and took her end of the bedding and folded it once again. "Still, I doubt if Sayo will have any problems like that. She's one of those women the kami blessed with the gift of easy birthing."

"Do you think that will be true for Rin?" the girl asked. "I know Naoya came much easier for Sango, too than the twins. Do you think it will be like that for any more of her babies?"

Kaede smiled and rested a hand on the girl's shoulder. "I'm afraid it's too soon to know that, Rin-chan. First you need to finish growing up. We will have to see what happens next with Sango-chan, but I suspect the worst was her first. So where do you want to go?"

Rin sucked on her bottom lip. "Are you sure Sango-chan won't mind if Rin spends the night there?"

"I'm sure, child. We've had this discussion well before." Putting the bedding away, she moved to the fire pit to cover the coals. "Sango-chan knows if I need to attend to someone in the middle of the night, that I might send you to her." Next, Kaede bent over to pick up a basket already packed with the things she wanted for the birthing. "I'm glad I packed this last week. With a baby, you never know exactly when they'll be ready to come." She stood up and looked at her charge. "But if you want to go, then you need to get dressed."

The girl nodded and hurried into her everyday robe. "Rin sleeps better knowing someone's there," she said as she fastened her obi. "And she is still sleepy."

"I am sure, child." Kaede said. "Tell Sango I'll let her know when we're done." She headed for the door, pausing to slip on her sandals. "Bring the lamp, will you?"

The girl nodded and picked it up. "Can Rin visit with Kagome-obasan in the morning?" she asked as she stepped off the raised floor and slipped on her own shoes.

"Not this time." Kaede lifted the door, holding it open for her young charge. "She'll be working with me."

"You're going to teach her how to deliver babies?" Rin slipped through the door.

"At least something about it," Kaede said. "It's too much to learn everything the first time. That is, if Eiji-sama would be so kind as to take Rin-chan up to Houshi-sama's house, and then fetch Kagome-chan to Sayo's house."

Rin handed Kaede the lamp, and looked up at him.

"Well, Rin-chan, it looks like we have a bit of a walk," Eiji said, smiling at the girl. He looked up at Kaede. "Are you sure InuYasha-sama won't mind me fetching his wife this time of night?"

"Oh he might, but he knew she was supposed to do this. I wouldn't worry about it," Kaede said. "Just don't go barging in. That wouldn't be wise."

"Barge in on newlyweds? Even I have that much sense," Eiji said, and laughed. "I'll bring her down as soon as they let me." He looked down on his young charge. "Come on, Rin-chan. Let's see how loud Houshi-sama is going to be when I knock on his door."

"He'll be very loud if you wake up the babies," Rin said.

"I suspect he will. I know I would be!" the night watchman said. "We'll just have to be careful."

Taking one last look at Kaede, Rin followed the village guard towards Miroku's house.

While Eiji went to fetch Kaede and Kagome, there was a careful, but quiet, flurry of action going on at Toshiro's compound and people readied for Sayo's birth. Sayo and her older cousin Nanami stood outside on the verandah, waiting for things to be completed. Lanterns were lit, giving a soft glow to the front of the house. Occasionally a figure carrying a lantern neared, but then disappeared, as the workers made ready.

Sayo who had been walking the length of the verandah stopped, rubbed her hands across her belly and closed her eyes for a moment as a spasm hit her.

"I think Matsu should have the birthing house ready soon," Nanami said, rubbing the younger woman's back. "Although why we didn't have her get it ready a few days ago . . . "

When the contraction passed, Sayo turned and looked at the older woman. "That's true, Nanami-obasan, but there's been so much going on." She began pacing the length of the verandah. "These last weeks are always so crazy."

The older woman chuckled. "When isn't there something going on around this house? At least the children are asleep."

"There is that," Sayo said, nodding. "I thank Kwannon, too. Everything will go much smoother with Daiki asleep."

"Or Umi fretting, as much as she tries to hide it," Nanami said. They began walking the length of the verandah again.

"That, too." Sayo nodded.

"Ah, there you are, Sayo-chan," a male voice said.

The two women turned around to see Yasuo and Toshiro walking up to them. Yasuo smiled at his wife, although there was some anxiety in his eyes. He walked up to her and took her hand. "I was hoping I would catch you before you slipped away to the birthing house."

She smiled back at him. "It is getting close to time to start my work," she said. "You should get some rest."

"I can rest once you get to rest, wife," he said, giving her a slightly sheepish smile. "Birth may be a woman's mystery, and men are supposed to keep their distance, but I've never been able to really relax while you do the hard part."

She lifted her hand to Yasuo's cheek. "Some things, husband, are a woman's work. This is one job I'm afraid we cannot share."

He nodded, and brushed a stray hair out of her face.

"Yurime will come over tomorrow to help while I'm recovering. Please try to keep the children from driving her crazy," Sayo said. "Umi will help, and of course there's Asami and Matsu and the others."

"We will manage, Sayo-chan," Toshiro said. "I'm sure soon as Hisa-chan, dear sister-in-law that she is, hears the news, she'll show up to coo over the new one, and no doubt leave one of her women here as well. We'll be well provided for. Just like we were the other times." He rested his hand on his son's shoulder. "I'll keep a good eye on this son of mine. You don't need to worry about anything. Even Daiki. So no worries about the rest of us. Focus on you and my new grandchild."

She nodded, gave her husband's hand a squeeze, then took a deep breath as another contraction hit.

"Shouldn't you sit down, wife?" Yasuo asked, watching the pain wash over her.

She rubbed her hand over her stomach while letting the pain pass. "I'll be sitting and laying down long enough once this is over, Yasuo. It's not too bad yet. I'm hoping Kaede-obasan gets here before I have to do that."

Yasuo nodded, but his face was troubled, nonetheless.

This was not missed by Sayo. "Go inside, you two," she said. "This is a woman's thing. Leave it to us."

Toshiro, not wishing to cause his daughter-in-law any extra stress, took that as his cue that they should leave. "Come on, son," Toshiro said, resting a hand on the younger man's shoulder. "If they need us, they know where to find us. This is not your battle. I'll make you tea if you don't want any sake."

Yasuo nodded, and reluctantly let himself be led off.

Matsu came up as the men went inside. "The birth house is warmed, Sayo-sama. I have soup and mochi if you want to eat a little."

"It would be better to get out of this night air," Nanami said. "Kaede-sama knows where we'll be."

Sayo rubbed the small of her back. "I guess it's time then," she said. "Shall we go?" And the three women headed down the path to a small, well-lit house waiting for them behind the main house.

Elsewhere, up on the hill on the other side of the village, a slightly nervous Eiji knocked on the door of the small house where the new miko and her husband lived. Much to his comfort, InuYasha didn't bark or brandish his sword as he lifted the door mat.

That isn't to say that he was happy to see the night watchman standing on his verandah. Standing there dressed only in a kosode, not his usual red garments, the hanyou was still an intimidating sight. His brows knit together in an intimidating glare that was bad enough, but his eyes caught the light from the lamp that Eiji was holding up and glowed in the reflected light. If he hadn't known the man by daylight, Eiji would have been unnerved just by that.

He bowed politely. "I'm sorry, InuYasha-sama, to disturb you."

"This better not be about that Chiya woman, or her brat of a nephew," InuYasha said, crossing his arms.

"No, no, nothing like that. Chiya is sound asleep, thanks to some potion that Kaede-sama gave her," Eiji said, moving his lamp so it didn't reflect so much into InuYasha's face. "I don't know if I'd have left my Kimi there with her otherwise."

"Then what the hells are you doing here?" The hanyou's ear twitched, and Eiji found himself watching it in spite of himself.

He pulled his eyes away, and back down to the hanyou's face. "Kaede-obaasan sent me."

"Kaede-babaa sent you?" InuYasha said. "What happened? It's not something with Rin, is it?"

The door pushed open behind him, and Kagome stepped out, right behind her husband.

He glanced at the young miko, who obviously had just gotten up as well, her hair out of place and her eyes curious but still sleep filled. Looking back at InuYasha, he hurried to reassure him. "No, no. In fact, I just walked her to the Houshi-sama's house. It's - "

"Sayo-sama?" Kagome asked. "She's having her baby?"

Eiji nodded. InuYasha sighed.

"I'll go get ready," Kagome said, disappearing back in the house. The door mat rattled behind her.

InuYasha's scowl shifted to one of tired resignation, a feeling Eiji could sympathize with. "And there I was, thinking this day was finally over," InuYasha grumbled.

"Some days are like that," Eiji said, nodding. "Today has been . . . Well, look on the bright side. At least you don't have Chiya for a house guest. My children are at my mother's house. My wife is exhausted being the goddess of mercy. And on this night, I have the night watch."

The hanyou nodded, and gave the man a look of genuine sympathy. "There is that." Turning, he followed Kagome inside and went to get dressed.


	153. Chapter 153

_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 153**

Kaede and Asami reached the house of Toshiro to find Yasuo sitting on the verandah, joined surprisingly by Michio, Chiya's husband. There was a jug of sake on the ground next to them. Michio, his eyes half closed, stared out into space, the lamplight painting his features that accented the misery she saw there.

Yasuo looked tense, but not nearly as upset. "It's a night for company," he said, looking up as he spotted Kaede. "Michio just got here, and now you, Miko-sama."

Toshiro stepped out, carrying a go board. "But we were expecting Kaede-sama." He put the game board down. "Asami-chan, are there any rice cakes or chimaki or something? Maybe some soup? I think my cousin might need some food in his belly."

"I'll go look," the young woman said. She turned to Kaede. "Please tell Sayo-sama I'll come help as soon as I can."

"I will, child," Kaede said, and watched as Asami disappeared into the house.

"Sayo's already at the birthing house," Toshiro said. "I'm glad she got there first. Michio is welcome, but she has other things to worry about first."

"Are you sure, cousin?" Michio said, looking up at the elder. He started to move. "I...I could go."

"No, no," Yasuo said, tugging on his sleeve. "You stay put. Your children are safe with their aunt. You stay right where you are."

Kaede nodded. As she began to move on, Michio looked at her. "Miko-sama?"

"Do you need something, Michio?" the old miko asked.

"I...I..." he hung his head. "I don't know what to do." His words slurred together, and he bent low, covering his face with his hands. "Why? I...don't know what to do? Can you tell me, Miko-sama, what I should do?" His body shook, like he was about to weep.

Yasuo looked up at Kaede, but wrapped his arm around his distraught guest. "I'm afraid my cousin has been drinking too much," he said. "I'm glad he showed up. Company will do him good."

"And give you something to do besides fret," Toshiro said.

"Let me know if you need me," Kaede said. "Kagome-chan will be coming by soon. I sent Eiji to get her."

Toshiro nodded.

"Eiji is a good man," Michio muttered. "Who else would . . . " He leaned back against the wall of the house, but didn't say any more.

"We'll be sure she gets to the right place," Yasuo said. "Just take care of what you need to do."

Kaede nodded, and headed down the path to the birthing house.

Someone had lit lamps down the path between the two buildings, giving it almost a festive appearance. The birthing house was small, half the size of Kaede's own small hut, but pleasantly situated in a garden area. In the dark the trees standing behind it might have given it an eerie appearance, but the lamps and the light coming out of the window made it look like an inviting place to visit.

Matsu stood at the front door, watching, and bowed when she spotted the miko. "Ah, Kaede-obasan," she said. "Sayo-sama will be glad to see you."

"More likely, she'll be glad when I can leave," Kaede said, smiling. "Let's go see how she's doing."

The room they entered was clean, but simple. There was a cheery, but small blaze in the fire pit, with pots of water and soup on, using charcoal instead of the usual wood to minimize the smoke, and in one corner a tub to use later to wash the new infant after its birth. A small table stood against one side of the wall, and there was a low bench for the mother to sit on when it was time for her delivery, and a rope suspended from the roof rafter to help. A lamp added extra light.

Sayo, though, knelt on a mat not far from the stool, and Nanami sat behind her massaging her back. She smiled as the old miko stepped through the door. "Ah, Kaede-obasan. I am sorry to have to get you out of bed like this."

"Somehow, I'm not surprised." Kaede said. "I see this young one wants to be as much of a handful as your other children."

"Ah, I think you might be right," Sayo said, nodding "I was hoping I could wait until morning before sending for you, but this child had other plans."

"They will do that," the old miko said, agreeably, sitting down next to Sayo. "You aren't the first, and I doubt you'll be the last to get me out of bed because a young one decided not to wait. So how are the pains?"

"Getting closer together and stronger," Sayo replied. "Is Kagome-chan going to show up?"

Kaede nodded."Eiji went up the hill to get her." She took the woman's wrist and felt her pulse. "You've eaten?" Kaede asked. "I know it's late, but you'll still need to have enough strength to deliver."

"Yes, of course. Mochi and soup, and some fish," Sayo said. "I don't think I could eat any more."

Kaede nodded. "Good choices. Although, knowing you, I doubt you'll get much chance to run out of energy as quickly as your children come."

Sayo made a wry face. "Not quickly enough."

Nanami moved out from behind Sayo. "Would you like some tea?" she asked. "Or even some breakfast?"

The old miko nodded. "Tea would be good. That's enough for now."

Sayo made a small gasp as a contraction hit her, closing her eyes and frowning as the pain crescendoed and then eased off.

Matsu knelt behind Sayo. "Would you like me to rub your back? I'm sure Nanami-obaasan could use a break."

The laboring woman nodded. As Matsu rubbed, Sayo relaxed a bit. "Now that was the hardest one yet. The child must realize you're here now."

"Then we'll get to work," Kaede said. "Let me examine you."

While the people at Toshiro's waited, InuYasha walked back into his own house as Kagome was lighting the lamp. As the room lit up, she looked at him with sleepy eyes and covered her mouth as she yawned.

"I guess that's going to be the last of my sleep tonight," she said, looking wistfully at the futon.

"Looks like it, unless you want to tell Kaede-babaa you can't make it." He went over to the fire pit, to make sure the coals were well buried in ash.

"No, no. This is something I have to learn," Kagome said. "This won't be the last time I get woken up because a child has decided to come into the world."

"I guess you're right," he said, putting down the fire tongs. "I was wondering when Sayo's kid was coming. I kept hearing people from Toshiro's family talking about how they couldn't wait for it to happen."

"I know Sayo was more than ready when I met her," Kagome said, going over to the clothes chest. She picked up her hakama, which she had left sitting on the box. "These last five days have had to be hard on her."

"Feh," InuYasha said, following her. "These last five days have been crazy for the whole village, not just them. I don't think it's been this crazy for so many days since we fought Naraku."

She handed InuYasha his own clothes. "They have been rather wild. At least nobody's throwing shouki bombs at people. Still, I hope things settle down soon."

"You and everybody else." He sat down on the futon, and slipped into his hakama, tying the ankles before standing up and tucking in his kosode.

"At least I got to take a nap," she said, fastening the ties to her own hakama.

"Not much of one," the hanyou said, grabbing his jacket.

She gave him a sultry smile as she picked up her chihaya jacket. "We might have slept more, but . . . "

"Hey," he said, tucking his own jacket into his hakama, "that last bit was your idea."

"You seemed to enjoy it," she said, fastening the red cord of her jacket. Grabbing her comb, she ran it quickly through her hair. "I didn't hear you complaining."

He gave her a big, silly grin, walked up to her, put his arms around her, and leaned close. "You can do that anytime you want to, woman." He breathed into her ear while he spoke so he could make her shiver, which she obligingly did.

For just a moment, she leaned into his hold, but then pulled away laughing, moving to the futon to roll up their bedding. "But not until after Sayo's baby is born."

He sighed and helped her stash the bedding. "How long is this going to take? Sango's twins took what felt like forever, but we weren't here when Naoya was born."

She opened the cabinet where they put the bedding, and InuYasha put it in. "We?"

"Miroku and me," he said, closing the cabinet. "We were on an exorcism. Some stupid youkai was driving a local bigwig crazy about two days from here. We took care of it, Miroku stuck him with a big bill, and Sango had her baby all at the same time. I got to carry the payment home for him."

"I'm surprised he went off leaving her like that." Kagome said, picking up the lamp as she walked to the door.

InuYasha shrugged. "It was a pretty nasty one. It had eaten an old villager or two before we got there. It all probably worked out for the best, though. I thought I was going to have to sit on him when Sango had the twins."

"He was that bad?" Kagome asked as she waited for InuYasha by the door.

Grabbing Tessaiga, he stuck the sword in his obi, then walked to the door mat and opened it. "Every bit."

"That is true, Miko-sama," Eiji said. He had been sitting on the ground and they stood up as InuYasha and Kagome stepped out. "Kaede-sama got tired of him sending the girl who stays with her in to find out what was going on, and she got some of the men to come and keep him company. Daitaro showed up and brought the sake. Sometimes, I believe, some of the men still tease him about it. I hear he put on quite a performance."

"Serves him right, as much as he teases," InuYasha said.

"Ah, no man really knows how it feels until he faces it," Eiji said. "One day, I suspect you'll find out how it affects you as well."

InuYasha looked at Kagome, who merely lifted an eyebrow. In the lamplight his eyes glowed a moment even as his cheeks colored while he looked at her, but then he just flicked an ear, shook his head. "Feh. Whatever."

"I'm sorry I kept you waiting," Kagome said, deciding to change the subject. "I wasn't really expecting this tonight."

"Babies do what they do," Eiji said. "Although my Kimi tells me she was hoping she could hold out to next Market day."

"Really? I thought she was ready when I saw her the other day," Kagome said.

"No doubt," Eiji said, laughing. "But on the other hand, I know how Yasuo gets when she's getting ready to deliver. She was probably hoping he'd be at the crossroads instead of home."

The group began walking back to the village.

"So, how long do you think this is going to take?" InuYasha asked. "You never answered me earlier."

Kagome stifled a yawn. "Well, you never know how long births are going to take."

"That's true," Eiji said. "My youngest took the longest time getting here. I think Kaede-sama was starting to get worried when the child finally decided to show up. That was a hard night. They tell husbands that birthing is not for men and that we should go on about our business. She was already staying with her mother, and my mother was watching the young ones. It might as well have been me. Haha-ue kept running over to see how she was doing." He shifted the lamp in his other hand. "But all turned out well, so I am not complaining."

"Kimi-chan stayed with Koume-obasan?" Kagome asked.

"Yes, that's the custom if the woman's mother is still living," Eiji said. "Kimi went over there a few weeks before the baby. They say it's so the mother can rest up for the battle ahead when the baby comes. Or maybe because the woman is tired and needs to be pampered, and she can't do that when taking care fo her children and husband. And then they'll usually stay for a month or two while they recover. My Kimi's always come home early. She says it's because she misses me. Secretly though, I think it's because she and Koume-okaasan get on each other's nerves, but don't tell either of them I said that."

Kagome laughed. "I promise."

"But that's what's made these last weeks hard for Toshiro and everybody in his house," Eiji said. "Sayo-sama's mother died a long time ago, and Toshiro's wife is gone too. So she doesn't have anyplace to go."

"She has Nanami," Kagome said. "And I know there are other women there."

"True, Miko-sama." Eiji scratched the back of his neck. "It still doesn't let her go and get away from everything for a while."

"I bet she wouldn't want to go if she could," InuYasha said. "From what I've seen, I think she likes to keep track of everything going on."

"I suspect you're right," Eiji said.

Reaching the bottom of the hill, they turned onto the main road, and walked through the darkened village towards Toshiro's house.


	154. Chapter 154

_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 154**

Yasuo and Toshiro were bent over the game board, studying their moves.

Michio, leaning up against the wall of the house, glanced at them, then tilted his head up, looking at the overhang of the verandah. Asami sat next to him, trying to get the distraught man to eat some of the food she had prepared.

"Please, Michio-sama, have a bite. I made it just for you," she said, offering him a bowl with a savory smell.

"Don't want to eat," he said, ignoring the bowl of food.

Toshiro glanced at his cousin, and then back at his son, who although looking at the board, didn't look like he was really paying any attention.

"We really don't have to play this," Toshiro said.

Yasuo looked up at his father, and shrugged. "It passes the time," he said. "What else should we do?"

"We can sing!" Michio said. He pushed Asami's arm away from his face, and began beating a rhythm out on the ground with his hand. "For love I journey," he sang in a good, if drunken, voice

"Even through the wilderness,  
>even at midnight<br>yoi, yoi, yoi."

"Don't be so loud, Michio-sama. You might wake the children," Asami pleaded, still holding the bowl of food.

He ignored her, lolled his head against the wall, but stopped beating the rhythm. His voice grew sorrowful as he kept singing.

"How dark the roads are,  
>but is she thinking of me,<br>there beside the fire,  
>yoi, yoi, yoi.<p>

"Does she know how far  
>I would go to see her smile,<br>through the high mountains - "

"That's enough singing, Michio," Yasuo said, turning and giving his cousin a little shove. "That song is too sad for you to be singing tonight."

Michio almost fell over from the little shove. He glanced at his cousin as he righted himself, then scratched his neck."Maybe you're right." He closed one eye as if that could give him better focus, and then gave up. "Bah, you're too hard to see." Sighing, his head dropped to his chest. "But I am so sad. It seemed the right song."

Out in the distance, an owl called. Michio lifted his head once more. "See, even the night agrees with me." He looked at Asami. "Girl, take that away. I don't want it."

Asami sighed and put down the bowl. "I'm sorry, Toshiro-sama. He hasn't eaten anything."

"Don't want to," the drunken man said, almost too faint to hear. "Why do I need to eat? Everything's all messed up."

"It'll be better in the morning, cousin. You'll see." Yasuo put a stone down on the game board.

"Oh, look," Asami said, pointing down the road at two points of moving light. "Someone's coming."

Yasuo and the girl watched as the lights grew nearer and revealed the forms of Eiji, InuYasha and Kagome.

"Still awake?" Eiji said, as Yasuo waved to them.

"You think I could sleep?" Yasuo asked.

Eiji chuckled. "Knowing you, no. But one can hope."

Toshiro looked up. "Ah, we were expecting you. Yes, still awake." He turned and looked at Michio. "I have more than one reason to think it's going to be a long night here."

Michio, hearing the night watchman's voice, looked up. "Eiji my friend!" He picked up the sake bottle. "Come have a drink!"

Eiji, surprised to see the man sitting there, shook his head."Not yet, Michio," Eiji said. "I have some business to attend to." Scratching the back of his neck, he turned to Toshiro. "Has he been here long? I didn't see him wandering around while I made my rounds."

"Got here just before Kaede-sama," Yasuo said. He rubbed the bottom of his chin and made another move in the game. "I figured he'd be safer here, but one more reason I won't be sleeping yet."

Michio frowned, as he realized he was being talked about. "Eiji! You aren't my friend?" He put the bottle back down. "You won't drink with me?"

"Oh," Kagome said, moving close to InuYasha. "That's Michio? Chiya's husband?"

"Yeah," the hanyou said, moving to place himself between the verandah and his wife. "Didn't expect to see him here. Especially that drunk."

Eiji leaned towards the hanyou, and spoke softly. "He was like this the last time he kicked Chiya out. Toshiro is his cousin. I guess he felt safe here." Turning back to Michio, he gave the man a smile. "But I am your friend," he said, much louder, nodding. "Let me get Miko-sama to Sayo's and I'll come back and sit with you."

"You'll sit with me?" Michio asked, a relieved look on his face. "I knew you were my friend. I need a friend." With a sigh, he let his head drop back to his chest.

"You don't need to do that, Eiji-sama," Asami said, standing up and bowing, obviously relieved at a chance to get away from the distraught man she had been trying to feed. "I can take Miko-sama to Sayo-sama." She turned to look at Toshiro with pleading eyes. The elder, smiling just a little at the look on her face, nodded. "I need to go there anyway. Nanami is expecting me to help."

Michio looked up again, and once again closing one eye, looked hard at Kagome. "Miko-sama? She doesn't look like Kaede-sama. She's in miko clothes, but she's too pretty to be Kaede-sama." He scratched his head, obviously confused. InuYasha glared at the man, who didn't seem to notice. "Almost as pretty as Chiya was when we were young." He dropped his head again and covered his face with his hands, and began rocking side to side. "Does she know how far I would go to see her smile?" he sang, repeating the last line from the song he had sung earlier, his voice barely above a whisper.

"That's because she's not Kaede-sama, Michio," Yasuo said, motioning Asami to leave. The girl nodded and joined Kagome and InuYasha. "This is the new miko, the one Kaede-obasan is training."

"The new miko?" Michio said. He looked up and finally seemed to notice InuYasha standing there. "That must mean she's InuYasha-sama's wife. You have a pretty wife." As if it was all too much effort, he wrapped his arms around himself and began rocking again.

"He's in a bad way," Kagome said.

"Maybe it's a good thing I showed up," Eiji said to the miko. "He's sad now, but sometimes he gets mean when he's drunk."

InuYasha nodded. "I've seen that."

Eiji moved toward the verandah. "If Asami-chan can take Miko-sama, then I'll come sit with you, friend."

Michio looked up, a beautific, if rather fuzzy, smile on his face. "You won't try to make me eat some soup, will you?"

"Not unless you want some," Eiji said, settling down.

Asami looked back at the table with the food. "Feel free to eat it if he won't, Eiji-sama."

"It'll get eaten," Yasuo said, smiling at the young girl. "You go and take care of my wife."

"Where is Sayo-sama?" Kagome asked the girl.

"We have a house where all the women in the family give birth," Asami said. "They didn't show it to you when you came by the other day?"

Kagome shook her head.

"It's right around the back." Asami said. "Just follow me."

Kagome nodded, and began to follow. InuYasha, not really wanting to be left with the men yet, trailed behind until they reached the side of the main house. Kagome stopped him with a touch on his arm.

She looked up in his eyes, and saw the look there, and then turned to Asami. "I'll be just a moment." Taking InuYasha's hand, she put down the lamp, and walked with him into the shadows by a tree.

"You can't come with me, you know," she said, giving his hand a little squeeze.

"Feh," he said. "You think that I don't know that? This is woman's business. I just . . . "

"What are you going to do? You don't have to sit with the other men." Kagome said. "You could go home for a few hours."

"No, I can't. Who knows when she'll get done?" He brushed a wisp of hair away from her face. "I want to be here when you're ready to go."

She tilted her head."But aren't you tired?"

"Not as tired as you, woman. You forget? I don't need as much sleep as you puny humans." Not liking the serious look on her face, he gave her a cocky smile.

The smile worked, and she grinned back. "You've been sleeping pretty well these last two weeks." .

"Yeah, I sleep better when I have something to hold onto," he said, smirking, just a little.

Kagome gave him a little playful shove. "So that's all it took to make you sleep?"

InuYasha looked up at the branches overhead."But if I get tired, I can just jump into a tree."

Looking over her shoulder at the small house that Asami was leading her to, Kagome looked up at the tree herself. "I wouldn't pick this one," she said. "It's too close to the birthing house. You'll probably hear more than you want to."

He nodded, his ear flicking in the direction of the building. "You're right. I can hear Sayo from here. We passed a good tree on the way here, near the other side of the house. Might try that one."

"That's one less thing for me to worry about." Kagome gave his hand another squeeze.

"You're worried?" he asked, a bit surprised.

"Not really." Kagome shook her head. "It's just new. I've never been where someone had a baby before. My mother had Souta in the hospital." Seeing the look of confusion on her husband's face, she explained, "That's the place where women went to have their babies, and I wasn't there. I was too young anyway, even if they would have let me near."

"Yeah," he said. "I never was very near anybody having a baby until Sango had hers, and I wasn't that near. You'll do good. Kaede's there, anyway. She knows everything about birthing babies."

"Yeah," she said, nodded. "I better go."

"Go learn everything you can," he said. He gave her hand a squeeze.

Kagome smiled at him. "I will. I wonder if they'll have any tea."

"Knowing Kaede, I'm pretty sure." He gave her a quick hug. "That woman likes her tea."

"And so do I," Kagome said. Separating herself from his embrace, she went to join Asami, and with a final wave, the two of them walked the path lined with the lanterns to the little house.

Before the two women reached the birthing house, the door opened, and out stepped Sayo, being carefully supported by Matsu and Nanami.

"You're sure?" Nanami said. Her voice was uncertain, and there was a touch of disapproval.

"Of course I am," Sayo replied. "You of all people should remember how much a little walking helps me."

"But it's so dark," the older woman said. "There might be a fox around."

"That's why we put the lanterns out," the pregnant woman said. "And Houshi-sama blessed them. I'm not worried."

They took a few steps, a woman at each of Sayo's arms. Suddenly the woman took a sharp breath. "Wait," she said. Closing her eyes, she breathed deeply as a contraction hit her. After about a minute, she opened her eyes again. This time, looking down the path, she saw Kagome and Asami walking towards her.

"Ah, Kagome-chan," she said, smiling. "I'm glad you made it. I was almost afraid you'd get here too late, but this little one isn't quite ready yet. I'm still going to be able to be the first one you get to practice on."

"It looks that way," Kagome said. "I'm glad you're so willing. I don't know anything about having babies."

"Everyone has to begin somewhere." Sayo's voice was calm, and a bit amused. "I'm glad I can be the one to get you started. I'm not like some women. I don't get as upset as some of them do." She turned to Nanami. "Let's go back in."

"Good idea," the older woman said, breathing a small sigh of relief. "There are better things to do than walk in the dark."

"Maybe so," Sayo said. "Matsu, go tell Kaede-obasan that Kagome-chan is here."

Matsu bowed, and went inside.

"Here, Kagome-chan, you can get started by taking her place," Sayo said, motioning to the younger woman. "Not that I really need support, but someone," she said, looking at Nanami, "gets nervous about me falling."

Nanami laughed. "And as off-balance as you are tonight, it's nice of you to indulge an old woman. I have enough to worry about."

"I'll let you do the worrying for both of us," Sayo said. "But now, let's go in."

Smiling, Kagome moved next to Sayo, and allowed her to hold her arm. Walking slowly, the three women, followed by Asami, went back into the birthing house.


	155. Chapter 155

_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 155**

Kagome helped Sayo through the door to the little house, then stood there, looking around, moving only enough to let Asami inside. Nanami helped Sayo back to her seat, while Kaede looked up at her pupil, rather amused.

"I've never been in a birthing house before," Kagome said as she looked around the brightly lit room. "Sango told me about having her baby at home. I thought that was the custom in this village. I'm surprised you have a whole house set aside for it."

Nanami snickered, but Sayo only smiled up at the young miko. "Ah, you've seen my house. Can you imagine, with all the children underfoot and other business, how it would be for me to give birth there? We'd have to send everybody away. Maybe if Haha-ue were still with us." Matsu handed her a cup of tea. "Actually, if Haha-ue was still with us, I'd probably go there to have the baby, but this works well for everybody."

Kagome moved to sit next to the women. "That kind of makes sense."

Kaede nodded. "There's a mix of customs, child. In many places, women will go spend some time at home with their parents near the end of their time. In some places all the women have their babies in special houses like this one."

"It certainly gets you away from the children and even the men," Nanami said. "I know my man always fretted more than me."

Sayo laughed again. "It must run in the family, Nanami-obasan, because we both know how Yasuo gets."

The women chuckled. "Be glad we have him straight on that one," Kaede said. "Or you would be sitting at the door, chasing him away every few minutes, Kagome-chan."

"He was that bad?" she asked.

"I went to my mother's for my firstborn," Sayo said. "But Haha-ue passed away not long after that. The poor man had such a time when the second one came that Toshiro had this house built and had it blessed as a woman's only sacred precinct. All the women in our ko have the use of it if they want."

Kaede took a sip of her own tea. "It's worked out very well, especially for women who have no mothers."

"At least until it's time to go home. That first month . . . " Sayo said, wistfully.

"It's always the hardest," Nanami said, agreeing. "But we're here to pamper you, Sayo-chan."

"Just keep Daiki out of harm's way," the pregnant woman said. "That will help a lot."

Asami had been sitting quietly next to Matsu. "Now Asami," Sayo said. "Get Kagome-chan a cup of tea." The girl nodded, and began to fill a cup with the pale green liquid. Sayo turned back to Kagome. "There's food if you get hungry, too. We're going to be here a while longer. It was bad enough that I had to drag you out of bed. I don't need to starve you while I'm at it."

Kagome accepted the cup and let it warm her hands a moment before she took her first sip. As she watched, Sayo closed her eyes, and began breathing deeply as her next contraction swept over her.

"Would you like your back rubbed, Sayo-chan?" Kaede asked.

She gave a quick nod. The old miko got up and moved behind her. "Come, Kagome-chan," Kaede said. "Many women who are having pains like pressure here on their backs."

As Kagome moved next to her, the old miko pressed down on a place low on Sayo's back. "This is particularly good at this point in labor. It helps with the pain. You try it."

Kaede placed Kagome's hands on Sayo's back. "A firm touch is best," she said.

The spasm passed, and Sayo, relaxing, said, "You can press a little harder."

"Let me know if I get too hard," Kagome replied.

"Oh, it'll take a lot to hurt more than the pangs," Sayo said, "but I will."

"One of our jobs is to ease the way. Even though they say a woman and her child bond through labor, we don't want it to get more than the mother can bear - if she cries out, it's a shame on her ancestors," Kaede said. "Perhaps for the next one, Sayo-chan will stand up, and I'll show you another technique."

"Will it help things to go faster?" Sayo asked.

"Sometimes," Kaede said, "although you're already faster than most women."

"Sooner the better," the pregnant woman said. "That feels good, Kagome-chan. Matsu, get the chamber pot ready. I don't know which is getting a worse workout, my womb or my bladder."

While the women were discussing the reasons for why Sayo had a birthing house, InuYasha moved out of earshot. First, he did a quick lope around the perimeter to make sure there was nothing in the shadows that shouldn't be there, just in case, and then headed back the way he came.

As InuYasha neared Toshiro's main house, he could hear Michio singing something, in a slurry, drunken voice. It was hard for him, even with his hearing, to make out the words, but it sounded like it might be another sad love song, and once again, just before he reached the front of the verandah, Yasuo hushed him again. For a moment, he stopped, contemplating leaping onto the roof and slinking to the other side of the building. The conversation the men were having though, caught his attention.

"It's taking InuYasha-sama a long time to find his way back from the woman's hut," Eiji said. "I wonder if he got lost?"

"I know he's not bothering Sayo-chan," Yasuo said. "If he was, we'd here it from here. I remember . . . "

"So do I," Eiji said, smiling. "Remember, I was with you. Kimi was helping that time. You're lucky she didn't throw the teapot at you."

"It wasn't that bad," Yasuo said, looking up from the game board. He folded his arms, glaring at Eiji.

"Oh yes it was," Toshiro said, chuckling a little at the memory. "It was after that I decided we needed the birthing house."

"I guess," Yasuo said, unfolding his arms and moving a piece on the game table.

"You think he got lost? Should I go look for him?" Eiji asked.

"No!" Michio said, suddenly looking up and grabbing Eiji's wrist. "You're supposed to be my friend. You can't go!"

"All right, all right," the night watchman said, laughing a little. "He's a big enough fellow to find his own way home." He patted Michio's hand. "He's found his way around a lot longer than you or I have."

"He doesn't look that old," Michio said.

"Pretty sure he is." Eiji picked up his sake cup, swirled the liquid around, thought about taking a sip and put it back down. "My Ojiisan told me about seeing him a long time ago."

"Huh." Toshiro made his move. "Tameo said he looked just as young when he rescued him as a boy. But fifty of those years don't count. Kind of hard to age when you're enchanted the way he was."

"He doesn't look any older than Amaya's oldest boy," Michio declared.

"Hiroki?" Toshiro said. He picked up his own cup and took a small sip. "Well, maybe. Except for his eyes. His eyes look like he's seen much more than any boy Hiroki's age."

Michio leaned his head on his left shoulder and closed his eyes a moment. Instead of going to sleep, like he looked like he was doing, he kept talking. "He's not as sneaky as Hiroki, though. Don't trust that boy. Always sucking up to anybody he thinks can do him a favor. Comes around my house too often. Chiya says he makes her laugh." His eyes opened and he frowned. "I think he just wants a free lunch."

"You think he just wants a free lunch?" Eiji said. "Me, I think he just wants to get out of work."

"That too," Michio agreed, and rested his head back against the wall. He lifted his cup, found it empty, but made no move for the jug. Instead, he just put his cup down and another song

"Do not trust a woman's eyes,  
>or her hair like silk.<br>Sake is a better friend  
>warming your belly.<p>

"Do not trust a woman's hand  
>no matter how soft.<br>Sake is a better friend  
>warming your belly.<p>

"Do not trust a woman's - "

Yasuo turned around, and nodded at Eiji, who gave him a little shove. "Well, from what I hear," Yasuo said, nodding at the watchman, "InuYasha's never afraid of hard work."

"You're right about that," Eiji said. "I've seen him in action. Strong and a hard worker, even if he's got that weird hair and those ears. I'd work by his side any time. Hiroki, not so much."

Shaking his head at the way they were talking about him, InuYasha moved out of the shadows and into the soft light of the well-lit verandah, where multiple lamps glowed warmly.

"Your eyes glow," Michio said, spotting the hanyou as he walked into the light. "Like a cat's."

"More like a dog's, I would say," Eiji said.

"Feh," the hanyou said, his ear twitching as if to make Eiji's point. He stuffed his hands in his sleeves. "They're just eyes. I see with them."

The drunk man shrugged. "Cat, dog, it's just different. Everything today is different." He reached for the sake jug but Eiji put it out of his reach.

Toshiro looked up. "Ah, I see you found your way back from the women. Eiji here was nervous that they had done something with you and wanted to send out a search party."

"I was . . . just checking on things," InuYasha said.

"I thought that was my job," Eiji said, tilting his head slightly to look up at the hanyou. It was a slightly amused look, not upset at all. "No bad men in the bushes, I take it?"

InuYasha shook his head. "None - outside of a bunch of men talking about me when I wasn't here."

Yasuo laughed.

Toshiro made a move on the game board. "Didn't you hear?" he said. "Susumu drafted our friend here into the village guard."

"Did he?" Eiji nodded. "Good. We could use someone like you. Come sit down, and tell me all about how he convinced you."

The hanyou frowned a bit, making his face seem rather solemn, as he tried to decide what to do.  
>Toshiro, looking up from the game board, noticed. "It's all right to go home for a while," the elder said. "I suspect it won't be over until dawn."<p>

InuYasha shook his head. "I'd just have to come back. I just thought . . . "

"Then you might as well join us," Yasuo said, interrupting. "That way we won't be talking about you behind your back."

"Feh," InuYasha said, but he joined the men, sitting near Toshiro.

"Ah, the joys of waiting," Yasuo said, playing a turn at the game. "Eat something, InuYasha. Do you want some sake? It helps with all the waiting."

"I'm not waiting," Michio said, as the hanyou shook his head no.

"Yes you are," Eiji said, holding a small bowl with sake in it. "I'm the only one not waiting."

"What am I waiting for?" Michio asked.

"For your honor," Eiji said.

"Bah," the distraught man said, frowning. "My honor went away a long time ago. About three months after I got married."

"And so you are waiting for it to come back." Eiji said. He took a sip of his sake.

"Don't," Michio said, his head lolling to one side. "You're married to a saint."

Eiji snorted. "You haven't seen her during the rice planting if you think that."

"You're waiting, too, Eiji my friend," Toshiro said, seeing the tension building in Michio. "Don't egg Michio on. We know why you're here and not at home."

"I don't think I want to play anymore," Yasuo said, turning his back to the game board. "It's not helping."

"Only time can," Toshiro said, and began to put the game pieces away.


	156. Chapter 156

_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 156**

"Home . . . " Michio said. His voice was horribly sad. "I used to have a home."

"You still do," Eiji replied, looking a bit exasperated. "So do I."

Michio shook his head, and buried his head in his hands. "Home. No, no. They're going to send Chiya-chan away."

Toshiro turned toward the man. His eyebrow rose in surprise. "Away? Who's going to do that?"

"Tameo and Tsuneo." Michio dropped his hands. "They're going to put her in that house by the river."

"Are they, now?" Yasuo said. He smirked a little. "That doesn't sound very far away. It's one of Tsuneo's buildings, isn't it?"

"It is," Toshiro said, nodding. "They've been fixing it up lately."

"They're not sending her away. Don't make it sound like she's being exiled or something. She had to have some place to go," Eiji said. "You kicked her out. You know how she and Haname-sama get along. And with Haname still sick . . . "

Michio curled up into a ball, his head between his knees. "Damn me, damn her. I just wanted to get the job done and go home."

InuYasha looked pained, somewhere between irritated and guilty as he watched the man. He stood up.

"Don't go, InuYasha," Eiji said, seeing the hanyou. "You didn't cause all this."

The headman nodded. "He's right," Toshiro said. "Every few years, Chiya and Michio go through this. It's sad to watch, but not unexpected." He moved the go board out of the way. "It was just bad timing on Chiya's part to do it when her okaasan was under the weather." He picked up the sake jug, poured some into an unused cup. "Sit down and don't take it to heart. Drink," he said, offering the cup to the hanyou.

Michio turned to the hanyou. "You think it's bad that I kicked her out? You know I had to. Give me some dignity."

"I..." InuYasha said. "I just . . . "

Toshiro tugged on his sleeve, and InuYasha sat down, and accepted the cup.

The headman sighed. "These last few days . . . we have had an abundance of women's bad behavior. Don't judge us by their actions, InuYasha-sama," Toshiro said. "Normally, it's a nice quiet village. Even when you cause a little excitement showing up. You know that."

InuYasha downed a big mouthful of the wine as his ears flattened, then he shook his head. He looked at the group of men. Toshiro looked apologetic, Yasuo curious, and Eiji just shrugged. Michio curled back in a ball. "You don't blame me? Any of you?"

"What?" Yasuo said. "You think we should blame you for the rudeness of our women and the wildness of our boys?"

"Why . . . " InuYasha said. He downed the rest of the cup, but shook his head when Toshiro offered to refill it. "Everywhere else, it was me when anything happened."

Michio started singing again.

"Do not trust a woman's eyes,  
>or her hair like silk.<br>Sake is a better friend  
>warming your belly."<p>

Eiji shoved him. "Don't sing that song again. Sake's not being a good friend to you tonight."

Michio shoved back half-heartedly."Neither is Chiya."

Eiji, scowling at Michio turned to look at InuYasha, and saw something haunted in the hanyou's strange eyes. "I don't know everything that's happened to you, but here, you're one of us. And a member of the guard. That's good enough for me."

InuYasha stared at him for a moment, not sure of what to say. Michio spoke up and saved him from having to respond.

"I hope that crazy man won't eat her," he said. "Stupid Joben, bringing a monster like that here."

"That guy won't eat anything but rice. Stop worrying, Michio," Eiji said. "Haven't you seen him? He's like a little boy."

"They're going to put her in the house with the yamabushi?" Toshiro looked surprised.

"Not alone." Eiji looked at Michio, and then back at the elder. "Kisoi and his family are going to move in there. They'll probably be taking care of Chiya as well. Joben will be there part time."

Toshiro sighed. "I hope it works out."

"I saw him today," Yasuo said. "So strange. He was playing with a toy horse like any other six-year-old."

"But what if he . . . " Michio started to say before Eiji shoved him again.

"See," Eiji said, turning to InuYasha. "We really do know monsters from those who are just different."

"Keh," InuYasha said, but he looked doubtful.

The night crawled on. Eventually, Michio fell asleep, and even InuYasha dozed a bit, leaning up against the wall of the house. Things were not quite as still in the birthing house though.

The lamplight glistened as it touched Sayo's face, highlighting a fine sheen of sweat.

"Would you like me to wipe your forehead?" Kagome asked. Fine tendrils of hair were plastered to her face.

Sayo, not as cheerfully in control as she was earlier, nodded. She was laying down on a pallet on her left side, trying to relax in between contractions.

"One day, maybe I'll have a child who decides to come in the day. In the fall, where we won't need so many lamps to make the room warm," the laboring woman said.

Kagome gently wiped Sayo's forehead dry.

"That would be nice," Kaede said, nodding. "Your children all have liked the early morning to come into the room."

"Obstinate, the lot of them," Sayo said.

Near the fire, Nanami snickered. "Oh dear, I can tell we're getting well along if she's snapping."

"Would you like to trade places, Obasan?" Sayo said, her voice somewhat irritated as she moved her head to glance at the older women.

"Already done it, child," the older woman said. She left her place by the fire and walked over to where Sayo lay. As Kagome made room for her, she picked up Sayo's hand, gently massaging a place between the thumb and first finger of the woman's hand. "I've had seven young ones over the years. You haven't caught up with me yet." She turned to Kagome. "Look here, Miko-sama. There's a point here, and if you put pressure on it, it will help with the pains. It always worked for me."

As Sayo watched, Nanami placed Sayo's hand in Kagome's. Sayo nodded, and Kagome took over the massage, just as another contraction hit her. Nanami walked around to her back side and took over from Kaede, who was giving Sayo a lower back rub.

"Go get something to eat, Kaede," Nanami said. "I think she's getting to the hard part, and it won't be long before you'll get to welcome the new one."

Kaede looked at Nanami with her one eye, normally calm and patient, now tired and nodded. "I think you're right." She slowly got up then headed to the fire.

Sayo grunted a little as the spasm reached its peak.

"Your pains are getting worse?" Kagome said. Still putting pressure on the point on Sayo's hand, she leaned forward to wipe the woman's brow again.

"That's the way it is, Kagome-chan," Nanami said. "It's that last bit of opening up before the baby comes that hurts the most." She ran her hands knowingly on the lower part of Sayo's back. "It's kind of like climbing a mountain. The road can get very steep towards the top, and it's a lot of work getting up there."

Sayo let out a breath as the contraction passed. "But it's not a road you can turn around and go home because you think you've had enough." She grabbed Kagome's arm and leaned her weight into it. "Help me sit up. I think I want to move to the bench."

Kaede put down her teacup. "You think it's that time?"

"Almost," Sayo said, looking towards the old miko. "I rather not wait until the last second. Remember last time?"

"Too well," Nanami said, moving around to where she could help Kagome support Sayo's weight. "That boy, always a speedy little thing."

Together, Kagome and the older woman helped Sayo up. Sayo closed her eyes as she stood, catching her breath. "Let's go," she said after a moment.

They began to move. Nanami looked at the group of women by the fire, Matsu, Kaede and Asami. "Before dawn or not?"

"Are you taking bets?" Matsu asked.

"I bet on before," Sayo said. "Don't think I won't remember who bets on after."

A little later, InuYasha pulled out of his doze as a boy's voice broke the silence.

"Ojiisan, where's Haha-ue?"

InuYasha opened his eyes. The sky was graying, but it was not yet dawn. He stretched a little and saw Daiki crawling into his grandfather's lap. On the other side of him, Yasuo was leaning against the wall of the house, sleeping with his mouth open, snoring lightly. Eiji was rubbing his eyes, and on the other side of him, Michio was sound asleep, curled up in a ball.

Toshiro was not quite awake either, but he blinked as the boy pulled on his sleeve.

"I looked everywhere for her," the boy said. "She wasn't in the sleeping room. And Nanami isn't here either."

Toshiro took a deep breath, and yawned widely, then gave his head a shake. "What are you doing up? It's too early for you, boy." He put an arm around his grandson, and moved him into position between him and Yasuo.

"I had a bad dream," Daiki said. "I wanted her to get the dream eater to chase it away."

Yasuo opened his eyes and saw his son. Sitting up, he wrapped an arm around him and snugged him against his side. "A bad dream, huh?"

"Yeah. Something was trying to get us all." Daiki leaned into his father's side. "I think it wanted to eat us."

InuYasha stood up and walked off the verandah, and toward the edge of the house, peering into the not quite light dimness towards the birth house.

"You're sure it wasn't you who were trying to eat everything?" Toshiro asked. The corners of his mouth curled up in a small smile. "I saw how much you ate last night."

"No!" Daiki said, frowning at the suggestion. He shook his head. "It was big and black and ugly and came out of the river. I grabbed Ishi and was running away but it was almost on me, but then I woke up."

Yasuo gave him a knowing nod. "Always good to wake up before the bad things happen."

"It's the ones you can't wake up from that are the bad ones," Eiji said. "I remember a few of those."

Michio groaned in his sleep.

The elder glanced in his direction. "I'm afraid our cousin here," Toshiro said, nodding at Michio's direction, "probably wishes yesterday was just a bad dream."

Eiji nodded. "You're probably right." He stood up. "I'll think I'll try to make it home. Maybe I can have breakfast before the fireworks start. Maybe."

Yasuo gave him a sympathetic look. "Good luck."

"I'll probably need it," the watchman said, bowed and walked down the path.

Daiki watched Eiji walk off, and looked at his father and grandfather, confused. "Why was Eiji-ojisan here? Why are you sleeping outside?" There was a note of concern rising in his voice. "Where's Haha-ue?"

"She's kind of busy right now," Yasuo said, giving the boy a hug.

"Why?" the boy asked. "It's sleep time."

"Think," Yasuo said, rubbing his son's head. "Why would your okaasan not be in the house this early in the morning?"

InuYasha's ear flicked, like he was hearing something, but wasn't certain.

Suddenly, it dawned on the boy. "The baby?"

"You're a good guesser, Daiki-chan," Yasuo said, nodding. "Soon we'll find out if it's another brother or sister."

The boy smiled. "I want a baby sister."

"We'll find out soon enough," Toshiro said. "Another girl in the family would be nice, though."

InuYasha turned to face the men. "Sooner than you think, maybe. I think I hear a baby crying." His ear flicked again, in the direction of where the women were. "No, I'm sure I do."


	157. Chapter 157

_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 157**

While Michio snored softly where he slept on the verandah, Toshiro and Yasuo looked at the hanyou.

The older man was the first to react. "Is that so?" he said, looking at his son, with just a hint of a smile. "See? I told you it would be before dawn."

Yasuo ignored his father and rose to his feet. "A baby crying? You can hear that from here?"

"Baby's got a good set of lungs," InuYasha said, nodding. "It's not that far away. Even you might hear it if you hurry over here before they manage to get it to quiet."

Yasuo started to move, his earlier sleepiness totally gone, but before he could, Daiki looked up at him and pulled on his sleeve. "Otou? What baby?"

"I think InuYasha-sama means your little brother or sister has come to join us," Toshiro said, standing as well. He ruffed his grandson's hair, while looking at his son. "Of course, that doesn't mean we can go barging in. Kaede-sama and your mother would be throwing everything within reach at us if we don't wait until we're called in." Yasuo gave him a mildly offended look.

"Don't you think I don't know that, Otousan?" Yasuo shook his head. "Are you going to remind me that I was a stupid, panicked fool with Daiki's birth every time we have a child?" Yasuo said.

The younger man rested a hand on his son's shoulder to make sure the boy didn't dart away. The boy though made no effort to move. Instead he looked up at his father curiously. "You were bad, Otou?"

"You otousan wasn't really bad, Daiki-chan," Toshiro said. "Mostly nervous, and he made Kaede-obasan and your okaa a bit unhappy." He chuckled a little at the memory. "Not the first man, I'm sure, to pester Miko-sama." He looked up at Yasuo, who was looking at him with an irritated glare. "Although it seems that your panic and stupidness that time are giving way to just normal nervousness and resignation more and more with each child."

InuYasha snorted as the father and son talked, an amused grin on his face.

"I wouldn't laugh if I were you," Yasuo said, looking at the hanyou. "Your turn is coming, InuYasha. You haven't been married long yet. You won't really appreciate what it's like to watch your woman go through everything she'll go through until you experience it. Wait until it's you Kaede's threatening with the wrath of heaven if you don't stop bothering her. She can be quite . . . formidable if you annoy her enough."

The hanyou's ear twitched, and his grin faded. "Yeah," he said. "I've seen her like that before."

"I do believe you have," Toshiro said, nodding knowingly. "I seem to remember a time when she had to keep you locked up because you were injured. You were not pleased by it at all."

InuYasha stuck his hands in his sleeves, and looked down at his feet. "I was . . . kind of stupid back then. But you noticed?"

"I think the whole village noticed, son," Toshiro said, slightly amused at the hanyou's discomfort. "You were rather loud. A few of us wondered at Miko-sama's wisdom about the whole thing. But we were glad enough that you were better when it was time to fight those youkai."

InuYasha nodded, not saying anything.

For a moment, the conversation stalled. The sky was getting lighter by the moment. Yasuo walked over to the edge of the verandah, but the only thing he could hear was an early morning bird singing.

"Do you still hear the baby?" he asked the hanyou.

InuYasha shook his head.

"Be patient, son," Toshiro said, stepping carefully around the sleeping Michio to rest a hand on his son's shoulder. "They'll let us know soon enough."

"I know," Yasuo said, taking a deep breath. "I just hate waiting."

Off in the distance, they could hear a man shout something, and a woman reply, rather aggravated. The village was starting to wake up.

"Keh," the hanyou said. "I hear that."

"Ojiisan?" Daiki said, pulling on his grandfather's sleeve.

"What is it, grandson?" the older man asked, looking at his grandson, who was standing near Michio's feet. "Be careful. You don't want to wake up your cousin. He's going to be in a bad mood when he gets up."

The boy glanced at the sleeping man and shrugged."I'm hungry," he said. "Who's going to make breakfast? Nanami and none of the other women are here to cook breakfast. Can I wake up Umi?"

"Breakfast, eh?" Toshiro asked.

Daiki nodded. "Who's going to make the soup if they aren't here?"

"I guess we'll have to fend for ourselves this morning. Don't wake up your sister. Things are going to be crazy enough today without her having enough rest." Toshiro scratched the back of his neck, thinking. "I bet Nanami left some onigiri, if I know her. Want to go see?"

The boy nodded.

Toshiro rested his hand once again on his son's shoulder. "It'll be a little while still before they have everything the way they want it before telling us we can see the child, son. You know how they are. She won't want to see you until she's cleaned up and had a moment or two to catch her breath. You might want a bite yourself."

"In a bit, Otousan," Yasuo said, patting his father's hands. "Go take care of Daiki."

"Are you scared?" Daiki asked, looking up at his father with wide eyes, unsure if he liked how his father was acting.

"No, Daiki-chan. Not now." He smiled at the boy, and ruffed his hair. "It's more like I know there's a surprise your okaasan has for me, and I can't see it yet. I know how you get when you're like that."

"Okaa gets mad at me when I'm like that," the boy said. "But I can't help it."

"Just like your father, boy," Toshiro said. He started to pull Daiki away.

"I am?" the boy asked, obviously pleased by the comment.

"More than he'll admit," the old man said, giving Yasuo a knowing glance. "Come join us when you're ready. And you, too, InuYasha. You're welcome as well." Turning, he led his grandson back into the house.

Yasuo ran his hands over the side of his head, and let out a deep breath as the two left. He watched the door close behind them and turned back to face the hanyou. "It's always a little frightening for me, when it's her time," Yasuo said. "Please don't think I'm always like this."

The hanyou nodded. "The not knowing?" He looked at the man who radiated both fatigue and release, and smelled like he had just come out of a battle, tired and frightened.

"The not knowing," Yasuo said, nodding. "I'm too nervous about it, maybe."

"You're no worse that Miroku," InuYasha said. "We went off on an extermination the last time, because he was too afraid to stay at home."

"Is that why?" Yasuo said, grinning weakly. "My Sayo, she said she thought that's why he left. There was some talk about how he behaved when the twins were born. Reminded me of me when Daiki came."

"She was right," InuYasha said, nodding.

"Most of the other men don't wind up as badly as I do, I know. Nice to hear that Houshi-sama's the same way. Smart of him to leave last time, otherwise, they'll start teasing him the way they tease me." He sighed. "I'm not a coward. But my okaasan . . . "

The hanyou waited a moment, while the man next to him gathered his words. "My okaasan, she tried to have one last child when I was about seventeen. Something went wrong, and she and the baby didn't make it."

"I didn't know that," InuYasha said. "Losing your mother is hard. I know . . . " He let his voice drift off.

Yasuo nodded. "Every time Sayo carries, I worry, and watch to see if any of the things that happened to Haha-ue happen to her," he admitted. "My poor okaasan, she swelled up so bad and had a lot of pain in her stomach before . . . " His voice drifted off, and for a moment he was lost in his memories. Taking a deep breath, he shook his head, putting on a small smile. "But Sayo-chan seems to thrive on carrying. She never has had any problems. She's a strong woman. But knowing things can go wrong makes the waiting hard."

"Keh," the hanyou said.

Michio rolled over in his sleep, scratched his head, and mumbled something. The two men watched for a moment, to see if the man was going to wake up, but instead, he began snoring.

Yasuo turned around to look back at the birthing house. The lamps they had lit earlier had burned low, but the graying sky made the little building easy to see. The door flap opened, and Asami stepped out and began heading up the path, stopping to extinguish each lamp on her way to the main house.

"Haha-ue passed on before Sayo and I were married. It was a hard time for me, and even harder for Chichi-ue. He loved my okaasan a lot. For a while, the light went out of his eyes. Somehow, though," he looked at the hanyou and smiled, "after the birth of Umi, he began to find some joy again. That's why, even knowing how I wind up, I don't begrudge Sayo having more children. Keeping Chichi-ue happy and with us . . . being an ojiisan has helped him a lot."

The hanyou nodded."Umi, that's your oldest kid?"

Yasuo nodded. "Just turned twelve. She looks a lot like Haha-ue, and as she grows into womanhood, it's becoming clearer."

As the two men watched, Asami made it up to the verandah, and bowed. She took a moment before saying anything, which irritated the waiting father.

"Well, do you have news?" Yasuo asked, crossing his arms, his fingers tapping on his biceps as he waiting for the girl to make her report.

For a moment, she acted intimidated by his stare, but then she caught herself and bowed once more. "You have a new daughter, Yasuo-sama. Sayo-sama said for you to stop worrying."

"Did she?" InuYasha said, smiling at the news. "She must know you well."

"Too well, maybe," Yasuo said, nodding. He visibly began to relax, and lost his gruff impatience with the girl. "So, is that all they told you to tell me?"

Asami shook her head. "Kaede-sama sent me to tell you that all is well, and to thank you for waiting." Asami looked up, and smiled at the man. "Your new daughter has good lungs. I think she cries louder than Ishi did. And Kaede says she'll send word when they're ready for you to come see, since she knows you won't go to sleep first."

Yasuo beamed at the girl. "Very good news indeed. You may want to go inside. Chichi-ue's looking for breakfast. If he makes too much of a mess, you know how Nanami-obasan will react. After that, you might want to get some rest."

Asami's eyes widened, and she bowed again. "I'll go see what I can do," she said, and hurried inside.

Yasuo took a deep breath. Somewhere nearby, a rooster began crowing, and the sun began to peak over the horizon. "It's beginning to look like a good day," he said, looking at the hanyou. Michio rolled over, and moaned in his sleep. Yasuo turned and looked at his cousin. "At least for some of us."

"Keh," the hanyou said. "I'm ready for one."


	158. Chapter 158

_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 158**

While Asami helped Toshiro and Daiki find their breakfast, at the birthing house, things had been busy as well. Sayo, her ordeal over, was now dressed in a fresh kosode, bright red for good luck, and was laying down on her pallet, a coverlet in blue and white pulled up to her waist. She looked about the room with a contented smile, like one gets after a job well done, until she spotted Nanami moving the bench towards her. Sayo had used the wooden seat to deliver her daughter, but Nanami was about to put it to its second use as she set it down near the head of the bed.

"You need to sit up, Sayo-chan," she said, motioning for Kagome and Matsu to help. "I know you don't like this as a back rest, but I'll be sure to pad it with some extra blankets."

Sayo made a face, but didn't fuss as the two women moved into position. "You can hold on to me, Sayo-chan," Kagome said, wrapping her arm under the woman's shoulders as the two lifted her up.

"Be careful what you're offering," Matsu teased, as she wrapped herself around the new mother from the other side. Together, they began to lift. "Sayo-sama is known to hold on tight."

Nanami laughed as she slipped the stool in place. "Children, cats, chickens, and women . . . She'll want you, too."

"Oh, I will," Sayo said. "Don't think you're getting away from me, just because the baby's born." Kagome smiled as she helped the woman lean forward a bit. "You've been a good helper, little Miko-san. I'm glad I didn't scare you away. " Sayo turned to face Kaede who was sitting on another stool, next to a tub of warm water. The look the woman gave the old miko was not quite as happy as the one she gave to the younger one. "Why do you always do this to me, Kaede-obasan?" She sucked on her bottom lip a bit as the two women adjusted her position so Nanami could begin padding the back rest. "I really would rather lie down for a while."

"Lying down isn't what you need right now. Sitting up is good for you, and you know it," Kaede said, looking up at the woman."It helps your blood flow the way it needs to, and you'll get over the birthing faster." Her face was calm and not bothered by the pout Sayo was giving her, and instead, she turned her attention back to what she was doing. "You should be glad I don't ask you to spend the next month sitting up, waking or sleeping, like some midwives do. Just today. Anyway, it'll make it easier for you to hold your daughter."

"If you ever finish bathing her," Sayo said. For some reason, this made Matsu giggle, until Sayo gave her a look and she settled down.

"All in good time," the old miko said. She was holding the newborn carefully as she bathed the little girl in the tub, the child's head pointed towards her lap.

"Almost done, Nanami?" Sayo asked. She pulled free from the two women and rotated her shoulders.

"One more," the older woman said, spreading out a blue and white cloth. "Then you can lean back and tell me if that's enough."

"I do believe we made it before sunrise." Sayo leaned forward a bit as Nanami smoothed the cloth.

"Yes you did," Nanami said. "The sun's just starting to come up. Lean back now. How's that?"  
>Sayo leaned back and sighed as the backrest took her weight. "It'll do." She pulled her coverlet a bit higher.<p>

"We know better than to bet against you, Sayo-sama," Matsu said, heading back to the fire pit. "If you say before sunrise, we know it'll happen. Are you ready for some soup?"

Sayo nodded. "I think so. We can save the carp until after I've rested a bit. I don't think I'm ready to eat fish."

"Carp?" Kagome asked.

"Oh yes, carp and miso soup are the best foods for after a birth," Kaede said. "It helps a woman build her strength back."

"That's what they say, anyway," Sayo said. "But I never want much after I have a child. And besides, Yasuo must be driving everybody crazy, wanting to come see his daughter. There's no use keeping him waiting any longer than necessary. The sooner that's over, the sooner I can rest."

"I'm sure you're right," Nanami said, smoothing the younger woman's coverlet. "You'll be able to get a good sleep soon. Just don't let him tire you out when we let him in."

Sayo smiled up at the older woman. "I promise. But I'm sure you'll figure out something to get him to do if I start to."

Nanami chuckled. "I've had a lot of practice at that, ever since he was a young boy. Daiki comes by his ways quite naturally. He's very much like his otousan."

"I believe that," Sayo said. "I hope my new little one is more like her sister. I'm going to have enough trouble with both Ishi and Daiki, without their sister joining them in the fun and games."

Kaede chuckled as she dipped her hand into the warm water. "You do have a lively bunch, Sayo-chan. Maybe having a younger sister to keep an eye on will help keep your boys busy."

"One can hope," Nanami said.

The little girl evidently found the water pleasant, because once she felt the water, she had stopped crying while Kaede washed her clean.

Kagome, no longer needing to support Sayo, watched how the older miko was working from where she knelt next to the bed. Sayo noticed her fascination, and smiled."So, Kagome-chan, what do you think about all of this?" she asked as Matsu walked over and gave her a bowl of soup. She took a sip, nodding her head, and Matsu retreated back to the fire pit.

As Sayo drank her soup, Kagome thought for a moment. "I'm not exactly sure how to say it," the young miko said. "I'd never seen a baby born before. It was amazing, but . . . I knew it took a lot of effort, but knowing about it and seeing it are two different things."

"Now that's a true statement," Nanami said, as she moved to the far end of the room, gathering up the linen they used in the birthing away in a basket to be washed a little later. "Wait until you experience it yourself. It'll give you an even different view."

Kagome colored at the thought, but nodded. "I bet. But at least I'll know something about what to expect before the first time."

"That is always a good thing," Kaede said, nodding. "Fear of the unknown makes things harder. I always prefer that women have at least assisted at a birth before they have their first. Young women who don't know what they will go through have harder times." Having finished bathing the newborn, she carefully dried off the child and wrapped her in a warm, soft cloth. "Come here, Kagome-chan," she said. "You can carry Sayo's baby to her."

"Me?" the young miko said, surprised. "But . . . but she's so little . . . Are you sure?"

"Go ahead, Kagome-chan," Sayo said, smiling at her hesitation. "It's good luck for a new wife."

"That is, if you want children, " Nanami said. "If you don't, maybe Matsu should do it."

"Oh, I do - it's just . . . I . . . " Kagome said, blushing a bit more, but gave a nod and stood up. She walked over to where the older miko sat by the tub, and let Kaede put the newborn in her arms.

"Be careful of her head and neck," Kaede advised. "It'll be a while before she'll be able to support her own head and there's a soft spot on all babies' skulls."

Kagome nodded, and looked down at the little girl in her arms. Her skin was a little redder than older babies, and her face looked a little odd to the young woman. "Do all babies look like this when they're just born?" she asked.

"Most of them," Kaede said. "She's healthy and looks like a fine strong little girl."

The baby's hands were closed in fists, and her eyes were closed as Kagome examined her. "I think she looks a lot like you, Sayo-chan."

"Better than looking like her father," Nanami said, twisting the corners of her mouth into a teasing smirk.

Sayo laughed. "Shame on you. You know Yasuo's a good looking man."

Kagome, caught up in the baby, ignored their banter. "Oh, she has a lot of hair," she said, brushing the fine black strands with a delicate touch. "I didn't know babies were born with so much hair."

"Most babies are born with hair," Kaede said, rather amused at Kagome's reactions. "Some more, some less."

"All of my babies were born with a good head of hair," Sayo said, smiling at the look in Kagome's face. "Daiki lost his right away, but Umi, fortunate child, never lost much."

As the miko touched, the baby opened her eyes, and looked up at Kagome solemnly for a moment, before raising her fists in a jerky motion. "Do you want your mama, little one?" the miko asked in a soft voice. For a moment, the baby squinched up a face, like she was going to cry, but Kagome rocked her gently, and the baby didn't.

"I see you have a good way with babies," Nanami said, approvingly, as Kagome crossed the room with her small bundle, and knelt down next to Sayo to hand her the child. "A good talent to have."

"I've always liked children," Kagome said. "That's one reason we took in Shippo-chan. He was orphaned, and I just couldn't leave him behind."

"The little kitsune boy? And he can be a handful. I've seen how he gets," Nanami said, finishing her tidying up and moving back to her place next to Sayo. "You have a kind heart, to take a child like that on, and the children like you as well. It's a good thing." She sighed. "I've seen a few women who couldn't stand their babies, even after they started sleeping regular hours."

"Let's not talk about that now," Sayo said, glancing away from her baby for a moment to give the older woman a warning look. "I know who you mean, but I don't want anything unpleasant to think about right now."

"A good idea," Kaede said, nodding. She began packing up her basket of supplies. "We've had enough of her yesterday. And now is the time for you and your little one to relax. There'll be enough time to think about things like that later. "

It dawned on Kagome who they were talking about, and she chewed on her lip, trying to think of what to say next. Instead of speaking, she watched Sayo nestle the baby in her arms. "Do you know what she's going to be called yet?"

"Ah, we've been talking about that," Sayo said. "Yasuo has been thinking about naming her after Toshiro's mother if it was a girl, but we won't call her that until the naming day. We wouldn't want to bring bad luck, you know."

"A good name," Kaede said. "I remember her. A very pleasant and kind woman."

"She was, indeed," Nanami said. "I hope her spirit touches this child with the same good graces."

"With two older boys to boss her around, she might need them" Sayo said, repeating the motion of brushing the baby's hair that Kagome had done earlier, but this time, the little girl merely snuggled closer to her mother.

Kagome nodded her head. As she watched, the baby relaxed, listening to Sayo's heartbeat and fell asleep.

Sayo, seeing her baby sleeping, yawned herself. "Matsu, go tell Yasuo to come. If he doesn't get here soon, he'll have to wait until I wake up myself."

Matsu nodded and headed out of the door. In less time than it would have taken her to get to the main house, the doormat lifted, and Yasuo stepped in.

Sayo looked at her husband fondly, and not surprised at all. "You just couldn't wait, could you? Were you standing right outside?"

He gave her a sheepish look. "Not exactly. I saw the door mat lift and came running. What?" he said. "You expect me to miss seeing two beautiful women?"

The new mother laughed, and patted the floor next to her, inviting him to come sit down.

As Sayo showed her husband their new charge, Kaede turned to Kagome, and stifled a yawn. "And that, I think, is our cue to go, child. I bet Yasuo wasn't the only one waiting impatiently."

Kagome stood up. "You're probably right."

As she moved across the room to join the elderly miko, Kaede caught Nanami's eye. "You know where to find me if you need me," she said standing up, and picking up her supply basket. "Take care, Sayo-chan. I'll come by later to see how you're doing."

Sayo nodded, and with a final goodbye, the two miko stepped out of the little house.


	159. Chapter 159

_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 159**

Miroku walked down the main street of the village, his staff rattling with each step. It was still quite early, the sun barely over the horizon, and the village was still just beginning to wake up. He looked tired but wide awake as he passed the steps to the shrine and Kaede's empty house. Pausing for a moment, he closed his eyes, as if trying to sense something, but after a moment he just shook his head.

"Not here," he said. "Or I'm just too tired to feel his youki."

He began walking again. Only a few houses had smoke drifting out of their smoke vents, a sure sign that most of the houses were not yet moving much. A dog scavenged along the side of the street, looked up at him, and scampered away. One of the women was hurrying down to get some water. Other than that, he saw very little sign of life.

As he neared Tameo's compound, though, he saw smoke drifting out of both Kinjiro's home and the main house, and was not especially surprised to see a yawning Susumu step out of the compound gate.

"Well," Miroku said. "I didn't expect to see you out and about this early, Susumu-sama. I see you're uninjured after your call on Chiya-sama yesterday evening."

"Good morning, Houshi-sama," the village guard said. "You're up early yourself." He shook his head, and sighed. "No, I am totally uninjured, mostly because there was no real call. By the time we got to Eiji's home, Kaede-obasan had already arrived, and given Chiya some medicine, and she was too far asleep for anybody to rouse her. Actually, I think both Kimi-chan and Kaede-obasan would have brained us with kettles if we had tried."

"Ah," Miroku said, leaning on his staff. "So the scene is yet to happen."

"Indeed." Susumu shrugged and looked resigned. "I just hope the elders know what they're doing. You might pray some sutra for us." His resignation turned to a grin. "I hear they finished your temple roof yesterday evening, even without me."

"That's what Ryota told me," Miroku said, smiling in return. "Without you, Michio or InuYasha. He stopped by before I went to sleep. It was too early to inspect it when I got up this morning."

"Good, good," Susumu said, yawning. "One less thing to worry about." A rooster in the compound behind him gave a full throated crow. "Chichi-ue got me up before the sun with a whole list of things to do today. He's got some new idea that maybe will help us move Chiya and Morio with less . . . well, danger. I've got to talk with Tsuneo and round up Michio and a few others. Tsuneo tends to get an early start on things. I wanted to get there before he started doing anything."

There was a rumble behind them, and they turned to see Kinjiro pushing his work cart, followed by a still sleepy Aki.

"Heading out this early?" Susumu asked.

"You're not the only one with things to do." Kinjiro curled up the edge of his mouth in a mirthless way, as if his brother had asked a stupid question. "My work yesterday got . . . well, interrupted."

Aki bowed his head, looking at his feet. "Sorry, Kinjiro-sama," he muttered. That made Miroku's eyebrows rise.

Susumu, though, took it in stride, and grinned at his brother. "Yes, yes, but you like to get up before the sun," he said. "I at least like to wait until the women get up so I can have some decent breakfast first. Cold rice and Chichi-ue's tea aren't really how I like to start the day."

"Whine, whine," the younger man said. "It's always good to get an early start on things. It's easier when they aren't as many people in the way."

Aki coughed. It was hard to tell if it was a comment or not, but Susumu gave a short laugh. "You, too, son?" Susumu said. "Do you like to get up this early?"

The boy gave him a hesitant smile, and then yawned and rubbed his eyes. "I don't know, Dono. Still waking up."

"You're not the only one," Susumu said. He turned to Miroku. "But you - how come you look so bright-eyed, Houshi-sama? Yesterday," he paused, trying to find the right words. "Yesterday was a bit intense."

Kinjiro snorted.

Susumu ignored him. "Didn't sleep well?"

Miroku sighed, and shook his head. "Yesterday was bad enough, but I was awakened in the middle of the night by Eiji-sama banging on my door. He brought Rin-chan to my house. I never did get fully back to sleep."

At the back of the compound, Jun, also getting an early start, yelled something undecipherable. It was followed by the lowing of a cow.

Kinjiro turned around quickly, but didn't see anything, and turned back to look at the monk. "Now why would Eiji do that?" he asked. He dropped the handle to his push cart. "Something happen to Kaede-obasan?"

Miroku shook his head. "Not to her personally, but she was called out."

"It wasn't Daisuke-ojiisan getting the back spasms again, I hope?" Susumu said. "He's driven both his daughter and Kaede-obasan crazy with that this last winter."

"No, no," the monk said. "Something totally different. It seems that Sayo-sama decided her child was coming last night." He tapped his staff idly on the ground.

"Ah, finally," Kinjiro said. "I'm sure everybody in that household is happy for that news."

"And," Miroku said, "that is why I am out and about. Rin told me that Eiji was going to get Kagome-sama to help."

"Ah, I was going to go up there this morning," Kinjiro said. "Maybe I should wait."

Miroku nodded. "A wise move. InuYasha gets grouchy when he's tired. Which no doubt, means there's a tired and bored InuYasha somewhere hanging around Toshiro's place. I thought I'd go rescue him if he needs it. It seemed better than tossing and turning and waiting for it to get later."

Susumu tapped the monk on his arm. "Now that's what good friends are for." His face suddenly got serious, and he looked at the house. "Haha-ue's going to be irritated that nobody came by to let her know this was happening." Rubbing his chin, he looked back at his brother. "You want to let her know what's happened? I have got to catch Tsuneo early or Chichi-ue will be skinning me. And then I have to go find Michio, and talk with Kisoi about the move, and . . . "

"Bah," Kinjiro said, crossing his arms. "You just want me to get skinned instead."

"No, no," Susumu said. "Haha-ue skin you? When has she ever skinned you? I don't think so." He scratched the back of his neck. "But maybe I ought to tell Eiji to be careful around her today. It's a good thing we're going to need him on official business."

Kinjiro snorted, and Miroku grinned, but the younger brother gave a nod. "You'll owe me."

Susumu sighed. "It'll be worth it. Haha-ue doesn't like me very well in the morning, and I've got enough to do."

"I'll collect later," Kinjiro said. He turned to Aki, and gave him a serious look. "Stay here with the cart. I'll just be a moment. I remember what you promised me yesterday. Think I can trust you to live up to it?"

Aki, solemn-faced, gave a nod. "I promise. After what happened yesterday . . . "

Kinjiro patted him on the back. "Good boy." He headed back to the main house.

The monk leaned on his staff as he watched Kinjiro step up on the veranda and enter the house. "What happened yesterday?" He glanced at Susumu who shrugged, and at Aki.

Aki, still with the solemn look on his face, met the monk's eyes, but then bowed his head. "I...I learned who my friends were."

Susumu gave him an appreciative pat on the back. "A good lesson to learn. It's always hard to admit the people we trusted turned out not to be our true friends. And sometimes, it's even harder when the people we didn't trust turn out to be the ones we ought to have. I'm glad you've been able to admit it."

He turned back to Miroku. "I have to hurry. Tsuneo normally likes to get a much earlier start than me. Tell Yasuo congratulations for me, if you see him." With a small bow, he hurried off.

Miroku shook his head, then turned back to the boy. "So you learned who your friends were? Susumu-sama's correct. That's an important lesson to learn, and sometimes hard, too."

"I...think so," Aki said. He rubbed the bottom of his chin, trying to gather his words. "Houshi-sama?"

The monk was looking down the road and about to take off, but the question in Aki's voice made him turn around. "What is it, Aki-kun?"

"I...I don't understand." The boy rubbed his nose and sighed.

Miroku gave Aki a more careful look. The boy looked tired still and a bit battered, with scratch marks and a cut near one of his eyes, but more interesting to the monk was that all defiance the boy had carried around him the last time he had really watched Aki was gone. Surprised, Miroku waited to see what the boy wanted to say.

Aki's forehead was creased in a pondering look, and he sucked on his bottom lip as he considered his words. Finally, he spoke, meeting Miroku's eyes. "Morio-sama was supposed to be a holy man, right?"

The monk nodded. "He claimed to be a yamabushi and A yamabushi is supposed to be holy, that's true," Miroku said, nodding. "They are supposed to be following both the teachings of the Buddha and the ways of the mountain kami." For a moment he thought of his own life, and gave the boy a small, sad smile. "Alas, not all men who follow the calling of holiness actually act that way."

Aki tilted his head, reflecting on that. "And I've always heard that youkai are supposed to be evil. My obaasan's family was killed by one."

"Many are," Miroku said, nodding. "You know I do many youkai exorcisms. But I've learned that just because a person is a youkai, doesn't mean he's wicked. Look at Shippou-kun. Nobody would say he's really evil."

"I've . . . I've seen him playing in the village, but my obaasan wouldn't let me go near him." Aki looked up. "I sort of thought you and Kaede-sama were using your magic to make him behave."

The monk laughed. "It's more likely my staff or InuYasha's fist. He needs disciplining the way most children do. No magic involved."

The boy looked surprised at this, and gnawed on the knuckle of his right hand. "Morio-sama did things to my obaasan, and got me into trouble. I thought I was being a hero, fighting the bad guys, and all I got was punished and hurt, and then I found out he's the reason my obaasan is sick." He looked up at Miroku, and the monk saw a flash of the boy's anger surface. "But he was supposed to be a good guy!"

"Sometimes, evil comes to us in unusual shapes," the monk said. He shrugged. "People will do and say many things to get their way."

Aki dropped his head. "Yeah. I know . . . " But then he looked back up. "It was the guy who was supposed to be evil who saved me yesterday. InuYasha threw his jacket over my head to keep the bird from getting my eyes, and got attacked himself."

"I heard about that," Miroku said.

"But why?" Aki asked. He looked really puzzled. "He's got youkai blood. And . . . and . . . I've been mean to him."

"Sometimes," Miroku said, patting the boy on his shoulder, "good comes to us in unusual shapes as well."

"I guess," Aki said, shaking his head. "I just don't understand it."

"I don't know if I do, either," Miroku admitted.

Aki was about to ask another question, when Tameo stepped out of his house.

"Ah, Houshi-sama," the headman said. "I was hoping I'd find you out and about this morning." He looked up at the sky, and how low the sun still way. "I just didn't expect it would be so early."


	160. Chapter 160

_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 160**

While Susumu ran away from facing his mother and to take care of the business of the morning, InuYasha stood at the edge of the Toshiro's veranda, facing towards the birthing house while he watched Yasuo race there the moment Matsu lifted the door mat and stepped out. They met halfway there, Matsu greeting Yasuo with a polite bow. Yasuo, though, barely looked at her, except to give her a slight tip of his head as he barreled past her and headed for the door, quickly disappearing inside the building.

Asami stepped out of the house, and saw the hanyou standing there. "There's plenty to eat, InuYasha-sama? I could bring you out something. Where's Yasuo-sama?"

"I'll pass," he said, only giving her the briefest of glances. "Where's Yasuo?" He nodded his head in the direction of the birthing house.

She walked next to him, and got a glimpse of Yasuo hurrying into the little building, Matsu saying something that he ignored in his haste. Once she realized what was going, she started to giggle, but quickly covered her mouth, trying to suppress her laughter. "I should have known Yasuo-sama would do that."

The hanyou's ear flicked at the sound and he turned to look at her. "You think that's funny?" he asked, curious at the girl's reaction.

"Not funny," Asami said. Her tired eyes couldn't hide her amusement. "It's just that Yasuo-sama and Sayo-sama have been together a long time now, and he still acts . . . acts . . . "

The door slid open behind them, and Asami turned around, and as Toshiro stepped through the doorway, the twelve-year-old's cheeks pinked.

"So you're talking about my son?" Toshiro said, crossing his arms. "I'd say he acts like it's the first time it's ever happened."

Asami, not meeting the elder's eyes, blushed a little more, but nodded. "Indeed, Toshiro-sama."

"Don't be embarrassed, child. We all know he does that," he said, smiling at the girl. "You might spend your time better keeping an eye on Daiki, though, than laughing at Yasuo. I think he's had enough to eat. He's tired enough to go back to sleep, and if he wants to, let him, but I don't want him to wake up everybody else yet. Might as well let them rest as long as possible. It's going to be a busy day once the news gets out. I'm surprised Hisa-sama isn't here yet, breathing fire like a dragon because we didn't tell her about it."

She nodded, gave the birthing house one last look, and went back into the house.

InuYasha lifted an eyebrow, both curious and amused by the situation.

Michio gave a snort in his sleep.

"You'll think he'll wake up soon?" InuYasha asked.

Toshiro shrugged. "Who knows? He's going to feel rotten when it happens. I'll just leave him alone for now." He carefully stepped around the sleeping man to stand next to the hanyou. "Besides, I don't want to do anything to bring bad luck on today."

"I don't think Yasuo was thinking about luck at all," the hanyou said. "Soon as Matsu stepped out . . . "

"Childbirth brings that out in him," Toshiro said, moving near the hanyou. "I don't know how much experience you have with this sort of thing, InuYasha-sama," Toshiro said. "But my son is a little different from most men."

"Only when Sango had hers," InuYasha said. "The first time, Miroku was . . . well, I thought Kaede was ready to lock him up."

"Anxious?" Toshiro sat down on the verandah for the moment, looking away from the house where his daughter-in-law and son were. It was full morning now, and the sun was clearly over the horizon. Somewhere in the distance, a rooster was crowing. Looking toward the main street he could see a woman walking from the direction of the watch tower, carrying a water jug. "Looks like Sora is getting an early start of it this morning."

InuYasha, spotting the woman, nodded. "Yeah, Miroku was a mess. It took a long time for the twins to come. I'm glad it didn't take any longer." The hanyou sat down next to him. "The next time, though, we were out of town. I think he was looking for a reason not to be there. The extermination came through just in the nick of time."

"That's the way it is with most men I've seen," Toshiro said. "They care, but they find things to do not to crowd their women. But my son . . . "

"He told me about your wife," InuYasha said.

Toshiro let out a long, slow breath, and nodded. "That was a hard day. My woman . . . she was a bright one, the heart of our little family. I guess it marked Yasuo. It sure marked me. Things have never been the same around here." He scratched the back of his neck. "Or maybe he does this just because that's the way he is. Let's think of something else. Hungry? There's plenty of food."

InuYasha shook his head. "Asami asked me the same thing. I'll pass right now."

A dog ran across the yard, barking, chasing a chicken, who squawked loudly at the insult. "Be quiet, you two," Toshiro said. "We don't need you to be waking everybody up." Leaning forward, he found a stick on the ground and threw it at the dog. It missed him, but it distracted the animal long enough to let the bird get away.

The noise though, was enough to percolate into Michio's awareness. First he snorted and wiggled his nose, and gave a loud grunt, while he turned on his back. Next, his hands went up to the top of his head, cradling it. "Too much," he muttered. The two men turned to look at him.

"Now they've done it," Toshiro said. "Go back to sleep, cousin."

"Wha . . . " Michio gave a shudder, and slowly sat up. His hands went back to the top of his head, and he turned slowly to the right and the left. "Feels like someone beat me and left me to die."

"He doesn't look like he feels very good," InuYasha said.

"Too much sake will do that," Toshiro said. "I doubt if he'll feel very good at all today."

Michio spotted Toshiro and InuYasha, and tried for a moment to stand up, but then immediately sat back down. Placing both hands on his head, he rocked slowly from side to side. "I...I..." he started. "Did I sleep here all night?"

Toshiro gave his cousin a small, sad smile. "All night, once you finally gave up singing. But you really didn't sleep long."

"I believe that. Not nearly long enough," the hung over man said, closing his eyes and wincing. "Everything is still woozy." He cracked an eye, and looked at Toshiro. "I thought you were my friend, and you let me do this? Ah, damn. The headache's already started."

"You were already that way when you got here," the elder said, not unsympathetically. "I might have tried, otherwise. You ought to go home and try to sleep it off."

"I..." Michio tried to stand again, but still found himself too shaky to do it. "I think it's going to have to wait." He looked around. "Where's Yasuo? He finally give up and go to sleep?"

"No," Toshiro said. "He's with Sayo and the new baby."

"Ah, I forgot," Michio said. He plopped back over on his side and pulled his knees in. "Babies. Wives. Good wives." He wrapped his hands over his head once again "So nice, good wives. Oh my poor head. It's pounding, pounding. Someone go find Kaede-sama. I think I'm going to die."

"You don't have to go find me," the miko said. She walked up to the verandah. "But I don't know if I have the cure for what ails you, man."

"But . . . " he started to say as he glanced up and saw the old woman look at him through her one eye, a small scowl on her face. "Why? I think . . . I think . . . I think I'm going to be sick."

He got to his knees and made a mad dash for the edge of the verandah. He stumbled away from the house but didn't get that far. Sounds of retching quickly followed.

"The poor man," Kagome said, joining Kaede. InuYasha, seeing his wife, stood up. "What's wrong with him? Shouldn't we do something for him?"

"Hung over. He came over here drunk, and drank some more, and fell asleep, but hasn't slept it off yet. My poor cousin's definitely going to have a bad day," Toshiro said. "I guess I'm going to have to get Shigeru to take him home. This is one sickness that has to run its own course."

At the headman's house, Miroku bowed slightly, greeting Tameo.

"For some reason, everybody's been commenting about the earliness of the hour," Miroku said, chuckling.

The headman grinned. "Maybe it's because Susumu was complaining so loudly about how early I woke him up. But we have a lot to get done today." He looked at the boy standing next to the hand cart, who was yawning widely. "And it looks like my son isn't the only one who feels it's a bit on the early side. How are you doing today, boy?"

Aki, covered his mouth, and bowed. "Good morning, Tameo-sama," he said.

"Kinjiro's taking you out already?" the headman asked.

Aki nodded. "He wanted to finish what we didn't get done yesterday because . . . because . . . " He dropped his head.

Tameo patted the boy on the shoulder. "If you realized what matters, it was worth it, son."

"So," Miroku said, tapping his staff, "What is it you were hoping to find me for?"

"We're going to move Morio and Chiya to Tsuneo's house by the river today," Tameo said, scratching under his chin. "I'm not so sure how it's all going to go, or who's going to be the hardest to handle, that poor man or Chiya-chan. I was wondering if you'd like - "

He was interrupted by the front door sliding open and Hisa stepping out, followed by Kinjiro. "Did you hear that, husband? Sayo had her baby and nobody told me!"

"Did she?" Tameo asked.

"Why didn't Eiji come tell me?" she said, frowning.

"It was quite late at night," Miroku said. "Perhaps they wanted to let you sleep?"

"Bah," the headman's wife said. "That's not the first time it's happened. I know I'm not her mother-in-law, but still, I'm the closest thing she has to one. I should have been there."

Tameo shrugged. "I'm sure there was a good reason, Hisa-chan. What with the craziness yesterday afternoon, and with Kimi having Chiya at her place . . . "

Hisa sighed. "You might be right, husband. Anyway, I'm heading over that way."

"And I'm heading out to work," Kinjiro said, stepping out from behind his mother. "Aki might fall asleep on his feet if we don't get started soon."

As if to prove his point, the boy yawned. He looked up apologetically at the farmer. "I'm sorry, Kinjiro-sama."

Kinjiro took his place at the cart and began pushing. "It's all right, boy. Standing still is enough to make anybody sleepy."

The two began heading out of the compound and out to the fields.

As he watched, Tameo himself yawned. "Maybe my son has a point. So, wife, would you like some company on the way to Toshiro's? I need to talk to him about today."

"And I was heading that way myself," Miroku said.

"Ah, good." The headman looked up at his wife. "It looks like we're going to be a crowd. You think that'll disturb anybody?"

Hisa walked up and stood next to her husband. "If it does, it's their fault for not letting me know. Shall we go?" 


	161. Chapter 161

_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 161**

Kagome winced as she heard the sounds coming from the side of the house. "He really sounds bad off."

"Too much to drink and refusing to eat anything," Toshiro said. "We tried to get him to eat, but all he wanted to do was talk and sing sad songs."

"Is he like this a lot?" she asked.

"No, not really," the elder said. "But yesterday . . . "

"It was pretty awful to watch," InuYasha said. He shook his head, and stuffed his hands in his sleeves. "I tried to get away before it reached that point between him and his woman."

"I'm sure you did," Toshiro said, leaning against the wall of the house. "Nobody's blaming you, not even Michio." He rubbed the top of his left ear, and tried hard not to yawn, but didn't quite make it. "Well, his wife might, but she's always had trouble accepting the fact she causes herself more trouble than she ought to."

Kaede nodded. "Ever since she was a young one."

Michio stumbled back towards the verandah, but didn't quite make it "I . . . I . . . just damn." He plopped down and curled into a ball. A small brown dog wandered by and went up to the man, poking him with its nose, sniffing. Michio shoved it away. The dog whined at the rejection, but curled up near him, and gave his cheek a lick. "Go away. Just leave me alone. I want to die."

InuYasha moved next to Kagome. "Definitely bad off."

Toshiro just shook his head. "No, you don't, cousin," he said, moving towards the miserable man. "But if you wake up all the children, you might wish you did." Before he stepped off the verandah, he turned back and looked at the group standing there. "There's food if you're hungry. I know Asami would be happy to serve you."

Kaede, looking quite fatigued, shook her head. "I think I shall pass this morning. All went quite well, but these old bones are ready for a nap." She covered her mouth as she tried to stifle a yawn. "It was a long day yesterday."

"And a long night," Toshiro said.  
>"Chiya, you bitch," Michio said, almost too soft to be heard. "This is all your fault." He rolled over to his other side, attempting to escape the small animal. Instead of leaving, the dog rested its muzzle on his hip.<p>

"It really was, a long night for all of us," Kagome said, looking up at InuYasha. His ear twitched as he met her eyes. "I think all I want to do is head home myself."

Michio groaned loudly, and sounded like he was about to be sick again.

"I better see to him," the elder said. He stepped off the verandah.

"If you need me, send for me," Kaede said. She gave him a small, tired sigh. "But only if you need me. I will stop by later, though, to check up on Sayo-chan."

"I promise," Toshiro said. "But this is one sickness I'm afraid I know how to treat too well." He bowed to the small group. "Thank you for attending to Sayo-chan." He looked up at the hanyou. "And it was good to spend more time with you, InuYasha-sama. You need to come and talk more often. Let's try to do it earlier in the night, though, next time."

"Keh, "InuYasha said, nodding.

The elder walked over to his cousin. "Man, what am I going to do with you?"

"Poor man," Kagome said, watching them. "He must have drunk a lot last night."

Kaede sighed. "After what happened yesterday, I'm not surprised, " the older miko said. She took one last look at the miserable man, shook her head, and began walking away from the house. Kagome and InuYasha began following her as she took the path that led to the main road. "It's always something. I better check on him and his otousan this afternoon when I come back to check on Sayo. Arimasu will no doubt be in as bad a shape as his son. And Michio's obasan, Inishi, will be ready to throw them both into the stew pot."

"I've seen her get angry," InuYasha said. "I wouldn't want her looking in my direction when she's like that. And people say I look scary when I'm mad . . . "

Kaede nodded. "Worrying about Chiya and Michio, and caring for the children will probably put a bite in her tongue."

"Would you like me to come with you then?" Kagome asked. "So many people need you right now."

Both women heard InuYasha audibly sigh. Kaede looked up at the hanyou and back at her assistant, and a small, knowing smile touched the corners of her mouth. "I think, perhaps, only if you get some real rest. There will be plenty of opportunity to check up on men who drink too much sake. It seems to be a. . . . well, custom, with some of them." She brushed a stray lock of hair out of her face. "I imagine I should check on Haname while I'm at it."

"Some custom," InuYasha said, his tone making it clear what he thought about that type of behavior. "I can think of things I'd rather do that get like that."

"I agree," said the old miko. "But not all are so wise."

"That's true," Kagome said. "I remember my ojiisan . . . " As the thought struck her, her face grew somber, and she sighed, dropping her head and looking at her feet.

InuYasha looked at her, frowning."Something wrong?" he asked, putting his hand on her shoulder.

She looked up again, twitched the corner of her mouth into a small smile, and shook her head. "No, no, I'm just tired. Let's go home."

"I won't say no to that," he replied. "Home sounds good."

Heading in the direction of Toshiro's house, but not yet in line of sight of the three tired walkers, Miroku, Tameo and Hisa hurried on their own way, the monk's staff jingling as they walked.

"So," Miroku said, "Kisoi and his family are moving into Tsuneo's place by the river this morning? You want them there before Chiya and Morio show up?"

"That's the plan, anyway - Kisoi and Nana to have the fire burning and, then Chiya, who's probably going to have a temper tantrum, and when that's calmed down, we'll have Joben bring over the yamabushi. We definitely didn't want them to all show up at once. Kisoi might have actually have started yesterday evening. I've sent Susumu over to talk to Tsuneo to make sure things are all right," the headman said.

"Someone better remember to bring some of Chiya-chan's things over," Hisa said, thoughtfully. "And not just her clothes."

"Tsuneo knows his daughter better than most people. I suspect he'll think of at least some of it." Tameo scratched his chin. "That's a good point, though. I'll mention it."

Isa, Rin's friend, was running an early morning errand, and she waved at them as she headed towards the river.

"At least it's not a bad place to stay," Hisa said, waving back. "I'll never understand why Tsuneo's otousan decided to move into the house he's living in now. I visited there when I was a girl, and thought it was like a palace," she said, laughing a little at her silliness. "The way it overlooked the river reminded me of a painting I had seen of a Samurai's castle. It's certainly nicer than their current house. It even has four rooms. Not everybody has to live in outbuildings."

"It does have an impressive placement," Miroku said, "Up there on the bluff like that."

Tameo shrugged. "Chichi-ue said it was for luck. Remember, the year after Tsuneo and Haname got married? When that coughing sickness went through the village?"

"Oh yes," Hisa said. "How could I forget? You were so sick. I was afraid I was going to lose you."

"Heh," the headman said. "I was too wild and stubborn to give into something like that. But Tsuneo's older brother wasn't so stubborn, and neither was his okaasan."

Hisa nodded. "I remember. It was such a sad year."

"Chichi-ue said the old man didn't want to live there anymore and cooked up a story that it was haunted. Kaede went and blessed it, but she didn't find anything. Chichi-ue said he was trying to change his luck, but I bet he was haunted by too many memories."

"I guess," Hisa said, nodding. "But still . . . "

"People in grief will do things like that," Miroku said, nodding. "Did it change his luck?"

"Maybe," Tameo said. "Joben was born about a year later, and Tsuneo took to his duties well enough. He kept the old house up, too. I think Tsuneo was saving it for a second son, but they never had one that made it to adulthood." Tameo looked at Hisa. "We've been luckier that way, you and me." Hisa touched his hand, and smiled at him. "But now it looks like it's going to come in handy that he did."

"It sounds like you and Tsuneo have everything figured out," Miroku said, a bit confused. "So why do you need me?"

"Well, we know you have good spiritual powers," Tameo said.

"And so does Kaede-sama," Miroku said. "If she said there was no ghost . . . "

Tameo shook his head and hands. "No, no, it's not that. We'd just like it blessed. It's going to have a lot of ...well, dark emotions going through it in the next few days until things settle down. We don't want to attract any youkai or ghost to come check it out."

Miroku leaned on his staff, and looked at the headman, while he considered. "It's not a bad idea," he said, nodding. "A lot of negatives can attract unwanted things."

"And that building's on the edge of things, making it more vulnerable. We figured it wouldn't hurt, just in case, you know?" the headman said. "Especially the room where they're going to keep the yamabushi."

Miroku nodded. "I may have an ofuda or two that can help with that, although it won't keep him from misbehaving. It might help keep him calmer. But he is acting like a five or six-year-old boy. They're going to have to work on keeping him distracted."

"Could it do the same with Chiya-chan?" Hisa asked.

The monk shook his head sadly, "Somehow, I doubt what they would need to distract Chiya-sama would be good for the village. But the ofuda to help with calming should work on her as well, to some degree."

"It can't hurt," Tameo said. "Maybe I should offer Kisoi some bonus pay. It's probably going to be a rough few days."

"I'm glad I'm not going to be staying there," Hisa said, nodding.

As they talked, they rounded the bend in the trail.

"Perhaps, Kaede-sama's medicines . . . " Miroku, thinking deeply, looked at the ground as he walked, as if it would give him some answers.

"What are you doing here, Bouzu?" an irritated voice said.

He looked up to see a scowling InuYasha, eyebrows knit together, standing in front of him with arms crossed and hands stuck in his sleeves. Behind him, Kaede and Kagome, who had been discussing something, noticed the new group, and Kagome waved.

The monk broke into a big smile. "Why," Miroku said, "I was coming to rescue you, but it looks like you've managed to extract yourself with no problem."

"Feh," the hanyou said.

"The baby's come?" Hisa asked, pushing past the two men.

"Indeed," Kaede said, smiling at the headman's wife. "A healthy little girl. She got here about an hour ago, just before sunrise."

Hisa turned to Tameo, smiling broadly. "See? I told you."

"I had no doubt, wife," Tameo sagely replied, nodding. "You're right about these things more often than not." He joined his wife, and began heading towards Toshiro's. "I'll see you a bit later, Houshi-sama? I'll be heading for Tsuneo's next."

"I'll be there," the monk said, nodding. He turned back to his friend. "You know, InuYasha, I was thinking - "

"Whatever it was, forget it," the hanyou said, his scowl growing deeper. "The answer's no. I'm going home."

For some reason, Kagome, watching the two men as she walked up to join her husband, couldn't quite keep from laughing. 


	162. Chapter 162

_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 162**

Miroku's face fell, and he sighed, shaking his head. "No, no, you misunderstand me, InuYasha. I wasn't -"

"Right," the hanyou said, interrupting him. "Every time you come up to me with that 'I was thinking' bit, it always means you've got some scheme you're cooking up for me to do. But not this morning. Kagome's been up most of the night." He glanced over his shoulder at his wife who was trying hard not to look too amused. His ear twitched as he turned back to the monk, caught somewhere between irritation at the monk and Kagome's sense of humor. "I'm just not going to do it today."

"But . . . but . . . I really wasn't going to ask you to do anything," the monk protested.

"Yeah," InuYasha said. "Keep it that way." He began to walk past the monk.

Not willing to give the hanyou the last word, Miroku tugged on his sleeve as InuYasha moved by. "But it's true. I merely wanted to thank you. What you told me last night . . . I needed to hear that."

InuYasha stopped and turned around, surprise stripping the scowl from his face. "What?"

Miroku let his hand drop. "You told me that I needed to talk to Sango, and to stop feeling guilty if even the women had missed the cues." He gave his friend a rueful look. "I...I had . . . " Surprisingly he seemed to be having troubles finding the right words. "You were right about a lot, that's all I can say. Sango and I, we talked. I think . . . we both made wrong assumptions. Perhaps now, if something like this happens again . . . "

"If you let something like this happen again," InuYasha said, letting his scowl creep back up, "I swear, Bouzu, you're a bigger fool that I thought."

Before the monk could reply, Kaede caught up to the two men, and pushed between them, looking at InuYasha first. His ear twitched as she looked at him with her calm eye, but a slight curve to her lips. Then she turned to the monk, who bowed slightly.

"Now this is a day of interesting omen," she said. "First a child is born of the sex both parents were wishing for, then Houshi-sama admits that InuYasha is right." She shook her head. "What else could happen to make this day better, I wonder?"

"That nobody else needs wounds bound or medicine?" Kagome suggested. She stifled a yawn.

Kaede smiled at her assistant, and nodded. "That would be a very good thing. It would be a day of even better omen if certain men wouldn't block the road, so an old, tired woman could go home and take a well-deserved nap."

For a moment, both InuYasha and Miroku looked at the older woman, slacked-jawed, not exactly sure what to say in response. This, in turn, was something that Kagome found quite amusing. The monk recovered first, unperturbed by Kagome's giggles, and stepped aside, bowing towards the older miko.

"Ah, Kaede-sama, please, feel free to walk on," he said, his tone and motions playfully exaggerated in their deference. "Of all of us, you most certainly deserve to walk unhindered." Then, giving her a more honest look, he asked "Would you like me to keep Rin-chan up at my place for a while?"

"That would be a kindness," the old miko said. She shifted her basket on her hip. "These old bones aren't quite what they used to be. Alas, the infants coming to join us don't really take that into consideration." She yawned. "At least Sayo's are well behaved, and don't cause a lot of fuss coming into the world. I will see you later, children. Please, feel free to stay away until at least mid-afternoon." And with that, she moved on.

They watched her for a moment. Tazu, Kimi's daughter walked up to the old miko, looking rather distressed; the old miko sighed, and she led the girl towards her house.

"I'm not sure everything's going to go smooth today," InuYasha said, his ears flicking forward as the girl talked with the miko.

"Chiya?" Kagome asked, resting her hand on her husband's arm.

"Who else?" InuYasha replied. "Girl's come to get some more medicine."

The monk frowned. "I believe, from what Tameo-sama mentioned earlier, they might need it. I doubt if she's going to like being stuck in a corner until Michio says she can come back home."

"After watching him all night," InuYasha said, "I don't know why he would want her back." He spit, as if to emphasize his point.

"The heart can be funny when it comes to love," Kagome said.

"Keh." InuYasha took her hand and gave it a little squeeze.

"I am hoping we can protect Miko-sama from having to get dragged into it before she gets some rest." Miroku tapped his staff, causing the rings to jingle. "But at least the birthing is over. It was an easy birth?"

"That's what they tell me," Kagome said, nodding. The three of them began walking towards their side of the village. "I've never attended one before. Kaede said all of her births have gone like that."

"Sounded like hard work to me from where I was," InuYasha said. "Maybe not as hard as the time Sango had with the twins, but I wouldn't call it easy."

"You could hear us?" Kagome asked, looking up at the hanyou.

"Not much. But toward the end, Sayo got louder." The hanyou looked down at his wife and shrugged. "I wasn't trying to listen. I moved to the edge of the verandah to try to get away from Michio after he fell asleep. He snores."

"All birthings are hard work," Miroku said. He stopped to knock a largish stone out of the roadway. "Begone rock. You almost tripped me on the way here." He looked back up at his friends. "They say that's how mothers and their children bond so close, by working together. When I was a boy, Mushin said -"

For some reason, this answer didn't set well with InuYasha, and he interrupted. "Easy birth, hard birth. Make up your mind." He crossed his arms and scowled once again. "What'd that old drunk know about births anyway? But I know what type of expert you are. You ducked out of town when it was time for your boy got here."

"I - " the monk began, but Kagome stepped up to rescue him, resting her arm on InuYasha's.

"All birthings are hard work," she said, looking up at her husband, giving him a pleading look not to get into an argument with his friend. "Some are just harder than others. Just because you had work to do when Naoya was ready to be born . . . "

The hanyou shrugged, but didn't let go of his scowl. "Whatever."

Miroku studied his friend for a moment, then clapped him on the arm. "Go home, InuYasha. You're either tired, or you had too much to do, dealing with people yesterday."

"What do you think I'm trying to do?" InuYasha said. "It's not me who went looking for you. It's not me keeping someone he calls a friend on the road."

Miroku bowed his head slightly, in acknowledgment. "True, true. I'll see you later, then, when you're in a better mood. If you see Sango on your way back, tell her to try to keep Rin from coming down. I thought I'd walk back with you, but maybe, I'll go see what Tameo wants me to do. Get some rest."

And with a final nod, turned around and headed down the road that led to Toshiro's home. InuYasha watched him walk off, grumbling something under his breath.

Kagome, giggling just a little, tugged on her husband's hand. "He's right, you know. You're acting really grumpy. Let's go home."

InuYasha was not amused at his wife's amusement. "What?" he asked. "You think it's funny?"

She shook her head. "No," she said, leading him down the road. "It just reminded me of the days when we were chasing after shards. I was just thinking about all those times when you were really grumpy. You must have been tired all the time."

He knitted his brows together, like he was about to say something that matched his irritation, but then he let it go, and took a deep breath, and nodded. "Maybe," he said. "Lots of nights I just found myself watching instead of sleeping. I didn't want anything to sneak up on us."

"I thought so," Kagome said. "Well, today anyway, there's nothing to watch out for. If you're hungry, I can make some soup." She held up a bundle that she had been carrying all this time. "Sayo sent me back with some of her pickles."

"Sayo makes good pickles," he said. "Trying to bribe me with food?"

"Maybe. If you stop complaining and start walking. If we take too much longer, I'll be too tired to get started."

"Can't have that," he said, and with a playful smirk, he picked her up, and bounded down the road.

Eiji sat besides the fireplace at his own house, drinking soup.

Chiya, hidden behind a screen, slept fitfully, tossing as she rested, occasionally moaning. He looked at the direction, and sighed. "I just hope Tameo knows what he's doing," he said, putting down his soup bowl and picking up his rice.

The door mat rattled, and Kimi, his wife stepped inside, and let the door fall shut behind her. "You look so tired, husband," she said, giving him an apologetic smile.

"Night watch can do that," he said, taking a bite of his food.

"And," she nodded towards the screen, "someone's husband." She walked across the beaten earth domo, stepped up on the floor, and joined her husband at her place by the fire pit.

"That, too. He was in sad shape last night. Worse than the last time this happened." He ate some more, while he watched Kimi pour some tea, which she offered him, and he accepted. "It's a good thing that Yasuo and Toshiro were going to be up all night anyway. I don't know what type of trouble he would have gotten into if he hadn't had them to watch with me all night."

"Sometimes," Kimi said, picking up her own cooling cup of tea, "Kwannon smooths the way in spite of what we do. Or the kami."

"It seems so, wife," Eiji agreed, nodding. "Did you find Tazu-chan?"

"I did, and sent her off." She bent forward, and filled her own soup bowl. "I hope she won't have trouble finding Kaede-sama. You are sure we need to keep our guest here until she's sent for?"

"That's what Tameo-sama asked," Eiji said. He put his rice bowl down with a sigh. "I don't think I have much appetite right now."

"Would you like me to save it for later?" she asked.

"Yeah," he said, and watched as she picked up his rice bowl.

"Try to do your soup, at least." Kimi stood up, and moved the bowl to the kitchen cabinet. "You're going to need something in your belly."

He nodded, and picked the soup bowl up again. "It probably worked out for the best that she was already asleep by the time we all got here last night. Maybe with some more rest, she'll be easier to deal with."

"I wonder," Kimi said. "That's why I had to send Tazu off to get some more medicine. She woke up in the middle of the night, and started all of her wailing and grieving again. It was hard getting her to take the last dose."

Eiji shook his head. "Those two. What a couple. I've always suspected that Haname-obasan was right about not wanting those two together." He leaned forward, resting his head in his hands. "Why do things like this happen?"

"Life is suffering," Kimi replied, coming back to join him. She picked up her own bowl. "And attachment causes many griefs." She took a sip. "So many. Not letting go is so hard."

"Ah, you're a saint, woman." He gave her an appreciative look before gazing back at his soup bowl. "I don't really understand all that stuff. I'm just a farmer, not a monk. I just know that today is going to be hard. And I want some more sleep, and to play with my children and plant the soybeans, and instead . . . "

There was a rustling behind the screen, and both of them looked towards it.

"I guess she's woken up," Kimi said, quite softly.

Eiji sighed. "Get here quickly, Tameo-sama." And lifting up his soup bowl, he drained it dry.


	163. Chapter 163

_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 163**

InuYasha raced through the edge of the village and up the hill a streak of red and silver, carrying his laughing wife, one arm snugly under her legs, the other holding her close to his chest.

"Put me down, InuYasha," Kagome said, after her immediate shock of being swept off her feet wore off. She wrapped an arm around his neck, and took a deep breath, getting her giggles under control. "I can walk, you know."

The hanyou, looking rather pleased with himself, made no motion to slow down. "I know that."

They passed Daitaro's house, but nobody was near the road, except for one cow cropping its grass too contentedly to care. It flicked an ear as InuYasha raced by, but didn't even look up.

Kagome slapped at his chest playfully. "So?"

"No way," he said, shaking his head. "The minute I put you down, you know there's someone or something that's going to try to get us to go somewhere besides home. I don't want to take that chance."

This made Kagome laugh again. "You think I wouldn't tell them to come back later, after being up all night?" She reached up her hand and ran fingers into his silver hair. "It was exciting, in a way, because I'd never seen a baby being born before, and I learned a lot, but I don't want to go anywhere else but home. It was a long night. I'm tired."

"Feh," he said, snorting. "I know you too well. If someone stopped me right now who needed help, you'd make me stop and see what you could do." InuYasha jumped lightly over a big rock at the edge of the road and landed lightly with almost no break in his stride.

The miko's eyes narrowed, just a bit. "I don't think - "

"Ha," he said, cutting her off. "Anyway, I can run faster than you can walk."

"I know, but I feel better, sometimes when my feet are on the ground." She leaned against him, snuggling up against his shoulder. "You could at least let me get on your back."

A bird pecking at the ground, spotted them, and flew off, squawking as they neared the fork that lead to Miroku's house. Nobody at the monk's house was outside.

"Shouldn't we at least go tell Sango about Rin?" Kagome said.

"I'm not going to be the one to wake up the twins," InuYasha said. "Sango would have my hide if I did that."

"I guess," Kagome said, a bit doubtful, knowing her friend. "But still, I'd really like you to put me down. I need to stretch. After sitting down helping with Sayo last night, walking would make me feel better."

InuYasha, knowing when he was defeated, stopped and gently let her feet drop to the ground. "We're almost there. That enough walk for you?"

She shook out her sleeves and straightened her clothing, but looked up and gave the hanyou a big smile. "That would be nice. I'm afraid I'm too tensed up to go right to sleep."

"Too tense?" he asked.

Kagome nodded. "It's like I woke back up again. Tired but not sleepy."

"Can't have that," InuYasha said, stepping behind her. "I can heat up some bathwater, if you think that'll help." He let his hand reach for her shoulders, and gave them a gentle rub, then trailed his hands down to her waist. "Or we can try other things. You went right to sleep after that thing we did the other night."

Kagome, picking up on the change of tone in his voice, looked over her shoulders to see the sultry look he was giving her, and this made her laugh once more. "Other things, huh? You've been hanging around Miroku too many years."

He pulled her back against his chest and wrapped his arms around her waist. "Sango seems happy with it. Maybe he knew a thing or two all this time we made fun of him. I'm just starting to understand it," he said, breathing warmly against her ear. "I never knew what I was missing until you came home."

"Home," Kagome repeated, her voice drifting away. For a moment she tensed up in the hanyou's hold, and InuYasha began to wonder if he said something wrong, when just as quickly she relaxed and turned her head trying to look at him.

"Oh, is that so?" She leaned into his hold and rested her hands on top of his red draped arms encircling her waist. "Coming home and finding you there. One of the best things I ever did," she said, nodding. "Of course we're not quite home yet. You have to let go so we can start walking if you ever want to get there. "

InuYasha decided to not worry about that momentary tension she had, hugged her tightly to him, then let her go. "You may have a point." Taking her hand, he gave her a little smile, a little regretful, but the look in his eyes promised this discussion wasn't quite done, just postponed. His ear flicked. "Maybe we should talk about something else until we get there. So Sayo sent you home with some pickles?

"Yes she did," Kagome said, laughing a little. "I think you're getting a reputation in the village as a man who really appreciates good pickles. I don't know who's spreading the word about it - Kaede maybe? Sango? Chime? But it seems your fondness for them has become common knowledge." The miko gave him a big grin. "Sayo said these were her special recipe pickles, to thank you for letting me go help in the middle of the night. She also told me to tell you to be sure to let her know how you liked them."

InuYasha's eyebrows raised on that, and he looked genuinely surprised. "I've been called a lot things over the years," he said, giving her hand a little squeeze. "Monster. Bad luck. Freak. On a good day, some people ask me to fight for them, or think I'm an inugami, controlled by Miroku." He shook his head. "She wants me to tell her how much I like her pickles? Because I appreciate them? I'm a pickle judge?"

Kagome held up the little container. "These pickles were endorsed by InuYasha, son of the Inu no Taisho, world-famous pickle judge. You can be sure they're top rated!"

InuYasha just stared at her for a moment and they both burst out laughing.

While InuYasha and Kagome made their way home, Tsuneo picked up a slice of pickle out of his own dish.

He chewed thoughtfully. He was looking haggard; all the events of the last few days were beginning to catch up with him. There were circles under his eyes, and the lines beginning to show up on his face were deeper than normal.

Something about the main room where he was sitting disturbed him. The area around the fire pit where they took their meals was too empty, Tsuneo decided. Aki was with Kinjiro, his granddaughter was in the back with Haname, and Haname's presence, which normally dominated mealtime, was noticeably absent. Haname's seat, the seat of honor for the matriarch of the house, was vacant, a gap in the way things were supposed to be, as it had been for days. Tsuneo looked at the mat she normally sat on. It was a piece of worn blue and red fabric she had made in happier days, and now was quite threadbare at places. There was a dark stain on one corner, where Aki had squashed a piece of fruit when he was a toddler, and a small burn mark where Joben had done something to the fire and sent sparks flying, and he knew if he looked harder he would find other things. He had been after her to replace it for a while, but she said it matched her legs perfectly and to leave her alone. It was so much hers that it being empty disturbed him.

"It's just not right," he muttered, too soft really for anybody else to make out the words.

His daughter-in-law Akina, hearing but not understanding, looked up from her work. "Did you say something, Otousan?"

Tsuneo met Akina's eyes. She was serving the food from her place at the daughter-in-law's position. Looking at him curiously, she held the soup ladle she was using in midair as she watched him in return.

"Was I speaking out loud?" the elder asked.

Akina nodded, then returned to what she was doing, dipping the ladle into the soup pot and filling up a bowl for her husband. As usual, she was neatly dressed in a blue robe with matching wrap-skirt, her hair well-hidden by the paler blue kerchief she favored, the bow at the front accenting the narrowness of her face. Once again, he wondered at her calmness, even with the household turned upside down by events, and how she was willing to put up with all of them.

"I was just wondering how you did it, daughter, to always look so calm and tranquil in the morning," he said. "For the life of me, I'll never understand why you didn't run away, with everything we've been putting you through the last few days."

She handed her husband his bowl, and covering her mouth, laughed a little. "Now where would I go, Tsuneo-otousan?" She picked up another bowl and began to fill it. "Who else would put up with me the way Haname-okaasan and you do?"

"Bah, woman," Joben said. "Don't talk like that. After all I've put you through, I've been wondering the same thing."

She lifted her soup bowl and took a sip. "This is my home," she said simply.

Conversation ebbed for a moment as the three of them concentrated on their breakfast.

It was Joben who broke the silence first. "So, Otousan, you really think we can get Morio to stay in the house by the river?" He picked up his rice bowl.

"It's important that we do, at least until your okaasan has had a chance to get better," the elder said. "It's going to be your job to make sure he stays there long enough for it to happen."

"And . . . and you're putting Chiya there, too?" Joben shook his head.

The older man put down his bowl. "She has to have a place to stay until things get resolved. I don't know which would make your okaa worse, Chiya giving her no peace and hovering over her constantly, or the chaos that man makes. So out with both of them."

"Would you like more soup, Otousan?" Akina said, picking up the ladle.

"I think I've had enough, daughter," the elder said. Joben, on the other hand, accepted another bowl.

He took the bowl from his wife. "And how will we keep him there?"

"That's part of your duty," Tsuneo said. "I will not hammer home the issue that you are the one who brought him into our house. This is just something that must be done."

Joben hung his head, and gave out a long, deep sigh. "If I had known what was going to happen, I would have thrown a rock at him the first time I ever laid eyes on him."

The elder sighed, and reached out, patting his son on the shoulder. "Hindsight knows all, son. The thing that really matters is how we react to what's on our plate today."

"My ojiisan always said something like that," Akina said.

"He was a wise man," Tsuneo said, nodding. "I wish he were still with us. I'd be asking his opinion on all this mess." He shrugged. "But he's not, so I am going to do what I can best figure out what to do."

"With Tameo and Toshiro backing you up," Joben said, he frowned, not exactly approving.

"That's the way this village does things, son," Tsuneo said. "It's a good way, even if your okaasan seems to think badly about Tameo." He picked up his rice bowl. "Kisoi and his family should be at the house already. He has two boys, just the right age to be interested in the type of games that man of yours seems to like to play. I'm hoping we can wean him off of your presence. I need you, too. We're already behind in the planting."

"I know, Otousan," the younger man said, staring intensely into his rice bowl. "I hired Denjiro to help, but he can only do so much. He has his own fields to take care of as well." He was about to say more, when there was a rapping on the door. "Who the hells would be coming over this early?"

"I suspect we'll find a whole group here before the day is over, son," Tsuneo said. He gave Akina a nod, and she went to open the door.

Susumu smiled at the woman, and popped through the door, giving a polite bow to the men at the fire pit. "Good morning, Tsuneo-sama. I do believe my father and Houshi-sama are on their way. At least that's what he told me."


	164. Chapter 164

_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 164**

A contented Yasuo stepped out of the small house where his wife and new infant were resting after their ordeal, his face graced with a very pleased smile.

"Tell Tameo to go on and take care of his business," Hisa said, stepping out with him. "I know he's got a lot to do today. I want to sit here with your wife for a while. I think Nanami needs to get some rest. At least Matsu's been smart enough to fall asleep."

"I'm sure," the new father said. "I know I could use some. But my obasan is a stubborn one."

Hisa chuckled. "She's more likely to relax if there's someone she can trust around. I'll stay here until she gets some sleep."

Yasuo nodded. "I'll tell your husband that. Be sure to send to the main house if you need anything. Somebody or the other will be awake. I'm not so sure about me."

The headman's wife smiled. "Get some rest while you can. You remember how little ones are."

"Indeed," he said, "although I doubt if any of them could be as bad as Daiki-kun was. Good luck at getting Nanami to rest." And with a final goodby, he headed toward the house.

Yasuo's contented mood began to slip as he neared the house and saw his cousin kneeling on the ground and his father standing next to him. His smile began to fade as the smell of what was happening reached him, and faded completely as his miserable cousin bent over once again. Sighing, he went over to the two men.

"I hope this isn't an omen," he said, joining his father.

Toshiro who was bent over, patting Michio on the back, looked up. "Ah, son. I doubt it. Hisa-chan chase you out?"

"Maybe. Sort of. Anyway, Sayo fell asleep, and she's going to try to get Nanami-obasan to finally rest." Yasuo looked at the man kneeling on the grass. "I knew she wouldn't long as I was there. He's got it bad, eh?" He nudged his cousin with his foot. "Thought he might once he woke up."

"Just let me die." Michio wrapped his arms around his middle. "It's all I deserve."

"Pretty much so," the older man said, ignoring his younger cousin. "All is well, I take it?"

"Better than well," Yasuo said, regaining his smile for a moment. "You need to go see her soon. A beautiful new granddaughter for you, Otousan."

"I'll go soon as Nanami tells me it's all right," Toshiro said, smiling at his son. He patted him on the back. "There's no way I'm going to go there and maybe wake her up. You're not the only one who's been on the receiving end of her tongue. Still, a new girl in this house will be nice. We have enough boys for a while."

Michio moaned, and acted like he was going to retch again, but only coughed. Toshiro looked down at the man, and shook his head. "Shame it's not all such good news. So," he said, glancing back at his son, "what do we do with this problem?"

"I'm not a problem," Michio said. He was kneeling with both hands on the ground, but lifted one to wipe his mouth on his sleeve. The current spasm done, he rocked back to sit up on his knees. "I...I have to go see Tameo," he managed to say, then spit. "My mouth tastes like dung." Wiping his face again, he looked up at Toshiro. "No, it tastes worse than dung. Damn. I...I..." He attempted to stand up, and got halfway there, before collapsing back on his knees. "Everything's so damn woozy."

"I'm not surprised," Yasuo said, shaking his head. "I tried to get you to eat last night."

"I know, I know," the hung-over man said. "But it would have just come up anyway." He shook his head from side to side, wrapping his arms around his head. "Just kill me now. How am I going to face Chiya like this? What's Tameo-sama going to say?"

There was a cough to the right of them, and the father and son looked up in time to see the headman, followed by Miroku, heading their way.

"I believe Tameo is going to say be glad Daitaro isn't here to call you names," Tameo said, joining the other men. "You're a mess, Michio."

"Too much sake is a bad friend in the morning," Miroku said, giving the man a sympathetic look. "I know too well what it can be like."

Yasuo snickered. "I could hear Daitaro-ojisan now. Oh, what a lightweight," he said, imitating the old farmer. "Look at him. Can't hold his sake. Glad I didn't waste any of my good stuff on him."

Toshiro and Tameo laughed, and even Miroku snickered, but Michio made a lunge at his cousin, missing, and collapsing on the grass.

"Don't do that," he grumbled, pushing himself back up, and glared at his cousin. "Aren't things bad enough without mocking me? My life's falling apart, and you do this?"

"Sorry, cousin," Yasuo said. "I've been on the butt side of Daitaro teasing me more than once. Never drink too much around him." He helped Michio get to his feet.

This time Michio managed to stand, although he swayed back and forth. He closed his eyes, as if that would help the world to stop spinning, and took a deep breath. "Did...did you go see Chiya yet this morning?"

Tameo shook his head. "No, not yet. There are some things we need to get done first. If you want to be there, you still have time to get cleaned up. Houshi-sama here is going out there to bless the old house before we even try."

"She doesn't have a demon," Michio said. "It's all her own spirit. What good will that do?"

"It might quiet her soul," Miroku said, leaning on his staff. "And more importantly, it will protect her from any youkai or ghost or demon trying to take advantage of her while she's . . . she's in this state."

Michio peered through his fingers at the monk, surprised. "You'd do this? After what she's been doing to your friend and family?"

"The Buddha himself said to offer good when there is evil," Miroku intoned, slipping into his priestly mode. "Her karma's going to give her a rough enough time without me adding anything."

Shaking his head, Michio tried to think of something to say. He sighed. "My poor, stupid woman."

"So," Tameo said, "let's focus on things we can do. Miroku can bless the house." He looked at the hung-over man and wrinkled his nose. "If you want to be there when we explain to her what we have planned, I suggest you take a bath and put on some clean clothes first, man. You don't smell very good, and you look like you've been beaten up."

"Only with a sake jug," Yasuo said.

Michio took a step and stumbled, bumping into Yasuo, who wrapped his arms around his cousin to steady him. "Don't know if I can make it home yet."

A dog ran out of the front door, with Daiki chasing him. Behind him, his sister Umi followed in hot pursuit.

"Get back here, Daiki-chan," she yelled. "Chichi-ue will lock you up when he hears how you woke up Ishi with your games."

"You'll have to catch me first!" the boy replied, and headed towards the river.

Neither Toshiro nor Yasuo gave the two children more than a passing glance.

"Looks like your household is waking up, Toshiro," Tameo noted, giving his friend a sympathetic look.

"Does this happen often?" Miroku asked, looking at the two men.

Asami, wiping her hands ran out on the verandah. "Daiki! Umi!"

"They're halfway to the river by now," Yasuo said. "Come here, Asami-chan."

The girl peeked around the edge of the building and saw the group of men. Swallowing hard, she bowed low, then began walking to them. "I'm sorry, Toshiro-sama. I was washing - "

"I'm sure, I'm sure, girl," Toshiro said, interrupting. "We've heard it all before. I'm not blaming you. I know how my grandchildren behave." He turned to Miroku. "You ask if this happens often? It does, especially when Sayo-chan is indisposed," he said. "I...well, we just expect it anymore."

Yasuo chuckled. "This is why they say we have a lively household."

Miroku raised an eyebrow. "Interesting. He's a lively boy, that Daiki."

"Indeed," Tameo said. "Not quite as wild as Susumu was at that age, but he's working on it."

"You too?" the monk asked. He shifted his staff, which made the brass rings on it jingle.

"Oh yes," Toshiro said, nudging the headman with his elbow. "Remember the time when Daitaro caught - "

Tameo coughed, and Miroku looked at him expectantly, but he waved both men off. "We'll tell that story another time, Houshi-sama. Let's take care of business here, first." He looked at Michio. "So man, do you think you can make it when we go to get Chiya-chan?"

Michio closed his eyes tightly, gave his head a small shake and took a deep breath. "It's my duty."

"Good man," Tameo said, approvingly and tapped him on the back.

"If you don't want to go home yet, you can clean up here," Yasuo said. "I'll have Asami heat up some water for you."

"There's some water on the fire already," Asami said, bowing once again.

"Good girl," Yasuo said. "Go make some rice gruel. And put some miso in it. That's the best hangover meal I know."

"You're a good man, cousin," Michio said. "Even if you did try to mock me earlier. May your new daughter never give you the pain my wife has."

"As good a blessing as any that I'll get today," Yasuo said. "Ready to walk? Lean on me, and we'll get you inside. Wash up, eat something, and you'll feel a lot better."

"If you say so," Michio said. His tone was doubtful, but with Yasuo on one side and Asami on the other he managed his way into the house.

"I think," Miroku said, "it's going to be an odd day."

"I think," Toshiro said, "we're already there. Maybe, Houshi-sama, you should pray the sutras over my house as well as Tsuneo's."

The monk closed his eyes a moment. "There is no trace of evil aura on your home at all, Toshiro-sama. Your home actually feels quite blessed."

"It has been," the elder said, "but as crazy as this morning has been, it wouldn't hurt."

Miroku nodded. "I'll be sure to come by later today and say a prayer for your household and your new grandchild."

"You better," Tameo said. "My friend here looks like hell. It must have been a rough night, eh?"

"No sleep, a birthing woman, and then a drunk relative, a nervous son, and InuYasha-sama parked on my verandah all night." Toshiro began moving towards the house. "You try that, and see where it gets you." The elder yawned. "InuYasha, though, was surprisingly good company. Much better than Michio."

"He can be that, rumor to the contrary," Miroku said. "And, if he's not too grumpy, he listens more than talks. Always an advantage in company, if you ask me."

"Much better than drunk singers," Toshiro said, nodding. "But I'm feeling every minute right now. Maybe some time soon I'll get to get some sleep myself. But somehow, I don't think it'll be quite yet."

"At least you don't have to go drag Chiya out to a place we know she's going to complain about or deal with that crazy man," Tameo said. "Take a nap. We might need you later, friend."

Toshiro patted the headman on the shoulder. "That's why you're the headman, and I'm just one of the elders. Send for me if you need me, but try not to." With a farewell bow, Toshiro walked himself back to the front door. "And good luck."

With that, he disappeared inside.


	165. Chapter 165

_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 165**

Kagome and InuYasha entered their little house, still laughing.

After putting the dish of pickles on the kitchen cabinet, the young miko stretched, and then went to sit down by the fire pit on her own mat. She leaned forward, letting her hands skim near the top of the ash there. "Do you think there's any heat left in the coals?"

"If not," InuYasha said, grabbing his basket of kindling, "that's easy enough to fix. We did get out of here in a hurry last night. I might have to start a fresh fire." He stirred the ashes, looking for enough coal to start the fire.

"I ought to fix us some breakfast," she said, reaching for her rice pot, but as she got up, she gave a big yawn, and then giving into the sensation, stretched her arms.

InuYasha, looking up, said "Only if you want some. They kept offering me food all night. I'm not really hungry." He found a coal, added some wood shavings, and began building the fire back up.

"They did the same to me," Kagome said, putting the pot back down. "I guess they thought it would help keep me awake."

"I don't really think that helps much," the hanyou said. He reached for some firewood. "Being busy or scared helps more."

"I prefer busy to scared, if you want to be honest about it." Kagome walked over to the water bucket, and got a drink of water while she looked thoughtfully around their little house. "If you don't want to eat anything just now, then I'll lay the bedding out. I'm not sure if I'm sleepy enough, but the way I keep yawning, it won't hurt to get ready."

"Works for me," he said. "I'll make just enough fire for us not to have to make a new fire when we're ready."

She walked to the cabinet where they kept their bedding, and opened the door to get the futon out. "Last night they kept me busy to stay awake. I wasn't ever afraid," she said, grabbing the bedding. "I was excited some, and curious and nervous, the way people can get when they're doing something the first time, but never scared. Now if Kaede-obaasan had gotten frightened, I probably would have."

"Keh," the hanyou said, snapping some smaller pieces of wood in turn. "It takes a lot to ruffle Kaede-babaa. If she's afraid, there's probably a real reason." Nudging a larger piece of wood to catch when the small wood got going well, he dusted off his hands. "That'll do it."

Kagome unrolled their bedding. "In fact, I think I amused Sayo by how I was acting. Maybe it helped her, talking me through each phase, telling me stories about her other childbirths. Anyway, until the last bit, when it gets hardest, she had amazing patience with me. There was a lot of time that I felt all thumbs. Kaede has delivered so many babies, and Nanami had several of her own, and this was Sayo's fourth. And I didn't know anything, except what I'd heard and read about."

"Everybody's got to start somewhere," InuYasha said, moving next to her. "So what did you do?" He helped her spread the cover over the futon.

"Mostly learned about ways to help a woman relax when it hurts," she said, going to get their pillow bolsters. "Massage and stuff like that."

"Pain hurts more if you tense up for it," he said, nodding. He squatted down to watch her finish making the bed. "I learned that one the hard way. Got hurt enough to get a lot of practice about not tensing up." He turned his head to the side, thinking a moment. "I...I haven't seen how humans give birth but I've seen animals in the wild do it. It's kind of hard and bloody. Did it bother you seeing how it really happens?"

"No, not at all," she said, standing up and unfastening her jacket. "Remember Mama's TV box? The one that looked like it had plays and stuff inside it?"

"Yeah. I always wondered how that worked. I know you didn't have little people in there." He looked up at her. "Figured it was some sort of weird magic."

"It is, in a way," Kagome said. "But anyway, there were programs where they showed how birthing happens. So I've kind of seen it, although not in the same way as being there. Nothing beats being there to realize how real it is."

"Yeah, I can believe that." He stood up.

"Anyway, by the time the baby came, I was really pretty excited, and not bothered at all," Kagome said, slipping out of her chihaya.

"I just was wondering. I know a lot of men try to stay busy and do stuff, and not get too wound up about their women giving birth. I guess it's because there's nothing they can do much to make it better. Miroku was here when the twins were born. It took Sango a long, long time with them," he said, watching her. "More than twice the time it took Sayo. I think Miroku was afraid she'd never want to have another one."

"Twins can be more difficult, and I've been told the first one takes longer, usually, anyway. But Kaede told me she didn't have any trouble with Naoya." She examined her jacket, and decided it could be used one more day, and laid it on their chest. "But why did you want to know if it bothered me?"

He looked down at the floor, having found the wood grain suddenly interesting. "I don't know." His ear flicked. "It's just that . . . well, nobody here knows more about birthing than Kaede, and she sure never has tried to have one of her own." He looked up at her. "I was wondering if that was because . . . "

It dawned on Kagome what he was asking. "No, InuYasha," she said, moving next to him to lean up against her husband. "Kaede never had any children because she never found a man she valued more than her work here. It didn't make her afraid of having children. It's not going to make me afraid either."

He wrapped an arm around her. "Yasuo was telling me about how his okaasan died. She got sick towards the end when she was carrying her last baby, and when her time came, she and the baby both died." He pulled her close, letting his hand sweep across her head and arm. "This is why he gets so nervous when Sayo has a baby."

"Ah," Kagome said. "I've heard of things like that. It would happen sometimes in my . . . in the time where my mother lives." She looked up at him. "It's not common."

Wanting to change the subject, she let out a big yawn and stretched. "I'm tired of thinking about babies."

"There are other things we could think about." His hands went to the tops of her shoulders and began to gently rub.

"Like what?" she asked, melting into his touch.

"Oh, like how to get Kagome to relax." He planted a little kiss on the side of her neck.

"Just keep doing that," she said. "You're on the right track."

He let one hand trail down to her waist and begin to fumble with the ties of her hakama. "You want me to take it up a notch?" he asked.

"As long as you're there to catch me," she said. "That feels good enough that I might fall asleep standing up."

"I'll always be there to catch you, woman." As he unfastened the last knot the red garment pooled to the floor, and he picked her up and laid her down. He had barely started rubbing the small of her back when she snored.

Chuckling to himself, he slipped out of his own red garments, and content to stretch out next to her, fell quickly into a dreamless sleep.

While Kagome prepared her bedding, the doormat at Eiji's house rattled as his daughter Tazu walked in.

"Okaasan, Koume-obaasan wants to know if I should come home for breakfast or eat with her," the girl said.

Kimi, hearing Chiya getting dressed behind the screen, looked at it, then looked at her husband, who shrugged. Kimi bumped her lips with a folded knuckle, a habit of hers when she was thinking. "If your obaasan wants to share breakfast with you, Tazu-chan, then you should share breakfast."

Tazu nodded, but didn't turn to go.

"Is there something else?" Eiji said, eating another pickle slice.

"She asked if I wanted to help with the dyeing today, too." Tazu wrinkled her nose, and made a face.

Kimi laughed, in spite of the worries that her houseguest was causing her. "Some of the dyes really smell."

Tazu nodded. "She's going to work with indigo today." The girl looked down at her feet. "Do I have to help?"

Eiji looked at his wife, and tried to smooth his own face. He gave her a wink, then turned to his daughter. "Isn't it your turn to weed and water the vegetable garden today?"

She knitted her brows together. "But I thought that was . . . " She stopped a moment, and realized what her father was suggesting, then nodded. "Yes, yes. I forgot."

"Well, then," Eiji said. "I want you to tell your obaasan we need you today. You can help her tomorrow when she's not doing the indigo dyeing." He rubbed his chin, watching her. "And while you're there, tell her that Sayo's baby's come. She might want to check on her."

"I will, Otousan." Tazu bowed.

"Tell your obaasan I'll come over later," Kimi said. "If she still needs help, I'll join."

Tazu nodded and left.

"I always hated visiting you when Koume-okaasan was doing the indigo," Eiji said, watching his smiling wife after his daughter was out of earshot.

"I hated working it," Kimi admitted. She turned toward the screen. "Chiya-chan, there's soup and rice when you're ready."

Chiya said something, but it was too muffled to make out. As the two by the fire finished their breakfast, they could hear the woman take care of her bedding and sit back down, but after several minutes, she did not come out from behind the screen or say anything else.

Kimi got up to move their dirty dishes to her kitchen workspace, when Eiji pulled on her sleeve. "What, husband?"

He patted the ground next to him, and she set the trays back down on the ground and knelt close to him. "She's too quiet," Eiji said, too soft to be overheard. "What's going on? Maybe you should check on her. You don't think she's going to do something stupid, do you?"

The housewife frowned, but picked up her trays, and carried them to the counter, and put the dishes on to soak. Quietly, she walked to the edge of the screen, and peeked around it.

Chiya had folded the bedding, and laid it up against one wall. She had tidied her clothes, combed her hair, but left off her head scarf, which was laying on the ground, laid out in front of her. On it were a few items - a fan, a comb, a small knife in its sheath, a small bottle, the types of things a person might carry in their sleeves. The woman, not hearing her hostess, for a moment, covered her face with her hands, shuddered, then dropped her hands. Straightening up, she lifted her head. Her eyes were strangely distant, but very determined. Catching sight of Kimi, she gave her a polite bow.

"I have been a bad guest, and a worse friend, Kimi-chan," she said softly. "You have been nothing but kind, and I have not deserved any of it." She sat back up.

Kimi looked at her kindly, but worried. "Won't you come have some breakfast, Chiya-chan? There's rice and soup and fish."

Chiya ignored Kimi's invitation. "Do you remember the story Houshi-sama told us the other day?"

"Which one, Chiya-chan?" Kimi asked. "Houshi-sama tells too many stories for me to remember which is which."

"The one about the old woman who tested a monk she supported by sending a woman to visit him." Chiya caught her eye for a moment, then she dropped her head and sucked on her bottom lip, waiting, or perhaps, trying to put her thoughts in order.

"Ah," Kimi said. "I remember that one. I thought how very much like our monk. He seems to favor stories about women." She heard the floorboard creak and peeked back around the screen to see Eiji walking towards her, then turned back around. "He certainly knows a lot of them."

"I'd been thinking of how the old woman got infuriated with the monk, even though he had successfully resisted the temptation the woman's maid had offered." She looked up at Kimi, her glance intense. "He was so wrapped up in himself and his own striving for salvation, he showed her no compassion."

"And so," Kimi said, wrapping her arms around her middle, discomforted by Chiya's gaze, "the old woman decided not to support him anymore, and had her servants burn down the hut where he lived, because he needed to learn some lessons. So why, Chiya-chan, are you thinking about this story?"

Chiya bowed her head again. "I realized last night that I have been far too much like that monk. I wanted my salvation. But who have I shown compassion to?"

"Chiya, none of us have been perfect," Kimi said softly. "If we were perfect, we'd be like the Buddha."

Once again, Chiya ignored the woman. Reaching out a shaky hand she picked up the knife, ran her fingers gently over the black laquer of the knife sheath. With a determined motion, she held the knife in both hands, one on the hilt, one on the sheath. With a quick tug she bared the blade. Looking looked back up at her friend, she gave Kimi a regretful, sad smile. "Perhaps it is time to burn my own house down."

As Kimi watched, horrified, but not quite able to make herself move, Chiya, trembling even more, began to raise the blade slowly to her own throat.


	166. Chapter 166

_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 166**

"Chiya-chan?" Kimi said, her voice barely above a whisper.

Chiya closed her eyes and swallowed. Her hand stilled for a moment. "I...I have to burn down my own house. Maybe in my next life . . . "

Kimi hesitated over what Chiya was attempting to do, afraid to move or even breathe.

She started to move the knife again and stopped. "Tell Michio I'm - "

Suddenly the screen separating her from the rest of the main room came crashing down, breaking a bowl that fell off the cupboard as it landed. For a moment, Chiya merely stared at the scene painted on the screen and the broken pottery shards that had landed on it.

"An earthquake?" she said. Her eyes grew wide and she looked up at the roof before turning just in time to see Eiji leap past his wife and head straight for her, his face red and fierce. The knife fell out of her hand as she threw her arms up as he landed on her, knocking her backwards.

He sprawled on top of her, pinning her wrists to the ground and letting his body weight keep her from moving too much.

Kimi, unfreezing, ran and picked up the knife. "Eiji?"

He ignored her. "Damn it, Chiya, haven't you learned anything?" He backed off her a little bit, enough to glare at her. "You're such a shit, doing crap like this to the one person willing to take you in."

For a moment, she looked at him, shocked by his actions, and moved her mouth wordlessly, groping for her voice. Her shock gave way to indignation, and with that, her voice came back as well.

"How dare you?" Chiya said. "Get off of me!" She tried to arch up and roll, but his weight was too much for her.

"The hells I will." The normally calm and jovial Eiji was furious, his eyes narrowed with anger and his face red. "You're going to listen to me." He glanced up at his wife. "Kimi-chan, go find me something I can tie this useless woman up with." He turned back to Chiya. "Just in case I can't get her to listen any other way."

"But . . . " Kimi said, hesitating and wringing her hands.

"Just do it, woman. Be careful though. There's shards on the floor." He gave Kimi another glance, and seeing the look in his eyes, the woman nodded once, and walked across the room to a chest that she opened and began rummaging through.

Chiya struggled to free her hands. "You're hurting me! Get off!"

"You're an ugly excuse for a woman, Chiya," he said, glaring at her. "You just don't get it."

"You're no better than the rest of them. Why Kimi stays with you . . . " Chiya said through gritted teeth.

"I'd rather be no better than the rest of them, whoever they are." He shifted his weight to secure his hold on her hands, which she was trying hard to pull out of his grasp. "You only thought you learned the lesson about that monk if you can talk like that. What the hell were you thinking? What about your children? Your husband?"

"Get off of me!" She turned her head to the side, no longer willing to meet his gaze. "I've ruined everything. I want to die. What right do you have to stop me?"

He shook his head. "If you weren't the wife of my friend, and the friend of my wife . . . " Kimi hurried back with a length of rope she used to hang up clothes. "So you were just going to cut your throat and bleed out all over our house. Here in the space my daughter sleeps in. You think I want my children to see that? You think I want your ghost hanging around here, making us miserable because you couldn't think past your own nose?"

"What . . . what do we do?" Kimi asked.

"But . . . but . . . " Chiya said. The anger drained from her face, and she began to weep. "Everything is ruined."

Eiji shifted again and grabbed both of her hands and forced them together. "Wrap the rope around her wrists."

Kimi nodded and began doing it.

"You said the monk in the story was guilty of having no compassion, and only caring about his own salvation," he said, watching his wife secure the woman's hands. When they were secure enough, he lifted himself off her. "And you knew that was your sin, too. So you were going to keep on acting just that way, not caring that you were going to stab yourself where my daughter sleeps, not caring about your children or even Michio who, for whatever manic reason, still loves you. You think killing yourself is going to do anything but get you sent to hell?" He stood up and brushed his pants off.

He took the end of the cord from Kimi's hand and made a secure knot, leaving a long tail, then tugged Chiya up into a sitting position. After that, he tied the long end of the rope to one of the roof rafters.  
>"You will sit here, and you will wait for your otousan and the elders to come tell you what they are going to do with you." Eiji gave the rope a final tug to make sure the rope was secure. He brushed his hands clean. "You cost your husband a lot of face yesterday. You won't be allowed home until all are satisfied that you have done enough to make up for it. I suggest you spend some time thinking about what it means to have compassion, because you're fast using up what little compassion people around you had to give you."<p>

He turned to his wife who was kneeling on the ground near the screen. "You are a saint, my dear wife, but sometimes, even a saint has trouble saving a soul who doesn't want to be saved. Maybe though, you can explain Houshi-sama's story to her better than he did."

She looked up at him. "I'm sorry, husband." Her eyes were glittering with emotions of her own.

"Eh," Eiji said. "I heard she tried this the last time they did this stunt. I'm not surprised - just angry that she'd to it to you, and in our home." He lifted up the screen and put it back in its place, then bent over and picked up the pieces of the broken dish, and sighed.

"That was Tazu-chan's favorite bowl," he said, shaking his head sadly. Holding the pieces in his hand, he went outside.

As Eiji dealt with Chiya, Miroku and Tameo neared Tsuneo's place. The early dawn had given way to prime morning time, and people were beginning to move around the village.

"Such a lovely morning," Miroku noted.

"Too fine a morning for what we have to do," the headman said. "I should be out in the fields. I hope things settle down soon. We'll be buying soybeans to make miso this year if they don't." He sighed. "I might have all these other things to worry about, but I'm still a farmer at heart."

Isamu was heading out to the fields, his hoe on his shoulder. He waved to the two men walking.  
>"You're out and about early, Tameo-sama."<p>

"Seems that way," the headman said, nodding. "Yesterday has spilled into today, it seems."

Isamu nodded. "I thought it might. When Chiya gets in one of her snits . . . "

Tameo sighed and gave the man a rueful smile. "Even the headman has to pay attention."

"You two sound like old hands at this," Miroku said, leaning on his staff.

"Oh yes. The last time I was wondering if there wasn't going to be a war between some of the women," Isamu said. "It's a wearying thing. She throws a public fit, and Michio reacts. She'll do things trying to get him to take her back right away. Sometimes, she even threatens to kill herself. Last time, she pulled that stunt in front of everybody in her husband's ko."

Tameo scratched his chin. "I remember that. It was at their family festival, right before rice planting."

"My Yaya heard that he called her bluff on that one, and left her standing in a group of her women friends," Isamu said, shifting his hoe from one shoulder to the other. "Might have done us all a favor if she had carried it out, but instead, she just started crying. Toshiro was fit to be tied. He cancelled the feast, and had to do it another day because of the bad luck it was going to cause."

"I thought half of Toshiro's people were going to jump Michio because of that one," Tameo said, nodding. "And the other half wanted me to kick Chiya out of the village. Took a lot of placating to get everything smoothed over."

"It's a good thing Tsuneo has an open hand when it comes to Chiya," Isamu said. "Or poor Michio would still be paying off what smoothing things over cost."

Miroku frowned. "When did this happen?"

Isamu scratched his chin, thinking. "What was it, Tameo-ojisan, about five years ago?"

"Six, I think," Tameo said, counting on his fingers. "It was the year before the birth of their youngest."

"Funny how a baby came out of that mess," Isamu said, smiling. "Some women were wondering if it wasn't to bribe him to not cast her out again."

"Stranger things have happened," Miroku said. "But I didn't know that she got that way."

"She's always been an emotional one, even when she was little," Tameo said. He shrugged. "It takes all types, I guess."

Miroku sucked on his lip a moment, thinking, and nodded.

Saying their farewells, the men parted. Tameo looked at Isamu with some envy.

Even before they made the last bend in the path that would lead them to Tsuneo's house, they could hear singing.

"Weed, weed,  
>why are you so tall?<br>The better to reach  
>above the mizuna.<p>

"Weed, weed,  
>why are you so deep?<br>The better to protect myself  
>when you want to pull me."<p>

"Who's that?" Miroku asked.

"Oh, no doubt Amaya, working in her garden," Tameo said. "It's her pride and joy. After her husband went off to Odawara, it became her special place."

"Weed, weed,  
>why are you so bitter?<br>The better to stay away  
>from your cooking pot."<p>

As they drew closer, they could see the thin woman, a straw hat over her head, bending in her vegetable patch. There was indeed a small pile of weeds to the side of the bed, where she had been working.

"Weed, weed,  
>why are you so seedy?<br>The better to spread my children  
>so you have more to do."<p>

Not seeing the men, she straightened up, and rubbed her back. Picking up her hoe, she looked around the garden with some satisfaction.

Suddenly there was a shout from the back of the house. "The monster's coming. I have to get it!" a man's voice bellowed.

Amaya turned, just in time to see Morio, carrying a big stick and the lid to Haname's pickle tub, run into her garden, kicking through two rows of greens and stomping on some eggplants.

"Damn you, man," Amaya said. She brandished her hoe like it was a weapon. "I'll give you monster! Get out of my garden."

"But I heard him, Amaya-obasan!" Morio said. "Didn't you see him?"

As Morio held the pickle lid up as a shield to ward off Amaya's hoe handle coming his way, Miroku sighed and turned to the headman. "I certainly hope your plan works. I don't know how much more this poor family can take."

"You and me both. I'm ready to have a little talk with the kami about this," Tameo said, and both men ran to help Amaya get Morio back to the house.


	167. Chapter 167

_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 167**

An enraged Amaya, red faced and narrow-eyed, glared at the confused yamabushi trampling her garden. He cowered behind the pickle tub lid that had become his shield.

"But the monster . . . " Morio said, frowning as if honestly surprised by her reaction. "I know I heard it. I didn't want it to get you."

This explanation did nothing to mollify the angry woman, and she raised her hoe again."Out of my garden!" Amaya used the end of her hoe to push Morio back and out of the cultivated area. Slowly he got the idea and began to retreat. "You know you're not supposed to be out here. What would Joben-sama say? You know where you're supposed to stay. I don't need protecting from your play-monsters."

Morio stepped backwards, bit by bit, a step for each prod of Amaya's hoe as he clung to the pickle tub lid. "But . . . but Amaya-sama, what if - " Whatever it was he was going to say got lost as his right foot got caught on a rock and twisted. With flailing arms and a shout, he stumbled backwards, and the lid went sailing. He landed hard on his butt, his ankle wedged at a bad angle.

Setsuko, Joben's oldest daughter came running out of the house. "Morio!" she yelled. "Did you take Obaasan's pickle lid again?"

"Morio-kun, what are we going to do with you?" Amaya said as the man-child began crying as he reached to free his foot from the rock. "Setsuko-chan, the lid's over there," she called, pointing to where it was resting on the ground. "I hope he didn't break it this time."

The girl nodded and began walking towards it.

Setsuko grabbed the lid. She shook it at Morio. "What did Chichi-ue tell you? The pickle lid is not a shield."

He unwedged his foot. "But I need one. I have to be protected." He tried wiggling his toes and yelped.

"I thought Joben-sama gave you an ofuda to keep the monsters at bay," Setsuko said.

Morio crossed his arms and pouted, sticking out his bottom lip. "It's not as good. I need better, or the monster will get us all."

The girl rolled her eyes. "I'm putting this back. I've had enough craziness this morning. I'm going back to take care of Obaasan. Maybe Ojiisan can lock the room with the pickle tub. I'm tired of this." Holding the lid close, she stormed back to the house.

"I can see why Tsuneo-sama is anxious to get him out of the household," Miroku said, looking at the cursed man thoughtfully as he and the headman drew closer.

"I hear that," Tameo said, scratching the back of his neck. "Too early in the day for this type of thing. That man's like a stone thrown at a wasp's nest."

Amaya, hearing him, swung around. "Oh, Houshi-sama, Tameo-sama," she said, bowing. "A wasp's nest? If so, I'm afraid this whole household is the home of angry wasps right now."

"That's why we're here," Tameo said. Standing near where Morio had trampled a plant, he bent down, righted the bent mustard, and patted the dirt around it. He stood up and dusted his hands off. "We'd like to find a way to put those angry wasps to bed."

"I wish you luck," Amaya said. Her face was still drawn, although some of her anger had passed. "We need it."

"Amaya-obasan, my foot hurts," Morio said, rubbing his right ankle. He looked up at her with totally guileless eyes, scrunched up a bit in discomfort. "Can you check it?"

Amaya let out a long, slow, exasperated sigh, dropping her hoe and covering her face with both her hands. She shook her head. "Or maybe it's worse than just wasps. Maybe we all died, and this is how King Emma is punishing us in hell. What did I do to deserve this?" She began walking towards Morio.

"You're still quite alive, Amaya-sama," Miroku said, walking closer, the rings of his staff jingling. "This is a good thing. No telling how long it might last if you actually were in hell."

"Then maybe I would rather be dead," the woman said. "At least it would be quiet." She knelt down next to the cursed man. "Let me see your foot."

Morio lifted his foot and put it in her lap. "It hurts here," he said pointing to a place on his ankle. She poked at it gently. He winced and pulled his leg back when she touched a tender spot.

"It hurts!" he said, pulling back his leg. "Don't do that!"

"But I have to, Morio-kun," she said. "Sometimes the things we need to do to get better hurt."

"Haha-ue always told me that," he said, still frowning. "I didn't want to believe her."

"It's true," Miroku said, looking down at the cursed yamabushi. "If you've sprained your ankle, it'll need to be wrapped. Or it'll hurt worse."

"I don't think anything's broken," Amaya said, looking at Morio, her look of irritation intensifying. "We better get you inside so we can take care of it."

For a moment, Morio ignored her, and looked up at Miroku. "You're a monk? A holy man?"

The monk nodded. "I am indeed a monk, Morio-kun."

Morio squinched his face to one side, thinking. "Haha-ue says monks are good at keeping the monsters away. Can you do that?" There was hope in his eyes as he waited for Miroku's answer.

Miroku squatted down next to him, the rings on his staff jingling as he moved. "That's my job, Morio-sama. I fight against the monsters that want to hurt people. Are you having trouble with something? A ghost or a youkai?"

Sighing, the cursed man dropped his head. "I...I don't know. Joben-sama thinks it's my imagination." He looked up and met Miroku's eyes. "But . . . but I can see it sometimes. Right out of the corner of my eyes. It's long and white. I think it wants to eat me." He searched the monk's face for signs of disbelief, and relaxed when he saw none.

"Have you been seeing this a long time?" the monk asked.

Morio nodded. "I...I think so." He covered his head with his hands. "I don't remember very good anymore. I get such bad headaches, and everything gets confused."

"Do you need some more medicine for your headache?" Amaya asked. Her face began to soften, and she brushed a lock of hair out of his face.

The confused man shook his head no. "I'm scared all the time now. There's so much I don't know. Why do I have a big man's body? Where's Haha-ue?" He began to rock back and forth.

"I'm afraid we don't know where your okaasan is, Morio-kun," Tameo said. "I don't know where to even start looking."

"Nobody wants me around and everybody yells at me." He moved his foot again and yelped once more. "And now I hurt myself and I can't run." His eyes began to tear up. "Nobody wants to play with me, and they keep trying to make me stay alone, and nobody knows where my home is, and the monster wants to eat me." His voice grew very soft as he listed his miseries.

Miroku, his eyes troubled, looked up at Tameo, who also was troubled by Morio's litany, and he rested his hand on Morio's shoulder. "We're going to help you, Morio-sama. I can help take care of the monster for you, I think."

"You can?" Morio asked, turning his head to look at the monk.

"I've fought some really bad monsters, and won. We won't let him get you." Miroku stood up.

"He has," Amaya said, nodding. "I've seen what Houshi-sama has done." She looked up at Miroku as she too stood. "He's been this way since he came back with Joben that day. So confused and so frightened. This is what has been getting him into trouble. I don't think any of us know what to do."

"It's a very difficult case," Miroku said, nodding.

Tameo knelt down next to Morio. "I'm sorry everything's so scary for you, boy," he said. "Maybe we can help."

"Nobody can help me," the yamabushi said, curling back up. "Maybe Houshi-sama. Maybe. But I bet the monster eats me anyway."

"What about this?" Tameo said. "What if we made a place for you to go where Houshi-sama uses his powers to keep the monsters away?" He looked up at Miroku, who raised an eyebrow at the headman's suggestion.

"Clever man," Miroku said, too soft for Morio to hear.

"Would...would I have to stay alone?" Morio asked, doubtful about what the headman was suggesting.

"No, not at all." Tameo patted Morio's shoulder. "What if I found a nice man and woman who would make sure you had enough to eat and keep the bad things away? And who wouldn't yell at you? You could think of them as your ojisan and obasan. Or even your foster parents."

"They wouldn't yell at me?" Morio asked, sitting up a little.

"No, they wouldn't. And there would be boys you could play with, too. You played with my grandson the other day. You liked that, didn't you?"

Morio nodded and wiped his nose. "That was good. Could he come play again?"

"Maybe. I'll talk to his parents about it." Tameo stood up. "I heard you two had a good time playing forts."

"You're sure these people will let me play?" Morio asked.

"Absolutely," the headman said, nodding. "And I'll come by every few days, and you can tell me if you don't like something."

"And I will, too," Miroku said. "And you can tell me if the monster is bothering you." He reached into his robes and pulled out a small string of prayer beads. "Let me give you these." He bent down and fastened them around Morio's wrist. "They'll make you invisible to the monsters."

Morio touched the beads, one by one. "They will?" he said, looking up at the monk, questioning, and a little doubtful.

Miroku gave him a solemn nod. "But if you try to attack the monster, the magic will stop working. If you see the monster, sit down, and touch the beads, and you can watch him. If you try to chase him, though, he'll realize it." The monk knelt down once again, and held the crazed man's hand. "I want you to tell me what you can if you see him. That way, I'll know more about how to chase him off." He gave Morio's hand a pat. "Can you do that?"

"I...I think so," the yamabushi said. "It'll really work."

"Oh yes," Miroku said, standing back up. "My beads and sutras always work."

Morio fingered the beads. "But what about Joben-sama?"

"What about him, Morio-kun?" Amaya said.

He looked at Tameo and Miroku and Amaya, one after the other. "I...I...I get even more scared when Joben-sama isn't around. He's the one who found me. I..."

Tameo patted Morio on the back. "Joben-sama can stay with you as much as you need him, Morio-kun. We want to make you feel better."

"But why?" he asked.

"Because," Tameo said, smiling. "Because I'm the headman. And because I remember being scared and lonely."

"You do?" Morio asked. "I didn't think grownups ever got scared."

"Oh," Miroku said, leaning on his staff. "You'd be surprised how often we do."

Morio shook his head, the way a child does when he hears adults say things that are hard to believe.

"Let's see if you can get up on that foot of yours, Morio," Amaya said, offering him a hand.

He stood up, gingerly, and winced as he took a step. "It hurts."

Amaya wrapped an arm around the man. "Lean on me, Morio. We'll get you inside and get your foot wrapped. You'll be all right."

"Tell Tsuneo we're here," Tameo said.

She nodded, and the yamabushi, leaning on her, let himself be led home.

"Now," Miroku said, turning to Tameo, "that was a surprising turn of events. Perhaps it's going to be easier to get Morio moved than I thought."

The old headman nodded. "Maybe I shouldn't have been too harsh in my thinking of Kazuo-no-kami. Sounds like he's on our side still after all."

The two men started walking up to the house.


	168. Chapter 168

1_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 168**

Kisoi, the man who had agreed to become Morio's guardian, stood on the verandah of the big house that would be his home for the foreseeable future. It was built on a rise not far from the river, on the northwest side of the village. As if nervous about being on the edge of the community, the front of the house faced the village, making its claim to being included. From the verandah, there was a good view of the houses and the paddy fields, now green with barley. Sunlight glinted off the water in an irrigation channel. Even though it was still fairly early in the day, people had begun going about their business, some heading down the dykes that separated the paddy fields to the dryland fields and woodlands beyond.

"Funny how Tsuneo's family decided this wasn't the place to live anymore," Kisoi murmured. "I'm surprised the elders didn't put someone here just to keep watch. It's definitely better than my little spot against the ridge." Shaking his head, he walked around to the side of the house.

An ancient cherry tree stood there, big and very tall. There was another house just beyond it, neat and trim, with a solid roof anchored by the usual boards and stones. Beyond that was a small orchard of persimmon trees. As he neared, his wife stepped out of the little house, cleaning rag and bucket in hand, their infant daughter strapped to her back.

She was a small woman and her blue kosode was faded with many washings. Her sleeves were tied back and a patched bit of fabric marred the pattern of her wrap skirt. A smudge of dirt had caught the edge of her plain head scarf, and the area around her knees were damp, but as he watched her, something warm stirred inside of him, pride and love and hope, all mixed together, and he gave her a big smile. "All done?"

She nodded, returning his smile. "As done as you can be with an empty house. There wasn't really that much to do."

"I'm sure that'll change soon," he said, looking around the area. "But where are the boys?"

Moving a little way away from the house, she emptied the bucket of water and dropped the rag back into. "Haha-ue showed up, and took them on a walk. She was talking about taking them to see if they could find some spring greens to collect, but mostly I think she was trying to give us a little bit of time to get settled."

Kisoi walked up next to his wife, and wrapped his arms around her. "Ah, your okaasan is a good woman, Nana. I'm still amazed she let you marry me, even after all these years."

"She liked you better than I did when you first started coming to see me," Nana said. "Smart man, charming my okaasan before me." She chuckled a little. "It's still amazing to be staying in a place this big. I never thought I'd get to."

His look went serious. "Don't think we're not going to earn our keep. I've seen that . . . person . . . we're going to be watching. He really behaves like a boy about Touru's age. It's kind of unnerving to see him."

"You've told me that," she said nodding, but she pursed her lips slightly, as if she was bored by the discussion already. "Tameo-sama's told me that. I am to treat him like he really is a boy of five or six summers." She leaned her head against her husband's shoulder. "After Hidaka and Touru and Katsuo, I've had a bit of practice with young boys. Poor little Uma, going to have all these big brothers to tell her what to do."

The infant hearing her name, gurgled.

Her husband chuckled, and gave his wife a hug and his daughter a pat on the head before stepping back. "Still, don't underestimate him. From what I've seen and been told, he's a really big, confused and frightened boy, with all the strength and size of a man of thirty. You know how hard it is with the boys when they're like that. Add a man's strength to it. Between how strange he is, and what he can do, we need to stay alert. Part of me is wondering if I should have agreed to this at all."

Nana looked up at her husband, touching his cheek, as she looked at the seriousness in his eyes. "Are you afraid?"

"Afraid?" He scratched his chin. "I don't think that's the right word. Anxious, maybe? I'm hoping the boys take to him. That might be the real key to everything working well. That's one of the reasons the elders asked us, you know. The fact we have boys the age to play with . . . with this boy-man. Maybe I need to hope he takes to them as well." He sighed. "At least they aren't really leaving him alone with us until they're sure how it'll all work out."

Nana started walking back to the house, and Kisoi followed. "I heard the kami told the village to take care of him. I'm sure he'll be paying attention to what we do." She stopped and turned to face him, her own face a serious mask. "I'm not so worried about Morio as about the other one. That's where the trouble will come from, I bet."

"You mean Chiya-sama?" Kisoi asked as they stepped back up on the veranda. "I've been thinking about that one, too."

The woman paused. "Do . . . do you think they mean to keep her under the same roof as Morio?" she asked. "She has no patience with children as it is. I've seen her with her own children. How is she going to react with something like this?"

"I think," Kisoi said, leaning on one of the verandah posts, "that it's a good thing that there are two houses. It might mean more work for us, but having Chiya-sama under the same roof as Morio, and especially when Joben-sama is here might not be a good thing." He moved next to his wife, and lifted her chin up. "Are we crazy agreeing to do this?"

"Maybe," Nana replied. "I just hope the kami realizes we are doing this because it's the right thing to do, not just because the elders chose to pay us."

"Would we have done this for free?" he asked.

"Well . . . " Nana said, sighing. "Maybe not Chiya-sama. I just hope that she and Michio work things out soon." She put her bucket down. "I get the impression she never really liked me."

"I get the impression she never really liked anybody that much," Kisoi said.

A small knot of people were walking up to the house by the river, Tsuneo at the head.

He stopped for a moment. "So, Houshi-sama, I need to thank you for calming down our little trouble this morning," the elder said, moving next to the monk. "Whatever power's in that string of beads you put on his wrist seems to have already helped. I can't believe he actually managed to make Amaya and Akina laugh."

Miroku gave the elder a nod of agreement and a small smile."I'm not sure if it was the rosary or the promises that Tameo-sama made to him."

"He did seem rather pleased with the idea," Tameo said, nodding. "But the look on his face when we had to tell him we would come back for him later - I think he's looking forward as much to getting out of your house as you are of getting him out, Tsuneo."

They started walking again. A crow sitting in the road saw them coming, startled and flew off squawking.

The old elder watched the bird, like it was a sign from the heavens."We weren't trying to make it harder on him than we had to," the old elder said, his voice emphatic.

"Nobody was accusing you," Tameo said, patting Tsuneo on the shoulder. "Who knows how to handle someone who's gone through what he's gone through? He may have been evil enough to deserve it when it happened, but now we have a small child in that body of his who doesn't know what the hell's going on. No wonder he's been driving everybody crazy."

Susumu, also in the knot of people, nodded. "I guess we never realized how frightened he really was. We were too busy being frightened by what he had become."

"You can say that again," Hiroki, Tsuneo's nephew, said. He was carrying a large bundle on his back, and stopped for a moment to shift the weight. "What did Haha-ue put in this bundle? It weighs a ton."

"Enough to see them through the next few days," Tsuneo said.

Hiroki looked at his uncle. "She must expect them to eat like noblemen."

"Bah, nephew," Tsuneo said, a bit irritated. "Have you ever seen what you eat in a day?"

The young man ignored the jibe. "At least we're getting him out. You don't know how glad I'm going to be not to have to go chase him anymore."

"I wouldn't be counting on that just yet," Tsuneo said, displeased with Hiroki's attitude. "You're in the rotation for helping Kisoi manage things. And to carry supplies up. And maybe to keep Chiya-chan distracted."

"Better to be with Chiya-obasan than . . . " Hiroki stopped the thought, catching the look in Tsuneo's eyes.

"I'm still wondering about that," Susumu said, scratching the back of his head. "Are you sure it's wise, keeping those two so close to each other?"

The elder shrugged. "I had to put her somewhere. At least there are two houses up here. Michio needs some time to decide what he wants to do, or at least to save some face. What was I supposed to do, turn her out of the village?"

The conversation fell silent for a moment. They neared the section of wood that marked the last turn they'd have before being able to see the place they were heading.

"Will this help Haname-obasan get better?" a girl's voice asked.

Tsuneo turned around to look at Hana, his daughter-in-law's sister, who also was carrying a bundle, but in her arms, not on her back.

"We can hope, Hana-chan," he said. "Do you need some help with that? You've been carrying that all this time and haven't complained once. It looks heavy. And are you sure about coming with us?"

"I'm fine," the girl said. "I want to help. Anee-ue said I can help best if I'm there to take care of Chiya-obasan. If it makes Haname-obasan better, I don't mind."

"You're a good girl," Tsuneo said. "Chiya-chan's going to be hard to be around for a while."

Hana gave the elder a curious smile, then blushed and dropped her face. "Anee-ue told me it would be good practice for learning how to deal with an unhappy husband."

Susumu guffawed at this. "It'd have to be a pretty bad husband to be as hard to deal with as Chiya in one of her moods."

Tameo gave him a small punch, frowning at the younger man. "One day your tongue, son . . . "

"Don't be too hard on Susumu about that," Tsuneo said. "We all know it's true."

"I have never lived in any one village as long as I've lived in this one," Miroku said, looking thoughtful at the men he was walking with. "I'm beginning to see that there's a lot I've missed, growing up in a monastery."

Susumu turned and looked at him. "Is it really that different?"

"A bit," Miroku said, nodding. "We tended to kick out the ones who caused the most trouble. There's gossip and scandal, but the noise is . . . well, lower."

"Sometimes," Tameo said, taking a deep breath, "it would be nice if it would be that easy here."

"Bah," Susumu said, still irritated by his father's reprimand. "They'd just turn into bandits."

"Some of ours did, too," the monk said. He used his staff to kick a stone out of the road. It went skidding across the path. "But they tended to avoid attacking temples."

"Shame they don't feel that way about villages," Susumu said, picking up the rock. He threw it into the field, where a pheasant flushed, flying away with a whirr of wings

"That's why we have sharp tongued men like you who have good aim," Tameo said, watching the bird fly off, disappearing into another section of field.

"Glad to know I'm good for something," Susumu said.

"More than you know, son," the headman said, draping his arm around his son. "More than you know."


	169. Chapter 169

1_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 169**

Down in the village, Kimi stepped outside of her house, a basket of laundry in her arms, to find her husband sitting on the ground.

"I didn't know you were still out here," she said, walking over to him. "It was so quiet I thought you might have gone to the fields."

"Probably where I ought to have gone," Eiji said, looking up at her briefly before dropping his eyes back to the ground, where the fragments from his daughter's bowl were scattered. "Or at least found a tree to take a nap under. Somehow, though, I just can't seem to get up. I keep thinking of how Michio was last night over at Toshiro's. I'd have been home a lot earlier, but he wouldn't let me go." He picked up a fragment of the bowl. "This isn't the only thing she broke, you know?"

"I know," Kimi said. She rested a hand on his shoulder.

He covered her hand with his. "It's pretty quiet in there."

"There wasn't much to say." She uncovered her hand, and gave his hand a squeeze before moving hers back to the basket. "What do you say to all of that?"

"Don't ask me." Eiji put the fragment back down next to the others. "I'm just a farmer, not a philosopher. Or a wizard."

Kimi put her basket down. "I...I...She asked me to let her go. I told her that I would obey my husband on this, then grabbed the laundry basket." Gracefully, she knelt down on the ground next to him. "I don't really want to wash clothes, but I . . . I couldn't stay in the same place any more. I'm sorry."

Something in Kimi's voice, an almost broken sound, made him look up again at his wife, and he wrapped an arm around her. "It's not your job to keep watch with her, woman. Why do you look like you think you've done something wrong?"

She leaned against him. Their cat wandered up, rubbed against her, and jumped in her lap. "I..." she started, and let her fingers drift over the cat's soft fur. Curling into a ball, it began to purr. "I know I didn't do anything wrong."

"If anything, wife," Eiji said, tucking a bit of hair back under Kimi's scarf, and giving the bow over her forehead a playful little tug, "you've been a goddess of mercy to her at her most needful."

"I...I just . . . what good does it do?" Kimi looked up at Eiji, studying his eyes. "I feel so frustrated. She always has to do the grand gesture."

"She always has," Eiji said. "Ever since we were young. It's always been about her." He kissed his wife on the forehead, and as he leaned forward, the cat arched and jumped up and out of Kimi's lap. "I remember the day she spoiled your sewing because Haname-obasan thought you had done the best that week at the girl's sewing circle."

"I remember, I remember," Kimi said, nodding. "I was eleven. I was making a festival kosode for Nahoi. It was pretty fabric, stamped with white and blue flowers on red. Chichi-ue had bought the fabric, even, instead of Haha-ue making it. And Chiya was jealous her mother said something nice to me, and she pretended to trip and dropped her scissors on it and put a hole in the sleeve."

"Shame for her than her okaasan saw what was going on," Eiji said.

"I do believe it was a month before Chiya-chan was allowed back in the sewing circle," Kimi said, leaning back into her husband's arms. "And it didn't stop me from finishing. Haha-ue showed me a way to make a piecework sleeve that looked very nice on my sister."

Eiji rested his cheek on the top of his wife's head. "I never understood why you kept being nice to her."

"I just felt sorry for her," Kimi said, sighing. "She wanted people to like her so much, but she kept doing things like that. I guess I hoped that if someone really treated her like a friend, she'd learn how to be a friend." She sat back up. "Just when you think that maybe it's sinking in, she has to do go and pull another grand gesture." Kimi met her husband's eyes, questioning him. "Was it me? Was I not good enough at showing her how to do it right?"

He pulled her back into his arms. "You, woman, are like Kwannon of the hundred hands, always there with fresh compassion. But sometimes, it's not your fault. The other person has to make the choice to learn from that."

She covered her eyes with her hand. "But . . . but . . . " Her voice began to choke up. "When she did that today . . . "

Suddenly, Kimi was weeping, and wrapping her arms around her husband. "I couldn't do anything. She wanted to kill herself in my daughter's sleeping place and all I could think of was that old kosode she tried to ruin, and how she was going to ruin another with her acting out, and how the blood would be so hard to clean up." She looked up. "How could I think like that?"

Eiji sighed. "Sometimes, I guess, it's just the way our minds behave. Maybe your soul was trying to protect you from what almost happened." He kissed the top of her head again. "I want you to go to your okaasan's house. Or at least to Haha-ue's. I don't want you going back in there today." He let her go and stood up, then offered her a hand.

She took it, and let him tug her up. "But . . . but what about Chiya-chan?"

"She'll hold," Eiji said. "She's damn lucky I don't drag her off to Tameo-sama's house and put her in the lockup."

Kimi shuddered. "That's such an awful little building."

"Which is why I don't, woman." Eiji pulled his wife into a hug. "You go and relax with our children. See if you can get Jiro to do some work in the fields, maybe. Help your mother and sister with their dyeing. Stay there until I get back. Or, if it'd make you feel better, go to the temple, or anything else but go inside."

Kimi lifted up a hand and touched Eiji's cheek, gave him a small, bittersweet smile, and nodded. "But you, what are you going to do?"

"I'm going to find Tameo and Tsuneo, and tell them I want my home back. I want to be able to sit there with my wife and children without listening to a stupid, selfish woman driving us apart. I want her to go away so I can come home." He pulled her close once more. "I have no pretensions about being Kwannon. My compassion is not as deep as yours, wife. Right now, I feel more like Bishamon with his spear, ready to smite the evil doers."

That made Kimi give an honest smile. "My dear husband, you are as far from being the god of war as I am from being Kwannon, despite what you call me." She leaned her head on his chest, and took a deep breath. "I'll go to your okaasan's house first, and then head over to Haha-ue's. I know she's busy with her dyeing. But don't blame me if I end up smelling like indigo."

He laughed. "It will be better for you to smell like indigo than Chiya, any day." And with a quick kiss to seal the deal, he watched her walk to his mother's house. Steeling his shoulders, he then left to go find where the elders were.

Near the house by the river, a small boy, about seven, looked down the road. "Obaasan, someone's coming!"

An older woman, about sixty, looked up from where she was kneeling by a patch of early spring herbs, took a herb offered by another boy about five. "Very nice, Touru-chan. That's the type that taste good in stew." The boy beamed at her. She turned to her oldest grandson. "So, someone's coming, Hidaka? Who is it?"

The youngest child, a toddler about three, began to wander. His grandmother adeptly reached over and grabbed his hand, pulling him back. "No, no, Katsuo-chan. You stay here with Obaasan." She pulled the boy into her arms and gracefully stood up.

"Three men, and Houshi-sama," Hidaka said.

"So, Houshi-sama's not a man?" the woman asked smiling at the boy. The middle boy took her hand.

"Uh . . . " Hidaka said. "I recognized him."

"Pick up my basket, will you?" she asked as she started leading her small charges toward the path. Hidaka nodded, picked up the basket and hurried up to follow the others.

The woman looked down the path to see Tameo and his group walking toward them. "Now that's surprising. No Chiya or crazy yamabushi. I wonder why?"

"Is something wrong, Obaasan?" Hidaka asked.

"No, no, boy. I was just surprised." As the headman neared, the woman bowed.

"Well, well, Rikuyo-sama, I didn't expect to see you here, but what nice company you keep," Tameo said, returning her greeting. "Were you here waiting for us?"

"Not really," Rikuyo said. "I was out amusing my grandsons, mostly. My daughter was a bit busy getting everything ready for the company you want her to keep." She gave the headman a disapproving twist to her lips. "The least I can do is make her job a little more bearable."

"That was kind of you," Tameo said. "But somehow I sense you don't quite approve."

"How can I approve?" the woman said. She kissed the grandson she was carrying. "What you asked . . . well these are my grandchildren."

Tameo sighed and scratched the back of his head, as he thought of how to reply, when Tsuneo came to his rescue.

"Both Kisoi and Nana agreed," he said. "We did explain everything."

"Explanations only go so far," Rikuyo said. She no longer tried to hide her scowl. "I've seen Chiya in action all of her life. And that . . . that . . . fellow you want my grandchildren to play with . . . "

Touru looked up at his grandmother, concern on his face. He pulled on her sleeve, "Obaa, are you mad?"

She looked down. "No, no, boy. I'm just wanting Tameo-sama to make sure everything's going to be all right." When she looked back up, her eyes challenged him.

"You are a good woman, Rikuyo-sama," Miroku said, bowing. "Tameo-sama and Tsuneo-sama will be providing enough manpower to make sure that the poor man who needs care is never too much for your grandchildren to be around. And I . . . I am going there to make sure things are as blessed as they can be."

"So, that's it, huh?" Rikuyo asked. "You think your prayers and sutras and farmers can put enough of a barrier around my grandchildren to truly keep them safe?"

"We will no our best," Tameo said.

"Your best better be perfect," Rikuyo said. "If not, I'll – "

Whatever she was going to say was interrupted. "Okaasan," Kisoi said, giving his mother-in-law a gentle look, but there was a determined look in his eyes. "There you are! Nana-chan sent me to find out if you'd had enough of the boys yet."

"Your boys will never be too much for me," she said, smiling at her son-in-law in return, although his determined look was matched by one equally as set in her eyes. "I was just letting Tameo-sama know I expect him to carry out his side of the bargain."

"That's very good of you, Okaa," Kisoi said. "But perhaps you might want to take the boys back to the house. Nana's trying to figure out sleep arrangements and wants your advice."

Rikuyo gave him a curt nod, and looked at her grandchildren. "Well, then," she said, looking at her grandchildren, "I guess we need to go see what your okaasan wants to do boys."

She began to move up the path back toward the house. "Don't forget, Tameo-sama. A perfect best."

Turning back she led her young charges back to her daughter.

Tameo rubbed the back of his neck. "You know, I'm getting tired of complications."

On the other side of the village, InuYasha, snuggled up against Kagome's shoulder was dreaming. If anybody had been watching, they would have been amused to see how his eyes moved under his eyelids, and how his ears twitched to no sound being made by anybody.

InuYasha, though, was not at the moment amused, locked into one of those convoluted dreams, filled with frustration and the feeling that what he was seeing was important. One moment he was in the village, standing on the watch tower with Kagome and Susumu.

Dream-Susumu looked at him pointedly. "It's the first time she's ever pulled a stunt like this."

InuYasha turned to Kagome. Dream Kagome looked at him and frowned. "Why didn't you tell Tsuneo?"

In the next moment, he was out in the forest, chasing down a scent that was both hateful to his nose and filled with fear, making it stink even more. He pushed through the brush and got a glimpse of a bandit laughing. The scent that he was chasing led that way, and in the dream he readied his sword, only to push into an empty clearing.

Nobody was there. There was a scrap of cloth and he brought it up to his nose, and he threw it away in disgust. A woodpecker began tapping on a tree. He threw a rock at it but it wouldn't stop tapping.

Suddenly, the dream shattered. He opened his eyes, only to see Kagome's ebony hair and the room surrounding him. But the tapping didn't stop.

Someone was knocking at the door.


	170. Chapter 170

1_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 170**

InuYasha, realizing someone was knocking, scowled in the direction of the door. He rolled out of the bed. "Damn," he said, too softly for Kagome to hear. "If anybody wakes her up . . . "

Ignoring his feelings on the matter, someone knocked again. "InuYasha? Kagome?" a young voice said.

The hanyou groaned, covering his face with his hand, knowing who that voice belonged to. Standing up in a flash, he headed for the door. Just before he opened it, he looked back at his sleeping wife longingly as she snuggled into the warm spot he had left behind, but steeled his shoulders and opened the mat door. Stepping out before his visitor could knock again, he dropped it quickly behind him to keep anybody from barging in.

InuYasha looked down to see a redheaded kitsune looking up at him wide-eyed with surprise.

"I woke you up?" Shippou asked, amazed at the sight of InuYasha standing there only wearing his kosode. "But you're never asleep this time of day. You wake up before everybody."

"Feh." The hanyou's ears focused in on the kit, and the loudness of his voice. He grabbed the boy by the tail and lifted him until he was nearly eye to eye. "Be quiet," he said, his voice barely above a whisper, but still close to a growl. "Kagome was up all night, and she's still asleep. If you wake her up . . . "

Shippou frowned back in return. "You baka! How was I supposed to know that?" He glared back at the hanyou, but did drop the volume of his voice. "I just got back from my uncle's place. First I went to Kaede's house, but Rin wasn't there and Kaede was asleep," the kitsune said, trying to get loose. "And then when I started here, I ran into old Daitaro and another guy. They were talking at the bottom of the hill, and they asked me to hurry up to tell you they were coming. I could smell you were home, so I knocked, but nobody answered, and I knocked again. I was wondering if you were trying to ignore me." Giving up the struggle to get loose, he crossed his arms, and sneered. "You might want to put your hakama on before they get here."

"Damn it," InuYasha said. He glanced down the path, but nobody was visible yet. "Now what's up?"

"Don't ask me," the upside-down boy said. "Are you going to let me down? I was just trying to help."

"Yeah, yeah." InuYasha let go of Shippou's tail, and the kitsune landed lightly on his feet.

As he smoothed out his clothes, the kitsune looked back up at InuYasha as a thought struck him. "Why's everybody sleeping so late today, anyway?"

"Healer business. Sayo had her baby last night, and Kagome was helping Kaede," InuYasha said, losing some of his scowl. "We didn't get home until after sunrise."

Shippou snorted."No wonder you're so crabby," he said. "If I'd known that, I'd have let Daitaro wake you up himself."

The hanyou lifted his hand and started to make a fist, but then thought better of it, and let his arm fall back down. "You'd have known what's up if you had gone to Sango's first."

"But I was trying to be good," Shippou said. "How was I supposed to know?"

"I guess," InuYasha said. "So who's with Daitaro?"

"That guy that lives on the other side of Toshiro's place. He works for Tsuneo sometimes." Shippou said. He jumped up on the hanyou's shoulder. "Cho . . . Cho . . . "

"Choujiro?" InuYasha asked.

"I guess," Shippou said. He yelped as InuYasha picked him up and dropped him back to the ground. "Why'd you do that for?"

"You're not coming in," the hanyou said. "Kagome's sleep."

"Oh, yeah," Shippou said. "I forgot." As InuYasha turned to go inside, he asked, "Do you think Rin's at Sango's?"

"That's where she went last night," the hanyou said, looking over his shoulder. "Why?"

"I have to go somewhere. Can't stop at Kaede's, and I can't stop here. I guess I'll go see Sango and Miroku. When Rin's there, my tail is safer," the kit said, walking away. "She keeps the twins busy enough that I have time to get away."

InuYasha snorted at that tidbit, and went in to get dressed for his approaching company.

At the house by the river, Miroku put on his best professional monk face as he walked through the main room of the building. He had many eyes on him - most of the people he walked up the hill with, and all of Kisoi's family, including an unimpressed Rikuyo, who watched him with a skeptical eye.

"_Namo A-riya-valokite-s'vara-ya Bodhi-sattva-ya, maha-sattva-ya, maha-ka-runika-ya,"_ Miroku chanted as he walked round the room, his voice deep and sonorous.

"What's he saying?" Susumu, standing off in a corner asked his father.

The older man shrugged. "Don't ask me. I may be the headman, but I barely understand that old language we use in the prayers to the kami. This doesn't sound anything like that."

Tsuneo leaned in. "I think it's a prayer to Kwannon."

"How'd you know that?" Susumu asked, looking rather impressed.

"My wife," Tsuneo said. "She likes his prayers. He's come over a lot."

Miroku ignored them and continued with his mantra as he made three circuits of the room then moved to the center, near the fire pit. His eyes half-closed, he lifted his hand in a gesture of blessing. "_Maha-bodhisattva, sarva sarva,_" the monk intoned. "_Mala mala. Mahi, mahi ridayam, Kuru, kuru karmam. Dhuru, dhuru vijayate._"

Suddenly, a warm wind stirred in the wind, a pleasant sensation that touched everybody.

"Huh," Rikuyo said. Trying to hide her reaction, she pulled her youngest grandson close.

Hidaka, the oldest boy, had no such qualms. He pulled on his mother's sleeve. "What's he doing, Okaa? Where did that wind come from?"

Nana patted her son's head. "Hush, son. Let him work."

Miroku finished chanting and opened his eyes. "This house has a peaceful spirit," the monk announced. "I don't get to say that often."

"I always told Chichi-ue that, but he didn't want to believe me," Tsuneo said, nodding. "I used to come up here a lot to get away from everything."

"So that's where you used to get off to," Tameo replied, looking at the elder, a bit impressed. "I've seen Joben and Haname-chan go looking for you but I never knew where you got off to."

"Sometimes," the elder admitted. "I liked the calm here. I'd use the excuse of doing things like taking care of the roof or making sure the weeds didn't get too bad." He shrugged. "There were times it was better than what was home."

The monk took a small blue cloth-covered amulet out of his sleeve. "Even though it's peaceful, I'd like to make sure it stays this way." He motioned to Kisoi. "I have one of these for each of the rooms. Tie this up near the door."

Kisoi took the bag gingerly. "What's it for?"

"For protection against bad spiritual forces," Miroku replied. "Which room will be Morio's?"

While Kisoi tied the amulet on a peg near the front door, Nana pointed to a door at the back of the main room. "We thought we'd put him in the room on the left."

Miroku nodded and hung another bag, this time of bright red fabric, over the entrance. "This is a special one for him." He moved to the other two and placed blue bags over each of them. "It's not that the house is under a dark shadow," he explained while he worked, "but this should help keep things from being attracted to him. There's something about his aura that's off. That by itself can be something that attracts a hungry ghost or even a youkai, who might be curious."

"See, daughter?" Rikuyo said, looking at Nana. "That man is a danger. And now you're in the middle of it. I knew that this wasn't a good idea."

Nana sighed, exasperated. "Okaa," she said. "We've been over this all morning. The kami said that the village was to take care of him. Do you think he would do that and not watch over him? Or us?"

"You have more faith than I do, daughter." The old woman frowned. "But maybe you have a point. Still," she said, looking at the elders and back at the monk, "I know who must be responsible if he doesn't."

Kisoi sighed.

Once again ignoring the banter, Miroku went back to the center of the room, and began to chant again. "_Siddha-ya sva-ha_," he said. His voice grew more intense with each phrase. "_Maha siddha-ya sva-ha. Siddha-yoge-s'varaya sva-ha. Narakindi sva-ha. Ma-ranara sva-ha._"

With the last phrase, he clapped his hand together. Suddenly each of the little bags began to glow with a bright light. As he finished, and looked up, the light receded.

"Well, I guess he does know a thing or two," Rikuyo said, obviously impressed by the monk's show.

Seeing that his effort had made an impression, he nodded. "That's done," the monk said. "Now for the hard part - taking care of Chiya-sama's house."

"Morio will be easier to take care of than Chiya-sama?" Kisoi asked. "Do you really think so?"

"You have seen my daughter, right?" Tsuneo asked, a sad smile on his face. "You've lived here most of your life. What do you think?"

Miroku headed for the door. As the other men followed, Kisoi nodded. "You do have a point."

On the other side of the village, InuYasha, moving as quietly as he could, slipped back into the house and grabbed his clothes.

As he stepped into his hakama, Kagome opened her eyes sleepily and gave him a warm but drowsy look. "Did I hear Shippou-chan?"

"Don't worry about what you heard, woman. Go back to sleep," InuYasha said, fastening the ties to his hakama. "You haven't slept very long. I doubt we slept more than a couple of hours. That's not enough rest for you."

Kagome yawned, then shaking her head, sat up. "But I don't want to sleep the day away. If I do, I won't be able to sleep tonight." She brushed her bangs out of her face. "Something must be up, or you would have come back to bed. And you didn't tell answer me. Was that Shippou?"

InuYasha picked up his jacket and put his left arm into his sleeve. "Yeah. He just got back from his uncle's. He stopped by to tell me Daitaro and Choujiro were on their way here."

Kagome stood up and stretched. "I bet Daitaro's really trying to stay out of the way with Shinjiro's wedding tomorrow. I bet he's looking for any excuse to get out. Choujiro, that's the man who's going to make the boards for the storage building?"

InuYasha put his other sleeve on and walked over to Kagome, wrapping his arms around her. "Yeah. I guess I need to talk to him, or I'd go back to bed myself." He kissed her lightly on the forehead. "I can think of a lot more than I'd rather do that talk about sheds right now."

She reached up and kissed him on the chin in return, then smiled. "Me, too. Maybe starting with breakfast." She pulled free, then bent over to pick up the coverlet to their bed to fold it.

"Breakfast might work," the hanyou said, tucking in his jacket and fastening the ties.

Moving toward the cabinet where she stored the bedding, Kagome turned back to InuYasha. "You want to take the futon out to air?"

"Are you sure?" he said, bending down to lift it, then dropping it again. "Maybe I shouldn't air this out this morning. Maybe we'll get a break and get to take a nap." The look he shot her promised more than just sleep.

"Just hang it up," she said, putting away the coverlet. "If there's going to be men working on those logs, making all sorts of noise, I probably won't want to do anything until they're done."

InuYasha let out a slightly disappointed sigh. "You know, I think I'm ready for us to have another day off. Maybe two. Maybe a week."

Kagome looked up at him and gave him a wistful smile. "That would be nice. Maybe I should talk to Kaede-obasan after she gets up."

"Almost enough to wake her up for," InuYasha said. Grabbing the futon, he headed out of the door.

_A/N: The words that Miroku chant are from a Buddhist work called the Nilakantha dharani or the Great Compassion Mantra. There's a very good Wiki page that has it in complete form. It's often used for purification and protection._


	171. Chapter 171

_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 171**

InuYasha carried the futon outside to the side of the house where he had set up a permanent clothesline. It was clearly midmorning. Already, the birds who greeted each day with singing, had done their announcement to the world, and had gone off to busy themselves with making a living, and the dew had just about burned off the grass he was walking through.

"I really didn't need this today," he said, spreading the cloth over the line. "Fell off a roof, got insulted, listened to Michio all night, and Yasuo, and now this."

"Living in a community is different from living alone," a voice to his right said.

InuYasha swerved around, hand on sword hilt, to see the grinning face of the kami Kazuo looking at him.

"You – " the hanyou said, irritated at being sneaked up on. "I thought you said you couldn't appear like this very often."

"I shouldn't," Kazuo said, rubbing his cap back and forth over his head. "But I've been busy in the village this morning. The other family kami and I got together to cook up a plot maybe to help out with that stupid yamabushi."

The hanyou turned back to the clothes line, to finish smoothing out the futon. "About time, after you dumped him on everybody."

"There are reasons," Kazuo said, leaning on his hoe. "You'll see, eventually."

InuYasha ran his hand across the top of the futon, smoothing a wrinkle, taking more time than he usually would have. "You sound like Tameo and Tsuneo, cooking up plots to take care of things."

"Well," the kami said, walking to the other side of the line where he could look the hanyou in the eye, "they get it nature, Tameo and the others. They are our descendants, after all. But it took good timing. I had to wait until that houshi partner of yours and Tameo were walking close enough, and then I panicked the yamabushi to go running after a phantom."

Frowning, InuYasha looked up at Kazuo. "Haven't you done enough to him yet?"

Kazuo took a deep breath. "This time it was for his own good. The houshi-sama actually looked at his aura this time. He's a smart man, that Miroku-sama. I think he got a glimmer of what's behind all of this. And he knew just what to say to calm that guy down."

"Too smart for his own good sometimes," the hanyou said, turning to head back to the house. "He misses things he ought to catch. Look how he let Chiya trip up Sango."

"That," Kazuo said, following InuYasha, "that was unfortunate. Chiya . . . well, she's always been a problem child. Tsuneo's family kami gave up on her a long time ago."

InuYasha stuck his hands in his sleeves and stopped for a moment, scowling. "So we all have to put up with her instead?"

"No," Kazuo said. "There's something in the works for that, too. Pay attention to your dreams."

Saying that, he tapped his hoe on the ground, and in a flash, was gone.

Across the village, near the river, Miroku continued his impressive performance of his spiritual powers to the small group who had gathered in front of the house where Chiya was to stay.

"Usually," he said, standing in front of the building, "I would call upon Kwannon of the Thousand Arms."

"Usually?" Tameo asked. "But not this time?"

"The issue with Chiya-sama is complex," Miroku said, with his most serious and professional face. He tapped his staff once, making the rings jingle, as if in emphasis. "Instead, I will call upon the Medicine Buddha and his twelve generals. Perhaps, all of them working together can untie this knot she's tied herself, and the rest of us, up with."

"She has done that," Tsuneo said. "Since none of us or our kami seem to know how to deal with her, perhaps this will help."

"Uncle," Hiroki, Tsuneo's nephew said. "You make her sound hopeless. All of you do."

"Maybe not hopeless," Tameo said, but let his voice trail off as he scratched the back of his neck.

Tsuneo, crossing his arms, turned to look at the headman. His eyes were very said. "No need to make excuses for her. We all have been making excuses for her for too long."

"Maybe twelve generals can keep her in line," Susumu said, resting his hand on Tsuneo's shoulder, but his tone was doubtful.

"The Medicine Buddha is good at healing minds and hearts and bad karma," Miroku said. "If this won't work, I'm not sure what else will help."

"Anything will be an improvement, even if it only lasts while she is here," Tsuneo said, nodding. "Please begin."

Miroku walked around the small house, chanting sonorously in a language no one understood. As he walked, he tapped his staff at each of the four corners of the house. The air began to feel charged.

Hana looked up at the sky. "My hair feels funny, like it does sometimes during a thunderstorm."

"That's his spiritual powers, child," Tameo said. "He's good at this thing."

Finally, the monk stopped in front of the door. He placed a small rectangle of paper over the lintel. "Om. -samudgate sva-ha," he chanted. "O great Medicine Buddha Yakushi, heal the souls of all who dwell in this house."

The ofuda began to glow with a bright blue light for a moment, then returned to being a normal piece of paper with odd symbols written on it, and then, it slowly melted into the wood of the wall.

"Ooh," the girl Hana said. "Did you see that?"

Hiroki, Tsuneo's nephew, crossed his arms. "Let's see if it works when Chiya-obasan gets here."

"Let's hope so," Tsuneo said standing nearby. "You're going to find it uncomfortable up here, Hiroki-kun, if she doesn't."

"M...m...me?" the young man said, dropping his arms and looking at his great-uncle. "But I thought I only came up here because Haha-ue asked me to bring up the supplies."

"Well, you'll be coming here to fetch and carry whatever Chiya-chan needs for the first tenday," Tsuneo announced. "She always was fond of you, nephew. You being here will help her, as well as Kisoi. Maybe by the time that tenday is passed all this will be over. Maybe even before. I'm counting on you to help."

"She's always liked your jokes, Hiroki-kun," Hana said.

"But what about . . . " Hiroki started to say more, but saw the look in his uncle's eyes, and taking a deep breath, bowed.

Miroku turned back to the little group. He looked obviously tired from the energy he had been using. "Well, that's done as best as I can."

"Good, good," Tameo said, nodding. "I am sure it will help, Houshi-sama. Every little bit helps. And from the energy you put out, I know this was more than a little bit."

The others nodded.

"Shall we fetch our two house guests?" Susumu said, looking at the monk with new respect. "Who should we bring up first?"

Miroku leaned on his staff. "I would suggest the yamabushi."

"I was thinking that," the headman said. "Maybe if he was out of sight -"

"Tsuneo-sama!" a man's voice said, interrupting Tameo.

The group turned around to see Eiji hurrying up to join them. He looked quite unhappy.

"Eiji?" Tsuneo said. "Is there something wrong?"

The guardsman stopped, and caught his breath a moment. "Yes there is," he said. "Your daughter tried to kill herself in my daughter's sleeping place. You must come and take her away now. I wanted to help, but this is beyond what I can handle."

Tsuneo covered his face with his hands, and groaned. "I must be cursed."

Miroku looked at Tameo and Susumu. "I guess that answers which one first."

"Indeed," the headman replied.

Back up on the hill, InuYasha looked at the ground where the kami had stood just a moment before. "You know, old man, I will never get used to you doing that."

Almost like a gust of laughter, a burst of wind made the trees around him sway. But before he could do anything else, his ear swivelled at a sound coming up the path towards his house.

"I'm really getting tired of all this," he said as he walked around to the front of the building to see Daitaro, Shinjiro, and another man heading his way. The newcomer, a thin, and sharp faced man, but with a pleasant manner, was pushing a handcart laden with tools, laughing at something one of the other men had said.

Daitaro spotted him and waved. "InuYasha! I see our little friend found you at home. I was hoping he would."

The hanyou gave a curt nod, and tried to hold his face in a neutral position. "Yeah, the brat found me. Wasn't expecting to see you here today."

"I didn't know this was going to happen until after we parted last night," the old farmer said. "Tsuneo thought it might be easier for him today if I brought Choujiro along instead of coming himself," the old farmer said. "Who was I to say no?"

"Couldn't wait for this afternoon, now could you?" InuYasha said.

"Work begun sooner is work sooner done," Daitaro said, tilting his head, not quite understanding InuYasha's irritation at their visit.

"I think," Shinjiro said, "Perhaps the timing might have something to do with Haha-ue's threat to bean him with the stew pot for being in her way."

Daitaro rubbed the back of his neck. "There was that, son. But I seem to recall what happened when you lifted the lid to the pot she had on the fire."

"How was I supposed to know she was fixing something for tomorrow?" the younger man asked. "I'm getting tired of all of this. Maybe I should just go run off with Erime and come back in a week. Maybe everybody will have calmed down by then."

"If only it was that simple," Daitaro said. "But you have to give the women their time to celebrate."

"They do like that," Choujiro said, nodding.

"Still, it'll be over soon," Daitaro said, patting his son on the back. "And then Erime will be part of the household, and your okaasan will stop giving us dark looks because we stay around the house too long when she's trying to get some work done." He looked up at the hanyou. "But why should we have waited to the afternoon? I thought this was all arranged by Tsuneo already."

"It was before last night," the hanyou said. "But last night should have changed things. You didn't hear yet?"

"Hear what?" Shinjiro

"Sayo had her baby. We were up all night at Toshiro's." InuYasha stuffed his hands into his sleeves.

"Damn," Daitaro said, rubbing the side of his head. "Don't tell Chime yet. She'll split in half trying to be in two places at once, and I don't think she's up for that."

Choujiro, though, smiled broadly. "About time," he said. "Maybe soon she'll be able to keep up with that brood of hers once again. Daiki-kun means well, but nobody is as good at making him behave as Sayo-sama is. He's just at that age, and he knows just how to drive Yasuo-sama mad, while still getting into all sorts of trouble."

"He doesn't get over here very often, but I've heard tales. Kind of reminds me of myself at that age," Daitaro said, nodding at Choujiro's explanation. "Boy or a girl?"

"Girl," InuYasha said. "Why?"

The old farmer gave a relieved sigh. "Good. Nobody wanted a third boy to chase after."

"Feh," InuYasha said. "You'll be doing your own chasing soon enough, with Aki coming into your house."

Daitaro nudged his son. "That's why I keep this one around."

Choujiro and InuYasha chuckled. Shinjiro, though, didn't look quite as pleased.


	172. Chapter 172

_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 172**

Chiya knelt on the floor, leaning forward as she rested her head against the rope which bound her hands and was tied to the roof rafter. She wiggled her bound fingers and sitting up straighter, moved them close to her chest.

She had no more tears as she stared at the floor. Her fan rested against the edge of the screen, a little too far out of reach for her to pick it up. Her knife was gone. "Why am I so cursed?" she said, her voice low, barely audible even to her. "What will Haha-ue say? I can hear her now - more proof she is right about how we are all unloved by heaven. Maybe she's right."

She sighed, leaned her weight against the rope once again, and let the exhaustion she felt take her over. The silence in the house was almost deafening.

"And the Buddha told a story about a man chased by a tiger, who jumped off a cliff, and held onto a vine, hoping the tiger would go away." Chiya said, when she couldn't take the silence any more. "He started to climb down, then saw another tiger below. Looking up, he saw the first tiger growling at him. Two rats began to gnaw at the vine he was holding onto." She shook her head. "That's me. Ah, Michio, such a tiger you've turned into." Lifting her hands enough to grab onto the rope, she pulled herself up. "And you, Chichi-ue - how did you get so fierce?"

She walked as far as she could before the rope tugged on her, turned and waked in the other direction. "At least the man in the parable got to eat a berry before plunging to his death. What do I have? I don't even get that. Nothing sweet left for Chiya. But I know who the rats are in my life." Her voice began to rise as she paced. "You, Kimi, who pretended to be my friend, you and your husband, who refused to let me die. Hisa. That . . . that . . . that woman. How they rallied around her when I just said what was true. Her and her brats. I'll never understand what Houshi-sama sees in her. Why doesn't she see that she's dragging him down?"

Chiya stopped pacing back and forth and sank back to her knees. "But I know who's the biggest rat of all . . . that silver-haired freak. Look what's happened to us since he got here. O Thousand-armed Kwannon, why?" Her voice was almost a shriek.

She was so wrapped up in her litany of self-pity she didn't hear the door mat open, or hear the footsteps of someone walking across the room.

"Why? Who have you had pity on, Chiya? You really think you've done anything for someone to act merciful to you?"

Chiya turned, shocked, to see Fujime standing there, glaring at her. Looking up at the woman, she burst into tears.

Up on the hill, InuYasha stepped back into his house, greeted by the smells of cooking rice and fish.

Kagome, sitting at her place next to the fire pit looked up as he entered. "Did I hear Daitaro?" she asked.

"Yeah," the hanyou said, looking at the wood stack near the fire pit. Frowning, he walked over to the larger wood cradle in the beaten earth doma, and picked up an armful of split wood "He and Shinjiro came here with Choujiro. I think Chime wanted them out of the house." Moving up onto the raised platform of the main part of the room, he carried the wood and dropped it near the fire pit, stacking it up neatly. "I guess it's something to do with the wedding."

Kagome chuckled. "I bet they'll be glad when tomorrow's over." She lifted the lid to her soup pot and added some greens to the mix, and gave it a stir. "Chime had some last minute sewing she was trying to finish yesterday. I don't know if all the craziness that happened after Chiya showed up let her finish."

InuYasha sat down next to her. "I think this had something to do with cooking." He eyed the low table where she had been preparing their breakfast and made a grab for a piece of cut pickle.

Kagome, swatting at his hand, laughed. "I can understand that, if Shinjiro is anything like some men I know."

Successful with his raid, he popped the slice into his mouth, chewed for a minute, and then knitted his eyebrows as he thought of something. "Why's everybody acting so nervous about their wedding?"

Looking up at her husband, she studied his face for a moment. There was no sarcasm there, just curiosity. "I guess some of it's anticipation. Why do you think he's nervous?"

The hanyou shrugged. "Shinjiro said that he wished he could just run off with Erime and come back a week later. Sounded nervous to me."

"So he has bridegroom jitters," she said, adding a few more slices of pickle to the pile for their breakfast. She handed one to him. "Might as well have another. I don't need you to eat them all before the rice is done."

"You think I'd eat them all?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

"No . . . " Her voice was a little doubtful, though.

"What does he have to be nervous about?" InuYasha said, then took a bite of the new piece of pickle. "I think I like these type of pickles the best."

"Turnip, rather than daikon?" she asked.

"Whatever. They're good." He ate the rest of the pickle. "What's bridegroom jitters?"

"Sometimes, when all the preparations are getting made, the bridegroom gets nervous. I think it's because it starts to dawn on him what a serious thing marriage is," Kagome said, knocking the coals out from under her rice pot. "Or maybe it's just the waiting. I'm not sure. I've seen it before. Sometimes the bride has it too." She straightened up and looked at InuYasha. "Miroku didn't get nervous about his wedding?"

InuYasha's ear twitched. "They were kind of like us. A few days after . . . after the well closed up, they went to Tameo and had their marriage registered. But neither of them had any family. We had a nice dinner at Kaede's house the day they did it, then they went off somewhere to be alone and that was that. Their house wasn't even built yet."

"Really?" Kagome got up and walked over to the cabinet where she kept their dishes and brought them back to the fire pit.

"Yeah." InuYasha's ear flicked as he heard the sound of wood being sawed outside. "I guess they decided that big tree was too tall to use the way it was. Choujiro thought it might be." He watched Kagome lift the lid off the soup. "Miroku told me later that they had decided to get married right away at the start of the final battle. And with them almost dying during the fight, I guess it was more important than a house."

Kagome nodded as she dipped soup into InuYasha's bowl. "I can understand that." She pulled the lid off the rice pot, and a puff of steam rose from the grains within.

"But Shinjiro had been married before. He knows what it's like getting married," the hanyou said. "Why would he be nervous?"

"Maybe it's because he knows what it's like," Kagome said. She scooped the rice into a rice tub, and sprinkled it with vinegar. "I know he likes Erime, and Erime likes him, too." She stirred the rice, and then began putting it into their bowls. "A lot of what goes into a wedding is for luck. And Chime seems really determined that all the lucky things are done. Maybe she's trying to make sure that nothing goes wrong."

"I don't know if all those lucky things even matter," InuYasha said as she handed him a tray. "Look at Michio and Chiya. I bet they did all the luck stuff."

Kagome sighed. "You have a point. Sometimes, it takes more than luck to make a marriage work right."

At Toshiro's house, someone inside fussed at Daiki for being too noisy, and sent him outside to play. Michio sat on the verandah and was ignored by the boy as he headed out, and Michio did likewise, his face buried in his hands.

The boy soon disappeared from sight. Michio, though, merely rocked back and forth, muttering something too soft to be heard. His stomach had calmed down, and was now dressed in clean clothes, a loan from Toshiro, and his hair was still damp from the bath he had taken. Someone had combed it neatly and pushed up into a proper tea-whisk ponytail. Still, his hands trembled a bit as he sat there. A spasm shook him, and for a moment, he stopped rocking. He groaned, and his voice raised in discomfort. "O Thousand-Armed Kwannon, have mercy."

Hisa, who had not yet gone home, stepped out of the house, carrying a small cup of steaming liquid. She knelt down next to Michio and offered him the cup. "Drink this, Michio. It will really help with your head."

"I...I don't deserve it," he said, dropping his hands. His eyes looked up at her, blurry and red, his face a mask of pain and exhaustion. "I deserve to feel this sick."

Hisa's look was a combination of frustration and sympathy. "Nonetheless," Hisa said, picking up his right hand and wrapping it around the cup. "You have too much to do right now to give in to whatever punishment you think you deserve. Drink. Think of your children if you need a reason to take action. Even Kwannon Botatsu cannot help you if you don't let her."

He paused for a moment, stared at the cup she was forcing him to hold, and gave a small nod. She let her hand drop away and watched as he brought it to his lips, grimaced, but drank it all down. A shaky hand handed the cup back to her.

"That tastes like shit," he said. "I've spread better tasting stuff in my fields."

This made her chuckle a little. "That's what Susumu says when I make it for him." She put the cup down on her other side. "And Tameo complains even more."

He looked back at her, and tried to smile, but the effort was too much. "You are a good woman, Hisa-obasan. I wish . . . "

"Some of us have a harder karma, I know," Hisa said.

"How do I let her do this to me?" He buried his face in his hands again. "She push, push, pushes, and the next thing I know, she backs me into a corner. What am I supposed to do? My otousan, he tells me I should send her away. The men in the village . . . " He began to rock back and forth for a moment, then stopped and sat up straight. "I need to be strong. I need to do the right thing, the right thing for me and my family. My son. I need to be a better example for him."

Slowly, he stood up, wavering a little on his feet, closed his eyes for a moment, took a deep breath, then opened them again. His face set, as if he had come to some decision. Looking down on the headman's wife, he rubbed the back of his neck. "I...Thank you for being a good woman, Hisa-sama."

He started to walk away.

"Where are you going, Michio?" Hisa asked. "I suspect Tameo and Tsuneo will be here soon."

Michio nodded. " If I'm not here when Tameo-sama comes back, I'll be at the family shrine. Maybe the kami can give me some strength to do what I need to do. They can find me there." He walked away.

Hisa watched him head toward the shrine, and sighed. "May Kwannon and the kami grant you mercy. Michio. I do not think your path is going to be an easy one." She picked up the medicine cup and stood up. "I hope you find what you need."


	173. Chapter 173

_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 173**

InuYasha headed back outside after he finished breakfast to see Shinjiro and Choujiro sawing one of the logs he had cut into lengths that would give them the size of boards they wanted. Daitaro was sitting under one of the trees near the workmen, watching the two pull the saw back and forth.

The old farmer spotted InuYasha before he got there. As he watched the hanyou draw close, he grinned. "Look at those two go. It makes me tired watching them," he said, patting the ground next to him.

Moving next to the farmer, InuYasha squatted down. "Leaving the hard work to the younger ones again?"

"Prerogative of age," Daitaro said, looking rather self-satisfied. "I did my share when I was younger, and my father sat in the shade."

InuYasha snickered. "At least I got the log up for them. A lot easier to saw through if it's not on the ground."

"I do believe Choujiro was suitably impressed," Daitaro said. "Don't be surprised if people start asking you to help when there's heavy lifting work to do."

"Feh," InuYasha said. "I'm not a pack animal."

Daitaro laughed. "No, no you're not. And not a roofer, either. But I bet you do just fine helping to put up the posts and frame for a house."

"Maybe," InuYasha said, plucking a blade of grass. "Helped with this house and Miroku's."

Daitaro rubbed the back of his head. "I hear Takeshi's youngest son is getting ready to rebuild his house. He better. Last time I checked, it looked like the next typhoon that comes through here might blow it down. His grandfather built it, and that's a long time for an old place like that. He didn't do the supports right. A lot of people didn't back then."

InuYasha shrugged. Before he could think up an answer, Choujiro shouted, "Watch out!" This was followed by a loud crash.

The hanyou looked up to see Shinjiro on the ground, face down, and next to him, a cut section of the log that had evidently fallen off the supports InuYasha had set it up on. Choujiro knelt over the fallen man, poking him in the shoulder.

Daitaro got to his feet with surprising agility for someone his size and age. "Hells, if anything happens to that boy before tomorrow, Chime'll kill me," he said, but the concern in his voice was real. "I forget how sawing wood isn't the safest work."

InuYasha didn't say anything as he jumped up, but he made it to Shinjiro's side just as Kagome stepped out of the house. Seeing the fallen man, she too made a dash to his side.

Choujiro looked up at the hanyou. "We were just about through the cut, and he was moving to support the end. Next thing I know, the log rolled and I found him on the ground."

"He's not bleeding," the hanyou said, kneeling down next to him. His nostrils flared, scenting. "At least not much. Hey, Shinjiro," he said, giving the man's shoulder a small shake.

Shinjiro groaned.

"Well, at least he's alive," Daitaro said, looking down on the three men. "At least Chime will only skin me, not kill me."

"You know she will do no such thing, Daitaro-ojiisan," Kagome said, joining the men. "InuYasha, could you get me the water bucket?" she asked as she knelt down next to him. "And one of the towels."

The hanyou nodded. Seeing the look the other two men gave him, his ear flicked. "Feh," he said. "I'm the fastest."

Choujiro shrugged. "Should I go get Kaede-sama?"

"Help me roll him over," Kagome said. "But carefully. We don't want to make him worse."

"Only if Kagome-chan thinks so. That girl's had a lot of practice treating injuries, I've heard," Daitaro said, as the two rolled his son on his back. "And Kaede's going to be trying to get some rest after being up all night. That husband of hers has a tendency to get hurt a lot. She's had a lot of practice."

Kagome snickered a little bit, but not enough time to stop her examination. The mostly unconscious man had scraped his knee and the palms of both hands. There was a smear of dirt on Shinjiro's chin, and it was already starting to bruise.

"Feh," InuYasha said, returning with the bucket. "Only get hurt when I'm helping out."

"Or roofing," Daitaro added. He bent close to examine the injured man. "Looks like the damn fool knocked himself out."

"Bumped his chin?" InuYasha said, handing Kagome a towel which she wetted.

"Looks like that to me," Kagome said. She began to carefully clean the skin on his chin. "Let's hope he didn't hurt his teeth or neck."

"He's going to look like he's been in a fight," Choujiro said. "Wonder what Chime-sama's going to say about that?"

"As long as he's in fit shape to be married tomorrow, she'll be thankful," Daitaro said, shrugging. "It does look like he's been in a fight. I used to could throw a punch that'd leave a mark like that." The old farmer looked at his right hand, then made a fist. It was hard for him to close his hand all the way, and he sighed. "But even I know better than to get into a fight with the land. The land always wins."

As the cloth cleared off a scraped area, Shinjiro groaned.

"At least the log didn't roll on him," InuYasha said, nodding. "I've been there a time or two, when the land won."

"I will give thanks for that," the farmer said. "You can fall off a roof and get right back up. Not so easy for most of us."

Kagome began to work on his scraped knee. Shinjiro flexed his knees and opened his eyes.

"Hurts," he said. He tried to sit up, but his father pushed him back down.

"If you didn't want to go through with the wedding, son," Daitaro said, "you need to find a better way than getting into a fight with a log."

As Shinjiro looked up at his father, still not quite sure what was going on, Choujiro said, "Maybe a log is better than Chime's wrath?"

"She's going to be wrathful enough, seeing what you did to your knee," Daitaro said. "You may wish the log had been more successful."

All the men besides Shinjiro chuckled. Kagome, frowning, gave them an evil look and shook her head. It wasn't as strong as Hisa's, but it was enough to make InuYasha step back.

Back at Eiji's house, Fujime looked at Chiya, her arms folded and her face pursed. The woman, holding her bound wrists up to her face wept for several minutes, but Fujime didn't say anything, merely watched.

Slowly the sobs slowed down. Chiya uncovered her face and glared at the woman. "Did . . . " she said, still choking on her words, "did you just . . . come here . . . to . . . gloat?"

"Gloat?" Fujime said. "Why would I gloat?" She pulled a handkerchief out of her sleeve. "I'm here because Eiji asked me to check up on you." Handing it to Chiya, she watched the woman awkwardly wipe her face. "I have other things I could be doing besides gloating over a woman who seems determined to make a wreck of her life."

"I?" Chiya asked. "I'm . . . "

"You? You're a fool," Fujime said. Her brows knit together, making her look even more stern than she did when she walked into the room. "Don't play victim to me. I've known you since before you were born. I've watched you since you were a toddler, and then a girl in the sewing classes."

Chiya began to pull herself up by the rope. "So?"

"You think we women didn't notice what you were doing?" Fujime said. "How you played one girl off the other to get attention and have your way?"

The bound woman stood up tall, her eyes narrowed. "You're just jealous that your daughter -"

Fujime, not willing to hear any more nonsense, slapped Chiya.

For a moment, Chiya didn't do anything, but stand there, mouth open, her hands coming up to her cheek. "I...I...I..."

"That's it," Fujime said. She wagged her finger at the woman, beating a rhythm as she made a verbal list, her finger coming down at each point. "It's always about Chiya. Chiya wanted to be Houshi-sama's favorite disciple, so she began a campaign against his wife. Chiya refuses to believe the word of the kami about InuYasha-sama. Chiya didn't think about her husband when she refused to do what he wanted in public. Chiya didn't think about her mother who she claims to love or what it would do to her friend or her friend's family when she pulled out the knife today. Chiya only thinks about Chiya and how Chiya can get her way."

During this, the woman first grew angry, but deflated some when Fujime mentioned her mother. She sank back to her knees. "Okaasan," Chiya said. "I didn't . . . "

"No, you didn't think," Fujime said. "Nobody's told your mother what's going on, because she is too sick right now. What would she say if she found out you took your life in a moment of spite to get back at Michio?"

For a moment Chiya's face was smooth and emotionless. Then her face grew red and angry and she lunged towards Fujime. "Shut up! Just shut up! What do you know?"

Fujime, who had expected this, had pulled back beyond the bound woman's reach. Still her face looked mildly alarmed, and she looked up at the roof beam to see how well the knot was holding. "I know plenty, stupid woman. I certainly know more than to get my husband to throw me out of the house and need the kindness of friends to take me in. I know more than how to enrage my friends by trying to defile their house with my own blood."

Chiya shrieked again. "Shut up! Shut up!"

"I will not shut up. You better listen to me," Fujime said, crossing her arms once again. "Your options are fast running out. You need to realize what you've done."

The bound woman took a deep breath, standing at her full height. "All I did was tell them that -"

"All you did was try to come between the monk and his wife the last three years." Fujime took a step closer. " All you did was dishonor the roofing party by having a temper tantrum. All you did was insult the very person who was for some foolish reason, kind enough to take you in. All you did was strip your husband of face in front of his friends. Why?"

"I...my okaasan . . . my . . . " Chiya's face, still red with anger, contorted, and she pulled on the rope tying her to the roof beam. "It's not fair! Houshi-sama shouldn't be married. That . . . that white-haired freak . . . " Her nostrils flared and her hands clenched as she fought for words. "You know . . . "

"Bah," Fujime said. "I know that you treat your husband like a toy. Don't think Michio's some doll you can beat up, and then pretend it never happened. You shamed him in front of his friends. You expect him to walk in here and tell you all is forgiven?"

"I - "

Whatever it was she was about to say got interrupted as the door opened, and several people entered the house. A shadow passed in front of the screen, and large male hands moved it out of the way. What was revealed was Tameo and Tsuneo, Miroku and Susumu, with Eiji drawing up behind. But leading the group was Michio.

"Yes, woman," he said, his lips clenched tight and his eyes narrowed. His face was exhausted, but set in a stern, unyielding mask while his hands at his side were clenching into fists and unclenching. "Yes, tell me. What do you expect me to say to you after all this?"


	174. Chapter 174

_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 174**

Chiya looked at her husband's eyes, eyes filled with anger and frustration and fatigue, but no softness, and she dropped her head and collapsed back onto the floor. The anger she had been aiming at Fujime dissipated as she curled in on herself.

"For . . . forgive, me, husband. I...I am so confused," she said, not looking up, her voice choking up as she fought the words out. "I don't know - "

Fujime snorted, interrupting the bound woman. "I don't want to hear any more of her excuses," she said, unfolding her arms. "I've done what I came to do, to keep her from doing something even more stupid. I've had enough. I'm going home."

For a moment, Michio turned to look at her. His face was a stoic mask, but his anger and shame were leaking from his eyes, and the twitch of his lips. He closed them once, took a breath, then opened them to give her an apologetic look. He bowed. "They told me what she tried to do this morning. I offer my apologies to you, and to you, Eiji, for having to put up with her. Thank you, Fujime-obasan, for keeping watch over this worthless thing I'm responsible for until I could get here."

She nodded, and gave him a soft, sympathetic, motherly look, the type a woman gives when she knows there is pain ahead, and there's nothing she can do about it. "Don't let her twist you up inside. She's not worth it."

Turning, she passed by the gathered men. Tameo made way for her to pass, Miroku nodded at her as their eyes met, but Tsuneo bowed.

"Thank you," he said.

Nodding, she sighed, then stepped out of the house.

"Let's get back to business," Tameo said. "That's why we're here."

"Business?" Chiya asked, looking up at him. Her voice quivered a little.

The headman nodded. "Official business. You know why we're here. After yesterday . . . "

Chiya looked back down at the floor. "I - "

"Be silent, woman," Michio said, his mask cracking just a bit.

"Michio-sama your husband, and Tsuneo-sama are here as the men who have charge of you," Tameo said.

"Bah," Michio said. "I haven't been in charge of this bitch since the day after we were wed."

Tameo coughed, but Michio ignored him as he looked at his wife. "And I have been a fool for putting up with you all these years," he said, stepping closer. "How many times am I supposed to put your stunts?"

"I'm . . . I'm just a weak and stupid woman," she said. She glanced up at him for a moment, her face drained white. "I...I..."

He stepped forward one more time, his right fist tightly clenched and half raised. "Be careful what you say, woman. I know what's been happening. I know how you treated me in public. I was there." He swallowed. "Tameo-sama and your Otousan tell me I'm too angry to make decisions yet, but if you say the wrong thing, I will. I will. And you won't like what I'll do. Nothing you don't deserve."

Susumu stepped up and grabbed his fist. "Steady, Michio."

The angry husband turned to the village guard and nodded, dropped his hand and took a deep breath. He turned back to Chiya and rubbed the back of the neck.

"I am so angry now that if I touch you, I will hurt you. If you say the wrong thing, I might do it anyway. The headman and Tsuneo-otousan are right. I'm too angry. I turn you over to whatever they want to do."

"As I was saying," Tameo said, wrapping an arm around Michio's shoulder and stepping him back away from his wife, "we're here on official business, to decide what to do with you, Chiya-sama. Houshi-sama is here, because of the fact we have witnesses that tell us how you've wronged him. He has a right to ask for satisfaction as well, and agree to what we decide."

Chiya bowed as low as she could with her hands tied. "Forgive me, Sensei," she said. Miroku looked at her, his face unreadable, and tapped his staff once, the rings jingling, but did not speak.

"Your husband has asked Tsuneo to take guardianship over you until he decides what to do," Tameo said.

"What else can I do?" Tsuneo said, sighing resignedly. "Have her going from house to house throwing her little tantrums, until someone doesn't want to deal with her and lets her kill herself or sells her off to a brothel down the road?"

"Serve her right," Michio muttered.

The bound woman looked up at her husband, eyes wide.

Tsuneo moved next to his son-in-law, and patted him on the shoulder. "What is done in anger cannot be undone, son."

"I know, I know," Michio said, dropping his head. He sounded defeated instead of angry. "Otousan, I didn't want to add this burden. But I . . . "

"What must be done, must be done," Tsuneo replied. He looked up at Tameo, then back at Chiya who was moving her lips, trying to speak. "Don't say anything, woman. I've never seen him this angry."

Chiya nodded once, and covered her face with her hand. Her body shuddered as if she was trying not to weep.

Michio watched her, his eyes narrowing once again. Tameo took him by the shoulders and swivelled him away."Do you give us permission to do what we think is right?" the headman said.

Michio, with one last glance at this wife, nodded.

"Then Tsuneo-sama will take charge of Chiya for the next two weeks." Tameo took a deep breath. "When that time is up, we will meet again and decide what to do next."

"Good," Michio said. "You don't need me anymore. I don't want to breathe the same air as this . . . this . . . this . . . " Unable to choose his words, he let out a sound that was somewhere between a groan and a wordless scream. "I'm going home. My otousan and my children need me."

Turning, he headed out the door. Chiya, no longer able to hold back, began to cry.

Up on the hill, Shinjiro frowned as Kagome took his hand, and began to wash his scraped hand.

"I can't believe I fell," he said. He pulled his hand back away from Kagome's hold. "I tripped over my own damn feet. That stings."

"Feet got too big for you again?" Daitaro said.

"I had just eased the log down." Shinjiro said. "Sandal strap broke, and I remember falling forward over the log. Next thing I know, everybody's looking at me."

"Is that what happened?" Kagome asked, grabbing his hand back. "Let me finish. You don't want to get an infection.".

He sighed. "I think . . . I guess," the injured man said. He started to tug his hand back. "You don't have to fuss over me."

"Better give in," InuYasha said. "If Kagome decides to treat your injuries, she's going to treat your injuries."

Daitaro laughed. "I remember a time or two . . . "

"Feh," InuYasha said, his ear flicking. "I was stupid and didn't know anything then."

Kagome looked up at her husband, this time amused, and he didn't miss the touch of triumph in her grin. Turning back to Shinjiro, she grabbed his other hand. "This one's barely marked. Looks like your left side took most of the damage." She rewetted her towel, and folded it. "Hold this on your chin."

"Heh," Choujiro said, looking down at Shinjiro. "You're going to look like you've been in a fight. You can tell that pretty girl of yours you had to fight off a rival. But you didn't have to do this if you didn't want to saw. I could have got somebody else."

"Not funny," the injured man said, pressing the cloth onto his chin. "Oh, Haha-ue's going to skin me."

"No, she won't, and you know it," Kagome said. "Why are all of you talking about Chime like she's so mean?"

"You haven't had to live with her these last couple of weeks," Shinjiro said. "Anyway, Chichi-ue started it."

"Don't mind me," Daitaro said, nodding. "It's an old game between Chime-chan and me."

"Strange game," Kagome said, looking at the old farmer.

"Maybe," Shinjiro said, sighing "But if I spoil tomorrow . . . "

"If you hurt too much, then I'll just pour more sake down your throat," Daitaro said. "She's been looking forward to this for weeks. If your neck's not broken, your leg's not broken, then you won't spoil anything, and you will give her a day to remember."

"All of this talk, so that Chime can have a good day tomorrow?" Kagome asked.

"Feh," InuYasha said, grinning at the old farmer. "It sounds like Chime's the one getting married."

"And Erime-chan," Shinjiro said. "She's enjoying it too. And her okaasan."

"Shows you don't know who weddings are really for, InuYasha. Just wait," Daitaro said, standing up. "One day, it'll be one of your children getting married. Then you'll know all about that. Wedding's not for the couple. It's for the mothers, so they can show off their skills, and get everybody too full of food and have a reason to put'em all in new clothes. And all the family will judge them, and tell them how well everything went and how all the luck gods will be happy. You two, not having any family around here, had it simple."

"You did," Shinjiro said, agreeing. "If it was up to me . . . "

"Some things aren't up to you, son." Daitaro offered his son a hand. "Think you can sit up? As long as you're my heir, important things like this are up to your okaasan. And when it's time, it'll be your wife's. Just remember that. It makes life a lot better."

Kagome chuckled, sitting up and resting her hands on her thighs. "Wonder what Chime would say if she heard you say that."

The old farmer rubbed the back of his neck."Oh, probably something about how wise I am."

"Or what a blowhard you are." Shinjiro snorted, but started to raise himself up on his elbows.

"Not too fast," Kagome said. "We need to make sure you're not hurt worse than you think." Moving behind him, she helped steady him up. "How's your head feel?"

"Like someone punched me in the chin," he said.

"You just sit here," Kagome said. "I'll be right back. I want to get something to put on those scrapes of yours."

"I don't think you need to do that," Shinjiro said.

"Don't try to stand up yet," Kagome said, moving away from the men.

"Might as well give it up," InuYasha said, right before turning to follow his wife inside. "She'll come hunt you down if you try to get away."

"He'll stay put," Daitaro said. "Wouldn't want to get a miko after him. That definitely would be bad luck."

Shinjiro sighed. "You and your luck. Don't know if it's bringing me any luck today."

"Bah," the old man said, swinging his sake bottle off his shoulder, and unplugging it. "You're still alive and able to get married tomorrow, right? The log didn't roll on you."

"You've got a point," he said, accepting the bottle from his father. "But my chin might disagree with you."

Daitaro chuckled. "What does a chin know? Take a drink and pass me the jug back. We have to think about what we're going to tell your mother?"

"How about the truth?" Choujiro said, kicking the downed log. "I wonder if I can get InuYasha to help me to move this hunk of wood when he gets back?"

The father and son looked at each other. Shinjiro took a drink, then passed the jug back to his father. "He does have a point, you know."

"Bah, you take all the fun out of things," the old farmer said, and took a drink himself.


	175. Chapter 175

_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 175**

"So what now?" Susumu asked his father as they watched Chiya as she wept.

Tameo rubbed his right temple. "Time to finish up here. Are you ready, Tsuneo?"

The elder, pursing his lips, nodded. He walked over to his daughter and glared down at her, his arms crossed. "Crying's not going to do you much good, daughter. We all know why you're here, and what you've done. We will do what we think as right. This isn't going to get you much sympathy."

She looked up at him and at the sternness in the set of his jaw. "Otousan?"

"These last five days have drained me, Chiya," Tsuneo said, his face growing even harder. "I've had to deal with your mother being bewitched, your nephew being uncovered as an ungrateful bully who even will batter his own relatives, a madman my son feels giri to care for, and now you. You will do as you are told, and give me no trouble, or I will send you to the women dealers, Michio be damned."

"Otou?" Her eyes widened at the threat to sell her away.

"I don't have the time or the patience for the games you two pull on each other. I do not need any more shame put on our family." He took a deep breath. "You are my responsibility now. Do as you're told."

Swallowing, Chiya nodded, then bowed as low as she could, with her hands tied. "I...I understand."

Outside a child yelled, "But I want to see Chichi-ue! I want my ball!"

Kimi's voice, a little sad, said, "Not now. Your Otousan's a busy man. We'll get that when they're done. Let's go see Obaasan. I bet she'll tell you a new story."

Their voices faded way as Kimi moved off with her young one in tow. Eiji, standing by the window, looked at the retreating figures longingly, then turned back around, saying nothing, but leaned against the wall. Tameo gave him an encouraging nod.

"We've taken enough of this family's time, I think," the headman said. "Michio has returned you, for at least a time, to the care of your otousan, Chiya. What he determines, will be enforced by the village. If you do not listen to him, then you will be dealt with by the council of elders. They may not be as considerate of Michio's feelings as Tsuneo, even if he claims he's not. You understand that?"

Still bowed, she nodded. "I understand."

Tsuneo motioned to Eiji. "Will you untie her?"

"Do you think it's safe?" the younger man asked, hesitating to leave his place by the wall.

"For whom?" the elder asked. "Are you afraid of a little wisp of a woman like Chiya?"

"Not of her," Eiji said, shaking his head. "For her. You didn't see her earlier today when . . . when . . . " He shrugged. "I wasn't sure what else to do."

"You did a good thing" Tameo said, scratching under his chin. "Haname doesn't need any more shocks. Chiya behaving that foolishly . . . I don't know which would have hurt her the most - Chiya's death or the fact she polluted your house in a fit of pique because she refused to apologize when her husband said so."

Chiya looked up at the men, and sobbed again.

"Be quiet, girl," Tsuneo said. "You know that's just what you did. You always did go for big gestures when you didn't get your way."

"Dying like that," Miroku said, shifting his staff. He narrowed his eyes, although Chiya did not meet them. "That is a good way to spend centuries in hell learning your lesson. There is a story I could tell about what happens to foolish women -"

Tameo held his hand up. "Later, Houshi-sama."

The monk tapped his staff once, making the rings jingle, but nodded.

"We haven't told Haname anything," Tsuneo said, staring a moment more at his daughter. He turned to the headman. "She doesn't know what Michio did. I thought we'd get . . . well get everything settled before she has something else to brood about. My poor wife needs some quiet, not more strife. Let's get her untied and where she's going so I can take care of that . . . man-child. I'd like to get everything settled down before lunch."

"You didn't tell Haha-ue?" Chiya asked, looking up at her father. "She's no better?"

"She's laying in her sickbed, and she's started to cough," Tsuneo said. "Akina thinks she's getting a fever. You care now? You should have thought about that before having your tantrum yesterday."

"Otou . . . " she stated to say, but dropped her head instead.

He dropped his arms and rested a hand on her shoulder. "This is why you will not be coming to the house. Your okaasan is too ill to be stressed by you."

She nodded.

"You will not run, nor will you try to harm yourself again," Tsuneo said. "Do you agree?"

"Yes, Otousan," she said.

"For the next two weeks you will stay where I take you. There will be spinning for you to do. You will stay inside unless I or one of the other elders comes and gets you, or gives you permission."

She nodded again.

"Hana-chan will be there to take care of your needs. You may use her to send messages to me if you need something." He crossed his arms again. "I would not use that privilege lightly, if I were you."

Tameo cleared his voice. "Is this acceptable to you, Houshi-sama? I know she owes a debt to you and your family."

"For the moment," Miroku said. "I have not had enough time to think this through."

"Fair enough," Tameo said. "She won't be going anywhere we don't know about in the near future." He glanced down at the woman. "Or at least she better not."

Tsuneo turned back to Eiji. "Unbind her so I can get her out of here."

Eiji moved away from the wall he had been leaning against and walked up to the distraught woman. Reaching over her head, he unfastened the knot he had secured her with on the overhead beam.

"Be glad your father is the man he is," Eiji said as the rope went slack. "If was up to me, I don't know when you'd be getting rid of this rope." He jerked the rope, reaching for her hands.

"Otou, where are you taking me?" Chiya asked, her voice very small.

Eiji finished untying her wrists, and stepped back. "A better place than you deserve," he said, coiling the rope. "I'm going to wait outside." He clapped Susumu on the arm. "Yell if you need me. I'll keep the rope handy."

The village guard nodded, and Eiji moved towards the door. "Houshi-sama," he said, turning to Miroku.

"Yes?" the monk asked.

"When you're through, please come back and bless my house," he said. "There's been so much dark last night and today. I don't want to attract anything bad here." Eiji glanced one last time at Chiya. "My wife and children don't deserve that."

"I would be honored, Eiji-sama" Miroku said.

Eiji gave the monk a small bow and headed outside.

Up on the hill, Shinjiro winced as Kagome poured a medicinal liquid over this scraped hand.

"That stings like hell," the injured man said. "Otou, can you pass me the sake bottle?"

Daitaro started to hand his son the jug, when the young miko gave him a look that made him stop. "Have you been taking lessons from Hisa?" he asked.

Kagome chuckled. InuYasha, walking to where Choujiro stood by the fallen log, said, "She's had that look for as long as I've known her. I'd pay attention to it if I were you."

"You're a man," Choujiro said. He had some log handling hooks in his hand. "You can handle it. Anyway, that's how you know it's working," Choujiro said.

"Let me give you a scrape and have Miko-sama here pour her medicine on it and see how you like it," Shinjiro said, glaring at the other man.

"Feh," InuYasha said. "This stuff is mild. You should feel some of the other medicine she uses."

"So," Daitaro said, trying to change the subject, "Chime told me to ask you to the wedding dinner tomorrow."

Kagome stopped what she was doing. "I thought that was family only."

"Well, it is," Daitaro said. "But you're family now."

"Only family can hurt each other like this," Shinjiro said, as she poured a little more of her potion on his hand.

InuYasha stood on the opposite side of Choujiro. "You're sure she really wants us there?" he asked, studying the wood in front of him.

"She made four types of pickles, just to tempt you," Shinjiro said. "She wants you to tell her which one is best."

The hanyou looked back at the injured man and shook his head.

"InuYasha, the pickle judge?" Choujiro asked. "Let's get this piece of wood moved." He bent forward with his hooks. "Ready, InuYasha?"

"Keh." He leaned forward over the length of tree trunk. "Where do you want it?"

Choujiro pointed to a spot not far from where he had been sawing. "There, I think."

"So," Shinjiro said. "Will you come? Or will you give Haha-ue another thing to beat me up over."

Kagome smiling, poured some of the liquid onto a cloth and daubed at his knee. She looked up at InuYasha who gave her a nod. "I guess we will. Four types of pickles is just too much temptation."

"I didn't know if four would do it," Daitaro said, taking a small sip of his sake, and then putting the stopper back in. "I told her to make five. So no telling what will be there."

InuYasha, barked a laugh as he figured out how to hold onto the log.

"Hold still," Kagome said as she began cleaning the bridegroom-to-be's knee. As the cloth hit the scrape, Shinjiro winced again, and his leg jerked. "It can't be that bad," she said, putting the cloth aside and reaching for a jar of salve.

"Says you," Shinjiro replied. He looked up at the sky. "Just remember, o Kami and Buddhas, how I am working out my karma today."

Daitaro snorted. "Your okaasan always said you didn't like to take your medicine." Daitaro said, scratching his ear. "I remember when you were a little thing, you'd run away sometimes when she needed to dose you. Remember that time when you were about five -"

"Enough!" Shinjiro said, interrupting. "That's because everything Haha-ue gave me either tasted nasty or hurt." A smile touched his lips. "I've seen you duck out too, when it was your turn to take it."

"Me?" Daitaro said, shaking his head. "I only run away if I don't really need it."

"That reminds me of someone else I know," Kagome said, looking at InuYasha, who had wrapped his arms around the log.

He looked back at her and grinned. "Feh. You know I'd heal up anyway."

"That's what they always say," she said, reaching for Shinjiro's hand.

With a grunt, InuYasha picked up the length of wood, and moved it to where Choujiro wanted.

Choujiro looked at him with wide eyes, then shook his head. "I was going to help, you know."

"Didn't need any," the hanyou said, dusting off his hands. "Wasn't all that heavy for me."

"Maybe I should have you along every time I do this." Choujiro headed back to the cart to put up his hooks. "You come in really handy."

Kagome wrapped a length of white fabric around Shinjiro's hand, and tied it. "But you, Shinjiro, probably ought to leave the woodworking alone for the day. I think you're ready to go. Want to try to stand up?"

"I suspect you're right." Shinjiro watched Choujiro pick up his wood splitting tools. "Sorry I wasn't more help." He carefully pushed himself up off of the ground, with Kagome and his father standing by.

"Good enough to get me started," Choujiro said. "We weren't going to get it all made into boards today anyway."

Shinjiro rolled his shoulders and took a step. "That knee's going to be stiff."

"It's not your knee that's supposed to be stiff on your wedding night," Choujiro said matter-of-factly.

Kagome blushed. And surprisingly, so did InuYasha.


	176. Chapter 176

_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 176 **

For a moment, Chiya sat there, looking down and rubbing her wrists. They were red where the rope had rubbed them.

"Time to stand up, daughter," Tsuneo said. He did not offer her a hand.

She nodded, and rose to her feet. Susumu, noticing her scarf and fan on the floor, picked them up and handed them to the woman. "No doubt, Eiji still has your knife, but I can give you these."

Chiya looked up at him, surprised. "You are a kind man, Susumu-sama," she said, bowing before she accepted them.

His eyes, not as merry as usual, but not angry, either, met hers, and his face was solemn. "I have been accused of that before. It surprises people until they step out of line," he replied, watching her put her fan in her belt and tie her head scarf on. As she finished the bow in the front, he said. "If you break the rules that Tsuneo-sama and Chichi-ue give you, I will do everything I am supposed to do."

She looked at the ground, and gave him a small nod.

Tameo scratched the back of his neck. "Well, I think it's time we give Eiji's house back to him," he said. "He's been more than patient. The sooner we get here, the sooner we can take care of Morio."

"True," Tsuneo said. "Hana-chan and Hiroki are waiting."

"Hiroki?" Chiya asked. "Where . . . where are we going?"

"To the second son's house by the river," Tsuneo said. "A good enough place to do your spinning."

"Isn't that where you . . . " Chiya said, a touch of worry in her eyes, but looking at her father's face, she bowed her head. "Please, Otousan, please don't let that crazy man hurt me."

He didn't reply.

"Nobody's going to let anybody hurt you, Chiya," Susumu said, crossing his arms. "But the same goes for you."

Tameo coughed. "Well, we won't get there by talking," Tameo said, using that as a cue to get things moving. Turning, he walked to the door.

They filed out, Tameo, then Tsuneo. Chiya was next. She did not look up any more than necessary. Susumu followed, and last was Miroku, looking very somber, with his professional monk look firmly planted on his face.

Eiji stood there, his wife's clothesline coiled up in his hands still his eyes torn between relief and anger, watching them exit. "Do you want me to follow? Just in case."

Tameo stopped the little procession, giving Eiji a careful look. "Only if you want to. But after last night and this morning, maybe you might have other things you'd rather do. That young one of yours sounded like he had a claim on his Otousan's time, maybe more important than this."

The younger man let a long drawn out breath, and suddenly looked very tired. He nodded. "Send for me if you need me. I may go over and check up on Michio. His otousan . . . well, he's never been one to be able to handle Michio when he gets like this."

Chiya took a deep breath and swallowed hard. "He . . . he hides some sake behind the miso vats," she said, not looking at anybody.

Eiji nodded. "Good luck with your work," he said. "I'm going to go see if Kimi-chan's at Haha-ue's. It sounded like she was heading that way."

Taking their leave, the procession headed down the road.

Up on the hill, Daitaro watched his son walk on his stiff knee. "Are you sure you didn't sprain anything?"

"I don't think so," Shinjiro said. "Ankle doesn't hurt."

"Good," the old man said. "You're ready to face your Okaasan?"

"Not really," the younger man admitted.

"Me, either. Thought we might go down and check up on Michio. What do you think?"

"Angry friend or angry mother . . . " the younger man said. "A hard decision, Otou."

Kagome cleared her throat and frowned a little as she picked up her medical supplies.

Daitaro laughed at the face she gave them. "You know we're not afraid of my dear wife, Miko-sama, even if we make a game of it. Today . . . well, she's very busy. We don't want to make her worry if there's nothing to worry about."

Kagome's face smoothed, and a touch of a smile reached her lips. "There should be nothing to worry about."

"Keh," the hanyou said. "Old man's just about as much of a jokester as Miroku."

That made the old farmer laugh. "You put me in noble company, InuYasha."

"I don't know," Shinjiro said, rubbing his chin, "I would say Chichi-ue's got one up on him. What do you think, Choujiro?"

"That your otousan makes the best sake in the village, and I don't want to say anything that will keep him from sharing." The woodworker began to drive a wedge into one end of the log to begin the board-making process.

"Choujiro sounds like a smart man," InuYasha said.

"He does indeed," Daitaro said. "Stop by tomorrow evening, or the day after, Choujiro. I'll make sure there's some put on the side for you. No telling how much all the gluttons are going to drink at the wedding."

"Otousan, there's no way you don't have enough stashed away to last until the next brewing season," Shinjiro said.

"Bah," Daitaro said, scratching under his chin. "What do you know? Would have been more if that brat hadn't spoiled the batch he did."

"Well," Kagome said, standing up with her supplies in hand, "I'm sure you'll get enough work out of him to make up for any loss."

"He owes me," the old man said, nodding.

"When is he showing up, anyway?" InuYasha asked.

"Day after tomorrow." Daitaro looked at his son. "Although maybe it ought to have been next tenday."

"I wish," Shinjiro said. "Although Kinjiro may have wished it was yesterday."

"No doubt," Kagome said. "Let's just hope he's learned a thing or two."

"Like not running off," Shinjiro said. "You better keep a good eye on him, Otousan. I'm going to have other things in mind for the next few days."

Daitaro turned towards InuYasha.

"Don't look at me, old man," the hanyou said. "I'm tired of rescuing his stupid butt."

"Maybe if I locked him in with the cows . . . " Daitaro shook his head. "No, that won't work. Might put Okuro off his feed. I'll figure out something. Let's go see what they're doing down the hill, son. Putting up with an angry friend sounds a lot better than putting up with your okaasan fretting."

Making his farewells, the old farmer and his son headed down the hill.

Tameo's procession had barely gotten past Fujime's house, when they began to be watched by a small group of villagers. As they headed for the river, some of them, mostly boys, began to follow back at a distance.

"Well," Miroku said. "It looks like that the word has gotten out."

"Indeed," Susumu said. "It doesn't take long in a village this sized. I'm sure nearly everybody knows what happened. There were enough of us at the roofing party. Don't know who spread the word this morning."

Chiya alternated between holding her head up proudly, and covering her face. "Koume. She knew." Her voice was bitter. "She hates me. What she said yesterday -"

"Be quiet, daughter," Tsuneo said, dropping next to her. "You've brought enough shame on us."

She took a deep breath, wanting to argue, then dropped her head.

"Maybe now, she'll learn to hold that tongue of hers," a woman said, loud enough to be overheard.

Susumu turned around, and looked at the speaker, a small, plain-dressed woman who was carrying a large, covered basket. "Go home, Mime-chan. Doesn't Takashi have better things for you to do today?"

"Hirame-sama sent me out to check on her aunt," the woman said, just a little abashed at being singled out, but she still gave him a slightly defiant look.

"Then go check on Tahe-obasan," Susumu said. "Don't stand in the road. We have work to do."

"Patience, son," Tameo said. "They will talk. Let's get this done."

Susumu nodded. Mime wasn't the only one to say something rude, but after that point, they no longer stopped.

The boys trailing them, though, began to sing.

"Who knows that woman?  
>Is she a good one<br>is she kind?  
>Yoi, yoi, yoi."<p>

"And now this?" Tsuneo said.

"She kindly beat the chicken,  
>she kindly beat the dog,<br>she kindly beat the baby,  
>Yoi, yoi yoi."<p>

Chiya stopped for a moment. Her fists clenched, and it was impossible to tell if she was trying not to yell or not to cry.

"Come on, girl," Tsuneo said. "The sooner we get there, the sooner you don't have to put up with this."

She started to say something. Her lips moved, but no words came out. Instead, she took a deep breath, nodded once and began to walk again. But her hands did not relax.

"Who knows that woman?  
>Does she listen,<br>does she talk?  
>Yoi, yoi, yoi.<p>

"She listens while she talks,  
>she listens while she argues,<br>she listens while she screams,  
>Yoi, yoi, yoi. "<p>

The headman and his son, unlike Tsuneo, seemed mostly amused.

"Those boys can really be brats," Susumu said.

"Reminds me of you," Tameo replied, giving his son a wry grin. "I seem to remember giving you a slap or two on your backside for acting like this."

Susumu rubbed his hip. "I seem to remember that, too."

Miroku, on the other hand, watching Tsuneo walk with his daughter, frowned and clenched his staff a little tighter.

"Who knows that woman?  
>Is she pious,<br>is she devout?  
>Yoi, yoi, yoi.<p>

"She beats the monks for a blessing,  
>She chases the - "<p>

Whirling around, Miroku held his staff in both hands. "That's enough." He took a few steps towards the boys. They scattered, but he managed to get a couple by the neck of their shirts then used his staff as a bar to help keep them in place snug up against him. "Don't you have anything better to do? Did you know there is a great bird, larger than any eagle that eats boys who mock the unfortunate?"

The youngest, a boy named Sho, shook his head. "Let me go, Houshi-sama. I wasn't singing."

"But you were with them," the monk said. He bent his head closer to the two. "The Karura is a holy bird, dedicated to justice. And did you know that if you keep doing this, that after he eats you, that bird will stop by and tell your father what you did?"

This time it was the older boy, Makoto, stopped struggling, and looked Miroku in the eye "I don't believe you. My ojiisan told me the Karura only eats dragons."

"It shows how much he knows, boy. But if the bird doesn't, I will. Go," Miroku said, and gave them a shove. "If you follow us, I will do the Karura's job for him."

As they ran off, he turned and caught up with the procession, which had stopped to watch.

"They got on your nerves, eh?" Tameo asked as they began walking again.

"Bad singing," the monk said. "We've got enough to do without that."

Tsuneo gave Miroku an appreciative look.

"That story about the birds," Susumu said. "That was a good one."

"They exist," Miroku replied. "I've seen them before. Not a pleasant sight. They just don't appear very often when you want them to. And, fortunately, small boys are not their favorite meal."

"It's a good thing," the guard said. "Otherwise, I'd probably never made it to adulthood."

Miroku gave a short bark of a laugh. "Me, either."

After that, the group of spectators thinned out. The procession was about to turn onto the road when someone stepped onto the road.

He was a big man, taller than most of the villagers. He stood there, feet spread out, hoe over one shoulder. There was a scar that ran down his chin, and his eyes flashed with disapproval. "So, Tsuneo, I see you've cast your lot with Tameo's bunch." His eyes glared at Susumu. "I'm not surprised how it's hit your family - between them and their love of youkai. And now your daughter, too?"

"Seiji-sama, get out of the road," Tameo said. "We have official business to do."

"If you want to call what you do business." He shoved past them. "Don't say I didn't warn you."


	177. Chapter 177

_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 177**

At the second son's house by the river, Hana stood outside of the building which was to be her home for at least the next two weeks. She had a towel in her hand that she was twisting and releasing, twisting and releasing, watching her cousin Hiroki work.

"How long do you think it'll take them to get here?" she asked. "I hate waiting. I don't have anything left to do."

"Too soon for my taste. Chiya-obasan is sure to be in a bad mood with everything," he replied. His sleeves were tied back, and he was chopping wood. "You were too young, maybe, but I remember the last time Michio-ojisan and her got into a fight." He put a piece on an old tree trunk section that had been used many times as a base for cutting firewood. It was full of slices and nicks where the splitting maul had missed the wood. Lifting his maul, he let fly, and added another nick.

Hana nodded. "No, I don't really remember. Only thing I really remember is Haha-ue didn't let me come over to visit Ane-ue until she went home. I snuck over once, but she sent me right back home."

"You didn't miss anything good." He picked the maul back up and looked at its edge and shrugged. "She drove Haname-obasan crazy." Sighing, he kicked a piece of wood. "I hate chopping firewood."

"At least Tsuneo-ojisan sent Denjiro-ojisan over with some wood, when he brought Chiya-obasan's spinning wheel over," Hana said, watching the young man put the block of wood back up on the block. "You didn't have to go find the firewood."

"I guess," Hiroki sad. He struck again, and this time the maul went to its goal, and the wood split neatly into two pieces. "Bad enough I have to split it."

"At least you have something to do," she said, tucking the towel she had been torturing into the waistband of her wrap skirt. "Chiya-obasan's going to have a lot to do, too. Tsuneo-ojisan sent so much hemp fiber for her to spin," Hana said. "Do you think she's going to be here a long time?"

"How would I know?" the young man said, putting another chunk of wood on the platform to split. "I never could figure out the way she and her husband fight. You better be careful, or knowing Obasan, she's going to try to get you to do the spinning for her."

"I can't spin as well as she does," Hana said, shaking her head. "Everybody would know if I did it." She twisted her towel again. "Do you really think she'd try to do that?"

Hiroki put down the maul and gathered up the wood. "I don't know. Maybe. Haha-ue - well, she says things about her sometimes. Maybe she just doesn't like how Chiya-obasan treats Michio-ojisan."

Hana shrugged. "There's a place to store the wood inside, at the back of the domo," she said. "Do you want me to carry some?"

Hiroki shook his head. "You're going to have your hands full soon enough. It'll be, 'Hana-chan, make me some tea,'" he said in a fair imitation of the older woman's voice. "'Hana-chan, heat up the bath water,' 'Hana-chan, wash my kosode.'"

"But it'll be, 'Hiroki-kun, go ask Chichi-ue if I can get my own quilt,'" Hana said, laughing at the young man's performance. "'Go home and get me some of Akina's headache medicine,' 'Go bring me some - '"

"So," said a man's voice behind them, "You think you have her all figured out?" The voice was joined by a woman's laughter.

The two young people turned to see a smiling Kisoi and Nana walking up to the smaller house.

"Ah, Kisoi-ojisan," Hana said, bowing politely. "We didn't hear you coming."

"It's all right," Kisoi said, chuckling. He was carrying a covered tub. "You two put on quite a performance, the two of you. Perhaps you both ought to be actors. So she's not here yet?"

"No," Hiroki said. "It can't be much longer, though."

"Well, good," Nana said, pleased. "That means we got here in time." She held up a pot. " I've brought some rice and soup. I suspect you two are going to be a bit busy once she gets here. Not having to cook is one less problem. I just didn't know how Chiya-sama would take it if she found out I made it for her."

"Busy's probably not quite the word for it," Hiroki said, frowning. "Terrorized, maybe."

"Hiroki-kun!" Hana said. She glared at him, but he merely shook his head.

"Well it's true," the young man said. With a sigh of a person condemned to a fate he didn't want, he headed for the door to put down his load of firewood.

On the road to the house by the river, Miroku turned to look at the retreating form of Seiji. The big man, clenching his fist in his free hand, stomped off.

"Now that is a man with an attitude," the monk said, leaning on his staff and frowning. "I remember when the bandits attacked last and he tried to keep InuYasha from rescuing them. It seems that wasn't a spur of the moment bit of anger. Is he always like this?"

"He wasn't always," Tameo said, shaking his head. He scratched the back of his neck. "When he was a boy, he was pleasant enough. Spent enough time at our place. I thought there for a while that he was a good influence on Susumu."

That made Miroku's eyes widen. "Hard to believe that now."

"It's a long story," Susumu said. "And not a happy one. He really was my best friend once."

Miroku looked at the guard. "You're going to have to tell me all about it. Sounds like a sad story."

"But true," Susumu said. He looked at the retreating figure as well, and sighed.

Tsuneo, a sad resignation on his face, rested a hand on his daughter's shoulder. "And now I have to worry about Seiji causing problems, and not just you, daughter? Are all the ills that can happen to my family going to happen this week?"

She said nothing, but looked on the ground.

"He always favored you," the elder said. "It sounds like he still does. You remember what happened when we announced you and Michio were going to be married."

"I...I didn't encourage him," Chiya said, pulling up to her full height and meeting her father's eyes. "You know that. I hated him. He always acted like I was something he could own."

"On this, we are agreed," Tsuneo said, nodding. "But he was nothing if not obstinate. He kept trying to get me to agree to a marriage with you. He sent everybody he could think of to plead his cause, but I didn't like how he acted. I still don't. Your okaasan might not have been happy about your marrying Michio, but to me, Michio was a godsend - and you two obviously wanted to be together. It was the one way I could make sure you were safe from him." He shook his head. "There are days, like today, I wonder if I should have waited a bit longer . . . " The old elder's voice trailed off for a moment. "You are so much like your mother."

Chiya bowed her head once again. "Otousan . . . "

"It took some doing, making sure that marriage happened." Tameo said, nodding as he remembered. "Seiji was so angry when the word got out. I thought he was going to burn down Michio's house there for a few days. We had to chase him away a time or two."

Susumu rubbed his chin. "It was a painful experience. That last time - the look in his eyes. He beat me up pretty good."

"He did indeed." Tameo patted his son's shoulder. "It was a good thing he ran off right after that. Your mother has no fear. I'm not sure what she would have done, as angry as she was at how injured you were. She never has been afraid of people bigger than she is."

"He ran away?" Miroku asked.

"He did what he and I had talked about for a long while," Susumu said. "He took a horse, a spear, an old rusty sword that had been his grandfather's and ran off to Odawara to become a soldier."

"Stole his father's favorite," Tsuneo said. "The old man - he was almost as obstinate as his son. I thought he was going to run off to drag him home."

"He didn't need to," Susumu said. "A few years later, he stumbled back home. No horse, that scar on his face, and the sure knowledge it was my fault that everything that went wrong in his life could be laid at my feet."

"Why?" the monk asked.

"Because I thought it was better for Chiya to marry a man she wanted to, instead of the man who wanted her no matter what she thought." Susumu said, crossing his arms. "He's never forgiven me for that."

Chiya's head popped up, hearing that. "I...I didn't know that."

Susumu shrugged. "The past is the past."

"Sometimes," Miroku said, "the past has a way of biting the present."

"Too true," Tsuneo said.

And with that, they continued heading for the river.

Back up the hill, InuYasha and Kagome watched Daitaro and Shinjiro walk off.

"The things people do to get out of working," Choujiro said. He pounded a second wedge into the log he was working on, which caused the wood to split down the length a bit. Moving to where the new crack had formed, he added a wooden wedge and began to tap it into place.

"I doubt if he did that on purpose," Kagome said.

"Me too," the woodworker said, looking up from his work, grinning. "I don't think getting hurt the day before his wedding was something even Shinjiro would do, not with how much effort his okaasan's putting in to make everything special."

"Chime seems really happy about having Erime as a daughter-in-law," Kagome said. "She likes her a lot. And so does her other daughter-in-law. I don't know why everybody's talking like she's some pushy woman about this."

"Luck," Choujiro said. He tapped the wedge he was working on and the sound of splitting wood followed. "After what happened to Shinjiro's first wife, I think everybody's trying to keep it hidden from the bad luck spirits that Chime's such a kind thing. Maybe the men are worried if they don't keep up the story, the spirits will come by and try to take advantage of her."

"That sounds stupid," InuYasha said.

"People do dumb things for luck," Choujiro said, nodding. "But whatever works. If the spirits think that mother-in-laws should be harsh and pushy, it doesn't hurt to pretend." He gave the wedge another tap. "And anyway, it'll be over tomorrow."

Tired of the subject, InuYasha crossed his arms, stuffing his hands in his sleeves. "You need any help with that?"

"Don't think so," the man said, moving the wedge down a bit before hitting it again. He stood up straight. "I'm going to split this log in half, and then split the halves into quarters, and that's best done by one person." Dropping his maul for a minute, he rubbed his hands together. "The hard part is getting the log cut into good size. That's done."

"Good," Kagome said, looking at InuYasha. "That means you're all mine this afternoon. Let me put this medicine up and go get my gathering basket. It's such a nice day. I'd like to go get some herbs."

The hanyou looked at her questioningly.

"Better bring the futon in while you're at it. No telling how long it'll be before we get back," she said, heading for the door.

Not sure what she was up to, but sure she was up to something, he just watched her for a moment. "Now what's all that about?"

"Better go see what she wants," Choujiro said, continuing to split his log. "Woman does that has something in mind."

"Keh," InuYasha said, and followed her into the house.


	178. Chapter 178

_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 178**

InuYasha grabbed the futon off the clothes line, and walked into the house. "So what's up?" he asked as the door mat rattled behind him.

She gave him a slightly amused look as she unfastened the tie to her wrap skirt. Her miko clothes were laid out next to her. "You think something's up?"

His eyes watched appreciatively as she stepped out of her housewife's clothes. "Might be," he said.

This made her laugh as she picked up her hakama.

Stepping up on the raised wooden platform he dropped the futon, and walked over to her, wrapping his arms around her middle. "Definitely might be."

Kagome shivered a little as he nuzzled her neck, but then pulled away. He sighed, just a little, but let her go. "So what are you thinking about?"

"Oh," she said, stepping into her hakama. "I just thought you might like to get away from all these people."

"Choujiro's not so bad," he said, walking over to the water bucket. He picked up the ladle and took a drink.

"No, he's not," Kagome said. She picked up her chihaya and slipped the jacket over her shoulders. "Actually, he's kind of funny." The sounds of the woodworker using his mallet filtered into the room, as she finished dressing. Bending down she picked up her wrap skirt and kosode and moved over to the clothes chest.

"Keh."InuYasha finished his drink, and dropped the ladle back in the bucket.

Putting away her clothes she turned back to the futon, and began to fold it up. "But even if he's funny, he's still out there."

As if to emphasize her point, there was a loud noise, followed by Choujiro shouting.

"You want me to send him away?" InuYasha asked.

She moved to the cabinet where she kept the bedding, put up the futon, but took out a blanket. Moving to one of the drawers, she took out a couple of towels.

"He's going to have to do it sooner or later," Kagome said.

InuYasha watched her with curiosity as she packed a carry cloth with these items and a few others - including her hair comb. "You look like you have something in mind."

"You might say that. I learned my lesson last time we went off." She gave him a knowing, slightly wicked smile. "It's a great day to go herb collecting. You know a meadow far enough away nobody will interrupt us?"

"Sounds like Kagome's had enough of people for a while," InuYasha said, grinning back.

"You could say that." She folded the carry cloth closed. "Or maybe I'd just like some privacy for a while."

He raised an eyebrow, and gave her one of his trademark smirks. "I know just the place."

Michio sat in front of his house, holding a small girl in his lap. She nestled tightly against his chest, and clung to his kosode. He looked down on her from time to time, playing idly with a little lock of her hair, humming a wordless tune. But his eyes stared out over the ground in front of him, not really looking at anything.

"Otou, why is Haha gone?" she asked. Her voice was soft, and very sad.

"I told you, Asuka-chan," he said, his tone as sad as the girl's. "Okaasan's staying at one of Tsuneo-ojiisan's houses."

"But why?" the girl asked. "She didn't put me to sleep last night, and the monster came and scared me."

Michio took a deep breath. "That bad monster came again?"

The girl nodded. "I was scared."

"Did you tell Inishi-obasan?" he asked. "I'm sorry I wasn't there, Flower."

The girl nodded, and chewed on a knuckle. "Inishi-obasan tried to chase it away, but she can't do it as good as Haha." She looked up at Michio. "Is she going to be home tonight?"

He met her eyes, closed his, and shook his head. "Not tonight. She has to stay there a ten day."

The girl's face took a panicked turn. "But . . . but I want her, Otou! Why?"

Michio swallowed, and pulled her head next to his chest, not wanting to see the look in his daughter's eyes. His eyes glistened a little too much as he tried to figure out what to say next. "Sometimes . . . sometimes . . . things don't work out right and things happen, Flower. But I'll talk to Ojiisan. Maybe he can do something."

The little girl started to cry softly. "Okaa . . . "

He rocked her back and forth, but even as he did it, his body tightened a little, and his face hardened. "So much, Chiya, so much. Look what you've done."

His aunt stepped out of the house. She was a small woman, gray-haired but kindly-eyed, and she looked at her nephew with some sympathy. "Do you want me to take her? She's right. She didn't sleep well last night. She has to be tired."

Michio brushed his daughter's hair gently. "She's not the only one. I - "

"And do you think you deserved to?" a man asked.

Michio looked up, and scowled. He stood up, still holding little Asuka. "What the hells are you doing here, Seiji?"

"I came to see a man who doesn't know how to control his wife," the big man said, tapping his hoe on the ground.

"At least I don't beat mine," Michio said. "I've seen your woman."

"Bah, what do you know?" Seiji replied. "She's walked all over you since the first day you were together."

Michio put his daughter down. "Go into the house, Asuka-chan."

"But Otou!" The girl looked up at Seiji, and pulled at her father's sleeve. "I...I..."

He looked at his aunt. "Take her in, please. She doesn't need to hear this."

Inishi nodded, and walked over and picked up the girl. "Come on, little Flower. We'll go find something else for you to do." Looking over her shoulder at Seiji, she frowned. "Some people just make bad company."

"What do you know, old hag?" Seiji said as she headed inside. "You couldn't hold onto your man, either. Teaching these girls the same lesson?"

Michio's fists began to clench and he took a step forward. "Get out of here, bastard."

Seiji dropped his hoe and stepped forward himself. "And who's going to make me?"

Two men walked up the path.

"I might," Daitaro said, crossing his arms. "I might not be as young as I used to be, but I know how to stop a hardheaded contrary bull."

"And I'll help," Shinjiro said, holding one of his hands in front of him, fist clenched. "You know the elders have told you to stay away from here."

Michio's father came running from behind the house, brandishing a hay fork. "You're not welcome here, Seiji," the old man said. "Do I have to call the council again?"

Seiji spit. "You think I'm afraid of you, Arimasu. After facing down what I've fought, all of you are small fry. Two old men and two cowards. Gonna go fetch your pet youkai, Daitaro, to run me down?"

"I'll show you coward, you . . . you . . . " Michio said, stepping forward one more step. His father pulled him back.

"It's not worth it," Arimasu said. "We'll let Toshiro and the other elders know."

"Bah," Seiji said. "You and your elders. You were always an easy man to frighten, Arimasu. I just came here to say, let me know if you kick Chiya out for good. I know a real man for her. Rather have her than my poor excuse of a woman any day. I'd teach her how to respect a man." Spinning on his heel, he picked up his hoe and walked off.

Back up the hill, at Miroku's house, things were a different type of noisy as Sango went about her morning tasks.

"Look up at the sky" Rin sang.  
>"Look up in the sky,<br>See, there's the hawk  
>flying over the mountain.<br>He looks like a kite in the air."

She held out her arms at each side, waving them gently as she swayed. Naoya, Sango's son watched her with concentration. The twins mimicked her.

"Hawks don't look like that," Shippou grumbled.

"You've never seen them hover over a field?" Sango asked, kneeling by her laundry tub. She rubbed the garment she was washing on a rubbing stick.

"Look up at the sky," Rin continued, ignoring the small kitsune.  
>"Look up at the sky,<br>See, there's the crow,  
>flying over the field.<br>He looks like he's had too much sake."

This time, she flapped her arms and walked a few steps, weaving a little like a drunken man, then spun. Noriko, following her, stumbled. Yusuko, not paying enough attention, fell on top of her sister. Both girls erupted into an explosion of giggles.

The girls rolled close to where Shippou was sitting. He hopped over to the other side of Sango to get away from them, just in time for Sango to pull out the kosode she was washing. As she wrung it free of water, she gave it a little shake which splashed the kit.

"Hey!" he said.

"Oh, Shippou-kun!" Rin said. "It looks like you've been out in the rain."

"Rain, rain!" Noriko said, nodding. She put her hand in her mother's tub and splashed at the fox.

He, in turn, hopped up into a tree. "Maybe I should go see Kaede," the kitsune said, crossing his arms. "It'd be safer."

"I don't think she's had enough time to rest," Sango said, standing to hang the garment up. "You might want to find something else to do for a while. You could help me in the garden. That's the last thing to wash. I was going to go water the garden with the tub water next."

"But . . . " he said.

"Sango-obasan is right," Rin said. She grabbed Yusuko, and began brushing bits of grass off of the toddler's clothes. "Rin isn't going to go back to Kaede-obaasan's house until after lunch." Letting the girl go, she got up and grabbed Noriko, and did the same thing. "But Rin wonders if she should go work on Kaede's garden. She hasn't checked it in two days."

"That wouldn't be a bad thing to do," Sango said, nodding. "Gardens can get away from you if you don't check them regularly."

"Go?" Noriko asked.

"No more songs?" Yusuko said, looking up at Rin.

"Now girls," Sango said, picking up her laundry basket. "Rin has other things to do sometimes besides sing you songs."

Rin picked up a small stick doll and handed it to Yusuko. "Here. You can sing a song to your doll."

Yusuko frowned, looked thoughtful for a moment, and began to turn around holding her toy. "Bird, bird, flies. Bird, bird, flies. Looks like a kite," she sang, in a soft singsong voice. "'Bird, bird, flies. Bird falls down." At that last phrase, she plopped down, and giggled. Getting up, she repeated it, and Noriko joined her.

"Well, that's one way to do it," Sango said. She moved her basket to the verandah, keeping an eye on the girls as she moved.

"You started something," Shippou said. A shriek of laughter came from the two girls. Naoya started to cry. "Can I go with you when you go to the garden?"

Sango hurried back to the children.

"Rin didn't think you liked to work in the garden," the girl said.

"I don't," Shippou said. "But I like my ears better."

Rin laughed.

On the road to the river, the group walked quietly, without incident until they reached Tsuneo's property there.

Two boys were playing ball in the path. Spying the little group, the eldest grabbed his brother and bowed quickly, then began to run off.

"Otousan! Okaasan! They're here!" he yelled.

His younger brother looked at the two of them for a moment, and joined his brother.

"Ah," Miroku said. "Someone's been keeping a watch out for us."

"Smart children," Susumu said. "Playing and being sentry."

"Aren't those Kisoi's children?" Chiya asked, surprised. "What are they doing up here? Did you know they were playing up here?"

"Kisoi's staying at the main house," Tsuneo said. "They belong here now."

"Kisoi's at the main house?" The woman frowned. "Why?"

"It's not your business, daughter," the elder said. "You have your own work cut out for you."

"Eh, there's going to be a lot of coming and going," Tameo said. "Don't expect it to be too quiet. Koichi will be up here before the day's out."

"And Denjiro." Tsuneo said. "He's going to be working on the kitchen garden. There's a lot to do, getting these places back into shape. They should be leaving you alone, though - unless you do something you're not supposed to. You'll be with Hana and Hiroki mostly. "

"I..." Chiya said, then, thinking better of it, merely looked down at the ground.

A path to the second son's house joined the main road, and the band took it. Smoke was coming out of the roof vent of the small house, and a small cluster of people stood outside, standing in a ragged line: Hana, Hiroki, Kisoi and Nana. Nana was holding her sons' hands.

"Welcome, Tsuneo-ojisan," Hana said, bowing.

"But where's the weird man we're supposed to play with?" the younger boy asked. "I want to show him my ball."

His mother hushed him, but nobody missed the shudder that went through Chiya.

"Do not shame me, daughter," Tsuneo said, turning to her. "They have their work. You have yours. Stay here, do your spinning. Let your husband have time to sort things out. This is your last chance."

Chiya swallowed.

_A/N This is a bit more disjointed than usual. Had a death in the family, and I am afraid I am not quite up to my usual. Apologies._


	179. Chapter 179

_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 179**

For a moment, Michio merely stood there, clasping and unclasping his fists, watching Seiji walk away. No one spoke for a moment. The only sound nearby was a dog barking as the big man passed by where the dog was tied up.

"Shame that dog can't get to him, " Shinjiro said. "Deserves to have a bite take out of his leg. I don't know what happened to him to make that bastard turn out that way." He shook his head. "But whatever it was, it did a good job. "

"Eh," Daitaro said, watching as well. "Just as well the dog's tied up. Probably just poison the poor animal. He always was a stupid ass, even as a little boy." He turned to his son. "I was always glad you didn't like him. He got Susumu into enough trouble when they were younger."

"He did that." Shinjiro nodded. "Doesn't treat his own children much better."

The old farmer rubbed the back of his neck."Sure came home from his soldiering days with a bad attitude. I hear he got hit in the head. That can do it to people sometimes."

"Kuso," Michio said. "He was like that the day he found out that Chiya was going to be my wife. He almost beat me to a pulp that day. Jealous bastard."

"I remember," Daitaro said, nodding. "Good thing he ran off not long afterwards. Might have gotten himself kicked out."

"Should have done it anyway," Arimasu said, moving closer to his son. "Especially after he tried to burn down our house. Good thing his father was already dead. He'd never have lived down the shame."

Two children, a girl and a boy, peeked out from around the corner of the house. The girl carried a bucket, which she was having trouble not spilling.

"Otousan? Ojiisan?" the boy asked, looking at his father, and then his grandfather. "Did something bad happen? After you ran up here, Ojiisan . . . I know you said to stay back but . . . "

He was interrupted by his sister."Was that Seiji-sama?" the girl asked, slopping a bit of water on her feet. "He sounded really mean. Haha-ue tells me to stay away from him." She put the bucket down.

"She's right," Arimasu said, placing a hand on Michio's shoulder. "Seiji is not a friend of ours."

"He's not much of a friend to anybody," Michio said. "But he hates us. You should get back to your chores, Nori-chan, and you, too, Masato-kun. Everything's all right."

Nori picked up her bucket, and gave her father a hopeful look. "Can I go see Haha-ue today?"

Michio took a deep breath, and turned to his daughter, but before he could answer, Arimasu shook his head.

"Not today, Nori-chan." Arimasu turned to look at his granddaughter, who was obviously disappointed. "There's too much happening today, and we need you here to help Obasan. Go take the water inside, child, and see what she'd like you to do. We'll find out soon enough when you can go help okaasan."

Sighing, the girl took her bucket into the house.

"Ojiisan?" Masato asked.

The old man patted his grandson on the back, and gave him a small smile to reassure the boy. It didn't do much to relieve the youth. Arimasu sighed. "There's nothing to be worried about, Grandson. He just stopped by to be rude. Now do me a favor and go back and finish filling the cart with the rice straw. When you've done that, we'll go spread it out in the field. All right?"

He handed the youth the pitch fork he was still holding.

Masato, his brow still creased with some worry, nodded, and went back to work. Arimasu watched him walk off.

"They're holding up well," the old man said. "I don't know if everything's sunk in yet. Masato-kun . . . well, he always was more sensitive to what was going on."

Michio let out a long breath, meeting his father's eyes. There was no blame or recrimination there, just concern. "I..." the younger man said, dropping his head.

"Destiny will have its way, son," Arimasu said, resting a hand on his son's shoulder. "Things will work out the way they are supposed to. We know how your wife is. Just take it a day at a time. This next ten day will tell you what to do."

The younger man nodded, then turned around to look towards the river. "Do . . . do you think she's going to be safe up at the river house?"

Daitaro scratched be back of his neck. "That's a good question. Seiji's not good with women. We've all seen what his wife has to put up with. Maybe we should go tell Tameo what happened."

Shinjiro nodded, then took a step, wincing. For a moment he stopped and shook his leg, then bent and rubbed his knee. "You're determined to walk me everywhere today, aren't you?"

"Well, you could go home and let your okaasan fuss over you," Daitaro said.

"No, no," Shinjiro said. "Let's just see if we can catch Tameo at Tsuneo's house. Maybe the kami will have some pity on me."

"Or they're trying to teach you not to trip over your own feet," the old man said.

"Is that what happened?" Arimasu said. "I wondered about the bandage."

"I rather not talk about it," Shinjiro said. And with that, he started heading down the path to Tsuneo's house.

InuYasha skirted around the edge of the village, cutting through the forest and heading north, Kagome in her miko garments securely on his back. He leapt up into a tree, bouncing off a branch, arcing up in a short flight to the next tree. Kagome took it all in stride, laughing a bit in her enjoyment of the feeling of flight, lifting her head to let the wind sweep through her hair.

"We don't do this enough," she said.

"Keh," the hanyou said. "Busy woman can't go on runs. She's too busy delivering babies and wrapping up wounded legs."

She leaned forward a little, and waited for him to land on a large branch of a cypress tree and relaunching before replying.

"It's true. There's so much to learn and do." She readjusted the strap to her gathering basket she had draped over one shoulder. "But I want to do both. Run in the woods and work in the village."

"Then don't complain that we don't get to do this enough, woman," InuYasha said as he bounced off another branch, and leapt forward again.

"Bah," she said, resting her chin on his shoulder. "I want it all."

"You get it all," he said. "Just not as much as you want. Any time you're ready to give up being a village miko, let me know and we'll move out into the woods. At least we wouldn't have people interrupting us while we sleep."

Kagome laughed. "At least I was smart enough to get us out of the house today."

"Yeah," the hanyou said. "Sounds like even you were ready to get away."

She leaned forward and kissed the side of his neck, a light peck, then laid her cheek against it. "Probably not as much as you were."

He barked a laugh. "I don't know if I'll ever be ready to be around people as much as you. But . . . I think I'm beginning to like it."

Kagome looked at him surprised, and although he couldn't see her look, he could feel her reaction by the way she sat up.

"Some of them. Some of the time." He bounced off a pine tree. "At least they don't all tease me the way Miroku does."

"There is that," Kagome said, and leaned her cheek back against her husband's neck.

They were running out of trees. InuYasha leapt of the last available branch, and bending his knees to absorb the shock, landed lightly on the ground. "Want a break before we keep going?"

Nodding, Kagome slid off his back, took off her carry cloth and basket, and used the moment to stretch. "So here are we headed? You haven't taken me this way before. Another hot spring?"

"Counts," the hanyou said, spotting a large rock. He walked over it to sit down and watch his wife with appreciative eyes as she did her stretching.

"Counts on what?" Kagome said, bending forward, her arms at full stretch.

"Well, there's a nice meadow not far from here if you really want to get some herbs," InuYasha said, crossing his legs and resting them on the sun-warmed granite. "No hot spring, but there's a nice stream on its edge. We're in between villages here. Sometimes there's a hunter, but it's rare to find people this far from their village. Or we can go further. There's a hot spring at the base of that mountain there," he said, pointing to the north. "But if we go there, we probably will need to spend the night."

"Remind me, I want to make a bag to carry my things in," Kagome said, hands over head, bending to her left side. "Carry clothes are just not as comfortable."

"If you want to walk, I can carry it for you," the hanyou said. "You should talk to Kaede. That big yellow bag of yours is around. We put it in the shrine."

"My bag is here and you didn't tell me?" Kagome's eyebrows rose.

InuYasha got a sheepish look and his ears went back a little. "Uh . . . I forgot?"

Seeing how he looked, just shy of cringing, Kagome laughed.

Rin pulled up a piece of lamb's quarters out of the garden. "Rin thought you were going to help, Shippou-kun," she said, adding it to the pile of weeds she had managed to pull.

"I am," the kitsune said, sitting on the fence rail that marked the boundary of the garden. "If I pull weeds, I might pull the wrong ones, and then you'd fuss at me."

The young girl moved down the row a bit, where she snagged another weed. It was obvious nobody had visited the garden for a few days by the number of young plants pushing up amid the cabbage and mustard.

"Rin is fussing at you anyway," she said, sitting back on her heels, tossing the weed into the pile. "If you're not going to help Rin pull, then at least you could go back and get Rin a basket."

"A basket?" Shippou asked. He hopped off the fence. "What do you need a basket for?"

"We can eat some of this," she said, holding up one of the weeds. "Kaede-obaasan likes to cook these in her soup."

"You mean I've been eating them?" Shippou asked. "I didn't know that." He took the plant she was holding up, plucked a tiny leaf off of it and began chewing. "I recognize that taste."

"It tastes better cooked," Rin said. "Rin prefers her greens cooked with soya."

Shippou shrugged. "They all taste good to me." He ate more of the weed.

"That's because you'll eat everything," the girl said, laughing.

"Not everything," he replied, crossing his arms, tilting his chin up as if insulted.

"Well, if you don't go get Rin a basket, you won't get to eat any of these, Shippou-kun. There's one hanging on the wall on the back side of Kaede-obaasan's house. You don't even have to wake her up if she's still sleeping."

The kitsune looked at Rin, and back at the greens, and then back at Rin. Frowning, he nodded, but grabbed one more of the weeds, and headed back towards the village. "I guess I'll help," he said. "But you better still be here when I get back!" With a loud pop he transformed into his pink balloon form and drifted back towards the miko's house.

Laughing, she went back to work.

About ten minutes later, she had most of the weeds out of the strip of garden she was working on. Standing up, she dusted her hands off, brushed a lock of hair out of the way, and was about to move when suddenly she froze.

"Rin," a voice behind her said. It was soft, but there was no mistaking it.

The girl whirled around to look up into a pair of golden eyes, regarding her solemnly.

She broke into a beautific smile. "Sesshoumaru-sama. Rin is very pleased to see you."


	180. Chapter 180

_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 180**

"So you think that's funny, do you?" InuYasha asked, stuffing his hands in his sleeves as he glared at Kagome.

Kagome walked up to him, and rested her hand lightly on the bit of wrist peeking out between his sleeves, then moved it under the red cloth until she reached his hand, giving him a large, lovely smile. "I'm not laughing at you, InuYasha. It was the look on your face. Did you think I would be mad because you forgot about the bag?"

"Uh," he said, letting her pull his hand free, then laced his fingers into hers. "I..."

She laughed again, and his ear twitched at the sound, but his face relaxed as she leaned forward, very close, giving him a quick peck on the lips, before stepping back. "I never did know what had happened to it. I guess I thought it had been destroyed or something."

"No, it was at Kaede's for a while," he said. "She decided, after I couldn't get through the well to bring it back to you, to put it in the shrine for safe keeping."

Kagome walked back over to her carry cloth. "Well, if it's still in good shape, I may start using it when we go on these trips. I can carry more in it." She picked up the bundle.

"Keh," InuYasha said, standing up. "I remember how much stuff you used to cram into that bag."

"At least it wasn't filled up with my school book when I came back that last time," she said. "Clothes, I think mostly." She slipped the bundle over her head. "But I don't really remember. I was kind of scared and excited, both from graduating and getting ready to face the battle with Naraku."

"We all were kind of excited and nervous about that," he said, reaching down to pick up her basket. He handed it to her. "So where'd you want to go? To the meadow or to the hot spring?"

She tilted her head, thinking for a moment. "I'd love to go to the spring, but we didn't tell anybody where we were going, and I didn't bring enough to stay out overnight. And it might be good to practice looking for the herbs Kaede showed me yesterday." She slipped the strap she had attacked to her gathering basket over her head. "Maybe we should just go to the meadow."

"Keh," he said, kneeling down to let her climb on his back. "Won't take us long now." Making sure his wife was securely seated, InuYasha took off at a comfortable run.

It didn't. A few minutes later, InuYasha cleared a rock face, and landed gently in a large grassy field. A few spring flowers bobbed their heads in the sunshine, dancing in a light breeze. A line of shrubs and then trees marked the boundary of the grass. Kagome could hear a stream rushing down from the rocks, hidden by them. To the north, there were scars that could have been old paddy fields, terraced into the hillside, long abandoned. The forest was slowly reclaiming them, a few young trees and more growth pushing up among the earthworks.

As they landed, a deer looked up, flicked its ear, and with a quick swerve, crashed into the underbrush.

"I guess the deer didn't like our company," InuYasha said, as Kagome slid off of his back.

Kagome chuckled. "I guess not." She took a few steps, looking around the meadow and the landscape beyond.

"What a nice place," she said, bending down to touch a small blue flower. "I'm so surprised there's no village nearby. It looks like it has everything."

"Used to be," the hanyou replied. He pointed to the east edge of the field. "There's what's left of a few houses over there. Not much of them left any more."

The young miko shrugged off her carry cloth bundle. "What happened, I wonder?"

InuYasha took the bundle out of her hand and began looking for a good place to put it. "Legend says it was a curse from a youkai. Shows how much they know." He spotted a flat boulder not far from where the stream ran, and started heading that way.

Kagome followed him. "So what really happened?"

"They got sick. Must have been . . . " He thought for a moment, frowning. "What, maybe a hundred years ago? A hundred and fifty? Long time ago. It was that sickness that makes all those bumps and scars. Some of the villagers have the scars, like Takeshi. I forget what to call it . . . "

"Smallpox?" Kagome asked. "When I was in school, I read there were some horrible smallpox outbreaks."

"I guess," InuYasha said, putting down the bundle on the rock. "It was bad here. All the villagers who didn't have it ran off."

"How'd you know that, InuYasha?" Kagome asked, sitting down on the rock.

"Got here not long after everybody left. It was bad. Not a lot of people, maybe twenty of'em. Had to chase off the scavengers, then I burned the bodies and buried the remains." He sat down next to her.

"You took care of the bodies?" she leaned against his shoulder.

"They stank," he said, putting his arm around her. "Anyway, nobody deserved to end up like that." His ear twitched, and his eyes looked out at the distance, not really seeing what was here and now. "So I did what I could. Maybe their ghosts rested easier knowing that they weren't totally forgotten. I passed through here sometimes, and never did see any ghosts. A few years after all that happened, I'd see flowers and stuff, like people were coming by to pay their respects, but after a while, that stopped too, and the stories about the youkai curse grew up. Or maybe it was the smallpox demons. Whatever."

Kagome took his hand. "You did a good thing, you know."

He looked down at their joined hands. "I guess." He stood up, not letting her hand go, shook his head once as if to chase away the memory, and gave her a little smile. "So, you want to look around? I don't know if anybody's picked herbs here in a long time." He leaned in, resting his forehead against hers. "Or, if you want, we could do other things first."

She laughed and gave him a quick peck on the lips. "Let's look first. Maybe we'll find a better place to lay out the blanket."

Standing straight, he helped her to her feet. "Good idea."

Standing in front of Michio's house, Daitaro watched his son walk ahead. The younger man walked with just a slight bit of a limp, then stopped, turned around, crossing his arms.

"Coming, Otousan?" Shinjiro asked.

"I didn't mean to put him in a bad mood," Arimasu said. He looked at his own son. "We have enough of that around here without me wanting to make it worse."

Michio frowned at his father, but only crossed his arms.

"Maybe I should catch up with him," Daitaro said. "He's getting a bit grouchy. I was hoping to keep the bridegroom jitters away, but maybe I did it too well."

Arimasu snorted. "A banged up knee the day before his wedding? No wonder he's grouchy. I'd be grouchy, too. Hope it doesn't spoil anything for him tomorrow night."

Daitaro guffawed as he signaled for his son to wait, but Michio was not as amused.

"Otousan," Michio said, shaking his head. He took a deep breath. "Maybe I should go check on the soybean field."

Michio's father gave him a hard look. "You're not planning on doing anything stupid, now are you?"

"What? Getting back to work?" The younger man shook his head. "I'm no match for Seiji alone. I'm not stupid."

His father tapped him on the back. "No, but you're hardheaded and have my temper. Wait a minute, and you can go with Masato-kun and me. It's time to get the hemp field ready."

"Heh," Daitaro said. "If you hurry, we can walk with you part way." He took another look at his son, who frowned at him. "But better make it quick."

"It'll take me too long for that," Arimasu said, rubbing his chin, looking at Michio and then at the irritated Shinjiro. "Why don't you take Michio with you? Me and Masato, we'll catch up with you when we get the cart loaded."

Michio looked at his father.

"It'll do you some good, son. Walking helps." He rested his hand on his son's shoulder. " If you meet up with Tameo before we catch up with you, let him know what you're worried about. He's a good man. He'll listen." He dropped his hand. "He's had enough problems with that stupid Seiji. I know he'd like to know what's up."

"Good," Daitaro said. "I need someone to help me with that grump of a son of mine. He was in a good mood earlier. Don't know what happened."

"Hard floors, sore knees, and a new wife? What's to be happy about?" Arimasu said, and laughing, turned to go join his grandson.

In Kaede's garden patch, Rin looked up at the solemn youkai in front of her. His beautiful, pale face revealed little emotion, but there was a softness about his lips and in his eyes as he studied the girl in front of him.

For a moment, neither one of them spoke any more. Sesshoumaru's hair stirred slightly in the breeze, and the fur of his mokomoko did likewise. Rin's smile on the other hand, stirred something within the inscrutable youkai, and after a moment he rested a hand upon her shoulder.

"Are you well, Rin?" he said after a moment.

The dam of happiness that had been holding Rin's voice back broke. "Oh yes, my Lord. Rin has been very well. She has been learning about sewing from Sango-obasan, and helping Kaede-obaasan with her garden and making medicines. There was a girl who was here last week who had been attacked by a bakeneko, and Rin got to help her get better. And oh, Kagome-obasan has returned from her place beyond the well. But Rin is even more well today because you have come to visit her."

The youkai took this line of chatter in stride, listening most to the timber of her voice, more than the content of her words. His eyebrow rose slightly at the mention of his brother's miko. He had scented her in the area, but Rin's calling her obasan caught his attention, but other than that, he merely let her chatter until she took a pause.

He liked how she looked. She seemed and smelled healthy and content, her growth, slow but steady, and he could sense her happiness radiating almost as strongly as if it were youki.

A dog barked, not far away, and a boy yelled at it. The youkai looked up just in time to see the youth spot him. The boy clapped his hands over his mouth, grabbed his dog by the collar, and hurried off, no doubt to tell the others. Even after three years of appearing from time to time, his comings were something that unnerved the farmers.

"Come, Rin," he said, turning to head back into the forest.

"Rin wishes," the girl muttered very softly as she followed, thinking about the days when she used walk with him across the countryside. If the youkai heard her, he said nothing. "Is Master Jaken here?" she said in a louder voice.

"In the woods," Sesshoumaru replied, turning his head just slightly.

"Jaken, Jaken, why are you so green?" she sang, remembering the song she used to tease the little youkai with. Giggling, she hurried up to follow the silver and white of her youkai lord.


	181. Chapter 181

_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 181**

"What are you doing, Shippou-kun?"

Shippou, standing on a bucket, was reaching up to grab the basket Rin had sent him for, but jumped at the sound of the voice, almost a whole foot in the air. Landing with a thump, he turned around to see Tazu, Eiji's daughter, looking at him and laughing, her hand covering her mouth as she giggled.

"Don't scare me like that!" the kit said, frowning at the girl. He turned back to grab the basket.

"I'm sorry, Shippou-kun," Tazu replied, still giggling. "The look on your face! I just came to see if Rin-chan was here."

"Well, she's not," Shippou said, lifting the basket off its hook and jumping down to the ground. "She's up at Kaede's garden. Kaede's sleeping. She was up all night."

"Ah, I know," Tazu said, nodding. "Chichi-ue told me about Sayo's new baby. But why are you taking down Kaede-obaasan's basket?"

"Rin wants it," Shippou said, still frowning at the girl. "What's it to you, anyway?" He began to move to the front of the house, and Tazu followed.

"I was just asking," Tazu said. "Okaasan told me I was free to go play for a while."

The front door mat rattled, and Kaede stepped out of her house, looking a bit tired but alert. She stepped in front of the kit and the girl. Her single eye glared at them, causing the two children to freeze, although, as they looked up at her, a grin tried hard to touch her lips.

"Kaede was trying to sleep," the old miko said. "But a certain kitsune banging something against the wall of my house while he takes my basket off made sure that ended."

Shippou looked down at the basket. "Rin sent me to get it," he said, still not quite ready to meet the miko's eye. "I couldn't reach it, and the bucket was there. I didn't mean to trip carrying it."

This time Kaede sighed a little, but gave the small kitsune a nod. "It's all right, Shippou-chan. Is she working in the garden?"

He nodded. "She had some things she wanted to bring back."

"Well, off with you then," she said. "And Tazu, how are things at your house?"

"They came and got Chiya-sama," Tazu said. "Haha-ue said she needed a nap and asked me to go play."

"I'm not surprised, child." Kaede looked thoughtfully at the girl for a moment. "Why don't you go see what Rin is up to? I might go talk with both of your obaasans for a while. Make sure our fine kitsune friend here," she said, giving Shippou a little smile, "doesn't break my basket before getting to the garden."

"Hey," Shippou said, frowning at the implication.

"Come on, Shippou-chan," Tazu said, giggling a little. "I brought some chimaki to share. Koume-obaasan gave it to me. You can have one once we get there." She gave him a little shove. "I bet you've got some stories about what happened at your ojisan's since you were there last. You know Rin always likes those."

His frown relaxed at the word mochi, and when she mentioned stories, he began to get a gleam in his eyes. "Oh, I've got a good one!"

"Well save it for when you get there, child," Kaede said. "I'm going to make a cup of tea before making my rounds."

And with that, she went back into her house.

At the second son's house by the river, Chiya walked inside the small house, followed by Hana, her father, and Miroku.

"You will tell Hana or Hiroki if there is something you need from your house, daughter. Inishi-sama sent a few things over she thought you would need."

Chiya, looking around the little house, nodded. A spinning wheel was set up where it would get plenty of light, and baskets with fiber were stacked nearby. Against one wall, there were several chests. One she recognized, as it came from her own house. There was food warming in the fire pit. The smell of it reminded her she hadn't eaten anything yet; but she didn't know whether it made her feel hungry or sick to her stomach.

"You will stay here," Tsuneo said. "Nana and Kisoi will come by to check on you, and we will have various men working on the grounds making sure all is well. Stay away from the main house. If I find you have been disturbing that . . . that . . . Morio, it will not go well for you."

She looked at her father. His eyes were quite serious, and the set of his mouth told her he would take no nonsense. "Yes, Otousan."

"Don't be cruel to Hana-chan. I had to work hard to convince Akina-chan to let her come up here." He looked at the young woman who blushed for some reason, before turning her eyes back to Chiya.

"I...I was glad to come here, Chiya-obasan," Hana said. "I..." Her voice drifted off, not quite sure of what else to add.

"Thank you," Chiya said. "I...I appreciate it."

"If you drive her away," Tsuneo warned, "the only one left to come is Amaya-chan. I know how you two get along."

Chiya took a deep breath and let it out, then nodded. "Otousan, may I see my children? I know Asuka-chan must be having bad dreams . . . "

Tsuneo shrugged. "That will be up to Michio, daughter. They belong to his family, not mine. He gets to decide. I will ask him, though."

"I...I understand." Bowing her head, she went to sit by the spinning wheel, then looked up at her father. "Is...is there anything left for me to live for, Otousan? My husband, my children, my place . . . even my mother rejects me." She buried her face in her hands.

"That will be up to you, daughter," Tsuneo said. "So much has happened to me this week, I don't know any more. Don't make it worse than it has to be."

He spun around, and walked out of the house. Hana went to sit next to Chiya. "Would you like me to make you some tea, Chiya-obasan? There's some soup and rice, too."

Chiya unburied her face, but before she could answer, Miroku shook his head. "Not yet, Hana-chan. Chiya-sama and I need to have a few words. Please, would you go and tell Tsuneo-sama and Tameo-sama not to wait for me. I will catch up with them when I'm done."

Hana looked up at the monk, questioning, and then at Chiya, who lightly rested a hand on the girl's arm. She gave Hana a small, trembling, smile, meant to reassure, but which make the young even more uneasy. "It's all right, Hana-chan. Go do what Houshi-sama asks."

Taking a deep breath, Hana nodded, and got up at looked at the monk, whose face was unreadable, and back at her charge. "I'll be right outside. Call me if you need me." She headed outside.

As the door mat rattled closed, Chiya touched her forehead to the ground right in front of the monk's feet and grabbed for Miroku's ankle. "Forgive me, Houshi-sama! I have been such a stupid woman." Her voice cracked, almost a sob.

The monk stepped back once, and freed himself, tapping his staff on the floor, making the rings jingle as he looked at her, swallowing then breathing deeply as he put his words in order.

"When . . . " he began. He took another breath as she sat back up. "When I and my wife first decided to settle here, and I got permission to build a temple, you were one of the first people to donate anything to its raising."

"I – " she began but Miroku cut her off.

"You were always there when it came time to ask for the means to do my job as a monk. When it was time to hold lectures, you made sure there were lights for the room. You brought flowers for the altar." He took a deep breath. "It is the way of the Buddha for those who wear the robes not to toil in the fields or all the other ways men make their livings, so we are free to do the work of the Buddha. We learn humility, and our dependence on our fellow humans by needing them to supply us with the means we need to live and do the work."

"Houshi-sama," Chiya said, looking up at him. "I have tried to do my part."

"There is merit in helping," Miroku continued, "But it doesn't mean the donor owns the temple or the monastery or the monk. One cannot find the way to salvation merely by buying the attention of those who follow the way."

Chiya dropped her head.

"I...I am not the best monk. The Buddha and all the kami know that." He rubbed the back of his neck as he looked down on the woman. "Perhaps I should not have been so willing to accept what you were offering. I knew you weren't like Kimi-sama. She tries hard, harder than I do, to walk the eightfold path. Perhaps it would have been better for your soul if I had told you no."

She bowed her head to the floor again. "Forgive me, Houshi-sama. I am just a foolish woman. I only meant to do good by giving you these gifts."

Miroku tapped his staff on the ground once again. "One day the Buddha was walking through a village. A young man, having heard of him, came up to the Buddha and began yelling at him - how he was a fake, and misleading people, and how he was unworthy to teach. Instead of getting angry, the Buddha asked the young man about gifts."

"Yes?" Chiya asked, not sure where the monk was going with this.

Miroku nodded. "He asked the angry man, 'If you buy a gift for someone, and that person does not take it, who owns the gift?' And the young man said, 'I suppose the person who bought it owns it.' The Buddha nodded. 'And this is the way it is with your anger. I am sorry, but I do not wish that gift. You may keep it if you like." He swallowed. " I am far too angry with you now to deal with you as I should." He shifted his feet. "I need to give this gift back to you. The Buddha taught that we are not punished for our anger, but our anger punishes us itself. My mentor, old Master Mushin, in a moment when he was lucid taught me that there is no such thing as righteous anger. Even if you have been wronged, it is still anger. I do not want to be punished for my own anger at you, woman."

He took a step away, towards the door, but didn't turn around. "While I do this, you will stay away from my wife," he said. Chiya looked up at him, unable still to read his face, but saw the intensity in his eyes and nodded.

"You will not interfere anymore, spread no rumors, say no bad words against her or my children." He took one more step. "I may not be the ideal holy man, but you will not punish them for my actions."

Again she didn't speak, but nodded.

"You will not interfere with InuYasha, who has been accepted by both the elders and the kami of this village, and who has every right to the Buddha's protection."

That made her take a deep breath, but she nodded.

This time he turned, but looked over his shoulder. "If you do not, I will not come back as an angry husband, but as Monju Bosatu, with the sword of law to right what should have been righted long ago. If you were wise, you would spend the next weeks praying the Heart Sutra until you, too, can let go of your hurt and resentment."

With one final tap of his staff, he headed out the door.


	182. Chapter 182

_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 182**

"I thought you said she was working in Kaede's garden," Tazu said.

Shippou hopped on the top rail of the fence marking the edge of Kaede's garden patch. The mustards were waving a bit in the breeze where Rin had been working, and the small pile of weeds was right where Rin left them, their green leaves beginning to grow a little limp in the midday sun.

"But she was here," Shippou said, landing on the ground with his basket. Tazu slipped through the rails and came to join him. "See? Those were the weeds she was pulling."

"So where is she now?" the girl asked, raising an eyebrow at the kitsune. "This isn't some kitsune game you're playing, now is it?"

"I wouldn't . . . " he said, letting his voice drift off as he sniffed the air. He squatted for a moment, running his finger over a mark on the ground, then shot up. His eyes widened. "We better . . . we better get out of here," he said, but not before he made a quick grab for the weeds Rin had pulled, putting them into the basket.

Tazu knitted her eyebrows together and crossed her arms. "Why?" A giggle came from a stand of trees beyond the cultivated land. "That sounds like Rin."

"Uh," Shippou said, slipping back across the rails. "Maybe. But she's got company."

"Who is it, Shippou-kun? It's not Nakao-kun, is it? I know he's sweet on her, even if Seiji-sama told him he'd get a beating if he got talking to her again." She steepled her fingers together, and brought them up to her lips, just brushing them, and got a dreamy look. "That would be so sweet."

"No, it's not Nakao. Come on," Shippou said, looking exasperated at the girl. "We need to go."

Tazu looked rather disappointed. "It can't be Sango-sama, or you'd be trying to go there yourself. Or even the new miko and InuYasha-sama." She crossed her arms over her chest. "Who did you make mad this time, Shippou-kun? Who would you make mad that Rin would like to go walking with?"

Another little bout of laughter came from the forest, and then the squawk of a man's voice, obviously not approving of something, although Tazu couldn't make out the words. It was followed by a short, barking command.

Light dawned on Tazu's face. "It's . . . it's Rin's youkai lord, isn't it? InuYasha-sama's brother?" She turned and looked to the forest. " Se . . . sesshi . . . Seshou . . . "

"Sesshoumaru," the kit said. He reached through the fence and grabbed her sleeve. "We need to go, now. He's not going to like it if he finds out we're here. I need to tell Kaede-obasan, and - "

Tazu pulled her sleeve away. "I want to see!"

"You can't," Shippou said. His face was a little panicked. "He's one of the strongest youkai there are. You don't want to mess with him. He'll eat you."

"No, he won't," Tazu said. "She's told me too many stories. I want to see for myself!" With that, she began to run across the field.

Shippou swallowed, looked back once at the village, longingly, and shaking his head, began to run after her.

Kagome stood at the edge of the meadow, peering through the branches of a willow tree at the bubbling stream just past it. The current splashed over a large rock, and made a small pool just downstream that caught the sunlight, but still moved with a strong current. She watched a leaf dance past the rocks, spinning in the pool, and then head into the next bit of rocky water. It was a calming view, and a calming sound.

Having her fill, she turned around to watch InuYasha, who had found a pleasant, shaded area not so close to the stream to lay their blanket out on.

"That water looks cold," she said.

"It is," he replied. "Especially this time of year. I don't think you're going to want to take a bath in it." The blanket spread, he began clearing away dried leaves and other things from a shaded-out spot on the ground

"You're going to make a fire?" she asked.

"I saw your pot and tea things in the bundle," the hanyou replied. "I figured you want to boil some water. The water from this stream tastes really good."

"Cold but sweet, eh?" Kagome said, sitting down next to him. "That sounds like your brother, at least to Rin-chan."

"Feh," the hanyou said. "Only Rin could find any sweetness in him." He got up, and started gathering rocks to make a fire ring. "If I hadn't seen how he acts around her, I wouldn't believe it myself."

"One of the boys in my high school was like that," Kagome said, getting her pot out of the carry cloth. "Everybody thought he was a jerk. He would look right through people, challenge the teachers in class with questions, and just didn't want to have much to do with anybody. But we found out later that he had a crippled sister. I saw them once at a park. Nobody could have been kinder or gentler." She shook her head. "Sometimes I wonder if it were your brother reincarnated."

"Hah," the hanyou said, as he made a neat ring to build his fire in. "I don't think Emma-O is going to let that bastard out of hell for a long, long time once he gets his hands on him. He'll probably keep him around as part of his honor-guard or something. Put him in charge of the hell hounds or something."

"I don't know. During that final battle, when you were possessed, he only did the right thing." She pulled her teacups out of their wrapping. "He even called me by my name once." Next she grabbed the small box she brought her tea in.

"Whatever," InuYasha said. "Been a long time since he picked a fight with me. I know he expects me to keep an eye out for Rin. The way he looks at me . . . " He stood up, and started looking for some fire wood. "Maybe there's too much bad blood between us. At least he doesn't seem to resent the air I breathe anymore."

"Does he come around often?" She asked.

"Not enough for Rin's taste," the hanyou said, picking up a stick. "He usually comes by at least once a month. Been a couple of months this time. I know she's here to learn to live with humans, but I don't know if she'll ever give up wanting to follow that ass around. I hope he shows up soon. Or never comes back." Bringing his armful of deadwood back to the fire ring, he dropped it on the ground, then sat down.

"I think it would break her heart if he never came back to visit her," Kagome said, watching how InuYasha didn't meet her eyes, but instead concentrated on his wood. His ear flicked.

"A broken heart you can get over, eventually," he said, breaking a stick. "But always hoping, hoping, and only being given just enough, that hurts like hell."

Kagome tilted her head to the side as she studied him. "You sound like you know what you're talking about from personal experience."

He turned to her, his face unreadable except for a small scowl. It was a mask he wore when he didn't want people to actually know how raw a point was for him. She had seen it a lot in their early days together, but almost not at all since her return. "I don't want to talk about it," he said, then snapped a stick with greater force than he needed to.

Leaving her dishes and tea, she walked over to him, knelt down, and rested her chin on his shoulder. Her arms wrapped around his chest.

"We don't have to bring him here to our meadow," Kagome said. "It's all right. I bet you could find something nicer to talk about."

He turned his head to look at her, and she leaned forward to give him a better look. The shadow wasn't quite out of his eyes, but he gave her a small grin. "You have something better in mind?"

"Oh maybe," she said, kissing the back of his neck, then reaching up to tease the tip of his ear. "But we need some water first."

He dropped the stick in his hand, turned around and placing a finger under Kagome's chin, looking into her eyes. As she watched, the last of the shadow from whatever memory had troubled him faded away. He leaned forward, brushed his lips across hers. He was about to pull away, but she caught the collar of his jacket, and intensified the kiss.

They broke for air. "I do believe you've chased him far, far away," he said, running his fingers through her hair. "Pretty good magic you have there."

She leaned forward, and gave him another kiss, much briefer. "There's more where that comes from. After you get the water."

"Maybe I should get the fire started first," InuYasha said.

Kagome moved back towards the blanket. "You're sure you haven't already done that?"

"I don't know if it was me who made that fire," he said. Walking over to his wife, he picked up the pot, then headed to the stream.

In a glade not far from Kaede's garden, Sesshoumaru sat underneath a broad tree, leaning against its trunk, while watching the girl sitting next to him. It was a rather peaceful scene, the youkai, the girl, and a small green youkai. It would have been even more peaceful, except Jaken, sitting on the other side of the girl, was watching Rin with a mildly irritated look on his face.

"After Rin showed Tazu-chan and Iya-chan the kosode Rin was sewing, Iya had to show off the one she was making to wear for her brother's coming of age ceremony," the girl said, sighing. "She sews much better than Rin does, and doesn't stick her fingers with the needle nearly as often as Rin does." She looked down at her fingers, wiggling them, "Although Rin is getting better. She goes over to Sango-obasan's house almost every day to practice."

Sesshoumaru's eyes were half closed as he relaxed, breathing in the girl's scent and enjoying the chatter of Rin's voice.

"Bah," Jaken said. "What does that peasant know?"

"More that Rin," the girl said, a slightly sad note to her voice. "But Rin and Kagome-obasan have been learning together. She doesn't know that much about sewing, either."

"Be quiet, Jaken," Sesshoumaru said.

The wind ruffled Rin's hair. She looked up at him and smiled as he spoke, and just the faintest trace of smile touched the youkai's lips. A stranger might not have caught it, but it was enough to brighten Rin's smile.

"Iya likes to tease Rin too much sometimes," the girl continued. "After she showed me her new robe, Iya told Rin that there is a boy in the village who likes her," Rin said. "But she wouldn't tell which boy it was."

That made Sesshoumaru's eyes open, and an eyebrow lift.

"A boy? A boy from this village?" Jaken said. "Impossible." He looked quite upset, and glanced up at Sesshoumaru. "Did you hear that, my lord?"

The daiyoukai looked at the girl. She was no longer the small girl child who followed his every step across the countryside during the year he fought Naraku. Nor was she yet a woman, but he could see the hints of change, the way her body was starting to look, the beginnings of changes in her scent. He was not sure of what it all meant, but the thought of a young male looking at her caused stirrings he would rather not face.

"Silence, Jaken," he barked.

Rin picked up on the undertow of discomfort the youkai didn't know he was releasing and looked at him, mildly confused. He looked back, took a breath. "You may continue, Rin."

Nodding, she relaxed. "And something happened while Rin was out playing. She's not really sure of what happened, but Sango-obasan was very - "

Sesshoumaru's hand shot out in front of her. "Be still."

Rin, like in the old days, froze as Sesshoumaru stood up. Walking across the glade, he stepped behind a dense thicket. There was a sudden shriek.

The girl looked at Jaken. "That sounds like Shippou-kun."


	183. Chapter 183

_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 183**

"Can we go yet?" Morio asked.

Joben, looking exasperated, glared at the excited man squatting next to him. "Not yet."

They sat outside, far enough away from Amaya's garden not to put it into danger. Morio clutched a small bundle filled with things which poked against the cloth in sharp lines and bumps. Joben, on the other hand, had a more sizable bundle near his feet, the size of bundle that a person traveling with bedding and clothing would carry.

"Why can't we?" the cursed Yamabushi asked.

"I told you, Morio-kun. We have to wait for Tameo-sama and Chichi-ue." Joben's voice was exasperated. "They will be here soon enough, and then you will get to meet the people who will be staying with you."

"But I want to go now," Morio said, resting his head in his hand. He stuck out his bottom lip, and looked concerned for a moment. "Joben-ojisan?"

"What now?" Joben ran one hand over his forehead. He could feel a headache coming on, and rubbed the spot where the dull ache was starting.

"Do . . . do you think they'll like me?" the childlike man asked, chewing his lip. "Do you think the boys will like to play with me?"

Joben dropped his hand and really looked at Morio, who was gazing up at him with concerned by guileless eyes. After a moment Morio dropped his gaze and hefted his small bundle in his hands, and sighed.

"Why are you asking that?" Joben said. "Of course they'll play with you."

"I..." Morio said, then traced the outline of one of the shapes in the bundle. "I'm bringing the toys you gave me. They're nice toys. They're nicer than the ones I used to have. You think they'll want to play with them with me?"

"I think," Joben said, returning to rubbing his forehead, "that they would play with you even if you didn't have any toys."

"You do?" Morio said, surprised. "Nobody else wants to play with me." He hung his head down and clasped the bundle tightly to his chest. "It's always, 'Get out of here!' 'Go back to your room!' 'Stop making noise!'" He looked up at Joben. "Why does everybody hate me?"

Joben closed his eyes and ran his fingers in circles in the space between his eyebrows. "I don't think everybody hates you, Morio-kun. It's just that . . . well . . . " His voice dropped as he tried to figure out the right words to say. "It's . . . it's that you're too big for a boy your age." He tried to give the yamabushi a sympathetic look, but it wasn't very successful. "You kind of scare them."

Morio looked down at the ground and found a pebble. He tossed it towards the road. "I scare them?" He turned and looked at Joben, and his eyes began to glisten. "Everything scares me. I'm lost and my head hurts and nobody likes me, and there's a monster that wants to eat me and I don't know where Haha-ue or Chichi-ue is, and everybody yells at me." He shook his head. "What if the people at the other house don't like me, either?"

He curled into a ball, fighting off the tears that were welling up and began rocking himself.

Sesshoumaru walked out of the glade and around the thicket. Before he was in clear view to the area beyond the glade, he spotted the kitsune and the girl standing half-crouched behind a bush. At least Tazu was crouched. Shippou, though, was looking panicked and was standing next to her, pulling at Tazu's sleeve.

"Come on, come on," the kitsune said, keeping his voice low, but very emphatic. "You don't want to do this. Sesshoumaru's not going to like this. Come on. We need to get out of here."

"But I don't want to go," the girl said, shaking her head. "Everything Rin-chan's told me about Sesshoumaru-sama . . . she only says nice things about him. I just want to see if he is as beautiful as she says he is."

"Bah," Shippou said. "You haven't seen him fight. You might not think he's so beautiful then. Let's go."

Sesshoumaru lifted an eyebrow as he watched the two young people. He took a breath, his nostrils slightly flaring as he took in the scents, and recognized the smell of the girl crouching as one he had smelled on Rin before.

Tazu shook her head. "No, no. I have to see for myself! I don't want to interrupt them. I just want a glimpse of Sesshoumaru-sama. You've seen him before. Why can't I?"

"But . . . but . . . but . . . I was on a quest with InuYasha and Kagome," the kit said, frowning hard. "I couldn't avoid it! He was just there. Usually he was trying to beat up InuYasha. I wouldn't have been there if I could have avoided it."

"Beat up on InuYasha-sama? Like how Iya's two brothers are always getting into fights?" Tazu asked. "Isn't that just what brothers do?"

"Not this way," Shippou said. He pulled again. "Come on. I bet he's heard us by now."

"No!" Tazu said. Although she had been keeping her voice very soft, she began to get irritated at the kitsune, and gave him a shove, and her voice rose. "I want to see if Rin is right. Leave me alone!"

His curiosity piqued, and a bit irritated by Shippou's noise, Sesshoumaru stepped out of the shadows and in full view of the bickering children.

"Kitsune, you make too much noise," he said.

Shippou, turning, and looking up into the golden eyes of the daiyoukai, shrieked, then jumped into the arms of a very surprised Tazu.

Sesshoumaru's eyes narrowed. "Definitely too much noise."

InuYasha pulled off his red jacket and hung it up on a branch before he pushed past the willows lining the bank of the stream to reach the water. Stepping carefully over the rocks, he dipped the small pot into the water. The air there was moist, and he got splashed a little by the spray from the water bouncing off a large rock in the center of the stream.

He looked downstream. There was some sort of structure, broken now, that could have been a bridge once. Old logs and flotsam had piled up next to it. On the other side of the stream there was only a small remnant of stonework, well above the water.

"Damn," he said, lifting the pot out of the stream. "How long has it been since I was here last? That still looked like a bridge the last time I came here."

There was a crunch behind him. He turned to see Kagome behind him, holding his jacket. "What are you looking at?" she asked as she carefully picked her way through the underbrush to join him.

He pointed to the ruined bridge downstream. "Not much of it left. Last time I was here you could still cross the stream on it, if you were careful. I surprised a deer standing on it. Stupid animal jumped into the stream to get away."

Kagome looked at the ruins thoughtfully, then handed InuYasha his fire rat, taking the water pot from him in exchange. "Storms can cause a lot of damage. Maybe they had a flood."

"Keh," the hanyou said, slipping into the red garment. "One big one, or maybe a lot of little ones. But it has been a while since I did more than just pass through here."

"Time changes things, sometimes fast, sometimes slow," Kagome said. She began to move back towards the campfire ring.

"Seems that way," InuYasha said, tying the last of his ties before hurrying up to join her. "Look what happens to the village in your time."

"It did change a lot, didn't it?" she said, putting the pot next to the fire ring.

"If it wasn't for the well and the Goshinboku, I would have said they were in totally different worlds." InuYasha squatted down next to Kagome, and took out his fire making kit.

Kagome nodded, laying back on the blanket, looking up at the sky. "Hard to believe what will be right here in time. Buildings, buildings and streets, as far as you can see. And all the people . . . "

InuYasha blew gently on the spark he made and fed it the kindling he prepared. A white curl of smoke drifted up. "I never really understood how you could stand being around all those people at once. The noise and the smell were enough to drive me crazy."

"Is that why you always acted so strange when you came to my time?" she asked, tilting her head in his direction. "You always seemed to know just what to do here, but when you visited me . . . "

He shrugged, then began putting sticks on his small fire. "Don't know. Yeah, the noise and smells were bad. But maybe . . . it was just so different from here. Feh," he said snapping a piece of wood in half. "Thinking about it, I can kind of feel sorry for that Morio guy. I didn't understand how much of anything there worked, and you kept trying to keep me stuck at the shrine, where I couldn't learn anything about anything. Every time I went looking for you . . . "

He snapped another stick.

Kagome sat up. "I used to get worried for you," she said, running fingers through her hair to smooth the back down. "I mean, you know that guys with white hair and dog ears weren't really common there. I was always worried someone would grab you and try to figure out why you were different."

"Feh," he replied, adding the broken stick to the fire. He sat the little pot on a rock next to the flame. "You think they could have kept me? Sometimes, I thought you were just embarrassed to be seen with me. You tried hard enough to keep me from meeting your friends."

Covering her face with her hands, Kagome laid back down, shaking her head. When she dropped them, InuYasha saw she had blushed. "I don't think it was that," she said. "Or maybe not much. I just always felt overwhelmed when I got home. I had so much to study, so much homework. I was always tired, and there was nobody I could really talk to about what was going on."

"You could always talk to me," he said, adding one more bit of wood before moving next to her.

"I..." she started, then reached up and took one of his hands. "I know that. I think I knew that then."

He stretched out next to her, spooning her next to his chest. "But that's not what you needed, was it?"

She interlaced her fingers with his. "I...I just needed things to be simple. I was trying to hide why I missed so much school. Ojiisan told the school all these weird reasons why I was missing class. It's not like he could just come out and say, 'My granddaughter's going down a magic well to save the world from the evils of the Shikon no Tama and Naraku.' I never knew what he was telling them. And . . . and . . . you were so . . . well, it's like when I asked you to stay at the shrine, I needed you to be there, so I could take care of the other part of my life."

InuYasha kissed the side of her neck, gently, and she leaned back into his hold. "And I was always afraid you wouldn't want to come back, or something would happen to you. What if something happened at that school of yours? Even if I didn't understand anything about that stupid world of yours, I just couldn't let that happen to you." He tucked her closer to him.

Kagome rolled over and looked at him, a small half-smile touching her lips. "I was scared, you were scared. But look how it all turned out."

He leaned forward, took her mouth with his, letting his lips graze lightly then more firmly against hers as he drank down her taste and she intensified the kiss, wrapping her arms around his neck and into his hair. Coming up for air, he rolled her under him, reaching over to pull the pot off the fire.

"Tea later," she said approvingly, seeing what he was doing, and pulled him down for another kiss.


	184. Chapter 184

1_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 184**

"Now what?" Daitaro said, pausing a moment to look at Joben and the strange man sitting in front of Tsuneo's house.

"Where is everybody?" Shinjiro said, looking around. There were no other people visible around the building, although he could hear someone singing around the back.

Joben looked up and saw the two men. "Chichi-ue took Chiya-chan to the river. We're waiting for him to come back."

"That's good," Daitaro said, moving towards the two. "I need to talk to them both."

"Why don't they hurry?" Morio said. He stopped rocking but didn't look up. "I want to go."

"Soon, Morio-kun," Joben said, rubbing his forehead. "Don't worry."

"But what if the monster comes before they get here?" Morio asked, a note of panic in his voice.

"You've got those beads Houshi-sama gave you." Joben lifted both hands to his head, rubbing. "I hope he gets here soon. My headache's getting worse."

Shinjiro, obviously uncomfortable about being around Morio, gave him a wide birth, and sat down, leaning against a fence post. "This day's turning into a headache."

Daitaro, not so nervous, sat down near Joben. He grinned at his son. "Tomorrow night will make up for it."

"Maybe," Shinjiro said, but his tone was doubtful.

"Always does, the day before the wedding," Joben said. Even through his headache, he managed a small grin. "I think it's a curse on bridegrooms."

"I don't like curses," Morio said, frowning. "They're bad. That's what my Otousan always said." He turned his head to the side and looked at Joben, who was pressing his hand into the side of his head, as if that could stop the pain. Morio's look softened, and turned concerned instead. He reached out a hand to the ailing man. "Do you want some of my headache medicine? I know Akina-obasan packed in my bundle."

Joben looked at the cursed man, surprised at the sympathy. "No, no. I took some medicine earlier. It just hasn't worked yet."

"Maybe you need to lie down," Morio said. "That's what Akina-obasan says when I tell her the headache's not going away."

"Maybe so," Joben said, "but I have too much to do right now." He sighed, dropped his hands, and turned to Daitaro. "You need to talk to Chichi-ue?"

Daitaro nodded, and grabbing his sake bottle, he uncorked it. "Had a run in with Seiji over at Michio's." He took a drink then offered it to Joben, who shook his head no.

Joben sat up straighter."Seiji? What's that bastard up to now? Doesn't have enough to do beating up his own woman?"

"Evidently," Shinjiro said. "He's heard that Chiya got kicked out."

"So?" Joben asked.

"He expressed," Daitaro said, taking another sip from his jug, "an interest in Chiya-chan, in case she found herself without a man."

"The hells," Joben said. He clinched his fists "After all the things that bastard's done . . . Does he even think anybody in my family would let him near her?"

"Forewarned is forearmed," the old farmer said, putting the stopper back in his jug. "But I thought your otousan ought to know."

"Is he a bad man?" Morio asked, looking at each of the men. "Did he do bad things?"

"He can be," Shinjiro said. "He's mean to the women in his life."

"My otousan always said hurting women is very bad," the yamabushi said.

"Your otousan was right," a voice said.

The men turned to see Tsuneo, Tameo and Susumu walking up.

"So that ass went over to Michio's too?" Tsuneo said. His eyebrows narrowed, obviously not pleased by the news.

"Almost got poked by Arimasu's straw fork," Shinjiro said.

Tameo, obviously not pleased with the news, shook his head. "Less that he deserves."

"Been worth seeing, though," Susumu said. "We better warn Kaede, though. I suspect his woman's going to show up with some extra bruises before the day's over. I hope he doesn't break anything."

Morio looked at the group with wide eyes, then started to curl back up. "A bad, bad man."

Back at the thicket beyond Kaede's garden, Tazu stood speechless for a moment, not even registering the kitsune who had his arms wrapped around her neck. Instead her eyes were focused on the pale form of the youkai in front of her. Her eyes were locked for a moment with his golden eyes, watching her with neither anger, nor fierceness, but with a touch of curiosity, although the beautiful lines of his pale face gave no hint to what he was thinking.

Suddenly, though, reality crashed as Shippou tightened his grip to the point he was almost choking her.

"Get off of me, Shippou-kun," she said, trying to pull the kit away from her. "I need to breathe."

"I told you, I told you," the kitsune said, releasing his grip and allowing himself to drop to the ground. He ran behind her, and peeked out at the daiyoukai from behind her.

"Explain yourselves," Sesshoumaru said.

Tazu bowed low, finally remembering her manners. "Excuse this poor child, Sesshoumaru-sama," she said. "Rin-chan has told me so much about you that when Shippou-kun told me you were here, I . . . I just wanted to see you for myself." She swallowed. "I...I wasn't trying to spy on you, Dono. I just wanted a glimpse."

"I told her not to come," Shippou said, looking up at the girl, his face screwed up in a large disapproving frown. "But she wouldn't listen to me."

"Hn," the youkai said. "Your role in this is noted, Kitsune."

There was a noise behind Sesshoumaru. He turned his head just a little as Rin, came to stand next to him.

"Tazu-chan? Shippou?" Rin said.

"Tazu?" Sesshoumaru said, looking first at the girl who had finally decided to stand up. "This is one of the girls you were showing your sewing to?"

"She and Iya are Rin's best friends in the village," the girl said, nodding. Suddenly, she covered her mouth with her hands. "Rin forgot that she had asked Shippou-kun to bring her a basket, just before you came, my Lord."

"I got fussed at by Kaede-obaasan, too," Shippou said as it dawned on him that perhaps Sesshoumaru was not going to rage at him. "She said I made too much noise getting it down."

"That is something this Sesshoumaru can believe," the youkai said.

Shippou was about to say something in his defense, when Tazu blurted out, "Your Lord is as beautiful as you said he is, Rin-chan."

Rin smiled, and nodded, but evidently Tazu had not meant to say that out loud, and she turned bright red, covering her face with her hands.

"I'm going to go back to the village now," Shippou said, and began backing away from the little group. "I think . . . I just remembered Sango wanted me to go tell Miroku something." Once he reached a point where he thought it was safe, he put a leaf on his head, transformed into a white seagull, and flew away.

"So," Sesshoumaru said, turning his gaze back to Tazu. "Tell me of this . . . boy . . . that this Sesshoumaru hears has expressed an interest in Rin."

Tazu's eyes grew wide as she looked up at the daiyoukai. "Uh . . . " Swallowing, she managed to break his gaze and look at Rin.

"You told him about that?" she asked her friend.

Rin nodded. "Rin tells her Lord everything."

"But . . . but . . . " Tazu said, looking a little panicked. "Iya didn't tell me either!" She bowed quickly. "I'm sorry, Sesshoumaru-sama." Standing up, she too turned and ran back to the village.

Rin sighed. "Rin thinks she might never know," she said, a note of disappointment in her voice. She did not notice the shadow that crossed over the youkai's face.

Back at the village, Kaede put a last bundle of herbs in her basket. "Daisuke, first, the Sora's and one quick check at Sayo's," she said to herself. "Although I suspect Hisa-chan is hovering over her like a mother hen, if I know her. I hope everybody else got a nap." She looked up at the shelf where she kept some bottles. "And a check on Haname." Grabbing one of the jars and adding it to her basket, she headed for her front door. As she stepped outside, she could hear someone shriek. Rolling her one good eye back, she shook her head. "Children. What are they up to now?"

Three chickens and a dog ran down the road as she walked the few steps that led to the street, heading away from the heart of the village. The dog was not chasing the chickens, although they squawked as loudly as if he was.

"Now what?" she said, turning to look in the other direction.

A young boy, the owner of the dog, was running at full speed towards her, breathing hard. He had a mark on his cheekbone, like he had been hit with something that was just starting to bruise, and a rip in his shirt where the collar had separated from the fabric. His eyes were very frightened.

"Nakao, what's wrong, boy," the old miko said, frowning.

The boy slowed down as he neared the old miko. "He's after me," he said, gasping stopped. "I didn't do anything! I was just weeding the garden! Don't let him hurt me!"

"Who?" Kaede asked.

Nakao pointed down the street, where a very angry looking man was heading for the two of them. "I don't know what I did wrong! I was tugging on a big hard weed when suddenly he pulled me off of it, and slapped me."

"Nakao, get back here," the man shouted.

"Go into my house," Kaede said, frowning. "Let me deal with him."

The boy nodded and ducked inside. Kaede stood at the front of the doorway, blocking the entrance.

"Get out of my way, Miko," the enraged man said as he neared the building. "You stay out of this. This is between me and that brat of mine."

Kaede pursed her lips together and drew herself into the most impressive figure she could. "Seiji, what are you doing?" she asked, glaring at the angry man. "Do you always terrify your children?"

"None of your business, Miko." He stood in front of her, his face red with anger. It made the scar on his face stand out even more. "I'll take care of mine the way I see fit. He defied me."

"Hitting boys in the face is taking care of them?" she asked. "I don't think so. He'll stay here until I take care of what you've done to him."

"Out of my way, Miko," he said, laying a hand on her shoulder, to shove her out of the way.

"You stink of sake," she said. "Come back when you're sober."

"That's my boy." He gave her a small shove.

"And this is my house," Kaede replied, getting angry. "You will not enter."

"Don't let him hurt me anymore," the boy's voice said from inside. "I didn't do anything!"

"It's just going to be worse for you if you keep that up, you ungrateful dog," he said, yelling back at the boy. "Get out of my way, Kaede. I know my rights."

"And I know mine," the miko replied. "Go home, Seiji. Come back when you can think straight."

He lifted his fist and shook in front of her face. "Who's going to make me?"

"I might," a voice said from behind them.

Seiji whirled, his hand ready to punch whoever it was who was speaking.

"Go ahead and hit me." Eiji, tired-looking, but determined stood there with his arm crossed. "There's a box in Tameo-sama's yard ready for those who break the peace and hit one of the village guard. Being drunk and mean is no excuse. You want the elders down on your throat?"

"Bah, you and your guard aren't worth the money paid to you," Seiji said. "I hear you even take youkai in it now." He spat.

"At least the youkai doesn't beat up on his woman every time he has a bowl of sake," Eiji said.

With a roar, Seiji gave the guard a shove, then stomped off.


	185. Chapter 185

1_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 185**

Down by the river, Hana looked up as Miroku stepped out of the house that Chiya was to live in until Michio took her home. His face was solemn, and his eyebrows were knitted together, deep in thought.

"Houshi-sama," she said, bowing. "Is it all right if I go in now?"

That broke his concentration, and shaking his head briefly, he turned to the girl."Ah, Hana-chan. I forgot you were here. Give her a few minutes to think," Miroku said. "I bet she'd like a moment or two to get her thoughts in order."

"After what I heard," Hiroki, chopping wood once again at the side of the house, "if I was Chiya-obasan, I don't know if I'd want to see anybody for hours." He picked up a small log and put it down on the ground, then slammed it with his splitting maul. "Or days."

"Hiroki-kun!" Hana said, frowning at the young man.

"It's true," he said, tossing the split wood into a small pile of already split pieces. "After everything that's happened to her today, if it was me, I'd cover my head with the blanket and not get up until I absolutely had to."

"Chiya-obasan is not you," Hana said, shaking her head.

"She'll call you when she's ready, no doubt," Miroku said. He started walking to the path back to the village, but hadn't gotten far when Nana joined him.

"Houshi-sama," Nana said, her smile moving to a look of concern, "you seem troubled."

Miroku dropped his frown and smoothed his face, tapped his staff once on the ground as he did so, making the rings jingle. He managed to give her a small smile. "It's nothing, Nana-sama. It's been a long morning."

"It has indeed," Rikuyo, Nana's mother, joined them. She carried her granddaughter Uma on her back, who looked at the monk with solemn eyes. "And all you have done . . . "

The monk nodded his head in her. "It's all in a day's work. I've had worse."

"Well, I was impressed," Nana said. "I'd never seen anything like that . . . "

A loud kuso erupted from the side of the house as Hiroki continued working on the fire wood.

"You need to be more patient," Hana said.

"I don't know where she gets that from," Rikuyo said. "Her mother was never that calm, but both she and her sister just . . . " The old woman just shook her head. "I wish I was that calm. Could I fix you some tea, Houshi-sama?"

Inside of the house, they could hear Chiya crying. Miroku turned around and looked back at Hana who was looking at him questioningly. He nodded and the girl entered the house.

"I really ought to get back to Tameo-sama," Miroku said, turning back to Rikuyo. "Perhaps later." As Hana entered, the sobbing got louder for a moment and then quieted. "I suspect she's going to be a handful," he said, looking back at Chiya's new home one last time. "Don't be afraid. Be sure to let me or Tsuneo or Tameo know if Chiya-sama starts to become . . . well, troublesome."

"I'm sure she'll be no trouble at all," Nana said.

Her mother frowned. "I wouldn't count on it, daughter. I've seen what she's done in the past." As if emphasizing the point, Uma, the girl on Rikuyo, let out a loud gurgle.

"So, my little girl," Miroku said, with a small chuckle, "you agree with your obaasan, do you?"

The girl gave him a little smile.

"She reminds me of my girls when they were that age," the monk said. "And now, look at them. Time passes. But she's about the same age as my son, isn't she?"

Nana nodded. "Sango-sama and I were delivered the same week. I think Kaede-sama thought we had a plot going in the village to not let her get any sleep."

Miroku was about to say something in return, when Nana's son Hidaka ran up. His youngest brother Katsuo was right behind him. "They're coming!" the boy said.

"Tameo-sama?" Nana asked.

"Well, I guess I don't have to walk down the hill after all," Miroku said, shifting his staff a bit.

"It looks that way," Nana said. "Hurry, Hidaka," she said to her son. "Go tell your father. I think he's back at the house."

The boy nodded and trotted off. Katsuo, though, stayed behind. He held his arms up. "Okaa?"

Nana bent over and picked him up. Another loud sob came out of Chiya's place. Nana looked that way and sighed. "Maybe we should all go to the house. It probably would be better if we don't bother Chiya-sama any more than necessary."

"A good idea," Miroku said, and all three of them headed for the main house.

While Kaede watched, Seiji gave Eiji a hard shove, and the village guardsman stumbled, falling to the ground. Not waiting to see what happened to him, the enraged man stormed off.

Eiji rolled to his hands and knees and shook his head clear as picked himself up off the ground. "That man . . . "

Nakao's dog had stopped running, and wandered back towards the miko's house, sniffing. As Eiji got his bearings, the dog walked up to the man, sniffing him.

"No, I didn't get your boy, dog," the guardsman said. "You'll have to wait until Miko-sama is through with him before you get to have him back."

The dog tilted his head, looking at him, and looked up at the miko.

"He's right," she said. "I have to take care of him first."

The dog sighed, and circled around, laying down to wait.

"A faithful friend, that," Eiji said, getting to his feet.

Kaede looked him over. "Are you all right?"

"Nothing hurt beyond my pride," he said, dusting off. Eiji looked down the road, where Seiji was stomping to the other side of the village, only weaving a little as he walked. He had made it past the watch tower.

The village guard shook his head. "I knew he was a mean drunk, but I've never seen him get drunk this early in the day. I wonder what brought that on? It's just past midday. It was a good thing I was making my rounds when I did."

"That was good luck," Kaede said, nodding. "I don't know if I could have kept him out of my house otherwise." She tapped her bottom lip with one of her fingers. "It does seem odd that he would have been drinking that much this early," Kaede said. "I wonder what happened?"

"With everything that's been happening around the village, who knows? Maybe the boy can tell us something." Eiji said, rubbing the back of his neck. "I need to learn to land better. I'm glad Susumu didn't see how I fell. He'd make me practice falls for a week."

Kaede gave Eiji the ghost of a smile. "We can ask him," the old miko said. "Anything that sets him off is not going to be a good thing. Someone told me his brother got run off from the roofing party yesterday. I wonder if had anything to do with that?"

"He did indeed," Eiji said, rubbing the top of his shoulder next. "I wonder if someone told him what else happened?"

"Are you sure you don't want me to take a look at you?" the old miko asked.

"I'm sure," Eiji said. "I just bumped on a rock when I fell."

The old miko nodded. "I remember the last time he started raging. I thought for sure the elders were going to send him away."

"That was a bad time. Right after the bandit raid and in the middle of winter," Eiji said, walking over to the door mat of Kaede's hut. He lifted it up. "I think that if his woman had kinfolk in the village, they would have. I thought giving him another chance might have been a mistake. His oldest boy's big enough to handle most of the work, with some help."

"It's always a hard decision," the old miko said. "Banishing someone, especially when they have a family." She stepped into the house.

The air was filled with the sound of muffled sniffles. Nakao was curled up into a ball at the back of the house, shaking a little, and covering his hands with his face. "He's going to kill me," he whimpered, rocking back and forth. "He's going to kill me. I don't want to die. I didn't do anything wrong."

"Nobody's going to kill you, son," Kaede said, putting her basket down, and stepping up on the wooden platform. "We'll make sure of that."

He lifted his head up. The bruise was already darkening, a big bruise like he took a fist full on. As he sat up he ran the fingers of his right hand over the sore spot. "How do you know? When he's like this . . . "

"You want to tell us about it?" Eiji said, walking up behind the miko.

Nakao dropped his eyes, looking at nothing in particular then wrapped his arms around his middle and began to rock. "I shouldn't have run. Then it'd be all over. Like he says. I need to take my beatings like a man."

"Bah," Kaede said, kneeling next to him. "Men who don't do wrong shouldn't have to take beatings, boy. Let me look at your face."

The boy dutifully turned his head to the miko. Holding his chin in her hand, she rotated his head back and forth, getting a good look at his injuries. "Let me clean that up and see what we need to do," she said, getting up to get a bowl and some water.

He watched her walk across the room. "I didn't know he had been drinking. He was really mad last night at something Ojisan told him. I usually go over to my obaasan's when he's doing that."

"A wise decision," Eiji said, sitting down next to the boy. "Did you know what they were talking about?"

Nakao shook his head. "Something that happened up at the temple yesterday. I was trying to stay out of sight."

Kaede returned. "I don't blame you, son." She sat down, dipped a cloth in the bowl of cool water and began wiping his injury clean.

"This morning, Haha-ue and Ani-ue went down to the bean field early, before Chichi-ue got up." The boy winced as the cloth went over the worst part of the bruising. "I went with them, but Haha-ue sent me back to the house, and asked me to start weeding the garden." He sighed. "I don't know why, but me weeding the garden makes Chichi-ue mad."

Kaede dropped her cloth into the bowl and unstoppered a jar of ointment.

"And that's where he caught you?" Eiji asked.

The boy nodded.

"Don't wiggle, son," Kaede said, daubing some the medicine on the boy's cheek. "I don't want to get this in your eyes. It would burn."

"Sorry, Miko-sama," he said. "I'm just glad that Haha-ue and Ani-ue weren't at the house yet."

"Did she take her lunch with her?" Eiji asked.

A panicked look washed over the boy. "No. Haha-ue will be coming back to make lunch. If he finds her while he's this mad . . . "

Kaede turned to Eiji. "Perhaps you ought to go tell them," she said. "Maybe you can catch them before they get there." She put the medicine jar down. "Now, did he hit you anywhere else?"

The boy nodded. "My shoulder hurts."

"Well, take off your shirt so I can see," the miko said.

Eiji stood up. "You'll be all right?" the guard asked. "I can send someone over to keep an eye out. I'm sure my father-in-law wouldn't mind. I know he's in the smithy."

The miko nodded. "Just don't take a long time." She helped Nakao take off his kosode. "Who knows what will happen if Seiji gets to Maeme first?"

Nodding, Eiji got up and left the house.


	186. Chapter 186

1_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 186**

In the meadow north of the village, a lone bird circled three times, landed in a branch, spotted the couple on the ground beneath him, cocked his eyes, and with one disgruntled cry, flew off.

"Did we do something that bird didn't like?" Kagome asked.

She was lying on the blanket they had brought, her ebony hair cascading in a fan behind her, her eyes content and heavy-lidded.

InuYasha brushed a stray lock off her face, glanced up just enough to see the bird flying away, then turned his attention back to his wife. "Jealous," he said, bending forward to give her a soft, gentle kiss. "We're having more fun than he is."

His hair was tossed over his left shoulder. Kagome ran her fingers over the top of his right shoulder, under the unfastened fabric of his kosode. He, like her, was dressed only in his white shirt, the ties undone to allow them to touch as much skin as possible without totally stripping down. Around them were scattered their outer clothes - hakama, jackets, belts, in little crumples of red and white.

He gave her a sultry look, but when she giggled a little, his look lost some of its cockiness. "It was fun, wasn't it?"

Kagome flashed him a brilliant smile, and wrapping her arms around his neck and under his hair, reached up and kissed his chin. "Of course it was. I thought I made that perfectly clear."

"Just checking," he said, rolling off her, and resting on his side. "So why'd you laugh?"

"I was just thinking of that bird watching us, and then flying off to find him the right female. We set a high standard," Kagome said, also rolling on her side. "Do you think he might be disappointed when he finds his partner?"

He pulled her close to his chest and rested his cheek on the top of her head. "Not if he gets lucky and finds the right one. That's what it takes."

The two just lay there together a few minutes, Kagome drawing shapes on the hardness of his chest, he running his fingers through her hair and down the length of her back.

Kagome looked up. "Now, wasn't this better than staying at home and listening to Choujiro hammer away on his boards?"

"Keh." He gave her a cocky grin. "The way you make noise, I doubt if you'd have let me get near while he was there."

She gave him a playful slap. "You're not that quiet yourself. At least I don't howl." Unwinding his arm from around her, she sat up, looked at their little fire, and reaching over, threw on a couple of sticks. "I think it's time for the tea."

"I did not howl," InuYasha said, sitting up and tying his kosode closed.

Kagome reached for her hakama. "Whatever you want to call it, it was louder than any noise I made."

The hanyou chuckled, grabbing his own garments. "You may be right. I was too busy to notice." He began to slip into his own hakama. "So you still want to gather some herbs? We've got a good bit of afternoon left."

She nodded. "I saw some of those greens I liked, I think. And it'd probably be good practice to see if I can remember the herbs Kaede was showing me."

"You sound like you're not very anxious to go home," he said, fastening the tie to his left ankle.

"It's just . . . " Kagome sighed. "It's just so nice and quiet here. Who knows what's happening in the village? You don't mind, do you?"

He barked a laugh. "Mind? We could stay out here a week, and I wouldn't mind. Maybe a month. Take me that long to rest up after the last few days." He moved to fasten the other ankle's ties. "Seems like ever since we went after that bakeneko, it's been one thing after another."

Kagome stood up to tie her hakama around her waist. "It's been a busy week. I'll give you that much. But I know you. You wouldn't want to be gone a week."

InuYasha grabbed his jacket. "That's what you think."

She gave him a little, wicked smile. "Oh, I know," she said, reaching for her chihaya.

He frowned. "Name one thing that would make me want to go home that early."

"I didn't bring any pickles," she said, laughing.

His ear twitched. "Maybe we could buy some." He walked over to where she stood, and wrapped his arms around her. "Every village makes pickles."

"But they don't make them as good as Chime or Sayo," Kagome replied, resting her hands on his arms.

"I could make do," he said, nuzzling her ear. "For a week."

Kagome leaned back. "Maybe."

At the house by the river, Kisoi rested hands on the shoulders of his two older sons. "Now remember, Hidaka-kun, Touru-kun, even if Morio-kun looks like a grownup, he's not really. Don't try to treat him like one."

Hidaka nodded.

"The poor soul," Nana said, looking at the group walking up towards them. "That has to be such a hard thing for him."

"From what I understand," Miroku said, "he's very lucky the kami didn't just send him to hell. He had been involved in some rather bad things before all this happened."

"I know, I know," Nana said, bouncing her youngest son on her hip. "But that was then."

"Bah," Rikuyo, standing next to her. "You always were too trusting, and too kind." She glanced at her son-in-law, who, fortunately didn't see the look she gave him, consternation and regret and fondness, all mixed together.

"Obaa sad?" Katsuo said, reaching out to his grandmother.

"No, no, child." Rikuyo patted her grandson on the head. "Just excited."

That seemed to mollify the boy, but Nana gave her mother a look.

"Well, well," Tameo said, as the group reached the front of the house. "We made it, finally."

Kisoi and his family bowed in greeting. "Welcome."

Morio leaned towards Joben. "These are the people who want me to stay with them?"

"That's right," Joben replied, rubbing his temples once again. "Are you ready to meet them?"

"I...I guess," the yamabushi said.

Joben rested a hand on Morio's back. "Then let's go meet them."

Before he could take more than a few steps, Touru broke away from his father's hold and ran up to Morio. For a couple of moments, the much taller Morio and the little boy looked at each other, both a little frightened and unsure of what to say. Rikuyo audibly took a deep breath and held it, and Miroku gripped his staff a bit more tightly. Susumu stepped around from behind his father, but Tameo held an arm up to keep his from passing.

"Wait a minute, son," he said softly. "Let's see what's going to happen. You forget how he behaved the day he played with your boy?"

"Uh . . . " Susumu said. He stepped back one step, but didn't relax

The boy and the cursed man ignored all of this. Touru chewed on his bottom lip for a moment, judging what to do next. He held up a toy horse, made up of straw. "Wanna play?" the boy asked. "I built a fort out of rocks over there," he said, pointing to the side of the house. "You can come play with me there. Ani-ue plays there, too. We can have big battles against the bad guys."

"When did he do that?" Nana asked her husband, and then at her mother, who was supposed to have been watching the boys.

"Don't look at Okaasan that way. I snuck Touru off. We were putting it together while you were cooking," Kisoi said. "A bucket of dirt, some river rocks. Instant fortress. Our boys have good imaginations."

Morio's eyes grew wide. He looked up at Joben, who, breathing a sign of relief that the boys weren't going to be afraid, gave him a nod. The childlike man turned back to the boy in front of him. "I can play with you?" he asked, as if he didn't quite believe the invitation. He held out the bag he was clutching. "I brought my toys."

"All that's toys?" Touru asked, impressed.

"Yeah," Morio said. He glanced at Joben. "Joben-ojisan gave them to me." He sighed. "I lost all my old toys before I got here."

He started to open the bag when Hidaka, nudged a little by Nana, walked up. "Or you can play with me. I like to play ball, too." He held up the one he had been holding, made of brightly wrapped threads. "Here, catch!"

He tossed the ball, and without even thinking, Morio caught it, and opened his hand to look at it.

"You want me to throw it back?" he said.

Hidaka nodded, deciding he liked Morio, and smiled. "If you want to play."

The man threw it back softly and Hidaka easily caught it. He was about to throw it back when his mother, having left her youngest son with her mother, walked up and held Hidaka's hand, stopping the motion.

"Welcome home, Morio," she said, showing no fear at the yamabushi's oddness. Instead, she smiled at him gently. "Before we do all that, why don't you come in and have some lunch? After that, we'll show you all around, and Touru, she said, nodding to the boy still clutching his horse, and Hidaka and you can play until suppertime. How's that sound?"

Morio's eyes couldn't get any wider as he looked at Nana. "You . . . you look . . . look . . . look like my okaasan."

Nana's eyebrow rose, but his words pleased her. "Do I now, Morio-kun?"

He nodded. "Are...are you my okaasan?" He chewed on his lip. "You even sound like her."

She moved next to him and rested a hand on his shoulder. "I will be your okaasan if you want me to be, Morio-chan."

Suddenly, she found herself wrapped up in a huge hug. "Okaa, Okaa, I've missed you so much. I've been so scared," Morio said.

Kisoi and Rikuyo hurried down to where the two were standing, Rikuyo more alarmed than her son-in-law. Kisoi took his sons hands. All three looked at each other, not exactly sure what to do as the yamabushi cried as he hugged Nana.

"It's all right," Nana said, running her hand soothingly over Morio's back. "It's all right. You don't have to be scared anymore. Let's go inside, and you can tell me and Otou all about it."

"You won't leave me again, will you?" Morio asked, his voice trembling. "I was so scared when I woke up and I couldn't find you. I was so confused and I hurt so bad."

"I promise, son." Nana gave him a tight hug. "I didn't know about it until now. I promise."

It took a few more moments, but Morio let Nana pull herself away. "Otou, you want to help get everybody in the house for lunch?" she asked Kisoi.

"You're my otousan?" Morio asked, tilting his head to look at Kisoi.

"If Nana-chan is your okaasan, then I must be your otousan," Kisoi said. "I'm glad you've made it here, son. Let's go have lunch."

Nana led her surprised and somewhat bewildered flock back to the house, with Joben bringing up the rear. Miroku stayed behind to join the other men.

Tsuneo looked at Tameo. "Now that was unexpected." He looked at the monk.

"That's none of my doing," Miroku said, shrugging. "But it looks like a nice bit of luck from the lucky gods has found us for a change."

"I won't turn it down," Tsuneo said, "not after everything else I've been through this week."

Tameo looked around the grounds, thoughtfully, as if he expected to find someone hiding behind a tree or building. "I wonder if there might be a kami's hand in this."

"I wouldn't put it past old Kazuo," Susumu said. "We ought to stop by the shrine with some of Daitaro's sake when we get back."

Tameo laughed. "Maybe we should, maybe we should."

Unseen to human eyes, dressed in the plain clothes of an old farmer, the kami let off a pleased chuckle.


	187. Chapter 187

_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 187**

Jaken, carrying the staff of two heads, as if he needed to be prepared for a threat or to intimidate someone, walked out of the grove where Sesshoumaru and Rin had left him. "My Lord?" he said. "How dare she refuse to answer Sesshoumaru-sama's questions! Should I chase after the human for you?"

Sesshoumaru, not looking at his retainer, held out a hand towards the small green youkai in a signal for him to be quiet and then turned to the girl at his side. She looked up at him. There was some mild unhappiness in her eyes, and she sucked on her bottom lip as if irritated, but at the same time, her normal acceptance of whatever he chose.

"You are unpleased with your friend?" he asked, keeping his face smooth.

"My Lord?" Rin asked, looking up at the youkai. "Rin's friends like to tease her sometimes. And this was Rin's time with her Lord. She doesn't think Tazu-chan should be teasing her at times like this. Rin sees her almost every day, but not Sesshoumaru-sama."

A small light touched the youkai's eyes as she spoke, a small mark of pleasure at his continued priority in her life that he did not let reach his face. Rin, still watching him, took note.

"All of Rin's friends make jokes about boys liking them," she said. She looked thoughtful for a moment. "Rin does not know if that is good or bad. She wonders if the boys talk about girls liking them to." She looked up at the silver haired youkai, who this time did not meet their eyes.

"Stupid human ways," Jaken grumbled. "How are we supposed to know?"

"But my Lord knows . . . " Rin started, but stopped when Sesshoumaru turned, saying nothing in reply, but moved back to where he had been seated earlier.

Rin and Jaken exchanged looks, his frowning and irritated, hers mildly confused by accepting. The two of them headed back to rejoin the daiyoukai.

Nobody said anything for a time. Jaken began to fiddle with his eboshi hat, then smoothed the folds of his sleeves. "Humans," he muttered under his breath, almost too low to be heard, but not too loud for Sesshoumaru who shot him a hard look. Jaken dropped his head and readjusted his hat once again.

"The miko, Kagome - you said she had returned. How long has she been here?" Sesshoumaru asked.

Rin frowned and counted the days, tapping her right finger against her left as she thought. "More than a ten day? Fifteen, sixteen?" She looked up. "Everybody was very happy to see her return. No one more than InuYasha-sama."

"Hnn." He looked in the direction of the well and the Goshinboku. "This Sesshoumaru has gone by the Bone-eater's Well, and did not notice the difference in the magic. But he did find the miko's scent at the house where my brother stays sometimes."

"Kagome-obasan and InuYasha-sama are living there," Rin said nodding. Sesshoumaru slightly raised an eyebrow, but gave no other reaction. "Kagome-obasan says she doesn't think the well will work again." She rested her hands on her thighs as she knelt next to the youkai, then spreading her fingertips wide. "Rin is glad she has returned. Kagome-obasan makes her feel less clumsy at her sewing."

Sesshoumaru, his curiosity not satisfied, took a long breath then let it go. Knowing he would not get the answers to this puzzle yet, he turned to his retainer. "Jaken, the gift."

"Yes, Sesshoumaru-sama," the small green youkai said, and getting up, he walked behind the tree they were sitting under and retrieved a bundle wrapped in a bright cloth of yellow and rose and green. It was tied with an elegant-looking knot.

Jaken, with proper ceremony, handed it to his master, who in turn, handed it to Rin.

As the girl unwrapped it, her eyes lit up as she saw the lovely robe under the wrapping cloth and delicately ran her hand over the soft fabric.

"It is suitable," Sesshoumaru said. It was not a question.

"Yes, my Lord, more than suitable," the girl replied. "Rin thanks you, my Lord. When she wears it, she will remember her Lord and think of how good it is when she is with him."

He stood up. "You are happy here, still?"

The girl nodded. "Rin is. Kaede-obaasan treats Rin well, and Sango-obasan and Kagome-obasan are here, and Rin has friends. And she's learning." She dropped her head for a moment and spoke very softly. "But not as happy as when she was following her Lord across the countryside."

The youkai lord heard the last bit, and briefly wetted his bottom lip. "Learn well."

Rin looked up. "You are leaving, Sesshoumaru-sama?" There was a plaintive tone in her voice.

The youkai nodded. "This Sesshoumaru will return, Rin. He gives his word."

Taking a deep breath, she nodded. "When, my Lord?"

"When it is time," Sesshoumaru said. He looked to the north.

Rin stood up, clutching the fine kosode to her, and nodded. She, too, held her face in a mask, to stifle any look that might shame her in front of the youkai, but her eyes began to glisten. "Rin will be waiting for your return, my Lord."

"Come, Jaken," the youkai said, taking a step towards the north.

Jaken hurried, clutching the white fur of Sesshoumaru's mokomoko and the Staff of Two Heads to his chest as he prepared. Not looking back, Sesshoumaru took a leap into the air and was gone.

Rin watched until she could not see any more. With a deep sigh, she looked down at the beautiful cloth she was holding. "Return soon, my Lord," she said, her voice thick with the emotion she felt at being left behind once again. "Do not forget your Rin, who waits for you."

Holding the fabric close, she began the walk back to Kaede's.

Few eyes watched the youkai as he flew overhead, being busy with their work on the ground. One such was Maeme, wife of Seiji, who was too busy to look up.

She wiped her forehead and paused in her work, kneeling down on the ground in front of a tall and spindly weed, then looked at the bean field, only partly planted. "One weed at a time," she said, seeing how much was left to be done.

When she was away from the others in the village, and especially her husband, she would lose the cowering, and sometimes frightened look in her eyes, and a glimmer of the woman she was before her marriage would emerge. Sometimes, when working alone, she would even sing. As she grabbed another weed, she began a slow, sad tune.

"When I was a girl,  
>a young girl in my mother's house,<br>I dreamed of big houses  
>I dreamed of big houses and husbands."<p>

Her voice was pleasant, but soft, as if afraid to be overheard even in the bean patch. She stopped for a moment as she tugged at a particularly hard weed. Pulling it out, she tossed it to the side and stood up, dusting her hands on her wrap skirt before picking the hoe she was using back up. As she began to hoe, she continued her song.

"When I was a girl,  
>a young girl in my mother's house,<br>I would look into my mirror,  
>and fix my hair this way and that."<p>

Her hoe kept rhythm with her words. She was quite capable with the tool, a skill that had developed over long practice, a capability that did not match the shabbiness of her looks. Her face was thin and worn, the way a person who is too anxious gets sometimes. She was dressed in a faded blue kosode, washed many times and repaired, and a patched wrap-skirt, clothes that a bystander would have assumed belonged to a pauper. Her wrap skirt had once been a brightly printed garment, left over from happier days, but now, only the ghosts of the design of flowers, white and red against the blue background remained.

This day, she had her sleeves tied back and she wore a shabby reed hat that had seen better days to keep the sun off of her head in a vain attempt to keep her complexion as pale as possible, but the darkness of the skin on her arms showed she had been spending much time under the sun. There were mud stains on her knees from where she had knelt in the dirt, and her fingers gripping the hoe she wielded were also dirty.

She stopped her song for a moment, and hacked at a stubborn cluster of weeds. "Has he done any work on the field at all this spring?" she asked, before looking quickly around to make sure she wasn't overheard, but for the moment, she was totally alone in the bean field. Off in the distance a crow cawed, and a songbird warbled somewhere, but she had no other company, not even her oldest son who was supposed to be helping her.

Sighing, she reached down and moved the weeds to the side.

"When I was a girl,  
>a young girl in my mother's house,<br>I didn't listen to my mother,  
>and dreamed on instead of working."<p>

Her rhythm grew more even as she went over the soil she had already hoed one more time, hammering at the dirt clots.

"Now I am a mother,  
>a mother in my own small house,<br>and watch my children dreaming  
>and I work for them and my husband."<p>

She made a row in the dirt with the hoe, and began to drop bean seeds into the channel.

"Now I am a mother,  
>a mother in my own small house,<br>and I wish I had listened,  
>listened to every word my mother told me."<p>

"I think we all wish we had listened to our parents better," a voice from behind her said.

With panicked eyes, she turned around to see Eiji standing there, his face mildly amused at the song she had been singing. Maeme immediately bowed, a bow too low really for a woman of the village to make to a farmer.

"Ah, Eiji-sama, I didn't hear you coming," she said. "Excuse me please."

"Being busy will do that to you," the village guard said. He looked around and saw she was alone. "No other excuse is necessary. I heard your oldest boy was with you."

"Sukeo-kun? He went down to the river," she said, not meeting his eyes. "He wanted to catch a fish for our lunch." The uneasy woman turned around, picked up her hoe, and began to carefully pull the dirt over the seeds she had planted. "Did you need to talk to him?"

"So he hasn't gone home yet?" Eiji asked. He crossed his arms.

"No, no," Maeme said. "He should be coming back here first. I'm surprised he isn't back already. It's past time to eat."

The village guard gave a sigh of relief. "Good. I'm glad to hear that."

"Why?" the woman asked, pausing in her work. She looked up, chewing her bottom lip.

"Your husband . . . " the village guard said.

The color drained from Maeme's face. "Something's happened, hasn't it? He was in such a bad mood this morning. I came out here . . . well, you know how he gets." She took a long breath. "What did he do this time? Is this about what happened up at the temple? His brother came over last night, and they talked a long time. I heard my husband shouting about the monk and the temple."

Eiji rubbed his forehead. "It was a bad afternoon. But don't go home yet. Nakao's at Kaede-sama's."

Maeme dropped her hoe and covered her face. "My poor baby. What did he do to him this time?"

The village guard shook his head. "It's not what your son did."

"My husband . . . he . . . " her voice was a question, but she couldn't form the words.

"Nakao-kun will be all right. Kaede's taking care of him." Eiji said. "But you might want to go there yourself." He bent down and picked up her hoe and handed it to her. "But don't go home yet. Kaede doesn't need to treat both of you."

She slumped to her knees. "I am truly cursed."

Eiji, not knowing how to reply, sighed.


	188. Chapter 188

1_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 188**

Miroku, wanting to be alone after the events of the morning, had left Tameo and the other men, and was heading towards home by cutting through the farm fields. As he walked, he spotted a floating pink balloon drifting lazily across the landscape.

"And what is Shippou-chan up to, I wonder?" he said, stopping to watch. After a moment, he realized that the kitsune wasn't merely drifting, but passing along the area in a pattern, like he was looking for something, especially along the edges of the wooded land and surrounding the fields where the farmers raised their beans and vegetables. "Is he looking for something?"

His desire for contemplation evaporating, the monk hurried towards the area the fox kit was most interested in. Shippou spotted him coming his way, stopped his search above the trees and then turned in the monk's direction.

Miroku sighed. "I suspect I'm going to get home late for lunch."

The pink balloon transformed with an audible pop in front of the monk, and an anxious Shippou jumped immediately onto Miroku's shoulder.

"You've got to help me find her, Miroku!" Shippou leaped from the monk's shoulder and onto the top of his head, bending over to look Miroku in the eyes. "It's my fault. I know I shouldn't have let her get so close!"

Miroku reached up and lifted the kit off his head and dropped him onto the ground.

"Who are you talking about, Shippou-kun?" the monk asked, knitting his brows together. "And what did you do this time?"

The kitsune took a deep breath. "I didn't do nothing! I was just doing what Rin asked me to do." He crossed his arms, determined not to be blamed for what was going on, and looked up at Miroku. "It's not my fault that she was gone when I came back with the basket. Or that Tazu came by looking for her."

Miroku squatted down, his hand sliding down the length of his staff as he did it, making the rings jingle, looking even more perplexed as he watched the kit. "I'm confused, Shippou-kun. Try again. I can't help you if I don't understand what's going on."

Shippou frowned, impatient to be moving, but nodded. "I was helping Rin weed Kaede's garden, when she sent me back to Kaede's house to get a basket. She was pulling some things she called weeds, but they taste good." He pulled a wilted one out of his vest. "They ought to be growing them instead of some of that stupid stuff they do grow."

Taking the weed, the monk leaned his staff against his shoulder and ran a finger over the plant. "Akaza. Lamb's quarters. Yes, they are good to eat, especially when young. Sango-chan tells me they are a sign the soil is good." He handed it back to the kit, who proceeded to eat it. "They're not so good when they get big. And then what happened when you got back?"

"Tazu was looking for Rin," Shippou said, swallowing the last of his snack down. "She came to the garden with me, but when we got there, Rin was gone."

"Do you think something happened to her?" Miroku said, standing up. "Why didn't you go to the village and tell someone?"

"Sesshoumaru happened," Shippou said. He glared at the monk. "Do you think I'm stupid?" He tugged at Miroku's sleeve. "But we need to go find her."

"It is best to allow Sesshoumaru to have his visits with Rin-chan in peace," Miroku replied. "Or don't you remember what happened the last time you interrupted them?"

The kit jumped back up on the monk's shoulder. "Not Rin. Tazu." He pointed towards a stand of pine trees. "I smelled her scent that way, but I couldn't see her through the air."

"Towards the river?" Miroku began walking in that direction. "But why, my fine kitsune, are we looking for Tazu-chan?"

"She wanted to see Sesshoumaru." Shippou curled as much into a ball on the monk's shoulder as possible and still hold on. "I tried to stop her. I really did!"

"I believe you, Shippou-kun," the monk said. He had a look that said he didn't know whether to be amused or worried. "You know, though, Sesshoumaru-sama would never hurt any of Rin-chan's friends." He scratched behind his right ear, where the kitsune's tail had tickled him. "At least I don't think he would."

"Bah," the kitsune said. "You sound as bad as Rin."

Miroku shook his head. "No, I know what the daiyoukai can do. Still, where Rin is concerned . . . "

"Go that way," Shippou said, pointing between two trees. They could hear water in the distance.

"So what happened?" the monk said, dodging a low-reaching branch.

"Sesshoumaru caught us where we were hiding." He crossed his arms again. "It wasn't my fault this time. I tried to get her to go before he caught us."

"Considering how long it took you to sit down after that last time, I'm not surprised you tried," Miroku said, nodding.

"I told him that, too." The kitsune sniffed the air. "Yeah, I think she came this way. Let's go!"

"And then what happened?" Miroku said, deftly stepping around a muddy hole in the path. "You obviously got separated."

"Uh . . . " The kit said. "Did you hear that?"

"Not I, my friend." Miroku frowned. "You ran, didn't you?"

"Uh . . . " Shippou leapt off the monk's shoulders. "I hear her! Just over there!" He began to bound away.

Rolling his eyes, and shaking his head, the monk followed.

North of the village, InuYasha lay on his side and watched his wife.

"Hard to believe what a wild thing you were just a little bit ago," he said, as she moved along the ground near the trees. "And now you look like such a proper miko."

She stopped what she was doing, stood up tall, with just the touch of a grin on her lips. "That's because I am a proper miko. I can demonstrate my powers of purification if you need proof."

The hanyou watched her performance; for a brief moment, she had become the spitting image of Kikyou. Not knowing if she had meant to do it on purpose, he decided not to spoil the moment, and instead laughed. "Indeed, miko-sama, I believe you," he said. "Both wild and proper."

"The better to deal with you," she said, shifting her basket and began walking again.

"You're probably right," he said, agreeably. "We know how proper I am."

Kagome stopped what she was doing, knelt down, and added several leaves of a plant she had found to her basket. "And how wild you are, too." She gave him a glance that even in his relaxed and fulfilled mood stirred something in him. He flashed her a smirk.

"I wonder what that is?" she said, bending down and touching a small plant. "I don't think I've seen that one before."

InuYasha was far less interested on what was growing in the ground than on how the sunlight played on her hair as she moved and the contentment that radiated from her scent and movements, but he rolled over and looked. "Don't know. Maybe it's a lily. Seen some sasayuri growing here before. And maybe some oniyuri, too."

Kagome looked at him, a bit surprised that he'd know that, and smiled. "You'll have to bring me here later. Sometimes it's a lot easier to tell what some plants are after they get their flowers."

"I guess," he said, sitting up and brushing the grass off of his sleeves. "So what are you trying to find?"

She began moving away from the trees and into the center of the meadow. "Oh, whatever I can find. It's kind of practice to see what I can recognize, and kind of to see if I can find anything useful. Some fresh greens would be nice for dinner."

Getting up, InuYasha followed her. "So what was it that you put in your basket?" he asked.

"I'm pretty sure it's some mitsuba. I'm going to ask Kaede-obaachan to be sure. But I'd like something else with dinner. Something that I'm sure what it is."

A stand of wild mustard was growing near a large stone that jutted out of the ground not far from her. "How about that?" the hanyou asked.

"It looks like one of the plants Amaya grows," Kagome said, walking over and kneeling next to it. "Wild mustard, I'd guess."

"I guess," InuYasha said, settling down next to her. "I've eaten it before. Tastes all right. Not as good as the stuff that Kaede and Sango get out of their garden, but not bad. Not as hot as tade is."

"You eat tade?" Kagome asked. "After seeing how you handled my mother's curry, I thought it'd be too hot for you."

"If I have to," he said, making a face.

Kagome, amused by the look on her husband's face, glanced around the field. "I don't see any here. You're in luck."

"Feh," InuYasha said. "Only until we go to Sango's. She really likes it with her fish." He looked around. "There's some hakobera growing over there," he pointed to a bit of disturbed ground some animal had made, covered with the pale green of the weed. "You might want to get some of that. It was good in the soup you made last week."

She turned her head to look at her husband. "You know more about this than you're telling me, don't you?"

He shrugged. "I just learned what I could eat and what not to," he said. "I had a lot of practice when I was younger." He looked a bit embarrassed. "Sometimes, it was easier to find plants to eat than rabbits. People didn't exactly invite me into their homes to eat dinner."

Kagome gave him a tender look, and reached out, patting his hand. "Well, I can learn from you and Kaede-obaasan both." And while he watched, she began to pick some of the leaves.

After gathering the mustard she found some henbit with its purple flowers near it, and was just settling down to pick some of the hakobera InuYasha had pointed out, when suddenly she stopped and looked up, her eyes widening a little.

InuYasha frowned. "What's wrong?"

"I feel youki," she said, her voice soft but serious. "Strong youki. Coming this way."

The hanyou went instantly on high alert, and he looked around and his hand went to the hilt of his sword. "Where?"

Kagome closed her eyes and widened her senses. She pointed to the south, just above the tree line. A bright shape was heading in their direction. "There!"

InuYasha's ear twitched and his nostrils flared as he looked, his grip tight on Tessaiga, then suddenly, as the shape grew nearer and he realized what he was seeing he relaxed just a little.

"Nothing to worry about," he said as he crossed his arms and stuffed his hands in his sleeves.

"But . . . " Kagome said, turning her head to her husband, and back to the sky.

"About time he showed up," InuYasha said. "It's been too long since his last visit to Rin."

"That's Sesshoumaru?" Kagome watched as the shape grew closer and she could begin to make it out.

"The bastard himself," InuYasha said, nodding. His look turned into a scowl. "He's been hanging around the village. I catch his scent every now and then. Don't know what Rin sees in him, but he needs to visit her more often or just disappear so she can get on with her life."

Kagome gave him a sad smile. "I had people tell me things like that about you, once upon a time. Maybe she's as stubborn as I was."

"Feh," the hanyou said. "Don't know what good it'll do her."

The young miko didn't reply, but instead watched as the youkai flew closer and closer. As he grew nearly overhead, a small green form clinging to his long white mokomoko bent over.

"Sesshoumaru-sama," Jaken said. "It's Kagome!"

Kagome waved and called out, "Oniisan!"

Sesshoumaru did not slow down or say anything, but gave her a look of the type that had been known to stop other mortals in their tracks.

"Did you see that? He made a really mean face at me," Kagome said as he flew off. There was a slight growl coming from her companion. The hanyou was staring at her with a look nearly as severe as the daiyoukai's. "And you are, too."

"That had a really nasty sound to it," InuYasha said.

"But it's true," Kagome replied. "If you are my husband, I'm supposed to call him Oniisan."

InuYasha shook his head. "I'm not ready for that. What type of brother has he been to me?"

Kagome leaned forward, and brushed his cheek with her fingers, and ran them into his hair. "I'm sorry," she said. "I just . . . "

Something struck him, though, and his frown went away almost as quickly as it came. He clasped her hand with his, and leaned forward and gave her a quick peck on the lips. "I just thought of something."

"What?" Kagome asked, perplexed.

"He wasn't happy because he had a half-human brother. Now he has a full-human sister-in-law." InuYasha gave Kagome a very wicked grin, the type he would get right before going into a fight. "Couldn't happen to a more deserving bastard."

"Improper and very wild," Kagome muttered, so low that even InuYasha couldn't hear her.

"You say something?" he asked, helping her to her feet.

Kagome put on a smile. It only looked a little forced. "Let's go home."

_A/N: The dialogue of what happens as Sesshoumaru flies overhead is based on the text in the fan scanlation by Patches, and not the version printed in the Viz edition of the manga, nor the Final Act. I'm familiar with all three, but this is what I based it on, in case you're wondering why it doesn't exactly match the source you remember. _


	189. Chapter 189

1_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 189**

Tazu, taking quick glimpses behind her as she moved, hurried down the path, speeding away from Rin and her youkai lord. "Stupid Tazu," she said as she moved towards the river. "You ought to know better than to let your curiosity get the better of you."

She rounded a bend and turned back, catching her breath for a moment, and gave a little smile. "But oh, he's as beautiful as she says he is. Wait until I tell Iya."

Her mood improved, she slowed down and continued her walk in the general direction of the river. But as she moved around a rock in the middle of the path she was on, her eyes grew wide and she got a worried look as she thought of something else. "What if he goes and complains to Chichi-ue? What if Ojiisan tries to tell him off?" She covered her head with her hands. "Nobody in my family could stand up to him. And what about Nakao-kun? Iya-chan, why did you have to tease her?"

She heard a stick break behind her, and she almost jumped.

"What about Nakao?" a voice demanded. It was not the voice of Sesshoumaru, but one she knew much better.

She whirled around to see a frowning Sukeo walking towards her, and rolled her eyes and crossed her arms. "Oh, Sukeo-kun! What are you doing out here?"

"I could ask the same thing about you, Tazu-chan," he said, stopping in front of her. "Does your otousan know you're running around in the woods? What about my brother?"

"No . . . " Tazu said, moving from frightened to irritated. "But my okaasan does. It was just a stupid joke Iya-chan made. I was just thinking out loud about it."

"Iya is too stupid. And your okaasan, maybe she's not very smart either if she lets you go out in the woods like this. Girls shouldn't be running around the woods alone." Looking like a younger version of Seiji, he gave her a look that showed both his disbelief and his disapproval. "Are you sure you didn't sneak off from your chores?"

Tazu narrowed her eyebrows and glared back in return. "You're not my oniisan. And Iya-chan isn't stupid. She's smarter than you, maybe. And my parents aren't like your parents, Sukeo-kun. Don't be talking about things like that. I'm going to the river."

"And what do you mean by that?" the boy asked. "My parents aren't like your parents? At least my otousan knows better than to let girls run wild. "

"Your otousan is a big meanie!" Tazu said, turning to go. "He likes to tell everybody what to do."

This caught him off guard. He scratched the back of his neck for a moment. "Damn flies," he said, then stood up straight again, and regained his intimidating posture. "He does that because he knows. He's more than just a stupid dirt digger. He's been in the messenger corps for the daimyo at Odawara. He's been in battle. He knows more."

Tazu, not to be dissuaded, shook her head. "He thinks he knows more. I hear what my grandparents say about it, and they know more than you. And he's not nice. I've seen what he's done to your little brother."

"What did you say?" Sukeo said, giving her what ought to have been a frightening look. He clenched his right hand.

"You heard me." Tazu returned glare for glare. "He beats up your brother. And for no good reason." Crossing her arms, she turned around and started to walk away.

"Why you -" Sukeo said, grabbing her shoulder before she moved more than a step or two. "Don't you talk about Chichi-ue like that."

"Why not, if it's the truth?" Tazu replied. She struggled to pull away, but his grip was tight. "Let go! You're not my oniisan. I told you that. So what do you think you're going to do? Treat me like your otousan treats your okaasan?"

"Shut up, ugly!" He yanked her off her feet. Tazu stumbled and fell with a shriek. "You don't talk about my otousan like that. Nobody can talk about my family like that." Sukeo made a fist and raised his arm. "Chichi-ue knows why -"

His words were cut off as a hand grabbed his own.

Sukeo, shocked, almost fell himself, but turned around to see Miroku looking at him with a stern face, with the kitsune kit on his shoulders, baring teeth. His eyes widened. "Where'd you come from?"

The monk ignored the question. "Your otousan is a troubled man, Sukeo-kun. Everyone knows he oversteps sometimes. They say it was because of what happened when he was in the messenger corps." Miroku said, holding Sukeo's wrist in an iron grip. "Maybe that's not something to brag about. You do not want to follow in his footsteps on that. Trust me."

"Stupid meanie," the kitsune said, but instead of attacking, Shippou hopped down from Miroku's shoulder and ran over to the girl. He patted her arm. "Are you all right?"

Tazu nodded, and swallowed. "He . . . he . . . " she said pointing at Sukeo.

"Shut up, ugly!" Sukeo tried to pull away from Miroku, but the monk refused to be shaken. "Did you hear what she said about my otousan?" He kicked dirt in the girl's direction. "She shouldn't talk about him that way!"

"So you were going to prove you're a man and hit her?" the monk asked. "Do you think that proves anything?"

"I...I..." Sukeo swallowed, trying to get his tongue to work. "Nobody talks about my family like that. She insulted us. I have the right."

"You have the right to your family's honor. You do not have the right to strike my daughter."

All eyes turned in the direction of the voice to find an angry Eiji and a shocked-looking Maeme, carrying a hoe on her shoulder standing in front of them. "If she has done something that is worth punishing, you only have the right to come to me or the elders."

"Otou!" Tazu said, her eyes suddenly tearing up. "He pushed me down! He was going to hit me!"

Eiji crossed his arms and took a wide stance. He gave his daughter a look that was sympathetic, but let her know he was going to get to the bottom of things. "We will see what happened, daughter." He glanced back up at the boy. "And find out if there were one or two wrongs done here."

"But . . . " Tazu said, then seeing her father's eyes, fell silent.

"I heard everything," Shippou said, looking up at her father. "You didn't say anything that wasn't true."

Maeme went to the young girl's side and knelt down. "Please accept my apologies for my son's rudeness."

"Okaa," Sukeo said, tugging at Miroku's hold. The monk pulled back.

Maeme, ignoring her son, brushed a lock of hair out of the girl's face. "Are you all right?"

Tazu nodded.

The kitsune, standing next to Tazu, glared at the youth. "Big meanie."

Sukeo kicked dust in Shippou's direction. "Youkai shouldn't even be here. Go! My otousan knows what to do with the likes of you."

The woman, helping the girl to her feet, glared at her son."Sukeo-kun, what are you doing? Don't make things worse. I thought you were supposed to help me today, not cause our family problems. If your otousan . . . "

Sukeo stood there defiantly. "Chichi-ue would back me up. He wouldn't take other people's sides."

"If he did that," Eiji said, resting a hand on the boy's shoulder, "he would be wrong, boy."

"You pushed me!" Tazu said, glaring at the youth as she dusted off her backside. "And you were going to hit me!"

Sukeo shook off Eiji's hand. "And you said things about my otousan, ugly." He pulled toward her, but was unable to reach her. Miroku tightened his grip and yanked the boy closer to him. "I don't care what everybody else says," the boy said. "You deserve to be punished."

"That may be," the monk said. "But justice doesn't come from backing one's family right or wrong." He rested a hand on the youth's shoulder, turning Sukeo to face him. "It comes from doing the good. Hitting girls smaller than you are, even if they say things that displease you, is not usually in the category of good."

Sukeo, refusing to meet the monk's eyes, turned back around and looked at his mother, whose sad eyes were trying to signal something she didn't feel she could say. It was enough to affect the youth. He let go some of the readiness to jump, staring down at his feet, and took a deep breath. "Whatever." His voice was very soft, but it was loud enough for Miroku to hear.

The monk looked up at Eiji, who shrugged. Looking carefully once again at the boy, he sucked his bottom lip and made a decision. "If I let you go, will you behave? Don't shame your mother."

The youth nodded. Miroku let him go, and for a moment, Sukeo just stood there, rubbing his wrist against his leg.

Shippou jumped back on Miroku's shoulder, and was reaching into his vest. "Don't do it, Shippou-kun," Miroku said, picking him up and dropping him to the ground. "Now is not the time. We have other things to do."

"Master Fox," Eiji said, "If you need something to do, why don't you walk my daughter home?"

"You mean you trust him?" Sukeo asked. His voice was sharp, almost outraged. "A kitsune?"

Eiji gave youth a light tap to his head. "Right now I trust him a lot more than you when it comes to my daughter's safety."

"I have to go home?" Tazu said, frowning. "But Haha-ue . . . " A look from her father was enough to quiet her.

"If nobody's home, don't go any further than your obaasan's house," the older man said. "I want to be able to find you when I get this figured out."

She hung her head down, and nodded.

"That's all right," Shippou said, tugging on her sleeve. "I can show you the latest trick I learned at my ojisan's."

That perked the girl up. She said her goodbyes and they began to walk back towards the village.

"And Shippou-kun," Miroku said.

The kit stopped and turned around.

"Don't blow anything up while you're doing it. Remember what happened when you tricked Kaede-sama the wrong way?"

Shippou swallowed, and rubbed his back side. "I won't forget."

Together, the young pair walked off. The last thing the rest of them heard was Shippou saying, "If you had only listened to me, none of this would have happened."

"No doubt there's a story behind that one," Eiji said.

"And a story behind why you two are here in the woods," the monk said.

Maeme sighed, then dropped her head. "We were looking for Sukeo."

That surprised the boy. "Okaa?"

"Did you catch a fish?" she asked.

He lifted his left arm. There, attached on a stringer were two nice fish, enough to feed several people.

"You had been holding them all this time?" Eiji said. He scratched his head in surprise.

Sukeo nodded. "I told Haha-ue I would get enough for us to eat. I keep my word."

"This," Miroku said, nodding approvingly, "is more how a man should act." He patted the boy on the shoulder, which surprised the youth.

"But why did you come looking for me?" Sukeo asked. "I told you I would come back."

"It's because of me," Eiji said. "I brought her some bad news."

Maeme nodded. "We have to go to Kaede's house. Your brother's there. She's taking care of him."

"He got hurt?" the boy asked. Immediately his body tensed, wary more than worried.

"Your otousan," Eiji said. His voice was soft and matter-of-fact, not passing judgment. "He's been drinking."

The boy's face grew hard, knowing just what the village guard meant. He nodded once, and stood up straight. "Let's go then. Okaa, stay close to me."

Maeme picked up her hoe and moved next to her son.

"The back way?" Miroku suggested, tapping his staff on the ground.

"Not a bad idea," Eiji said, nodding. "The fewer people we meet, the better."

Sukeo gave his mother's hand a squeeze, and then together, the group headed back to Kaede's.


	190. Chapter 190

_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 190**

Seiji, sitting in a corner of his house, picked up the sake jug, took a drink and wiped his face with his sleeve. "Where's Tameo?" he said. "His stupid cousin. What does that miko think she is, keeping me from my boy like that?" His words slurred, an effect from the sake he had been drinking, but it had done nothing to remove the anger from his eyes. "Stupid bitch. Elders need to tell her a thing or two."

The drunken man tipped the jug back again. "She acts just like Mitsutada did. Thought he was special just because they made him a gashira." He stretched out his legs, then arched them up at the knees. "Got all high and mighty, but he was a farmer's son too, no better than me. I taught him about cutting a man's face. That last battle . . . " He gave a dark, satisfied chuckle. "Didn't see that coming, did you, Mitsutada? Hope you like hell."

He tried to take another drink, but only a trickle came out of the jug, and he threw it across the room. It hit against the wall, making a dent in the wood, but surprisingly didn't break. Instead, it rolled in a half circle before coming to rest.

"It's past lunch time," Seiji said, letting his head loll to one side. He stared at the fire pit. There were no flames coming from it, no pot simmering from the chain, nothing sitting on the tripod. He rubbed his midsection, then scratched under his arm."Damn it, woman. Get in here and put some food in my belly!" His voice was loud and threatening, but there was no answer in the small and empty house. He got to his feet, slowly and unsteadily. "Where is that worthless piece of ugly? I'm hungry."

He lurched towards the front door. "Woman, where are you?" he yelled as he lifted the door mat. A chicken, startled by his noise, squawked and ran behind the house. He stumbled out, past the garden where he had grabbed Nakao, and onto the main street. "Maeme! Get your butt home," swaying towards the center of town. "You're going to regret hiding from me, woman."

A small gang of boys began to trail behind him at what they thought was a safe distance.

One woman, hearing the noise, stepped out of her house. Seeing the drunken man and spotting her son, she rushed over to grab her boy. "You know better! What did I tell you about Seiji-sama when he's like this?" She waved her arm at the rest of them. "Go home!"

The boys scattered for a moment, but soon as she brought her son inside, they regrouped.

Seiji leaned against one of the legs of the watch tower, closing his eyes for a moment as he tried to get his bearings in his drunken haze. "Stupid woman," he muttered. "Why do you make me do this to you?" He rested his forehead against the wood. "Maeme!" he yelled.

The group of boys began to laugh, and a few adults stepped out as well. Koume, her hands stained brownish with dye, walked down to the street, followed by her husband, Fumio, who was wearing his blacksmithing apron and holding a hammer. Koume sighed.

"At least he's not in our family," Fumio said. "I'd hate to have to brain another fool."

"Maybe I should go back, to make sure Nahoi doesn't see this," Koume said, crossing her arms. "I know Kimi-chan's with her, but last time Seiji went on a tear she had nightmares for weeks. I think he reminds her . . . "

"Stupid ass," Fumio said. His grip tightened on his hammer. "Do what you think you ought to."

She nodded but didn't move. Soon she was joined by Mariko, coming back from the river with a basket of wet clothes.

"Again?" the younger woman said, putting her basket down as she watched.

"Again." Koume sighed. "He's starting to do this more and more. The elders need to do something."

One of the boys started singing.

"How many buckets,  
>how many buckets of sake<br>how many buckets of sake  
>did it take to get him drunk?"<p>

"Hey, Chikayo, shut up or go home," Fumio said. "You're going to get hurt."

The boy looked at him, and frowned, shaking his head. "I'm not afraid."

Jun, pushing a cart with chopped straw for the fields, stopped next to them. "It's not about fear, you know."

"Now what happened this time?" he asked.

Fumio shrugged. "Sounds like his woman wasn't home."

"I don't blame her," Jun said. "I'd be far away from home if I had to put up with the likes of him."

Chikayo, undaunted by what the grownups were saying, started the next verse.

"How many buckets,  
>how many buckets of sake<br>how many buckets of sake  
>did it take to get him to smell like that?"<p>

One of the other boys held his nose and waved his hand. "Smells like you when you've been cleaning out the cow shed, Chikayo."

The laughter grew louder. Suddenly Seiji lifted his head and looked at the group of boys, as if he just realized they were singing about him.

Fumio sighed, and looked at Jun. "Ready to do a rescue?"

The farmer nodded.

"How many buckets,  
>how many buckets of water<br>how many buckets of water  
>will it take to make him sober?<p>

"How many buckets,  
>how many buckets are in the sea?<br>how many buckets are in the sea?  
>It'll take that many."<p>

There was a roar of laughter from the boys. Seiji, though, growled and bent down to pick up a rock. The group seeing this, began to scatter, until the intoxicated man fell forward and landed flat on his stomach.

"Maybe we won't have to do a thing," Jun said.

"Doubt it," Fumio said. "Someone's got to get him home. And warn off his woman until he gets his head back."

Koume looked around. "I wonder where she got off to?"

"Maeme!" the prostrate Seiji yelled. "I want my lunch. You stupid piece of shit. This is all your fault."

The laughter died off. As he lay there, Someone prodded him with a stick. "You're a worthless excuse of man, Seiji," said an old female voice. "I'm glad my ojiisan's not here to see how you turned out. He'd never outlive the shame."

Seiji peered up into the face of Hisako. The old woman scowled at him. "You old hag," he managed to say as he lunged for her walking stick.

He missed, and instead, she smacked him on the side of the head with it. "Don't call me names." She smacked him again on the other side of the head before he could react. "I'm not the one laying drunk and stupid in the middle of the road. I'm not the one whose wife is at Kaede's taking care of a son his father beat."

She smacked him once on the top of the head. "Go home, fool, before Ojiisan's ghost decides to return and do something about what a shame you are himself."

And turning, the old woman walked off.

The adults watched as the old woman marched off towards her home.

"She's got guts," Jun said. "You have to give her that."

While they watched, Seiji slowly got to his feet.

"How many buckets," Chikayo began to sing, but the drunken man wasn't paying any attention.

"I know where you are, Maeme!" the drunk roared. "I'm coming to get you."

"I think we better follow," Jun said. "Keep your hammer ready."

"I will," said the blacksmith.

InuYasha and Kagome took their time coming back from the meadow.

"You're not mad at me, are you?" the hanyou asked as they neared the village.

"What makes you ask that?" she said, shifting her gathering basket from one hip to the other.

"It's just that you got me to put you down soon as we got close enough for you to walk," the hanyou said. "And you haven't said very much."

"I told you, my leg was starting to hurt," Kagome replied.

"I offered to rub it for you," InuYasha said, his ear flicking.

"I know," she said. She gave him a knowing smile. "I just thought maybe if I let you do that, there would be more that just rubbing my leg to follow, and I really want to have time to check with Kaede-obaasan."

He gave her a crooked grin. "You think you know me, huh?"

Her eyes had a twinkle, and she gave him a smirk worthy of any that he had given her. "Let's just say I discovered you like to touch."

InuYasha stopped walking and pulled the young miko close to him. "You're right," he said. "I do. And I'll never get enough." He kissed her lightly on the forehead. "So what were you thinking about?"

They began walking again, passing the first fields and houses of the village. "Oh, being married," she said. "I was thinking about Shinjiro and Erime getting married tomorrow."

"Do we really have to go?" InuYasha asked.

"I think so," Kagome said. "There will be a lot to eat, and pickles."

"Everybody thinks I'll do anything for pickles," the hanyou said, crossing his arms and stuffing his hands in his sleeves. "I just like them, that's all. I like how they feel in my mouth."

"I know," she said, reserving any opinion about what her husband might be willing to do for pickles. "But it's something that we were invited. It's usually just family that go to weddings. I guess that means Daitaro and Chime have decided we belong to them."

"As often as he comes around, the old man acts like he does," InuYasha said, nodding. "I guess that's a good thing."

Kagome nodded. "I know you didn't have a lot of good stuff with your family after . . . well, after you were alone." She looked up at him to see how he would react, but he merely nodded. "But it's good to have family. Look at my family - Mama, Ojiisan, Souta . . . " Her voice drifted off, and suddenly her cheerful look turned inward, a bit sad. Shaking her head, she put her smile back on. "Chime-ojiisan reminds me of my aunt. It's nice to have people who want us to be family."

"Yeah," the hanyou said. "I guess. Sure better than how my family behaves."

They passed by Tsuneo's house and waved at Amaya who was working in her garden, and then past Toshiro's when suddenly InuYasha stopped, his ears pointing sharply ahead and his body stiffening. Kagome could hear faint voices coming from the direction of Kaede's house.

"What is it?" she asked, resting her hand on InuYasha's arm.

"Trouble," he said, his face hardening. "Someone's yelling at Kaede. Let's go." He grabbed his wife, threw her on his back and hurried towards the noise.

There was a small crowd gathered in front of the old miko's house. Four men - Eiji, Jun, Kinjiro and Fumio were standing in front of the old miko's front door. Miroku stood nearby, as did about half a dozen of the village women. In the center of this knot was Seiji.

"Damn you all," Seiji said, lurching towards the door. "I know my rights. She's my wife. Let me go in."

InuYasha let Kagome slip off his back, and together they pushed into the crowd.

"What happened?" Kagome asked Mariko.

"He's drunk, and his wife is inside with Kaede," the woman told him. "He beat up his son earlier today. Not the first time she's hidden out with Kaede until he sobered up."

"Yeah," InuYasha said, sliding in next to the miko. "He does this every few weeks. Sometimes, Maeme can get away. Sometimes . . . "

"He's a troubled man," Miroku said, moving next to the young couple.

"Brutal. He's been brutal since he was a boy," Koume said, looking up at the monk. It was obvious she did not share his compassion about the drunken man. "He's no better than . . . well, the one who hit my daughter." She spit. "Why we put up with him . . . "

"Shut up," Seiji said, turning around to face the group. "Get out of here. It's not your business."

"It is our business," Susumu said, joining the crowd and standing next to InuYasha. "The peace of the village is definitely my business. Go home, Seiji, and sleep it off."

Seiji's eyes glared. "Go get screwed, you . . . you . . . you coward," he said, lurching towards the village guard. "Go hide behind your pet youkai, why don't you?"

"I'm not hiding behind anybody," Susumu said, standing up as tall as he could. "But you need to go home."

"Me?" Seiji said. "How can I go home when my woman and children are holed up in Kaede's house?"

"They'll come home when you're sober," Eiji said. His voice was tight, controlled anger, and his glare matched it. "You already took your anger out on one son. Leave the rest of them alone."

"Me?" the drunken man said again. "You all go home. What are you all here to watch? Get back to your own places."

He looked the crowd over, turning slowly. "Get out of here!" He noticed InuYasha. "Especially you, you freak."

InuYasha frowned harder, and rested his hand on his sword hilt.

Seiji stepped forward. "And you . . . you . . . pretend miko. Think you can come here and act so high and mighty."

"Seiji-sama," Kagome said. "I -"

InuYasha threw his arm in front of her, cutting off her words. "Don't talk to this slime. He's not worth the air you're breathing."

"What are you going to do, Youkai? I can't have my woman. Why should you have yours?" Suddenly, he lunged forward, giving Kagome a shove on her shoulder. She fell backwards, landing with a loud oomph.

"Here comes trouble," Susumu whispered.

The rest of the crowd grew silent. The only sound was Seiji's laughter. "You going to eat me, monster? Eat me, already."

With a quick glance to assure himself of her safety, InuYasha turned back to the drunk. "I'm not going to eat you, you bastard," InuYasha said, "But you can eat this." He pulled back his arm, and with a blindly fast release, landed a solid punch on Seiji's jaw.

The man fell backwards and crumpled in a heap. InuYasha turned around to help his wife back to her feet.

"Is he dead?" Koume asked.

Eiji, who had hurried to the downed man's side, shook his head no. "We should be so lucky."

_A/N 1) a gashira is a low-ranking officer in Japanese foot soldier units at this time._

_2) I love to respond to each and every comment you're willing to send me, but if you're not signed in, I cannot do that. I'm not sure if it was from some changes that they made on the FF servers recently or not, but I got a lot more anonymous comments this time than usual. If you didn't get a reply to your comment today, it's because they had you signed off._


	191. Chapter 191

1_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 191**

As the group of people in front of Kaede's house looked down at the unconscious form of Seiji, Fumio clapped InuYasha on the shoulder. "I've been waiting to see someone to that to Seiji for a long time." He grinned at the hanyou. "That made this irritating day worth living through. And in one blow. Impressive."

InuYasha looked at the blacksmith with a surprised, bemused look, while a ripple of laughter went through the gathered crowd. There were murmurs of approval that went through the group. The hanyou's ears followed the voices, and it began to dawn on him how much pent-up anger there had been against the drunken man.

"Now you know why I want him in the village guard," Susumu said.

"He'll be a handy one," Fumio said, nodding.

Other villagers, including the boys who had been trailing Seiji, joined them. One of them looked up at the hanyou, amazement in his eye.

"You took Seiji-sama down in one hit?" the boy said, hero-worship clearly in his voice. "I've seen him wrestle five grownups before they got him down when he's been like that."

"My friend is very capable that way," Miroku said, tapping his cane once. Another boy came to stand next to Chikayo. "He also knows what to do to young men who irritate others by singing rude songs."

Chikayo swallowed, remembering trailing the monk earlier in the morning. His friend nudged him.

"Don't remind me, Chikayo-kun," Susumu said. "That was a painful day. But Fumio's right." Susumu nodded at the hanyou. "You did a good thing." He looked at Eiji. "I think we ought to take him to the lockup. He's going to be ready to jump everybody when he comes to. I don't want to be around if he's not locked up then, and Chichi-ue has too much for me to do today. Not a good day for me to play in the woods."

"You should just go to work on one of Chichi-ue's fields," Kinjiro said, joining the crowd. "He'd never think to look for you there."

There was a snicker of laughter from the crowd. Susumu gave his brother a cocky grin, and laughed with them.

Seiji shifted but didn't reach consciousness. Eiji nodded. "The lockup would be good. You have some rope? I don't want to be carrying him and have him come to on the way there."

"Actually I do," Susumu said, pulling a length of it out of a bag he had strapped to his side. He moved towards Eiji. "Wasn't sure what we'd have to do with that yamabushi. Houshi-sama," he said nodding towards the monk, "smoothed that way for us, but I don't like going in unprepared."

"A wise man," Miroku said. "Better when you can smooth the way, but always be ready for the worst."

"Keh," InuYasha replied, sticking his hands back into his sleeves.

While the men chattered, Mariko helped Kagome to her feet, who was still sitting on the ground, her gathering basket turned upside down and surrounded by a scattering of the herbs she had collected earlier in the day. The baby strapped to her back gurgled at the young miko, taking everything in with wide eyes. "Are you all right?" Mariko asked as Kagome took her hand.

"I...I think so," the young miko said, dusting off her backside, and straightening her carry cloth, which had gotten twisted when she fell. "I wasn't expecting that." She bent over to pick up her basket and looked with dismay at its scattered contents. "My whole afternoon's work!"

A girl of about six, whose mother had joined the crowd, picked up a bunch of wild mustard and handed it to her. "Here, Miko-sama!"

"Thank you very much," Kagome replied, taking the bunch and putting it in her basket. The girl pleased, giggled and ran back to her mother's side. Mariko grabbed another bunch and handed it to the miko.

"I think the rest is too scattered," she said.

Kagome nodded. "At least the basket didn't break." She looked down at the limp form Eiji was huddling over. A line of spittle dribbled down from the corner of his mouth, and the impact point where InuYasha hit him was starting to bruise. "Is...is Seiji-sama always like this?"

"Always," Koume replied, crossing her arms. Her brows knit together in solid disapproval. "I would stay out of his way if I were you. He's more trouble than he's worth."

"I don't know if always is the right word," Fumio said, giving his wife a small frown which she ignored. "He's not usually this willing to push other men's wives around."

"Bah." Koume patted Kagome's shoulder. "Come by the house for tea," she told the young miko. "I will tell you stories. Sometimes the men," she said, shooting her husband a glance, "don't know all the truth."

"Because you hide things," Fumio said, scratching the back of his head.

"No, we don't," Koume said.

"Oh yes, you do," he replied. "Remember the time when Toshiro's youngest began mooning over Kimi?"

"That's because I knew he'd outgrow it," the older woman said. "And I was right."

"That's besides the point," Fumio said, crossing his arms. "You didn't tell me until he was almost useless to his father. I wonder if you do that to drive us crazy or if you're afraid we'd do something."

Mariko, watching the banter of the older couple, laughed. "Maybe both."

Susumu shook his head. "You sound like Emi, Mariko-chan. But really, Kagome-chan, Seiji's gruff on his best days." Susumu tied Seiji's hands together with a firm knot. "Haha-ue says he always looks like he's eaten something that makes his gut hurt. And that's on his good days. Most other days you can see the anger, just below the surface, barely in control. Koume-sama's right. It pays to stay out of his way if you're going to tell him no. But when he's been drinking, he . . . well, you saw what he did today."

"What he does too often," Eiji said. He looked like he was about to spit, but then changed his mind. "Sometimes, we only know about it later, when we see Maeme or one of the boys with a new bruise." Nakao's dog wandered into the group, saw the unconscious man, and went to him, giving him a small lick. Seiji stirred a little. Eiji shooed the animal away. "Get out of here, dog. I don't know why you act like that. He's kicked you often enough. And we don't want him to wake up yet."

The dog whined, but contented himself with sitting near the front door of the miko's house. One of the boys walked over and began to pet it.

"You know how dogs are," Susumu said, cutting the length of rope with a knife. "They don't always know when to get away from the person hurting them." He moved towards the man's feet. "Too much loyalty."

InuYasha's ear flicked, and he shifted a little. Kagome, seeing this, and wondering if he was thinking about his past, rested her hand lightly on his arm. He gave her a quick look and a smile, then glared down at the drunk man while Susumu tied Seiji's feet together.

"Feh," InuYasha said, glaring at the unconscious man. "Seiji's lucky he didn't do anything more than shove you. And that I could smell the sake stink on him. Otherwise . . . "

She gave him a tight, but understanding smile. "But I'm all right," the miko said. "I think I stumbled more than he pushed me down."

"You're too nice, Kagome-chan," Koume said, shaking her head. "Don't make excuses for him. He's earned whatever karma throws his way." She looked up at InuYasha. "If you ask me, it'd been better if you had done more than knock him out." She looked towards Kaede's house. "You can take him on without any worries. But other people . . . "

The door to the house lifted, and the old miko, followed by an anxious-looking Sukeo, stepped out.

"Yes, InuYasha is very capable," Kaede said. She looked down on the limp form the men were binding. "And it was nice of him to put an end to all that noise. But still, are you finding more work for me to do? I didn't expect to need to treat the whole family. How hurt is he?"

"What are you doing to my Otousan?" Sukeo said, his face switching between anger and worry and relief and back again, as if he were not sure how to react. He made a step towards the men, then, as if thinking better of it to stay next to the miko.

"He broke the peace today, son," Susumu said. "Being drunk in the middle of the day and causing a big scene. We're going to take him to the lockup until he sobers up." He grabbed the man's ankles and nodded to Eiji, who slipped his hands under the man's shoulder. He looked up at the old miko. "I don't think we'll need you, Obaasan. InuYasha hit him in the jaw, one of those punches that knock people out. He's not going to feel good when he comes to, but I don't think he's really hurt. It was a good punch, too. Caught him totally off guard."

Together, the two men stood up, bringing Seiji up with them.

"Damn, he weighs more than he's worth," Eiji said adjusting his hold to keep a good grip on the man. "I'd rather carry stone than this dead weight."

"I could – " InuYasha began.

"Not today, cousin," Susumu said. "We don't need you. Stay with Kagome-chan. Now when it's your turn on the watch . . . this is what we get paid for." They began to walk towards Tameo's house.

"What's going to happen next?" Sukeo said. Maeme cautiously stepped out of the building, and went to stand next to her son.

The village guard stopped and looked at the youth. "He'll sleep it off," Susumu said. "After he calls me every evil word he can think of, and he calms down, we'll let him go, but I doubt it will be before noon tomorrow. And then it'll be up to the elders."

"Up to the elders?" Maeme said, surprised. "Why this time?"

"He shoved the young miko-sama," Fumio replied. "Plenty of us saw it. That at least is one reason."

"But . . . but . . . " Kagome said.

"Feh," InuYasha said. "Tell your father not to make a big deal about it on my account. I want the least to do with that piece of . . . " He looked up and saw Maeme and Sukeo looking at him and sighed. "Just tell Tameo to keep him away from me and mine. I won't promise to hold back if he comes looking for Kagome again."

Susumu nodded."I'll do what I have to," he said, shifting the man's weight. "But I'll tell him you said that. Come on, Eiji. Let's get this heavy stone where it belongs."

"About time," Eiji said. "My arm's not going to last forever." The two men walked off.

Kaede looked at Maeme. "I am sorry you had to see that, child."

Maeme seemed to shrink inside of herself. "I...I...you . . . " Her voice, soft as it was, trailed off into a whisper.

"It's safe to go home now, Okaasan," Sukeo said, resting his hand on his mother's shoulder. Nakao's dog, leaving the village boy who was keeping him company, escaped to come stand by Sukeo and nuzzled the boy's ankle. Sukeo looked down to see the dog looking up at him hopefully. "Otousan . . . he'll be better in the morning. You know it. We should go."

She nodded. "Let's go get your brother." The two of them disappeared back into the house.

The crowd began to drift away. Miroku watched the boys walk off and turned to InuYasha.

"I think," the monk said, "that I have had far too interesting of a day. I shall go home, talk with my lovely wife, play with my children, and throw ofuda on anybody who disturbs me before tomorrow." He tapped his staff. "Or maybe something even worse." He turned to walk off.

"Tell Sango I'll talk with her tomorrow," Kagome said. "And she can tell me all about it."

Miroku, not turning, lifted his hand and waved his fingers to let her know he had heard.

He turned to leave.

"He must really be tired," Kagome said, looking at him, then looking up at her husband.

"I guess," the hanyou replied. "Sometimes, even the bouzu is too tired to gossip."


	192. Chapter 192

1_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 192**

As the small crowd stood outside of Kaede's house, not quite ready to leave, Maeme stepped out of the little building, the doormat held open for by her eldest son. Seeing the gathered people, some ready to mock, some looking at her with sympathy, she took a deep breath, and her face smoothed into an unreadable mask, with a small, obviously false smile plastered on it, the type of smile an underling gives to a superior to show deference. But there was trepidation leaking from her eyes.

Nakao followed in his mother's wake, and then Sukeo, who dropped the door mat and let it rattle behind him. Nakao's dog bounded over to the boy, who knelt down and wrapped his arm around the animal, getting a doggie kiss for his trouble and happy greeting whines. He gave the animal a big hug in return.

"I guess we know who in that family's the dumb animal," a young voice said. The boy yelped when one of his friends shoved him.

"Dog's got more sense than you, too, Chikayo," Jun, Tameo's farm worker, said, watching. There was a titter of laughter.

"Not funny," Fumio said. The smith's large arm muscles moved as he tapped the head of his hammer in one hand. The laughter stilled, and Chikayo decided it was time to leave. "He's going to have one serious black eye," the smith said.

"The elders need to do something," Koume whispered. "He's getting worse."

"Man's got a right to discipline his own family," Fumio said. "You know that's what they'll say. That's what happened the last time he pulled this."

Kagome turned to look at the smith, frowning. "Not a very good law if they let this type of thing happen."

"A lot of laws are like that," Jun, scratching under his chin. "People who get hurt by them aren't usually the people who make'em."

"Keh," InuYasha said.

Maeme ignored what was going on with her son, and stepped past Kaede, the miko's one eye filled with sympathy and the knowledge she had done all she could do for the moment. Maeme's eyes dropped when seeing that glance. She bowed to the older woman.

"Thank you for caring for Nakao-chan," she said, her voice soft. "He's a good boy. I know he comes to you sometimes, but he needs to listen to his father, especially when . . . "

"I don't think anything that boy does could keep that poor excuse of a man from taking out his bad mood on him," Koume said. Her voice was soft, meant only to be heard by Kagome, but Maeme's quick glance told her she wasn't as quiet as she meant it to be. She spoke a little louder. "He's no different than . . . "

"Hush, woman," Fumio said, nudging his wife. "No use summoning angry ghosts."

Koume gave a curt nod, but her frown didn't go away.

Maeme closed her eyes for a moment, then, ignoring Koume's disapproval, headed towards InuYasha and Kagome. She stood in front of them a moment, looking at the ground in front of her.

"I..." she started, but her voice drifted off.

"It's over for now, Maeme-sama," Kagome said gently. "You are safe to go home."

Maeme looked up, her eyes widening as she gazed at the young miko's face, empty of anything but concern. She looked like she was going to say something, and the crowd hushed a moment, waiting to see what she was going to say. The troubled woman swallowed once, and the moment dragged on. InuYasha shifted, and looked like he was about to say something, when Mariko's son, strapped on his mother's back, decided that was the time to make one loud giggle.

"Hush, baby," Mariko said.

It was enough to break the tension.

Maeme briefly looked up at the hanyou and miko, and then she inhaled, sucking on her bottom lip as she wetted her mouth, then bowed deeply to the young miko. "Forgive the foolishness of my husband . . . If I had only come home earlier . . . I . . . " Her voice trailed off, and then she turned to go.

"Don't blame yourself, woman," Fumio said. "We all know what would have happened if you had gotten home earlier."

"Hush, husband," Koume said. "Come see me soon, Maeme-chan. I have some of that nice yellow dye you like. I'll save you some."

Maeme nodded, and turned to go. The gathered group of people parted to let her through.

Nakao, looking drowsy from some medicine Kaede had given him and the excitement, unwrapped himself from his dog, bowed at the old miko, then followed his mother without looking much at anybody. His dog walked close, and bumped against the boy's leg. Nakao rested his hand on the dog's head and together, they headed down the street.

Sukeo, though, was not as quick to follow his mother. He stopped in front of InuYasha and looked up at the hanyou, his brows knitted together, looking uncertain and puzzled. InuYasha returned the look, a questioning glance in his amber eyes, not sure of what to expect.

"You could have killed my otousan," Sukeo said, finally. "But you didn't." He was obviously nervous. As he waited to see what the hanyou would say, he chewed on his bottom lip, and crossed his arms, but stood his ground, but with a tension that showed his readiness to leap out of the way if necessary.

InuYasha took all of that in, and idly wondered if the boy held himself that way because of talking to him, or from practice at home. He shrugged. "What good would that have done to kill him?" His ear flicked, obviously uncomfortable with the question.

"But he insulted you," the boy said, surprised at the hanyou's answer. He tilted his head, looking at InuYasha. Then, as if realizing his audacity, he dropped his eyes. "Chichi-ue, he's not like that. I think he would have in your place."

A few people began to drift away as the hanyou and the boy talked, realizing the excitement was over. One of them was Jun.

"Shows you what kind of person he is," the farmer said. "I need to get back to work. Straw won't get into the ground if I just stand around and gossip." He headed back to where he had left his cart.

"What do you know, old man?" Sukeo said. "You don't even own your own land."

Jun looked over his shoulder. "More than you, evidently, boy. Learn why you have a chance." Grabbing his hand cart, he began to move down the road.

"Feh," the hanyou said, glancing briefly at the retreating figure of the farmer before turning back to look at the boy. "I'm not your old man." He stuffed his hands in his sleeves. "There's more to honor than cutting down stupid drunk fools."

Sukeo stiffened at how InuYasha described his father. "My otousan is not . . . "

"Oh yes he is," Kinjiro, Susumu's brother said, tapping the boy lightly on the side of his head. "It's a good thing people like InuYasha-sama know that, too. Otherwise, we'd all be in trouble, especially my brother." He shifted the hoe he had on his shoulder and looked up at the couple. "I'm heading up to check on your garden, cousin. If you get there before I leave, I'll point out the weed seedlings."

Kagome nodded, and Kinjiro turned to the boy standing next to him. "Come on, Aki-kun, one last trip up the hill. You need to learn this better yourself."

Aki nodded, but couldn't resist a smug glance at Sukeo, relieved that for once, he wasn't the youth at the center of attention, then followed the farmer. "I know some of it," he said.

"But not enough," Kinjiro said as he led the boy down the road.

Ignoring the taunt, Sukeo kept his focus on InuYasha, thinking hard. "But . . . " he said, still not satisfied. "But why? Nobody would have stopped you."

The hanyou sighed. "Maybe because I know what it's like growing up without a father. I didn't even have a piece of shit old man like yours." He shook his head and shrugged again, then looked at Kagome. "Let's go, woman. I'm ready to get out of here."

Two of the boys still hanging around decided this was their cue, and left, heading towards the paddy fields and the river beyond them.

"Not quite yet," Kagome said. "I need to ask Kaede something. That's why we're here, remember?" InuYasha looked at her and she could see his discomfort. "It won't take long." She rested her hand on his arm lightly. Turning to the boy, she said, "It's not that big of a thing. I wasn't hurt. It's like I said. I was surprised and stumbled."

"Wouldn't have mattered to Chichi-ue," Sukeo said, scuffing the dirt with his foot. He didn't meet Kagome's eyes. "Nothing Haha-ue cares about matters much to him."

"That's the truth," one of the villagers said. "He's a fool for it, too. No man does well not listening to his woman."

"Remember that the next time your woman pours water on your head when you've had too much sake," another man replied. There was a small wave of laughter.

InuYasha was not amused. "Feh," he said, his face a cold mask, almost the twin of his brother at that moment. "Not paying attention to your okaasan is part of his problem. Shows you what he knows."

Kaede stepped up. "InuYasha-sama today showed much more wisdom than some people give him credit for," she said. Someone in the remaining group coughed. "But what happened is more than an insult to his own honor. The village's honor is at stake as well. I am not sure what the elders will say." She looked at the boy as he struggled to put the pieces of what was going on in his head, then rested her hand on his shoulder. "Striking a miko, even if a man's drunk . . . that's insulting the honor the kami. They will have to make a decision about this."

"How . . . What . . . " Sukeo said. This had not dawned on him, and he swallowed. "What will they do to him?"

"But I'm all right," Kagome said, protesting. "Why should it matter?"

"It's not about what happened to you," Koume said. "It's about whether they decide that they are insulted or not."

"That's stupid," the younger miko said. She looked up at InuYasha.

"Maybe they'll decide I took care of it for them," he said. "I don't want to get dragged into it, either."

"I'm not sure what they will decide," Kaede said, pursing her lips, and giving her head a little shake. "Today, now, we won't worry about what might be. Go take care of your mother for me, boy."

He gave her a nod, looking rather defeated.

"There's been so much going on this week," Koume said. "I wonder if any of them will want to do anything. Be sure your mother comes and sees me after market day."

Sukeo nodded.

"And come get me if your brother gets a bad headache," Kaede said. "Koume-sama is right. It's been a hard few days for us all. I'll talk to Tameo-sama for you."

The boy bowed. "Thank you, Miko-sama." He turned and left.

"He's going to have a rough time ahead," Fumio said. "It's hard having a father like his. Do you think anything we do will make a difference?"

"Only the gods know," Kaede said. "And sometimes, I wonder if even they do."

"Keh," the hanyou replied.

Kagome, still unhappy, scowled. Kaede gave her a pat on the shoulder. "You, too. Who knows what tomorrow will bring? Go home and don't think about it."

"But Kaede-obasan, what about - " Kagome said, being interrupted by the older woman's raised hand.

"Home," Kaede said. "That's where I'm going." And turning around she went back into her house.


	193. Chapter 193

1_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 193**

For a moment, all eyes standing in front of the old miko's house looked at the door mat as it clattered down behind Kaede as she retreated into the privacy of her own home.

The last onlookers drifted off, except Koume and her husband, and InuYasha and Kagome.

"Well, I guess we know how Kaede feels," Koume said. "We can wait until later to find out what Tameo will say."

Fumio lifted his hammer to his shoulder. "I say, let's go home, woman."

"Home," InuYasha said, moving his eyes from the door of the miko's house to the face of the smith, who nodded. "That sounds like a good idea."

"But, " Kagome said, gripping her gathering basket and shifting it on her hip. "But . . . "

Two children hurried by, walking through the last of Kagome's scattered herbs. Her frown deepened.

"Heh," Fumio said, nodding. "Think of this. At least Seiji's not locked up in a building near your house. Tameo's going to have to listen to him once he sleeps it off. Maybe they'll be lucky and get a few hours of peace before he starts yelling."

"You think that's what's going to happen?" Kagome asked.

"Keh," the hanyou said. "That's what happened the last time he got too drunk and caused a scene. I was at Kaede-babaa's that night. Went into the forest to get away from all the noise."

Fumio looked up at him, surprised. "Your hearing's that good? I could hear him at my place, but I didn't think it'd get as far."

InuYasha shrugged.

Koume laughed gently at the look of consternation on the young miko's face. "Sometimes, Kagome-chan, going home is the best thing of all. If there's any emergency, I am sure Kaede-sama will send for you. Tomorrow is another day, and nothing that happened here will be dealt with before then. This one's been crazy enough for us all."

"The whole week," InuYasha muttered. Kagome looked up and him and his ears flattened at her frown, and he stuffed his hands back in his sleeves, torn between looking apologetic and ready to bolt. "You weren't supposed to hear that," he said.

Seeing his tension, she gently rested a hand on his arm and sighed. "You're right. Ever since you and Miroku went after the bakeneko." As she let out the tension, it reflected in the hanyou's stance as well. She nodded. "It has. I won't deny it."

"Well," the blacksmith said, resting his hammer on his shoulder, "I do suspect they'll be talking about this week for quite a while. More excitement than we've had in a long time. Probably since that time with the shouki bombs."

"Keh," the hanyou said. "You should have seen it from where we were."

"I think," Fumio replied, twisting his lips into a knowing smile, "that what happened here was plenty enough excitement for the village."

"And then we went back to normal, and you got to miss all the boring days in between," Koume said, patting the miko on the shoulder. "We have a lot more of them than exciting ones. I think I rather like it that way. It gives me more time to get ready for market days."

"Market days?" Kagome asked. "You send things to the market?"

Koume nodded. "Nahoi is a skilled weaver. One of the merchants there is always ready to take a new length or two of cloth. Fumio," she said, looking up at her husband, "is going to have a pack's worth this time."

Fumio laughed. "If I had any brains, I'd let you carry it, woman," he said.

"If you had any brains, you'd pack it on the ox, husband. Or at least use Eiji's hand cart. It's going to be a heavy load with the ironwork you're taking." Koume turned to Kagome. "This time, I'll be going. You ought to come with us. I need some new dyestuffs, and Fumio-chan, as good as a blacksmith as he is, really isn't up to choosing which lot of dye wood is better than the other."

Kagome took a swift look at InuYasha, who just shrugged. "Never saw a lot of women there," he said.

"There are more men, but we go, too," Koume said.

"I...I...I'll talk to Kaede-obasan," she said, not exactly sure how to answer.

The older woman nodded. "It's a bit of a walk. But don't worry about it being too rowdy. I'm sure that husband of yours will scare off all the riffraff."

InuYasha's ear twitched at that one. "Keh," he managed. "Let's go home. We'll talk about it later."

"Don't mind me, InuYasha-sama," Koume said. "I bark some, but I don't really bite. And you, Kagome-chan. Come see me tomorrow or the next day. I have some beautiful yarn dyed. We've been quite busy even through this crazy week." Koume turned to her husband. "Speaking of which, I better get back to the house. No telling how long Kimi can keep Nahoi at work. When she knows something's up, she gets so restless."

"Good idea," Fumio agreed, nodding and obviously restless and ready to go. "I will see you two later. When they get your lumber ready, come and talk to me, InuYasha. We'll see how many nails we'll need."

Together, the older couple walked off.

"Can we go home now?" InuYasha asked.

Kagome gave him an enigmatic grin, which made him a little uncomfortable and he shifted his feet.

"Why not?" she said. "That's what everybody's telling us to do." She rested a hand on his arm. "And to be honest, I think I'm still tired."

"Yeah," he said.

Together, they headed back to their house.

Back up on the hill, Daitaro walked up the main path. "This day needs to get over," he said, walking slowly, as if he were looking for something. He moved past the last fence rail marking his pastures, and headed for a stand of trees. "There you are," he said as he reached the trees.

"Here I am," his eldest son said, sitting with his back to a large sakura tree, just far enough away to be unseen from the cow pasture. "Were you looking for me?"

"I noticed you were missing," the old man said. As one of the cows in the pasture lowed, he sat his own body down with a small huff, neatly crossing his legs and wrapping his hand around one ankle. "Well son, how's your knee doing?"

"Stiff, a little," Shinjiro said, shrugging. "I've had worse."

"Your okaasan chase you out?" the old man asked, leaning back against the trunk of the same tree.

"Not exactly. First, she poured that nasty medicine she gives you for your aches down my throat, then told me to get away from the cooking pots," the younger man said. "After you left, they pulled out about everything we own outside, to get washed or aired out or oiled. I don't think there's any room for men in our house today."

"You noticed that, did you?" Daitaro said.

"I wonder what things are like at Takeshi's house," Shinjiro said, picking up a fallen leaf. It was an old leaf, from the previous fall, and crisp. He touched it with one finger, and it cracked.

"Not as much cooking, I suspect," the old man said, unfolding his legs. He rotated his left ankle, shaking out an ache. "But still, lots of fussing. All the girls in that family - lots of giggling, I suspect."

"Erime's sister, Tama - I think she's a bit jealous. Or maybe resentful," Shinjiro said, folding his arms. "I hope she's not causing any problems."

"Ah," Daitaro said, putting his jug in between his legs. "You noticed that, too. Well, her time is coming soon. I've heard talk about wedding arrangements for her, too. She doesn't mean bad. But she's probably nervous about giving up her sister." He uncorked his bottle. "It can be hard to let go sometimes."

"I know." Shinjiro reached out his hand for his father's jug. Daitaro looked at him, surprised, but he unslung the jug strap from around his head and passed it over to his son.

"What are you thinking about, son?" the old farmer asked, frowning. "Everything's settled, your okaasan has finished all the sewing, thank the heavens, and all the omens for tomorrow are good. Even Aki-kun has calmed down a bit and Okuro hasn't managed to get out of his pasture for two weeks. You should be happy."

Shinjiro took a small drink from his father's jug. "I am," he said, nodding, and trying to give his father a reassuring smile, but there was a hollowness to it. "Erime-chan is happy, Takeshi and his family are happy, Haha-ue is more than happy. I'm just . . . "

"What?" Daitaro asked, taking back the jug that Shinjiro handed back to him.

"I was thinking about last time, when you had to come out after me." He rubbed the tip of his nose, as if that would obscure his face from his father's glance. "I thought it would be easier, the second time, but . . . "

Daitaro smiled. "You were a really nervous bridegroom. Your okaasan was afraid you were going to run away."

The younger man snorted. "Thought about it. She was so beautiful, and I was all legs and arms and tripping over everything whenever I saw her." He looked down the road, his eyes getting lost in thought. "I felt like that most of our time together, even after we were married. She'd look at me and I'd turn into an awkward boy."

"That's how your okaasan made me feel, too," Daitaro admitted. "It took me a long time to get over it. I think it wasn't until you were born it finally dawned on me I was a grown man."

Shinjiro picked up another leaf. "I..." He swallowed.

"Ah, she was a lovely child, she was. I think Chime-chan scared her a little, there at the first."

Shinjiro nodded. "Her brother's wife didn't get along with her mother that well. I think she was afraid Haha-ue would be the same way."

"Some women . . . well, there's not a jealous bone in your okaasan's body." Daitaro pulled a drink out of his jug. "Erime-chan and she are as thick as thieves already. I don't think you're going to have any problem that way."

The younger man picked up another leaf and crumbled it, letting it scatter. "No, I know you're right there."

Daitaro took a deep breath, shifted and drew his legs back, crossing them neatly. "Things are different, this time, son. No bad omens. A most fortunate day. Your mother's hung the whole house with amulets and ofuda. And we have InuYasha and his woman coming. I don't think any bad spirit would dare linger around." Daitaro rubbed the back of his neck. "I kind of wish something would try though."

Shinjiro looked at his father, surprised. "What?"

"You've seen his sword at work, haven't you?" the old farmer asked.

His son nodded. "Pretty hard to miss when he lets it go."

"Think about the fireworks that would make!" Daitaro pulled another drink from his jug, and passed it to his son. "And all the trees it'd pull down. It'd make a big start on next winter's firewood."

Shinjiro laughed, hard, before taking a drink. "Otousan, only you . . . "

Daitaro, liking the joke picked up a stick, and held it up over his head. "Begone, you demon of melancholy!" With that, he crashed it to the ground.

Just as it landed, there was a really loud crash, and a bellow.

"Dammit," Daitaro said, jumping to his feet, and throwing the stick away. "That stupid bull must have gotten out after all. Momoe's cow must have come in season early. Run home and get your brother, Shinjiro. Damn me for mentioning his name."

Corking his bottle, he began to trot in the direction of the noise.

Shinjiro, slowly getting up and wincing a little as he stood, shook his head, and started for the house.


	194. Chapter 194

1_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 194**

"What's the market like?" Kagome asked her husband as they neared the turn of the road that would head up the hill.

"I don't know," InuYasha said. "Nothing like the places in your time. Bunch of booths. People who try to sell you junk."

Kagome laughed at that. "That never changes. And they get very good at making you think you need it."

"Feh," the hanyou said, frowning. "People ought to be smarter than that." They reached the path heading up the hill and began their ascent.

"Too many of the smart ones started selling things, I guess. I should put a list together," Kagome said. "I'm going to need some more white cloth, I think."

InuYasha shrugged. "Whatever. Might as well get what we need before the rainy season starts."

The young miko nodded. "I'll talk to Sango. If some of the women are going, maybe she'll want to go, too. She was talking about getting some more cloth for the girls' clothes." Tapping her finger on her chin, she focused in thought for a moment. "I wonder if Kaede-baachan needs anything."

The hanyou sighed and rolled his eyes. "Just don't ask everybody what you can get for them. I can only carry so much. Miroku usually buys a bundle, and I usually end up carrying his along with whatever I get." He looked at his wife. "It gets bigger when Sango comes along."

Kagome laughed at that. "I wonder why."

InuYasha gave her a cocky grin. "Miroku is just a..." His words drifted off as his ears pricked up and his nostrils flared. Suddenly grabbing Kagome, he leapt up into the branches of a nearby tree. As she shrieked in surprise at the move, he pulled her close to its trunk.

"InuYasha, what?" she asked, looking up the hanyou as she pulled a small branch, just barely leafing out, away from her face. "What's wrong? You could have warned me."

"There wasn't any time," he said, shifting her so she could see the path underneath them. "Look down there."

As she watched she saw a large black animal hurtling down the path, head lowered.

"What..."

"That's Okuro," InuYasha said. "That's Daitaro's bull. You wouldn't want to be in his way when he comes running down the hill."

The bull slowed down for a moment and lifted his head, scenting the air. He had a bright ring in his nose. Attached to the ring was a red and white rope that went around his head like a bridle. His horns were broad and looked quite sharp. For a moment, he shook his head, pawed the ground twice, then began running again.

"You're right," Kagome said. "I don't think I've ever been around an animal like that."

InuYasha nodded. "He's got a lot of power in those legs of his, and can hit hard. I wonder how he got out today? Daitaro usually makes sure his fencing is strong enough to keep him in check."

"Maybe something happened to one of the rails?" Kagome said, leaning back into InuYasha's arms.

The hanyou shrugged"I've seen him bust through some pretty stout rails before if there was something he really wanted on the other side." A mildly wicked look lit up his eyes. "Well, it is springtime. Somebody's cow must be ready for a bull," InuYasha said, giving Kagome a suggestive look. "The old guy, he gets impatient for the girls to come to him."

Kagome giggled."You mean, he's like Miroku used to be?" Kagome asked.

"Don't kid yourself about the Bouzu. He might be faithful to Sango, but his eye still lights up on all the pretty girls. Still, maybe Okuru is worse," the hanyou said. "That's his main job, you know, getting to be with all the cows. He expects it."

"Is that what happens?" Kagome asked, giving her husband a look just as suggestive. "The men, they come to expect it."

His lips turned into a cocky smirk. "Maybe as much as the women."

Kagome laughed and snuggled a bit closer to her husband as they watched the bull get a safe distance down the road.

"That should do it," InuYasha said, as he slipped his arm around Kagome's waist. Holding her tightly, he leapt from the tree and landed lightly on the ground below, barely making a twig crunch beneath his bare feet. He let his wife loose and started moving towards Daitaro's house. "Better go check in with the old man in case he doesn't know Okuru is out and about."

"You think it's safe just to let him go like that? Shouldn't you go and get him?" Kagome asked, looking up at her husband, a bit uncertain.

"Oh, if Daitaro-jiji's around, no doubt I'll get dragged into it," InuYasha said with a bit of regret in his voice. "It's a group effort to get that randy old bull back home. It usually takes three or four of use to get him to listen to reason. I can't knock him out; Daitaro would skin me if anything would happen to him. I wonder sometimes if he cares more about his bull than he does Shinjiro."

"I doubt that," Kagome said, following InuYasha down the path.

As they neared the front of Daitaro's house, a small group of women were working outside. There were boxes and chests and other furnishings scattered in the front, and a strong smell of scented oil permeated the air. Slightly to one side, a long clothesline had bedding draped across it, blue and green and red and brown coverlets dancing in the afternoon breeze as they aired out. Mixed into the smell of the oil were the smells of food, beans and rice, and something savory.

"It smells delicious," Kagome said. "I wonder what she's making."

"We have any fish left?" InuYasha said, scenting the air. "It's making me hungry."

Kagome, giggling looked over the work site. She recognized all of the women there: Chime, who was rubbing oil on the top of a low table, Ryota's wife Maki, who was washing dishes in a wash tub not far from the clothes line, and Mariko who was feeding her son as she sat on the verandah. A chicken wandered next to Chime. The woman lifted her cloth and chased the bird away.

While the chicken squawked about being disturbed, noises came from insided the house. "Where do you want this?" a voice said, in a complaining tone. "It's heavy. I'm glad it's the last piece." The voice sounded like Genjo, Daitaro's younger son.

Mariko turned towards the open door. "It wouldn't have been so heavy if you had unpacked it first," she said, returning her attention to her son. She gently brushed a wisp of hair out of the baby's face.

Chime sighed, clearly tired of what must have been one complaint too many. "Just bring it out here, son. Put it next to the spinning wheel. I want all the furniture out so I can give the floor a good cleaning."

"If I had unpacked it, then I'd have to make two trips," Genjo said to his wife as he walked out of the house with a large wooden chest. It was obviously an expensive piece for a farmhouse, with brass fittings and some delicate carving on the front. The wood looked old and well polished. "What did they send over for Erime? It feels like a box of rocks."

"What every bride gets to bring," Chime said. "Be glad her father sent it over and I didn't have to send you there to pick it up. It's filled with her linens and her clothes and her mirror and sewing things. You didn't think Takeshi-sama would send her here with nothing did you?"

Mariko laughed. "It's no less than my own parents sent when we were married." Her son, finished with his meal, let go, and she readjusted her top before putting the baby over her shoulder and patted his back. "Did you forget?"

"Was it this heavy?" Genjo asked as he walked over and put the chest down next to the others. "I don't remember your chest weighing this much."

"I suspect so," Mariko said, giving her husband a fond smile. "You complained about moving that one, too."

He sighed as he let the box down. Then, as he stood up straight and shook out the kinks in his back, he looked up in the direction of the road, and saw the hanyou and the miko walking up the path. "Ho," he said, waving. "What brings you this way, cousin? Better watch out, you two. Haha-ue's on a cleaning tear, and she'll be scrubbing you down, too, if you stand still too long."

There was a general giggle of laughter as the women turned to face the newcomers.

"I didn't expect to see you so soon, Kagome-chan," Mariko said. Just then, her son let out a loud burp. She moved the infant to her lap.

"I didn't either," Kagome said, bowing then smiling at the gathered women. "We were actually on our way home."

"But we saw Okuro barreling down the road," InuYasha said, tucking his hands in his sleeves. "I thought we'd stop and tell Daitaro."

"Kuso," Genjo said, shaking his head as he rubbed the back of his neck. "Moving all this furniture, and now I have to chase that stupid bull?"

Shinjiro walking down the path that lead from the barn to the house, stepped on the verandah to join the others. "Ah, so you've got the news already," he said, walking stiff-legged to lean against the doorway. "Otousan just started running after that black devil, and sent me to get you."

"He's heading towards the bottom of the hill," InuYasha said. "He almost ran us down."

"Glad you got out of the way in time, cousin. Chichi-ue thought he might be headed that way. Momoe's cow is about due to be in season," Shinjiro said, nodding. He moved off the verandah and began heading towards his brother.

"Not the only one anxious for his lady friend," Chime said, standing up and wiping her hands on a cloth. "How's your knee, son? Do you need more medicine?"

For some reason, this made Shinjiro's cheeks color. "Okaasan..."

Maki rinsed off a serving tray and began to wipe it with a dry cloth. "Your okaasan's only saying the truth," she said, chuckling.

"Maybe I'll just go back to the barn," Shinjiro said. "Back in the barn, the cows don't tease me as much."

"You teased me enough when I got married," Genjo said, grinning. "I guess people are making up for that. I ought to join in, but I guess I better go get the rope and prods instead." He started heading back to the area behind the house.

"Well, I knew we couldn't get through the warm weather without him getting out once or twice," Chime said. "Better today than tomorrow."

"Keh," InuYasha said. He looked thoughfully at Shinjiro and took a breath, turning towards the younger brother who was at the edge of the house. "You want some help, Genjo?"

The younger brother stopped, turned around and nodded. "It'd be good to have an extra pair of hands. Okaasan will take the prod after all of us if we let Shinjiro get hurt any more before tomorrow. And Okuro seems to like you."

"Good, good," Chime said. "You two go help Daitaro-chan. And Kagome and the rest of us can have a cup of tea and talk while we wait for you to get back."

The invitation surprised the young miko. "I don't want to be in the way," Kagome said. "You're so busy."

"Nonsense," Chime said. "We're almost ready to start putting things back. It'll be nice to take a break. She waved her hands at InuYasha and Genjo. "You two go. Don't let your otousan get too tired." Taking Kagome's hand she led her towards the verandah. "Have a seat and tell me all about Sayo-chan's new baby."

The men, knowing they were dismissed started towards the barn. Shinjiro began following them. "No, not you, son," Chime said.

"What?" Shinjiro said. "You won't let me eat anything while you're driving me crazy with your cooking. You won't let me go to the barn or go into the house. You fuss if I sit down and look bored. What do you want me to do?"

Chime pointed to the water bucket next to Maki's washtub. "You can fill up the water buckets. Hot baths for everybody tonight."

Rolling his eyes, the bridegroom began walking towards the bucket.


	195. Chapter 195

1_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 195**

_A/N It looks like I will be going out of town for a few days this week; next chapter may be late (posted Saturday) or not until next Tuesday (counting on our schedule)._

As opposed to all the action taking place at Daitaro's house, the atmosphere in Miroku's house was much calmer. Sango sat at her seat near the fire pit, working on a small bit of sewing. Naoya lay sleeping in his wicker bed. Yusuko, her hair bow askew, snuggled up tightly against her father's shoulder, and he shifted her weight until he felt he had a better hold. "The villagers, ashamed at how they were going to treat someone who was obviously a kami come to bless them, were truly ashamed. They headed down to the site where the soldiers were heading to cut down the ancient tree, and formed a circle around it, keeping the soldiers from cutting it down. The lady of the willow tree turned to the young farmer and said . . . "

Sango looked up from her sewing, and saw that her daughters were sound asleep. "It must be nap time," she said, standing up and walking over to where a sleeping Noriko was curled against her father's leg. "I don't think they're awake enough to hear what the lady of the willow tree said." She gave her husband a fond smile, then bent down and picked up Noriko. "Let me put the girls to bed."

The monk nodded. "I'll help." Standing up carefully so he wouldn't wake his sleeping daughter, he followed Sango to the sleeping room.

She carefully slid open the door to the small chamber, where her bedding was already laid out, the white floor cloth covered by a blue and white coverlet, and then laid Noriko down.

"I'm not surprised they're already asleep. They ought to be tired," Sango said. She stood up and stretched her back. "The girls played hard enough today. If they weren't running around playing chase, they were finding new things to get into. I'm surprised I got anything done." She moved to the side of the bed, letting Miroku have enough room to come in. " Getting woken up last night when Rin came over didn't help, either."

"Babies will come when they come," Miroku said softly, walking into the room. He put his small bundle down next to her sister.

"I know," Sango said, watching while the monk spread the coverlet over the two girls. "And it's not that I mind when Rin comes over when Kaede has midnight calls. But they were wound up. Rin has a good way with the girls, though. She was very helpful this morning when they turned into little wild women."

Chika, the cat, having woken up from her nap walked into the room and began rubbing her body against Sango's legs. "Mrrr," the cat said. It sounded like a question.

Sango bent down and picked the small animal up. "You don't want to stay in here, Chika-chan. I'm going to close the door."

The cat rubbed her head against the woman's chin, and mewed an agreement, leapt out of Sango's arms and walked back into the main room.

"She's got sense, that cat," Miroku said, as he smoothed a lock of hair out of Noriko's face.

"I guess it's all that's left of her being a bakeneko," Sango replied. "Kirara is as smart as anybody."

"I'm glad the girls get along with her. They must take after their mother." He looked at her and smiled. "Better you than me. They have your love of cats and a touch of wildness. It takes something special, I think, to be a good woman warrior."

"Or perhaps just enough hardheadedness. That's what my aunts always accused me of," she replied. Her lips were twisted in mock disapproval, but her eyes were amused. "And I'm not sure if they get that . . . touch of wildness . . . from me or from you."

"Me? Wild?" Miroku said, with a small laugh. He stood up. "Let's get into the other room before we wake them up." Sango nodded and he and ushered his wife out of the sleeping room and into the main room of the house, sliding the door carefully behind him. "Are you saying my little taijiyas got their wildness just from me?"

Sango gave him a knowing smile. "Perhaps . . . perhaps they got a little of that from both of us."

For a moment, Miroku gave her a winsome smile in return, one that promised more to come, but the twinkle in his eyes died, and turning his head, he went and sat down at his seat by the fire pit. Expecting a different reaction, Sango frowned and went to sit down next to him.

She picked up her sewing and then, looking at how Miroku was sitting, put it back down."Are you all right?" she asked.

Miroku looked up at her for a moment. Sango was surprised by the solemness she saw there. It wasn't exactly worry, and it wasn't exactly sadness. She didn't like what she saw."Did something happen while you were out?"

"Many things, but nothing quite unexpected," he said after a moment. "Why do you ask?"

"You have that look on your face you used to get when the shouki poisoning had the better of you," Sango said, closing her sewing basket. "You always thought you were hiding behind a joke or something to distract me, but I saw how you looked when you didn't know I was watching."

"You know me too well, Sango my dear," Miroku said. He gave her a tiny smile, one that didn't match his eyes. "But you know I was doing that to spare you."

"And you should know I don't need to be protected, husband." She snuggled up against him and rested her head against his shoulder. "So tell me what's been happening."

He wrapped an arm around her. "It was such a rough morning. Where to begin? Seiji's trying to cause trouble. He got drunk and beat up one of his sons. I...I wonder . . . "

Sango sighed."I am sad to say, that's not the first time," Sango said. "I'll make some tea. I have a feeling that this is going to be a longer story than the tale of the Lady of the Willow."

Miroku nodded and let her pull away. She stirred the fire in the pit, and added a few sticks under the kettle to make tea. "Was it his younger one? I don't know why, but he always seems to take his anger out on him."

"Nakao," the monk said, nodding. "That is, if his wife doesn't catch it first."

"I've seen," Sango said. "I've thought about trying to teach her a thing or two, but I'm afraid I'd make it worse for her. He's such a big man. Is the boy all right?"

"I guess," Miroku said, leaning forward. He rested his elbows on his thighs and his chin in his hands. "As good as you can be when your otousan turns on you like that. It's a shame she doesn't have your training. Seiji deserves a woman who can take him on like I know you could."

Sango reached for her tea chest, and opened the box. "He seems to be so unpredictable when he gets into his rages. I wonder what set him off this time." She began to measure tea into the pot.

"We ran into him taking Chiya-sama up to her new quarters." He ran his fingers through his hair. "What a mess. This whole morning. Did you hear? Chiya tried to kill herself this morning."

That made Sango stop, holding the tea chest in mid air. "She what?"

"In Kimi-sama's house, too, right where their girl sleeps, but Eiji stopped her," Miroku said. "They tell me this is not the first time she's tried."

"Do you think she really meant it?" Sango said. She looked at the tea pot and added a bit more.

"Who knows?" Miroku said shrugging. "Although as much as she likes attention, I doubt it. Tsuneo had been cleaning up his old family place down by the river."

"I'd heard that," she said. She poked the fire, and a piece of flame flared redly under the iron kettle. "Wasn't he going to put the Yamabushi up there?"

Miroku nodded. "But there's a second son's house there, too, and that's where they're putting Chiya. Anyway, as we were walking her back up to Tsuneo's old place, Seiji stepped out of nowhere." He reached over and resting a hand on Sango's thigh. It was not a suggestive gesture. "It's like . . . I know he had heard the news already."

"I'm not surprised at that," Sango said, putting the tea chest away. "I suspect everybody in the village knew that Michio had kicked her out."

"Ah," Miroku said, sitting up. "But now it gets interesting. It seems that Seiji's held a flame for Chiya all these years."

Sango frowned. "That . . . that . . . monster?" She shuddered. "I wouldn't want his attention for anything."

Miroku nodded. "That was pretty much Chiya's reaction. I was told that when Tsuneo let it be known that Chiya and Michio were going to be married, Seiji tried to burn down Michio's house. And beat him up in the process."

Her eyes widened. "He didn't! And the elders let him stay?"

Miroku nodded. "He did indeed, dearest Sango. Actually, that's when he ran off to join the army. It's obvious that his experience with the Houjou didn't do his anger any good. You've seen how he is. And Chiya's more than a little frightened of him, too. Can't say I blame her. He's probably the biggest man in the village. And we all have seen how he treats his family."

Sango got up and walked over to her kitchen cabinet, where she got a plate and put a couple of sweets on it.

"Still," Miroku said, watching his wife, "Karma is karma. I cannot say I am yet at peace about how Chiya-sama treated you. I...well, I cannot really talk to her now until I deal with my own anger. Everything I would tell her would be colored by that."

Walking back to where they were sitting, Sango put the plate on the mat next to her husband. "You know I am not accusing you of anything, Miroku," she said. She reached out and took one of his hands.

"It's not that," the young monk said. "It's . . . " He sighed and laced his fingers into her hand and used his other to cup it as well. "I failed to protect you. I should have seen . . . "

Sango shook her head. "No. I thought we talked through that last night."

He sighed, and gave her a slightly sad, slightly defeated look. "After all today . . . It came back. But something in me is worried about Seiji. InuYasha had to knock him out in front of Kaede's house. His son and his wife were there, and if Susumu and Eiji and InuYasha had not been around, I don't know exactly what would have happened."

"But he's married," Sango said. The water in the kettle had gotten hot enough, and she poured it into her teapot. "So what good does it do for him to pine over a woman who doesn't want him?"

"I wouldn't say what he did was pine," Miroku said, picking up one of the treats. "More like . . . not exactly threaten, but he announced that if Michio was getting rid of his wife, he'd take her on." Miroku unwrapped the chimaki and popped it into his mouth. "I don't have any idea what he plans to do with his own woman."

Sango passed a cup of tea to her husband. He took it, and reaching over, poured a cup for her.

"Surely you don't think he's going to try something, do you?" Sango asked.

"I...I don't think so," Miroku said. "But I'm not ready to deal with it."

"What are you ready to deal with?" Sango asked, taking a sip of her own tea.

He closed his eyes, took another sip of the tea. "Perhaps," he said, "I should leave all of that outside."

"That would be a good start," Sango said, nodding.

"Perhaps," he said, looking at his wife, "I should remember the Buddha's teaching and remember the story about the man caught between two deadly tigers."

"What did the Buddha teach?" Sango asked, sipping her tea again.

"In the story, with certain death above and below him, he decided to eat wild strawberries." He grabbed his wife's hand. "They were very sweet."

He pulled her to him. She looked up and saw something more like his normal self looking back at her, his violet eyes still shadowed, but not as deeply. She put her cup down, and leaned into his embrace. She could feel his breath on her cheek.

"How sweet were they?" she asked.

"This sweet," Miroku said, taking her mouth with his.

It was a very pleasant kiss. But before they were ready to come up for air, Naoya woke up.


	196. Chapter 196

1_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 196**

_A/N Back from my brief trip, but I brought back a virus with me and have been pretty ill. I'm afraid this chapter is a little shorter and not up to my usual standard. Hopefully by Thursday everything will be back to normal_

Grumbling ever so softly, Shinjiro moved to do what his mother asked, grabbing the bucket to begin hauling water.

Chime in turn gave him a fond look as he headed towards the family's well. "I think," she said, "that I will be so glad when everything's over and done."

"I think he will be too," Kagome said, nodding.

"And so will Erime," Mariko said. "Things were a bit hectic over at their house this morning, too." She picked up her son and put him back into her child carrier. "Would you like me to make some tea, Okaasan?"

"That would be lovely, dear," the older lady said. Mariko slipped her son onto her back and headed towards the front door. "Check the beans while you're there, Mariko-chan. They ought to be about ready to cool down. I'll make the bean paste later."

"Can't have a wedding without your sweet cakes," Mariko said, walking to the house.

"Why?" the young miko asked.

"Why what?" Chime asked.

"Why would things be hectic at Erime's?" Kagome moved closer to the older woman. "The wedding's going to be here, correct?"

"It's the first time Takeshi is losing one of his girls," Mariko said. She paused by the front door, and turned to look at her mother-in-law.

"True," Chime replied. "That's part of it. The first one to go is the hardest." She sighed.

"Erime's mother should be happy," Mariko said. "At least you're not in a village a day's journey away."

"True, true," Chime said. She picked up her cleaning cloth and ran it across the low table she was sitting next. "I wish sometimes my girl was closer."

"Ah, Musu will come up tomorrow, I bet," Mariko said. She stepped inside.

"Maybe," Chime said. "It counts whether the fish are running or not."

"Musu is your daughter?" Kagome said. She picked up a cleaning rag. "Are you dusting the furniture? I could help while I'm waiting."

"That I am," Chime said, smiling at Kagome. "Yes, Musu is my child between Shinjiro and Genjo. She married a good man, a fisherman down on the coast. We get to visit once or twice a year, sometimes more." She took a deep breath and let it out. "They have three children now. The youngest looks like he takes after Daitaro-chan. He's going to be a handful for them when he's a little older, I bet." She gave Kagome a soft pat on the hand. "That's the way the world works. Girls leave home to be with their men."

"That's . . . that's what I did, I guess," Kagome said. For a moment, a shadow crossed her eyes.

"It is indeed, isn't it?" Chime said, patting the younger woman's hand once again. She put her smile back on. "They say it's good luck to start an important event like a wedding or a holiday in a clean house. Or that's what my mother told me." She brought a finger up to her nose. "But between you and me, I wonder if it was just so she could chase the men out so she could get her cooking done."

"She may have had a point," Mariko said from within the building.

"She was a wise woman," Chime said. "If you want to, Kagome-chan, you could dust off the chest over there," she said, pointing to an old, well cared for piece of furniture. "Sooner we get this done, the sooner we can get everything back in."

Nodding, Kagome went to do as she was directed. "What will the wedding be like?" she asked, dragging the cloth over the dark wood.

"You don't know?" Chime said.

"I've been told they do them differently where I come from," Kagome said. She looked up from her work. "There's a big ceremony where everybody goes to the shrine. The bride and groom make promises to each other and share a drink in front of a kami's shrine, then they go somewhere to have a big party, where all of their friends and relatives show up and people make speeches."

Chime shook her head, "Oh my," the older woman said. "That sounds like even more work. Did you hear that Mariko?"

"Sounds like a lot of walking," the other woman said from within the house.

"It does, doesn't it?" Chime smiled at the young miko. "Although the bride and her family will walk through the village to our house. Then we'll seat Shinjiro and Erime-chan next to each other, and they'll share a cup of sake."

"And then," Mariko said, coming back out with a pot of tea and three cups, "the part that Genjo's waiting for - the food. And there'll be some jokes and singing. Eventually, after all the teasing, we'll let Shinjiro and Erime get away. We've set up the little room behind the main house so they can have some privacy."

"It sounds like the big party is the important part here, too," Kagome said. Mariko handed her a cup of tea, which she accepted.

"Special times need to be marked with ways that show the kami we know how to share," Chime said. "It's auspicious."

"I'm not so sure Otousan's songs are," Mariko said, handing a cup to her mother-in-law.

"Just wait until you hear Takeshi-sama's," Shinjiro said, walking back to the group of women and plopping down on the veranda.

"You don't think he'd sing that one with his daughter getting married, do you?" Chime asked.

Shinjiro shrugged.

Mariko giggled, Shinjiro looked long-suffering and Chime chewed her bottom lip. "I wonder if I should talk to him about that?" the older woman said.

"What . . . what song is that?" Kagome said, looking from one of them to the other.

Chime leaned over, and whispered something in Kagome's ear. She turned a pretty shade of red.

Further down the hill, almost crossing the main road to the village, Genjo turned to look at his red draped companion. "You know, this is not really what I had in mind to do this afternoon."

"Keh," the hanyou replied.

"Isn't it enough that Haha-ue's tearing the house up and kicking us all out today?" Genjo said. "And now Okuro has to add to everything?"

"Maybe he wanted to get away from everybody, too," a voice to their right said.

The two men stopped, and turned towards the speaker.

"Oy, Kinjiro, I thought you were going up to my place," InuYasha said.

"I was," Kinjiro said, rebalancing his hoe on his shoulder. "Worked on your garden and left Aki-kun with Choujiro."

"He's still up there?" InuYasha raised his brow at that one. "You think that's wise?"

"I think so," Kinjiro said. "Never saw a bow get fascinated with wood working fast as Aki did watching Choujiro split out a board. I wouldn't worry, cousin. It seems he's come to terms with things. Maybe the promise of getting to see his obaasan made a difference. Besides that, he thinks he owes you something for pulling him out of that tree."

InuYasha made a small scowl, not quite sure of the farmer's decision. "A new shirt, maybe," InuYasha said. "Those birds he pissed off did a number on it."

"I thought it was Houshi-sama's roof that did that," Genjo said, looking at the hanyou. "You got a real rip when you fell."

"Feh," InuYasha said, not wanting to be reminded. "Stupid roof. It just finished what the birds started."

"Well, cousin, I don't think he's in any position to get you a new kosode right now. Helping to make boards is about the best he can do," Kinjiro said, scratching the back of his head. "So Okuro got out, eh?"

"Seems to be," Genjo said, nodding. "You know his sense of timing. He's a master at giving me more to do than I want."

The corner of Kinjiro's mouth turned up, almost a smile. "He does seem to have that talent. So where's your otousan?" he said.

"Heading for Momoe's," Genjo said, shifting the weight of the equipment he was carrying on his left shoulder, and getting a firmer grip. "Chichi-ue thought he'd be heading that way."

"Smells like it," the hanyou said. He knelt down, and his nostrils flared as he worked on the scents there. "Both of them have passed this way not long ago from the smell of it." He stood up, and tucked his hands into his sleeves. "The old lady's about the only one who lives this way."

"And she should have brought her cow over yesterday," Genjo said. He shifted his load from one shoulder to the other. "I told Chichi-ue I thought she was getting bully."

"Well," Kinjiro said, tapping his cousin on the shoulder. "Well, let's go see how many fences we're going to have to fix today. At least he wasn't running to my place. Easier to round him up out here than in the center of the village."

They headed down the path next to a dry paddy field, filled with spring barley.

Before they had gotten very far, they heard Daitaro's laughter.

"That's one sound I didn't expect to hear," Genjo said, looking at his companions. "I'd expect cursing, maybe, but laughter?"

"Maybe we should see what's going on." Kinjiro, as curious as his cousin. He adjusted his hoe on his shoulder as the three men hurried their steps.

They reached the grounds of Momoe's small house. The old woman was there, as was her grandson and Daitaro. The boy was picking up an armful of wood to take into the house, but Momoe was sitting down on the verandah. Daitaro sat on the ground in front of her, drinking a cup of sake.

"Here's to smart women everywhere," the old farmer said, as he quaffed the cup. "That's one thing we won't have to deal with today."

"It was the kami, I'm sure," Momoe said, but looking pleased. "I know my luck isn't that good."

"Otousan?" Genjo said. He dropped his prods on the ground in front of his father. "Where's Okuro?"

"Doing his business," the old farmer said. The sound of cattle, not next to the house, but not far away, drifted over them.

"What?" Kinjiro asked.

"Momoe-sama here is one smart woman," the old farmer said. "She saw my boy coming and opened the gate."

"Maybe my luck is changing," Momoe said. She looked up at InuYasha thoughtfully. "To be there at the right time. Ever since I ran into the young miko-sama and you, InuYasha-sama, things have been doing better." She bowed in his direction.

InuYasha's ear flicked and he shifted his weight, not sure of what to say, so he nodded once in her direction. He was saved from having to react more fully by Genjo.

"Well, that was convenient," the young man said, plopped down next to his father. He cupped his face in his hands. "Maybe your luck is changing. I don't know if mine is."

Momoe gave him an odd look, and Daitaro seemed surprised. "You wanted to run down Okuro when he's like this? On the day before your brother's wedding?"

"Better than facing Haha-ue. Now I'll have to go home," the young farmer said. "No telling what she'll try to get me to do. Who knows, maybe she'll have me scrub the floors."

The old farmer laughed.


	197. Chapter 197

1_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 197**

Tameo stood in front of the village lockup, rubbing the back of his neck as he peered through the one small window. He really couldn't see anything, but the loud snores coming from within assured him that its occupant was alive, if not well.

"No, boy, leave Tameo-sama alone right now," a voice behind him said. He turned around to see Riki, the wife of his handyman Jun pulling her little boy away and towards the big house. "We have to go help Hisa-sama make dinner. You want a rice cake, don't you?"

While he watched, the boy nodded, and let his mother pull him away. The headman sighed. "If all our problems were so easily solved," he said.

"Well, InuYasha at least made it easy for us to deal with him today," Susumu said, walking up next to his father. "He's a lot easier to get into the lockup when he's unconscious than when he's drunk and all arms and feet."

The snoring stopped for a moment, then began again evidently as the man rolled over in his sleep. "Is it wrong of me?" Susumu asked. "Every time he does that, a part of me wishes he wouldn't start snoring again."

"Probably," Tameo said, turning towards his son. "It would solve some problems though. Still, I'm not going to ask the kami to take him in his sleep." He shook his head, and tugged on his chin. "How's his family?"

"Maeme's stoic as usual," Susumu said. "I don't know . . . I've never understood how she deals with it."

"Might be different if she had any other family here," Hisa said, walking up to join her husband and her son. "What family does an orphan woman have behind her? She has no one to go home to, even if she tried." She looked at the lockup, and gave it her special look. Unfortunately, the wood of the building couldn't react to its withering glare. "Are you sure she's untouched?"

Susumu nodded. "She had been out in the fields when all this happened."

"Doing his work for him, once again, no doubt," Hisa said. She shook her head. "Perhaps it was for the best this time, though. What set him off this time?"

"Something about Chiya being kicked out," Tameo said. He looked down on the ground, and kicked a pebble. "You know he's never gave up on her. There are days I don't know why we let him back in the village when he came back from Odawara."

"As if Tsuneo would let him get anywhere near her," Hisa said. "Who would want to let a monster like that near one of his daughters?"

"I wish we had known that before bringing in Maeme," Tameo said. "Still, here we are."

Hisa laid her hand gently on her husband's arm, and gave him a sympathetic look. "How are the rest of them? I heard he chased one of his sons to Kaede's."

"Luckily, Eiji was around when he did it," Susumu said. "The youngest is bruised, but he got away before much happened."

"We'll have to have a meeting soon, I think," Tameo said. "Not today, with Toshiro being up all night."

"I doubt," Hisa said, nodding, "that anything less than the village being attacked would be a good reason to disturb him. Or even get him to waken. He was snoring as loudly as Seiji when I left his house."

"He deserves it, I suspect, putting up with Michio all night," Tameo said. "We can't do anything tomorrow either."

"It's supposed to be a day of very good fortune," Susumu said.

There was a yell from the house, as Jun's youngest and Susumu's son burst out of the main house, with Isao in hot pursuit. The older boy grabbed both of the younger ones and headed them back inside.

"Isao-kun seems to be a piece of good fortune of our own," the guardsman said, watching approvingly.

"He does, doesn't he?" Tameo said. "Still, no matter how auspicious tomorrow is supposed to be, I don't think I'll be ready to do anything with Seiji to sully it." He rubbed his eboshi cap back and forth across the top of his head. "Besides, I think we'll be busy."

"Chime would not be happy if we brought any bad luck on Shinjiro's wedding day," Hisa said, nodding. "Even on an auspicious day, troubles like Seiji's are a dark cloud."

"True," Susumu said. "Maybe we should keep him locked up until it's over?"

"We'll see," Tameo said. "That might not be a bad idea."

Kagome had tied her sleeves back and was putting the final touches on dusting off a cabinet.

"Soon as the floor's dry, we'll move it all in," Chime said with a pleased look. "The beans are done, and when the men get back, we'll start making the mochi, I think."

"I wonder how the men are doing chasing Okuro," Mariko said, walking out of the house. She too had her sleeves tied back, and carried a bucket of cleaning water, which she walked to the side of the house and dumped out. "I remember how hard he was to handle last spring when he got a notion in his head to go looking."

"He's getting a little old, but he still has that spark," Chime said, nodding. "Very much like Daitaro-chan. Thinks he can go wherever he wants do, and do whatever he likes. Then later, he's all tired and achy."

"I hope everybody won't be too tired to have a good time tomorrow evening," Kagome said.

"This bunch? When there's food and sake?" Mariko said, laughing a little. "Even if they spend all morning soaking in hot water, they'll be ready for that."

"So true," Chime said.

"At least Shinjiro had the sense to go take a nap," Mariko said. "Watching him fret is enough to make me nervous, and I'm not the one getting married."

Chime walked to the verandah, and dropped her dusting cloth into an empty bucket. "Waiting is the hardest part. I hope we can keep him busy enough tomorrow, or he's going to drive us all crazy."

"Is the bridegroom ready?" Mariko began to sing, as she walked around the work area, picking up a small box and heading back to the verandah. Her tone was light and amused.

"Yoi, yoi, yoi,  
>or is he frightened of the bride<br>with her shining eyes?

"Is the bride too shy,  
>yoi, yoi, yoi,<br>hiding there behind her fan  
>afraid to meet his eyes?<p>

"Give the couple sake,  
>yoi, yoi, yoi,<br>three cups each,  
>then they'll get along."<p>

"Don't give him too much sake," Chime said. "We want him to be in good shape for Erime-chan tomorrow night."

Mariko laughed, and Kagome blushed. Chime looked at both women. "Well, it's true."

Kagome tried to think of something to say, but was rescued by InuYasha walking up.

"Ah, InuYasha," Chime said. "Everything's all right?"

"Keh," the hanyou said, nodding. "Bull's in the pasture with Momoe's cow." He turned to Kagome. "Ready to go home?"

"That was quick," Mariko said. "How'd that happen? I thought everybody would be chasing him across the countryside."

"Momoe saw him coming, and opened the gate," the hanyou said. "Bull went straight in, and she shut it."

"A good omen," Chime said, smiling. "May tomorrow night go just as well."

Miroku walked up to the temple, and looked up at the little building. The new roof was dark against the late afternoon sky. The ground around the structure was still a little trampled from the feet of the work party that had been there to do the roofing, but all the debris from the roofing itself had been picked up. Someone had been by to sweep the verandah and the pathway leading up to it as well.

"Well, I know it's not Chiya," Miroku muttered to himself as he headed up the path himself.

He pushed the door to the building open. Inside, all was pristine and clean. There were lamps were lit in front of the small image of Kwannon he had enshrined in the building, freshly trimmed. The air was scented with incense. He walked inside, getting ready to offer incense himself when he heard a soft voice coming off to the side.

"Namu Kwannon Bosatsu," it said. "Namu Kwannon Bosatsu. Namu Kwannon Bosatsu."

Turning, he saw Kimi sitting in the shadows. Her head was bowed. Her hands were held up in the gesture of prayer. Off to the side, in the corner, were the broom and dustcloth she had used to clean the sanctuary earlier.

Not exactly wanting to distract her, he decided to give her some space, walked up to the incense burner and offered his own stick. The smoke curled whitely towards the roof of the building. He recited a prayer, and began to move back towards the door. He was about to step outside when Kimi's chanting stopped.

"Houshi-sama?" she said.

Miroku stopped, and watched as the small woman stood gracefully. Kimi retrieved her cleaning tools and headed towards the monk. "Yes, Kimi-sama?"

He watched her as she drew near. Her usually calm composure was disturbed, which troubled him, and she sucked on her bottom lip as she reached the front door.

"I..." she started to say, but hesitated.

"Let's step outside," Miroku said.

She nodded and followed the monk out into the fresh air.

"You've been busy, Kimi-sama," he said as they stepped off of the verandah.

"After Haha-ue came back home," Kimi said, following him, "I decided to come here. I knew it was . . . well, Chiya-chan was not going to be doing the cleaning today."

Miroku nodded. "She is . . . well, occupied."

She let out a long breath. "I just thought . . . perhaps it would all make more sense here."

"Did it help?" Miroku asked.

"The cleaning . . . " she said, taking a breath, then looked down and shook her head. "No, not really."

Miroku nodded and folded his hands together. "I am not sure if things making sense is connected to a place as much as what's in our own heads and hearts," he said. His voice was soft, but his tone said he was repeating that as much for his benefit as hers. He headed to a tree not far from the little temple. "We carry much with us no matter where we go. This is about what happened with Chiya?"

Kimi nodded. "I..."

The monk sat down near the trunk of the tree. "I heard about what happened this morning. That must have been disturbing."

The troubled woman nodded, and knelt down in the shade of the tree, but at a respectful distance. "I...I didn't know what to do. If . . . if Eiji hadn't been there . . . "

"But he was," Miroku said. "And now she is safe in the house by the river. All is as it should be."

She looked up at him. Her eyes were marked by uncertainty. "But why do I feel so guilty?"

The monk's eyebrow lifted at that. "Guilty?" He shifted his staff from across his lap to his left side. "What . . . why would you feel guilty, Kimi-sama?"

"All this started when she saw me fixing InuYasha-sama's shirt. Did...did I do wrong there?" she asked. "It didn't feel wrong. All I was trying to do was fix his shirt." She rubbed her forehead. "I...I was trying to be compassionate."

"Did you do it for gain?" Miroku asked. "Or because you wanted people to speak well of you?"

"No, of course not. I did it because he had a ripped shirt," Kimi said.

"Then you were acting with perfect giving," Miroku replied.

"But . . . but . . . but I was so angry with her this morning. I wanted to shake her. How dare she do that." Kimi covered her face with her hands. "How compassionate is that?"

Miroku sighed. "I, too, am angry, Kimi-sama. Neither you nor I are Kwannon, alas." He picked up his staff and stood up. "It is necessary, no doubt, to learn compassion to ourselves as much as to others. We aren't perfect. We get angry. Sometimes," he said, giving her a wry, bittersweet smile, "we just have to embrace that part of ourselves, like it is a friend in as much need of compassion as our enemy."

Kimi stood. "It's hard, isn't it?"

"It is indeed. One of the hardest battles. But don't feel guilty, Kimi-sama." He started to walk off.

"I won't if you won't," Kimi said, nodding. He stopped and returned her nod. "Thank you, Houshi-sama." Taking her broom and bucket, she left.

"I will try," Miroku said, as he watched her walk away. "I will try. Somehow, I think you will reach that place before me."


	198. Chapter 198

1_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 198**

"You're not going to make jokes about Okuro and Momoe's cow tomorrow, are you?" Kagome asked as they walked up the hill. She was settled on her husband's back as they headed home, his idea.

"Not me. I'm not like Miroku or even Daitaro. He and Genjo and Susumu will come up with all the jokes needed to make Erime and Shinjiro wish they had run off instead of put up with the wedding," InuYasha said.

"Why do they want to embarrass them for? They did the same type of thing back . . . back at my mother's time," Kagome said. "People said it was traditional."

"Don't ask me," the hanyou said. "I never was around enough people to figure out any of that stupid stuff."

Kagome leaned her head forward, pressing her cheek against the side of her husband's face. "I lived around it, and never figured it out, either." She gave his left shoulder a little squeeze with her hand. "I'm glad we did what we did. We might not have had a big party, but we didn't have to put up with the jokes, either."

"Miroku was a bad enough tease without it," InuYasha said, nodding. "I'd hate to think what he'd do if he was getting wound up like Daitaro and Genjo seem to be."

"I'm not sure he'd live through it," Kagome said, laughing. "It was definitely for the best."

Even before the reached their little house up on the hill, they could hear laughter, a man's and a boy's coming from the side of the house where they left Choujiro working earlier in the day.

"Someone's having a good time," Kagome said, as InuYasha walked up the path. "Is that Aki?"

"Sounds like it," the hanyou said, his ears focused toward the side of the house. "Who would have guessed he would find an adult who could put up with his ugly self." InuYasha stopped his jog and stood still so Kagome could slide off his back.

She slid off gracefully. "Maybe Choujiro figured out how to find his not ugly self," she said

As they moved closer, they could hear the story the boy was telling the woodworker. "And then Chichi-ue chased me down the river. I thought he was going to scrub me until I didn't have any skin left," Aki said.

Choujiro pounded metal on metal, although they couldn't see what he was doing yet from where they were. "Well, son, that'll teach you to play around with the stuff the women use to color their cloth, now, won't it?" his voice patient and filled with amusement. "Not only to the dyes smell something awful sometimes, the stuff they use to make the dye set can smell worse."

"That's the last time I ever will mess with Amaya-obasan's pots," Aki said, agreeing. "I don't know what was in it, but it took a week before I got it off my skin."

"Be glad it was just smelly," the man said. "You should see some of the stuff Koume-sama uses. Never get into the indigo. That stuff can stink for weeks. Besides, some of the things they use can hurt your skin if you're not careful. And color you up while you're at it. Here. Go stack this one with the other boards."

InuYasha and Kagome quietly walked to the edge of their verandah, and peeked around the corner. Aki was carrying a fairly solid board to put on a stack of several others. It was obvious from the way he carried it that he found the board heavy, but he didn't complain as he put it with the others. The stack had grown into an impressive number of boards while the hanyou had been gone.

"Do you think I can come help you some more?" Aki asked as he put the board down and dusted his hands off. "Maybe tomorrow? I like working with you."

InuYasha was about ready to step out and say something, but Kagome pulled on his sleeve, putting a finger to her lips and shaking her head.

"Better than farming?" Choujiro asked. He placed his splitting wedge in place and began working another board. His question was not accusatory, but more curious. "Even I farm. Even Fumio leaves his forge to go into the fields."

"Well . . . " Aki said, giving the handyman a wry grin. "It's not that farming is bad. But I like working wood, but Chichi-ue and Ojiisan don't let me help much." He pointed to the stack of boards. "It's like you got something when you're done."

Choujiro laughed. It was a friendly accepting sound. "I would say from the size of your tummy, boy, that when you and your family are through with farming, you've got something to show for it as well."

Aki chuckled. "Haha-ue and Obaasan cook really good. But then we eat it all up and have to grow more. When you build something, there's something to look at and you can see what you did. You can't eat it all up."

"That's true," Choujiro said. He regripped the handles of his wedge and began forcing it down the quarter of the log he was working on. "That's kind of why I like doing it, too." He looked up for a moment, and saw the young couple watching from the edge of the building. He spoke a little louder. "You've been a good help to me this afternoon. Maybe I can talk to your family and the elders. You're going to Daitaro's in a couple of days, right?"

Aki sighed. "Yeah. I have to work until they think I've learned enough." He rubbed the bottom of his nose. "Do you think Daitaro will still be mad at me for messing with his sake vat?"

"Well, he does take his sake seriously. But he likes to see young fellows like you do the right thing, too," Choujiro said. "I'll talk to him after his son's wedding. He ought to be in a good mood then." He pointed to where InuYasha and Kagome were standing. The young couple stepped out from around the corner. "Well, look there. Seems like we have company."

Aki looked where Choujiro was pointing, and suddenly froze, seeing the hanyou standing there, silver hair blowing in the breeze, and hand stuffed in his sleeves. InuYasha's face was carefully neutral, neither disapproving nor unhappy to see the boy. For a moment, Aki's eyes were caught in InuYasha's amber ones, but then the boy dropped his head, and politely bowed.

"Now that's an improvement," Kagome whispered, just loud enough for InuYasha to hear. In return, he gave her the tiniest of nods.

"Looks like you've got a lot done today," the hanyou said, looking at Choujiro.

"Yes, yes, we have," the woodworker said, not unaware of Aki's reaction, but pleased how InuYasha was behaving. "That first tree, it was an excellent splitter. After I get this board done, I think I'm going to call it a day. I'm not sure, but I think I'll need to saw the next one. It's a two-person job." He nodded in the direction of Aki. "Perhaps Daitaro might let me borrow this young guy to help out."

"Maybe," InuYasha said, nodding in return.

"You wouldn't mind?" Aki said, surprised.

"If you found something that you like to do," Kagome said, "I suspect the men would be happy to help you know more."

InuYasha nodded. "Better than getting into trouble."

Aki sighed and covered his face with his hands for a moment, then looked back up at the grownups. "I...I think I'm tired of trouble."

"True, true." Choujiro turned back to his work. "Come over here, Aki-kun, and hold the wood steady for me, will you?"

Aki nodded and hurried over to steady the quarter log.

InuYasha watched them work for a moment, then realized Kagome was tugging on his sleeve.

"Let's go in," she said.

He nodded, and then turned towards her. "Good idea."

The two slipped back to the front of the house and went inside.

"Home," Kagome said as she stepped into the entry way.

"Finally," InuYasha said as he let the door mat flap behind him. "I was beginning to think that we were fated to never get back."

"I knew we'd make it eventually." Kagome put down her bundles and basket, but then yawned loudly.

"You sound tired," InuYasha said.

She nodded as she walked across the room."I'm afraid," she said, sitting down at her place by the fire pit, "that if we'd have stayed out much longer, I might have gone to sleep before we got home."

The hanyou sat down next to his wife, grabbing a stick to begin to stir the ashes to find some hot coals to start the evening fire. "You didn't get nearly enough rest," he said. "I'm not surprised to hear how tired you are. Last night was too long. And then everything today . . . "

"Babies come when they come," she said. She leaned against InuYasha. He wrapped an arm around her for a moment, then reached over to get the kindling basket. She, in turn, sat back up and brushed a lock of hair out of her forehead. "It's not the first time I've gone on short sleep anyway. I've done it before." While InuYasha added small bits of wood to the fire and leaned forward to blow on it gently, she got up and walked over to her kitchen cabinet. "All those times I had to study for tests. Too much math."

InuYasha sat up, his ear twitching. "I remember how tired you got." He gave her a look that altered between contrite and unsure. "But I was a jerk in those days. I...I'm . . . I didn't know . . . "

Kagome turned to look at her husband, surprised at how he took her comment and laughed lightly, shaking her head. "You know it wasn't just you and chasing after shards and Naraku that had me up late studying. Even after we got separated, I had to stay up and study a lot of the time. Most of us in school have to do it." She yawned again, covering her mouth. "I'm not really out of practice. The last time was just about a month ago."

Outside, Choujiro called to Aki. "Let's go home! I'm hungry! I'll see you later, InuYasha-sama!"

Kagome chuckled at that. Suddenly, the amusement that was in her eyes faded, with a surprised look. She reached for her rice pot. "Has it only been than long? A month since my last tests? It seems like forever ago. Almost like it happened to a different person."

Bringing the pot back to the fire, she sat down, and stared into the flames before moving to get some rice out to cook.

The hanyou watched her as she began her cooking. Something in her mood shift did not please him. He got up, throwing one last piece of wood on the fire, and walked over to where she was working on the food preparation counter against the wall in the beaten earth doma, and wrapped his arms around her. "Everything that happened before you came back seems like forever ago to me, too. And that's not a place I want to go back to."

"Me, either," Kagome said, pouring some rice in a bowl to wash. She turned around in the circle of his arms, and gave him a big smile, but it didn't totally reach her eyes. "I just never realized how there would be that me and this me."

"I like this you fine," InuYasha said, giving the top of her head a little kiss. "I hope you don't get homesick for those test things."

"Homesick for that?" She glanced up at him and smiled. "For school?" She shook her head. "That's the last thing I'll miss." Her smile faded. Her voice grew soft. "No, that's definitely not on my to miss list." Brushing a lock out of her forehead, she picked up the water pot, and saying nothing more, began washing the rice.


	199. Chapter 199

1_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 199**

The evening shadows were beginning to grow long in Tameo's compound, and the air was filled with the scent of wood fire and food.

"You carry the bucket for me, will you, Isao-kun?" Emi, Susumu's wife said, stepping out of the main house.

"You think Seiji-sama needs this much water?" the boy asked, coming out right behind her. He carried a bucket of water in his right hand.

Emi smiled at the boy. "Oh, you might be surprised." She shifted the tray she carried in her hands. It had a covered bowl in it, smelling of food. "As much as he drank, he's either going to be very thirsty or get sick or both. Maybe it'll help keep him from yelling for more."

Isao looked thoughtful for a moment. "I...the last time Joben-ojisan had too much, he was sick for a day."

"That's not unusual," Emi said. "I'm not sure why people drink that much, but it means we get a lot of practice on getting them over the effects."

"I guess," the boy said, nodding.

They crossed the courtyard to the lockup building. A cat looked up as they passed, and went back to sleep. No one else was about that they could see.

They stopped by the side of the lockup, where a small door was built into the wall, too small to get out of, but large enough to push a bucket through. "Open the door, will you, Isao-kun?"

"I don't know why you're bothering," said a young voice from around the corner. "He's not awake yet. He won't be able to eat."

"Sukeo-kun?" Emi said.

The boy walked around from the side of the building where he had been sitting. He dusted off his pants as he moved towards them. His shoulders were slumped and his head down, like he expected to be reprimanded for being there.

"What are you doing here?" Isao said, frowning.

"Hush," Emi said. "No doubt he's being a good son and keeping watch over his father."

That made Sukeo look up, surprised at Emi's reaction. "You're not mad?"

"Why should I be mad?" she asked. Turning to Isao, she nodded towards the door. "Open it up, and let's get this done."

Isao opened the door, and Emi gracefully knelt down. "The food first," she said, and slid the tray into the room. She looked at Isao, who pushed the bucket in, and then closed and latched the door.

The two of them stood up. "Did you eat yet, Sukeo-kun?" Emi asked.

The boy shook his head. "After I made sure Haha-ue and my brother were home safe, I came back here."

"Would you like something?" the woman asked.

"I...I don't want to leave." He chewed on his bottom lip and looked down. "When Chichi-ue drinks too much, he doesn't always remember what happened."

Isao frowned. "So? He wouldn't be here if he didn't deserve it."

Sukeo narrowed his eyes and crossed his arms. "Shut up. Don't talk about my Otousan. At least my Otousan didn't run off like yours."

Isao started to lunge forward, but Emi caught him. "Hush, both of you."

"But, but . . . " Isao said, looking up at Emi.

She stepped in between of the two boys. "Sukeo is to be commended for his loyalty to his father, but neither one of you will be commended if you bring Susumu-chan or Kinjiro out here to break up a fight."

Isao glared at Sukeo but nodded, then bowed towards the woman. "You are right, Emi-obasan. I apologize."

Emi looked at Sukeo, who dropped his eyes, but not his stance.

"But it's true," he said, still defiant.

"Truth. Neither one of you have perfect fathers. This should make you friends, not enemies," Emi said. "You owe an apology."

He took a deep breath, and nodded, but bowed more shallowly than he should have. "I apologize. I shouldn't have said that here."

Emi sighed, and decided not to push it further. "Once again, would you like something to eat. I'll bring it out. You won't have to leave."

Sukeo once again was surprised, and he dropped his stiffness. "You'd do that?"

"Yes, boy," the woman said, giving him the smallest of smiles. "I hate to see hungry boys when I have food to share."

Sukeo nodded.

"Good. Now, Isao-kun, let's go back in," she said to her young companion. "I'm sure you would like to eat as well."

Isao nodded, and the two headed back towards the house. Before they got inside, he turned to look over his shoulder at Sukeo. The boy had gone back to sitting next to the lockup building, his legs drawn up tightly to his body and his arms wrapped around his legs. His forehead was resting on his knees, hiding his face. He looked small and very sad.

"Maybe my otousan did me a favor," Isao said, very softly. "At least I don't have to go through what he's going through."

Emi gave him a sad smile and a nod of the head. "There is that."

Together, they walked inside the house.

Up on the hill, InuYasha picked up his rice bowl, and looked over at his wife. The room was quieter than normal, and the quiet was not a comfortable one.

He broke the silence. "So do you want to go to the market with Koume and the other women?" he asked.

Kagome looked up at him a moment, as if surprised at the sound, but then shrugged. "I don't know," she said, putting down her soup bowl.

"Kaede might have some things she wants bought," the hanyou said. "Sometimes I ask her before we go. Forgot to, last time."

"Maybe," she said. Her voice was soft, but with a small edge, as if she really didn't want to talk. She picked up her rice bowl, not meeting his eyes. "I'll ask her tomorrow."

"Good idea," he said, then turned his attention to his rice. As he ate, though, he watched Kagome out of the corner of his eye. She was eating listlessly, as if getting the food down was a hard thing.

His nostrils flared as he tried to figure out what was wrong with her, but her scent was a bad mix of tired and sad that didn't let him know exactly what was wrong. "Are you all right?" he asked, putting his own bowl down.

Kagome nodded, and took another bite before setting the dish on her tray. "I...I guess I'm just not very hungry." She looked at InuYasha, who was looking back at her with concern marking his amber eyes, and gave him a small smile which was supposed to be reassuring, but it didn't match her scent or how she was holding herself.

"Maybe you need rest more than food," he said.

She nodded and turned her attention back her rice bowl. "Maybe." She ate two more bites, then put her bowl down and handed him her dish of pickles. "Here. I just don't think I can eat any more."

He frowned, and put the dish on his tray then reached out and put his hand on her forehead. "You're not getting sick, are you? You don't feel like you have a fever."

Kagome pulled his hand off her forehead. "I don't think so. You worry too much."

"Keh," he said, picking up a pickle slice. "There's only one of you. You're worth worrying about." He put the pickle in his mouth.

She smiled back at him, an honest, if small, smile this time. "And there's only one of you. But you used to fuss at me all the time for worrying about you."

"That's because that was my job, not yours." He grinned at her, pleased to see her reacting like herself. "I'm a lot harder to hurt than you are. And I don't get sick."

"Well, I'm not sick, either," she said, picking her soup bowl back up. She took a sip, then reached over to InuYasha's tray, and grabbed one of her pickle slices.

"Hey," he said. "I thought you were giving those to me."

"I was. But I wanted one after all," she replied, smiling larger this time. "Now you know what it feels like when you take one of mine."

He picked up a slice himself, and chewed it thoughtfully. "It's not the same. They taste better when I steal them off your tray."

This time, much to his satisfaction, Kagome laughed.

Dinner over, he took his water buckets to the stream to fill them up. The water, rushing over the rocks in the stream made a pleasant sound. He normally enjoyed doing this little chore, but as he neared he began to frown. Miroku was standing on the stone-lined bank where he would dip up from, watching the water flow.

Even though the hanyou moved almost silently, the monk still noticed his presence. "You're late today," he said, looking over his shoulder at the frowning hanyou.

"What am I, your time piece?" InuYasha asked, dropping his buckets. "You're beginning to make a habit of this. You plan on coming over here every evening?"

"No," Miroku said, shaking his head. He stepped out of the way, and went to sit on the grass nearby. "I just was out and found myself walking this way. I like it here. It's peaceful."

InuYasha grabbed one of the buckets and moved to the edge of the water, kneeling down on the stone. "Stream runs by your place, too," the hanyou said, looking over his shoulder at his smiling friend, right before dipping the bucket into the flow.

"But it's not quite so peaceful there," the monk said, laying his staff across his lap. "My household is, well, noisier. The girls want to pick up every pebble. Plus, nobody's made such a nice place to dip. Sango prefers to use her well."

"Not my fault. You could do it yourself, like I did," InuYasha said. "So did you just come over here to share the noise?" He reached out and picked up the bucket.

"More to steal your quiet," Miroku said, grinning. "Noise I have. It's quiet I want."

"You're good at that," InuYasha said, putting the full bucket on the bank. "I hope you're enjoying it."

"I am, I am," the monk said as he watched the hanyou take his second bucket to the water. "The quiet is good, especially after a day like today."

The hanyou looked up at his friend, who, although grinning, was still not quite as content as he was pretending to be. There were still threads of sadness and anger in his scent, and his eyes lacked their usual mischief.

"It has been a rough day," InuYasha agreed. "Kagome's really tired. She chased me out to get the water, and said she was going to try to sew, but I hope she's asleep when I get back."

"It's a good thing babies don't come every day," Miroku said, nodding.

"Keh," the hanyou said. "Tomorrow better be better. Daitaro's woman, she's going to be really disappointed if anything goes wrong."

"It is supposed to be a day of special good fortune," Miroku said. "Let's hope the kami will look down and chase away anything bad."

"Yeah," InuYasha picked up his bucket and walked back to the bank with it. "I think we all need a good one." He sat down next to his friend.

For a moment they sat quietly, listening to the stream and watching the evening fall.

Miroku, though, broke the silence."So when do we go to Odawara?" he asked. "I'd like to get there before the rains really start."

InuYasha glared at him. "Go home, monk. I've got other things to think about today." He got up and grabbed his water buckets.

"Now that the roof is fixed, there's no reason to put it off," the monk said, also standing up. "Think about it. I'll see you tomorrow."

He walked off. InuYasha smiled a little. "Bouzu must be feeling better. At least something's going right."

He headed home.


	200. Chapter 200

1_I do now own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 200**

Shippou opened the mat door of the small house near the shrine steps and walked inside, his fox-paw feet moving onto the dirt floor of the domo soundlessly. His nose twitched at the smells, and he let the door fall into place behind him, jerking his tail to the side so it wouldn't get caught as the door swayed back into place.

"It smells good in here," he said, walking past a storage barrel that hid his short body and moved into plain view.

Kaede was sitting next to the fire pit, a pair of cooking chopsticks in her hand. "Ah, Shippou-kun," she said, looking up at him calmly with her one eye as he walked further into the house. "So you are back from playing with Tazu-chan? I was wondering if you'd show up for dinner this evening."

He flashed his big blue eyes in her direction and made his best cute child smile. "But I had to come, Kaede-obasan. Everybody knows you make the best stew in the village."

A soft giggle came from the back of the room, where Rin sat with her sewing pulled out. She smiled at him, then took another stitch.

"But it's true," Shippou said, crossing his arms in a very InuYasha-like fashion to emphasize his point. "Everybody knows that."

"Perhaps," the old miko said, chuckling herself at the kitsune's attempt to charm his way into dinner. "Although I have it on good authority that it is Hisa-chan who really has that honor." She lifted the lid on the stew pot, and gave it a stir. A cloud of delicious smelling vapor wafted up. "Still, if you are hungry, there is plenty for all."

The young kitsune hopped up on the raised wooden floor, and nodded. "I'm almost as hungry as InuYasha," he said, moving to sit near the miko.

"Then you must be very hungry indeed, Shippou-kun," Rin said, twisting her lips in an effort not to laugh again. She carefully folded her sewing and put it up in her basket. "Rin has seen how much he can eat at one time when InuYasha-ojisan is hungry." She stood up, and put away her sewing basket. "But Rin is surprised to see you this evening. After you ran away from Sesshoumaru-sama with Tazu-chan, she thought maybe you'd eat with Kimi-sama. Were you really that afraid of my lord?"

The kitsune put on a brave face. "I...I...I was just trying to keep Tazu out of trouble."

"A noble intention," Kaede said. She put the lid back on the pot.

He shrugged. "Besides, her otousan seemed grumpy today. Then I went to Miroku's house, but he told me he had enough nonsense for the day and told me to come here."

"Oh," said Kaede, getting up to get another tray and a set of dishes for the kitsune, "is that how it goes?"

"Uh," Shippou said, covering his face. "I was going to come here anyway. They just chased me away earlier."

Kaede knelt back down and took the lid off of the rice pot. "Everybody seems to have had an interesting day today. Rin-chan told me about your meeting with Sesshoumaru-sama." She picked up her rice paddle. "You and Tazu-chan were hiding near the meadow where they were having a visit?"

"That wasn't my fault," the kitsune said, crossing his arms. "After I went back to bring Rin her basket, Tazu found me and wanted to see what Sesshoumaru-sama looked like." He gave the young girl a sharp look. "It was Rin's fault. She had told enough stories about Sesshoumaru that Tazu had to see for herself. I couldn't stop her, so I went with her trying to keep her safe."

"Ah," said the old miko . . .

Rin moved next to Kaede. "So that is why she was she trying to spy on Sesshoumaru-sama?"she asked, handing Kaede a rice bowl.

"I don't think she was spying, like Miroku likes to spy," Shippou said, accepting a bowl filled with steaming rice. He put it down on the mat in front of him.

"Miroku-ojisan? You think he peeps on people?" Rin asked, not sure how to take this. "On purpose?"

"Here, child," Kaede said, handing Rin her rice, which she took and placed on the tray in front of her. "Houshi-sama, well, it's not exactly that he spies." She filled her own bowl. "Not like a spy for the daimyo, trying to find out who his enemies are. It's more like he likes to know everything that might be . . . useful . . . around him."

"Oh yeah?" the kitsune said. "He's nosy all right." Shippou pulled a pair of chopsticks out of his shirt. "You should have seen him when we were out on the road sometimes. He always wanted to know what was going on with InuYasha and Kagome."

"I do believe he caused some trouble with that once or twice," Kaede said, pursing her lips in disapproval at the memory. She put down the rice paddle and uncovered the soup. "Still, he doesn't seem to use what he hears for evil purposes. But people don't like discovering they are being overheard on purpose."

"He just wants to know everything that's going on," Shippou said. Kaede passed him a bowl of soup, which he sipped before putting it down.

"Why?" Rin asked. "Miroku-ojisan is a good person." She took the bowl of soup Kaede handed her and put it down next to her rice.

"He has a great curiosity," Kaede said. "I do not believe he uses it to harm anyone."

Shippou nodded. "Like I said, he's nosy."

"Almost as nosy as a certain kitsune I know," the old miko said. As he sputtered, she began to eat.

Up on the hill, the monk under discussion at Kaede's house left InuYasha's stream side and headed towards his house. It wasn't dark yet, but the sun was fast sinking. A flight of ducks flew by overhead, heading for the river.

Miroku, looking up, saw them. "Heading for home?" he asked. "Smart birds. I'm going to do the same. Let's hope we all have a quiet night."

As he reached the fork that led to his own house, he was surprised to see Eiji, Kimi's husband walking towards him.

"Well, maybe it won't be as quiet as I hoped," he said, waving a greeting. "I wonder what Eiji is doing? I'm surprised to see he's still awake." Curious, he moved under a tree at the edge of the road to let the village guardsman catch up with him.

Eiji, looking tired, but in a decent mood, joined him under the tree. "I see I'm not the only one out and about. Most of the village seems to have gone home this evening. You're about the only person I've seen on the road."

"I'm on my way in," Miroku said. "I've had enough being about for one day. But I'm surprised to see you. I thought you'd had enough to do today without coming up here this evening."

Eiji shrugged. "Just making my rounds. Susumu said he'd take over guard duty for me tonight and let me get some sleep, but I couldn't let go yet. I guess I'm too tired. I thought maybe I could get relaxed enough to sleep if I'd give the village a walk through before heading home and letting him get to work."

"Sometimes walking helps," Miroku said, agreeably. "Maybe it'll be quieter tonight than last."

"Let's hope. We've had a rough two days," Eiji said. "At least maybe Susumu won't have to babysit Michio like I did last night."

Miroku nodded. "I'd heard about that. You are a good man, Eiji-sama. How is he?"

"Sleeping, if he's smart. That visit from Seiji got him thinking, I hope, if he has any brains beneath his pride. Getting drunk again if he's not. No matter what, I'll let Susumu deal with him if he is." The village guardsman rubbed the back of his neck, as if it were sore, then rocked his head from side to side. "Tonight, I'm going home and sleep next to my wife, and if anything less than a bandit raid gets me out of bed before morning, I'm going to hammer them with Fumio-otousan's heaviest hammer."

Miroku laughed a little at that. "There's something to be said about the good of sleeping next to one's wife undisturbed. Let's hope there's no bandit raid or anybody foolish enough to wake either of us."

"At least we don't have to worry about Seiji doing anything foolish tonight. There's no way he's getting out of the lockup." Eiji scratched under his chin. "That's a man who doesn't appreciate the good he's got. I don't think much of a man who uses his woman like he does."

"I've heard some stories that the women have told me about how he treats Maeme-sama," the monk said. The frown on his face made clear his disapproval. "I've never understood how a man can treat a woman like that. Women, good women, are the kami's gift."

Eiji nodded, agreeing. "Hard to imagine life without my Kimi."

"Alas, I remember too well life before I met Sango-chan. I have no desire to go back to that," Miroku said, He rested a hand against the trunk of the tree. "Has Seiji always been that way?"

Somewhere down in the village a dog started barking. Eiji turned his head in the direction of the noise, but the dog quieted, and he turned back to Miroku. "Since he was a boy. Always got into trouble, and he liked to bully. It got worse as he grew up. Being big like that, it was hard for other people to stand up to him. The worst though, happened when he got obsessed with Chiya-chan. You should have seen the mess he made of Michio when he found out that Michio was going to marry her. He ran off after that. He was a foot soldier for a while, maybe three years, then showed up one day with that scar across his face. His attitude hadn't changed any. I was really surprised the elders let him stay. But his father was growing old and he was the only son."

"It works that way sometimes," Miroku said, nodding.

"He hadn't been here a month when he married Maeme. Tameo's father was glad to send her home with him," Eiji said. He leaned back against the tree they were standing under. "She'd lost her family the winter before. There had been a fire. Maeme and her brother got out, but not her parents. People thought she might be bad luck. It was a load off the elders' minds to find a husband for her. Until the day she showed up at Kaede's with a bruised face. But by then, it was a little late." He shook his head sadly.

Miroku took a deep breath. "Some of us have harder karma to work out than others. I will pray that this works out for the best."

"That, and doing the right thing are about the only things any of us can do," Eiji said. He yawned widely, then gave the monk a silly look. "Maybe the day is finally catching up with me."

"About time," Miroku said. "It's time for you to get back to that wife of yours. Her day hasn't been much easier. I saw her in the temple a little while ago. Kimi-sama may be in as much need of you as you of her."

The village guardsman sighed. "If I had known what Chiya was going to pull . . . " He shook his head. "Kimi's got such a giving spirit. I hate to tell her no when she wants to help, but sometimes . . . "

Miroku shifted his weight and leaned harder on his staff. "Sometimes, even being kind is not rewarded the way we think it ought to be."

Eiji nodded. "A good way of putting it, Houshi-sama. Chiya's stingy with rewards." He yawned again.

"Get home to your family, and I'll get home to mine," Miroku said. "Let's put this day to a close."

"Good idea," the village guardsman said. And bidding the monk farewell, he pushed off from the tree and headed home.


	201. Chapter 201

1_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 201**

InuYasha lifted the door flap to his house, and walked in, water buckets in hand.

The house was very quiet. The air held traces of the scent of the meal they had eaten together, not yet quite dissipated, even though the dishes had been cleaned and put away. Although it wasn't fully dark outside yet, the light from the fire pit glowed with an increasing brightness as the room dimmed. Kagome had lit the lamp when she pulled her sewing basket out, and a circle of light fell over her, casting shadows under her chin, but lighting her work.

The cloth he had bought her, bright blossoms on a dark background, was spread out over her lap. It wasn't as fine as the length of silk he had bought her, but it promised to make an attractive kosode he decided as he moved further into the beaten earth doma. She didn't look up as he entered. The pleasure he felt watching her work faded when he noticed she had not yet rolled out their bedding.

His ear flicked and his eyes narrowed for a moment. "Woman, you need to sleep," he muttered too softly for her to hear.

It wasn't quite as soft as he thought it was, because she stopped her stitching for a moment and glanced up. "Did you say something?"

"Nothing important," he replied, setting the buckets down on the edge of the wooden platform before walking over to the well-filled firewood cradle at the back of the domo to pick up an armful to have handy near the fire.

Kagome nodded, but said nothing else. Instead, she focused on her sewing.

InuYasha didn't like the silence, so he broke it again. "Looks like Miroku thinks he's figured out what I do every day," he said, walking towards the fire pit with his armload of wood. "He was out there waiting for me when I went to get the water."

"I thought I heard his voice," Kagome said. She lay the fabric she was working on in her lap and ran a delicate finger over the length she had already sewn, inspecting it carefully. "It was too far away for me to understand what you were talking about, so I wasn't sure. What was he there for?"

"He said the stream bank where I get the water from was more peaceful than by his house," he said, dropping the wood into the smaller cradle he kept near the fire. "So he said he came by to steal some of our peacefulness."

She didn't react much to the joke. "It probably is. When the twins are outside, they take a lot of watching," she said, running the needle back into the fabric as she started sewing again.

"And make a lot of noise." He twitched his ears at that, as if remembering a particularly loud toddler shriek. "Then he started talking about us making that damned trip to Odawara again," the hanyou said, sitting down on his mat in front of the fire. "He wants to get there and back before the rains start up for real."

"That makes sense," Kagome said, nodding. "It's no fun traveling in the rain."

"Easier for him," InuYasha said, picking up the fire poker. "He's not the one who's going to be carrying everything back." He gave the coals a stir. "I hate going near Odawara. Want some bath water?"

The young woman nodded, put down her needlework for a moment, and rotated her shoulders, and then her neck. "That might be nice. Maybe it'll relax me enough to I can get sleepy."

"Hot water's good for that," InuYasha said agreeably. "And you can use some rest."

"I know." Kagome picked her sewing back up with a sigh. "But my mind just won't settle down." She looked up at the hanyou, who had gotten up to fetch the pot he heated water in. "Why?"

InuYasha picked up the kettle and moved towards the fire pit. "Why what?" He put a trivet over the hot part of the fire, and added some wood to get it hotter. "I don't know why you're having trouble getting ready to sleep."

This time, a small smile crept across Kagome's face. "Not that." She took one more stitch and knotted her thread. "Why you hate going to Odawara. Did something happen there?"

He poured water into the pot, not answering her at first. His ear flicked while he moved the full pot onto the trivet. Kagome waited patiently, actually surprised that she had hit a nerve she didn't intend to. He lidded the pot and then sat back down, facing the fire pit.

Putting her sewing aside, she moved from the corner by the lamp and went to sit next to her husband, leaning against his shoulder. "You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to."

"Feh," he said, wrapping an arm around her. "It was so long ago, I doubt if anybody alive even remembers hearing about it. I wasn't that old, myself. Older than Shippou, but not much. Out in the countryside there, there was this temple. It was out in the countryside, away from the nearest town. There was this monk there . . . "

"You don't have to go into if you don't want to," Kagome said.

"Wasn't really all that much. The stupid monk caught me raiding the monastery's vegetable patch, and he decided he was going to purify my butt." His face hardened at the memory, his amber eyes staring into the fire, but seeing the face of a man long dead. "I objected, and knocked him down."

"Did you..." Kagome said, her eyes sympathetic. Her voice faltered, not really wanting to interrupt him.

The hanyou took a long breath. "I didn't kill him, if that's what you mean. I was still pretty small." His voice grew distant. "I remember him trying to take the daikon I had pulled out of the garden and how hungry I was, and how bad he smelled. I gave him a big shove, and he fell on his ass. I ran. The other monks there, they started to chase me. I couldn't run as fast then as I do now, and I knew they were going to catch me before I could get to the trees."

He paused a moment, lost in the memory.

"What happened?" Kagome asked.

InuYasha gave a bitter bark of a laugh. "My damned brother stepped in. Why the hell he showed up that morning, I'll never know. He booted me away."

"Booted you?" Kagome asked. "Like you do Shippou?"

"I guess." InuYasha lifted his head. "I'd only seen him a couple of times before, but there was no mistaking him. He stepped in front of me and picked me up by the collar, and lifted me up eye to eye. The monks stopped, I think. I remember them yelling something, but I was too shocked to pay any attention. You know how my brother is. Nobody can look at you as coldly as he can. I can still feel the ice in his stare." The hanyou's ears flattened as he relived that moment as he turned to look at Kagome. "The one thing I remember he said was something about stupid humans had no right to defile his otousan's blood with their dirty hands." InuYasha shook his head. "And then he tossed me away. The bastard didn't care if I was just a brat out in the world on my own, and nearly starving to death. But no mere monk was to take my life."

"InuYasha . . . " Kagome met her husband's eyes and did not like the rawness she saw there.

He blew out a noisy breath. "It was a long time ago." His fingers went into her hair. "I landed in a thicket, still clutching that stupid daikon. I could hear the fighting. I'm not sure how much fighting there really was, but I remember someone shrieked really loud. I laid low until the cries stopped. I was afraid that either Sesshoumaru or the monks would come and get me, but no one did. I stayed in the thicket and after a while, ate the stupid vegetable. When it got dark, I left."

Kagome reached up and brushed his cheek with her left hand. He rested his hand over hers, and brought her hand to his lips, where he lightly kissed the palm of her hand. "Later, I heard they built an extension to the monastery on the sight, in honor of the monks who died defending the mountain from the Yama Inu. Not a place I like to go near."

A light dawned in Kagome's eyes. "Is that . . . that where Miroku wants to go?"

"Yeah," the hanyou said. "It's not out in the countryside any more. First they built a castle, and that one came down, and then they built another one, bigger and stronger, and the town grew up around it. Stupid temple's right on the edge of town." He gave her a small grin, although his eyes were still caught up in old memories. "And Odawara stinks. Too many people. Too many blacksmiths. And the leather works - that's even worse. All those craftsmen making all that gear for the Hojo so they can go beat up on the Uesugi. I don't know why leather making has to smell as bad as it does. But they have so many leather workers there, the place reeks."

"As bad as Toutousai?" Kagome asked, trying to make him laugh.

He looked at her, not laughing, but completely seriously. "Like ten Toutousais. Forges and all."

"Ugh," Kagome said. "No wonder you don't want to go there."

InuYasha shrugged. "But I will. By the time Miroku's through organizing things, he'll probably have a list of things people will ask him to buy a mile long, and there's no way I'll be able to let him go alone. It'd be too hard and dangerous for him to try to get it all back here. Too many bandits between here and there. Sango would kill me if something happened to him. So I'll have to go with him."

"Would he do that?" she asked. She picked up one of his hands and laced her fingers through his. "Trap you into going like that."

"Yes." InuYasha gave her hand a little squeeze.

Kagome sighed, nodding. "You're right. I guess he would."

For a few minutes, they sat there, snuggling close. Neither spoke; but this time, it was a more comfortable silence, only broken when the water began to boil, and overflowed the top of the pot.

"I guess it's time for your bath," InuYasha said. He unwound himself reluctantly from around his wife. "I'll go get the tub."

During the bath, InuYasha played attendant, washing her back and rubbing her shoulders. Kagome finally unwound and began to yawn, and not long afterwards, InuYasha was able to coax her into bed. Kagome, too tired to do any more, let InuYasha snuggle her spoon fashioned, her back firmly against the hanyou's chest, his arms around her, a safe and warm cocoon. She fell asleep almost immediately. His body wanted her, but he contented himself watching her rest, listening to the sound of her breathing.

His ear flicked as a thought struck him, and he spoke softly into the darkness, not sure if he was going to be heard or not. "Kazuo, you better do what you can to give Chime a good day tomorrow. Everybody's had enough trouble to last a year these last few days," he said. Somewhere, not far from the house, an owl called. "And no more babies for a while, all right? Last night and today - that was enough."

There was a sound, almost like a chuckle, carried in by the wind. "You know," InuYasha said, smiling. "I think you're as bad as Daitaro, old man. I wonder if that's where he gets it from." He laid his cheek on Kagome's head, and breathed deeply of his wife's scent. Not long after, he too drifted off at last.


	202. Chapter 202

_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 202**

The dawn was just beginning to gray the sky.

Hisa, the first up in her household, stepped out of the building. She looked up at the sky. It was mottled with patches of clear amongst the opaque clouds. A group of geese, flying in vee formation, headed away from the river.

"Okaasan always said it was good luck to see geese in the morning," she said.

"Did she now?" a voice behind her said.

She turned and saw her oldest son walking up to her. Susumu had on his normal cocky grin, but he was also looking tired. Although he carried a lamp in his left hand, with the early morning gray, it gave off very little light.

"She did indeed, son," Hisa said, smiling at him. "I'm not sure if was because she thought it was a good thing to be up and getting busy, or if she really thought they were a good omen."

"I think I'll take it as an omen," the village guardian said. "It was a long night, but there was no trouble." He yawned.

"It was good of you to take Eiji's turn," Hisa said. "The day he had yesterday . . . "

"I don't think he could have made it another night," Susumu said, shrugging. "After having to deal with both Michio and Chiya, he didn't have much left in him. Any noise from the lockup?"

"Not yet," Hisa said. "Or at least if he did start complaining, it happened when I was too asleep to notice."

"Well, there's that for another good omen," Susumu said. "I wonder if Sukeo ever went home?"

"Let's go see," Hisa said.

Together they began walking towards the lockup. There was no noise coming from it, but laying in front of it was the sleeping form of Seiji's oldest son. He was curled up around the form of his brother's dog. The dog looked up as they neared, flicked an ear, decided they weren't worth warning off, and lay back down. There was a worn but serviceable coverlet, faded blue spread over the youth. Only the boy's face was free of the cloth.

"That poor child," Hisa said. "Did you cover him up?"

Susumu nodded. "About two hours after dark, I tried to get him to go home, or at least some place sheltered, but he refused. When I came back from my round, he was hard asleep. It was easier to cover him than to get him to move, so that's what I did."

"Such loyalty." Hisa shook her head. "There's some good in that boy."

"Indeed. A worthwhile trait," Susumu said, nodding. "But it's a shame its being wasted on a useless piece of crap like his father."

"I still remember when you and Seiji were about twelve," Hisa said, pulling her own cloak closer against the morning chill. "He looked very much like Sukeo-kun here. He was so intense, and had such a temper on him. Even so, I never expected the type of man he grew up into."

"Life is funny," Susumu said, nodding. He frowned, remembering old days. "When I was that age, I thought he'd be my best friend for life. And now look at how we've turned out. I've seen him turn around in his tracks rather than speak to me."

Hisa shook her head. "We all make choices," she said. "You made better choices than he did."

Susumu shrugged "I guess. Maybe it was just that Daitaro-ojisan was just more stubborn than me."

"Something happened." Hisa let out a long, sad sigh, and brought her outer cloak as close as she could. "I'm going back in. Time to start breakfast. And maybe make some tea."

"Tea sounds good, Okaasan," the village guard said. "And then maybe a nap. I don't want to fall asleep at Shinjiro's wedding."

That shattered the sadness she was entertaining, and although it didn't go totally away, she smiled. "Then let's go stir up the fire. It's more pleasant inside than outside this morning."

Susumu nodded. "But let's enjoy the peace while we can." He took a hard look at the lockup building. "I have a feeling it's going to get very noisy as soon as he wakes up."

Hisa nodded. Together, the two of them went back to the main house.

Up on the hill, Miroku, having woken up rather early, was at his little temple. Incense curled up, rising to the ceiling.

"However innumerable beings are, I vow to save them;  
>However inexhaustible the passions are, I vow to extinguish them;<br>However immeasurable the Dharmas are, I vow to master them;  
>However incomparable the Buddha-truth is, I vow to attain it," the monk chanted.<p>

Miroku, as usual, had left the door to the chapel open. As he finished his morning devotions, he heard footsteps behind him.

"Those are noble sentiments, Houshi-sama," the voice that went with the footsteps said.

Miroku turned around and saw Daitaro standing there, giving him a friendly smile.

"They are," the monk said, moving towards the old farmer.

"That second one, the one about passion. That sounds particularly hard." He scratched the back of his neck.

"You noticed that, did you?" Miroku said, giving Daitaro a small twist of a smile. "Notice that the vow is a vow to do it; it doesn't actually say when it will be accomplished."

"Heh, not even age does it," the farmer said. "Although I will admit, it seems to slow things down a bit."

"You may be on to something there," Miroku said, joining the old farmer. "My master Mushin-sama, well, let's say as he aged, his passions shifted. Now he's as fond of sake as you are. Maybe more."

That made the old man chuckle. "It is one that's easier to indulge in as time goes by. But the passions of the heart - do they ever change? Anger, hate, fear?"

"That's what the Buddha tries to teach us," Miroku said, grabbing his staff and heading for the door. "And not just the dark feelings. There's an old teaching poem that says,

'The Perfect Way knows no difficulties  
>Except that it refuses to make preferences;<br>Only when freed from hate and love,  
>It reveals itself fully and without disguise.'"<p>

"Even love?" Daitaro seemed surprised by that.

"Love . . . It can trap us even more than anger," the monk replied, sighing, but his eyes proclaimed he really wasn't frustrated by that reality. "The goal of the way is to release us from suffering. Think about it. How would you react if something would happen to Chime-sama?"

The two men stepped outside while Daitaro pondered that. "I guess I'm not ready to be a saint," Daitaro said. "I'd rather be attached to those I love, than let that bond go."

Miroku clapped the older man on the arm. "I know the feeling well myself. So what brings you up here so early in the morning?"

"My last chance at a little peace and quiet before everything starts today," the old farmer said. "I started by paying my respects to the family kami. Thought I owed him some sake before we drink it all. Maybe old Kazuo might stop by and give us his blessing."

Miroku chuckled. "I suspect he'll appreciate that. After the way this week has turned out, it can't hurt. I hear he had a desire for a taste of your brew."

"That's what I heard. It surprised me at first," Daitaro said, "that the reputation of my sake had even reached the kami, but then, I thought, well, why not? It's not like Kazuo-no-kami isn't really one of us."

"He does seem to act like it," Miroku said, nodding. "It's rare that a family kami seems to take such a strong interest in his people. Your family is blessed."

"Or cursed with a meddling busybody. I haven't decided yet, but still," Daitaro said, "his intentions seem good."

"True, true," the monk replied, chuckling at the old farmer's description.

Daitaro pushed his eboshi cap back and forth on his head, a gesture very similar to the one the kami tended to use, even if he didn't know it. "Then I thought I'd stop by here and ask Kwannon for the same thing. Didn't think sake was the right thing to offer, though."

"You're probably right about that one." Miroku tapped his staff on the ground a moment, thinking. "Would you like me to stop by this afternoon and chant some sutra?"

"Chime would probably like that," Daitaro said. "She . . . well you know, after Shinjiro's first wife died, she always sort of blamed herself. I don't know why. Poor girl was so swollen up and irritated before she passed on. Chime asked her to do some washing right before she got sick. You know how some folks think that's bad luck."

"I've heard that," Miroku said. "But still . . . "

Daitaro sighed. "So she's going overboard on things. It's a good thing she and Erime-chan are getting along so well. Otherwise, she might just smother her with her attention."

Miroku smiled. "Funny, the stories tend to be about how unkind the mothers-in-law are. Chime's the first one I've heard about who might drive the young bride crazy from being too nice."

"That's my woman," Daitaro said. "So come by. We might need Kwannon's blessing just to help her find the right balance."

"I'll do that," Miroku said.

"Good, good," the old farmer said. "Now I better get home before they send Genjo out looking for me. I kind of snuck off before anybody else was up." Waving goodbye, the old man headed home.

Miroku watched him for a moment. "Ah, attachment," he said, "how you play games on us all. Must be time for breakfast." And turning down the path to his house, he headed home.

At another location up on the hill, a young couple were having a quite different morning experience.

InuYasha's ear twitched as he began to wake up, but it wasn't sound that disturbed his sleep. It was a sensation. Something light and feathery was running along his thigh.

As he became more aware, the gentle touch began to send pleasant tingles through his body. He leaned into the touch, enjoying it and the scent it came with, something that smelled delicious, not like food, but fed another hunger, and he wanted more. It began to dawn on him that he could feel something soft and warm pressing against his body that seemed to be the source of both the tingles and the scent, and his hand reached out, pulling it closer. The feather touches grew firmer, then, and his alertness realized that the tingles had become a hand that reached out and cupped his buttock, bringing that warm softness pressing against him even closer. The scent, spiced with want, resolved as he lifted into consciousness into one he knew very well.

"Kagome," he breathed as he opened his eyes.

"Good morning," Kagome said, looking up at him. There was amusement in her blue-gray eyes and something more heated. He took a deep breath and became fully awake.

"Bold woman to wake me up like that," he said, propping his head up on one elbow. "How did you know I wouldn't be startled and wake up ready to fight?"

Kagome laughed, a pleasant musical sound. "Oh, I have these powers," she said, and laughed again. She leaned forward just a little and planted a small kiss at the base of his throat

Briefly, he looked up at the room around him. The light filtering in through the window was grey, with just the promise of day behind it. The birds gathered outside on the trees that surrounded the house had just begun their early dawn song. From somewhere else, perhaps down at Daitaro's, a cock had begun to crow.

"It's barely morning. Sun's not up over the horizon yet." He yawned widely, then gave her an amused smile. "Why are you up so early?"

"I could ask the same about you," Kagome said, pressing against him as she gave him a sultry grin. "But maybe it was because I went to sleep so early?" Her hand slid up his back, resting on his shoulder blade, and she kissed him lightly on the chin. "I feel a lot better than I did last night. I don't know how you put up with me. I was so tired and grumpy."

"You were, but you're worth it. You put up with me enough. I'm glad to hear you feel better," he said. "I don't like it when you get like that. It's not good for you." He cupped her face gently, running his thumb over her cheek, and leaned forward and gave her a quick kiss on the lips. "It's a good thing babies don't come every day. You'd never get any rest."

She moved her left arm, which had been propping her head up, through the white satin of his hair and around his neck. "We won't have to worry about that for a while. There won't be another one for months, Kaede tells me."

"Glad to hear that," he said. "Maybe this one will be sensible and decide to come during the day."

"That'd be nice," she said, smiling. "I wouldn't count on it, though. Babies seem to have a mind of their own. So we'll just have to get our relaxation before it arrives." Her right hand left his shoulder and began dancing between them, skating down across his stomach, and then brushing against the patch of white hair at its base.

His hand clasped hers, and moved it to the top of his thigh. "A mind of their own? Like my wife does?" He waggled his eyebrows at her. "Are you trying to start something, woman? Don't you have to go to Kaede's this morning?"

"Maybe I am," she said, giving him a smoldering look that set his blood on fire. Kagome freed her hand and moved it back to her target. This time, it didn't stop at his hair. With a grip that she had learned quite well in their short time together, her fingers wrapped around his length. Already somewhat rigid, it hardened more at her touch. "Getting up early has its advantages. It's a long time before I need to go to Kaede's."

His eyebrows went up, and then his look grew heated. "Well then, since you started it, let's finish it," he said. And with a moan, he captured her mouth with his, and this time the kiss was neither quick nor merely a greeting.


	203. Chapter 203

_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 203**

A little later, after their morning exercise, a rather contented Kagome sat by the fire pit, fixing breakfast. Lifting the lid on their breakfast soup, she gave the pot a stir, humming, and then singing, a childhood song:

"Why does the crow caw  
>flying over the mountain,<br>kawaii, kawaii  
>hear her calling."<p>

Her voice was sweet and happy-sounding. InuYasha, in about as mellow of a mood as his wife, was outside, walking towards his wood pile. His ears pricked up as he heard the song, and then he smiled as he stopped to listen. "Haven't heard her sing that song since our first day together, when she decided to clean up this place." He picked up his axe. "She's definitely in a really good mood. After yesterday evening, I wasn't sure if she was going to burst into tears or try to run home to her mother's. Funny how some rest can change everything. Even I feel better."

He stood there and listened as she sang another verse.

"Cute little babies,  
>waiting in your nest,<br>kawaii, kawaii,  
>hear how Okaasan cares."<p>

"Better get to work," he said, putting the axe over his shoulder. His ears cupped in the direction of the house, though as he listened to her happy tune.

"Mornings should start like this more often," he said as he walked to a stack of branches. These were leftovers from the trees he had trimmed that Choujiro was turning into boards, and a lot of the wood was perfect in size for making cooking fuel. "Never realized how good it'd be to let her wake up first. Stop being so dense, man."

InuYasha's lips lifted in a pleased grin thinking about how she had woken him up, and his body tingled at the memory. "I want to hold onto this feeling for a while. Nobody had better show up to ruin my mood today. If they do, they're going to get it." Grabbing a branch, he dragged it back to his wood chopping area. "No disasters. No emergencies. No stupid youkai. No asshole villagers." Quickly breaking off the pieces too fine to bother chopping, he tossed them into another pile to save for kindling before he started to cut the larger branch into useable sections.

Soon, he was absorbed in his task, tuning the rest of the world out. Being upwind of the road to his house and caught up in his work, at first didn't notice the two people walking up the path in his direction. That changed when one of them tripped and called out.

"Now what?" he asked, turning towards the road to see Choujiro with his cart of tools and Aki sprawled out on the path beside him.

"Better pay more attention to the road, boy," Choujiro said, holding out his hand to the youth. "If you're looking, you can trip over rocks in the road, or learn to step over them or walk around them."

Aki nodded and took the older man's hand. "I know, I know. I'm not always this clumsy."

"I believe you, son," Choujiro said, nodded. He chuckled a little. "Still, trying to sneak up on InuYasha is usually a futile task. And it's even worse when you aren't watching. Maybe one day you'll make it, when you get some more practice."

"Maybe," Aki said, getting to his feet. "You think I really can?"

"Don't know," said the woodworker, scratching his head. "But it won't hurt to keep practicing."

"Yeah," the boy said, dusting off his hakama. "I think I will!"

Choujiro chuckled as they began moving towards the hanyou's house.

"Yo," InuYasha said, waving at the unlikely pair. He was amused by the boy's goal, and decided not to discourage him. "I see you have a helper again today."

"I do indeed," the woodworker said, looking fondly at the boy. "Seems like Kinjiro said it was easier for him to finish up the soybean field himself. Thought I could use the help, what with Shinjiro being . . . well, rather busy today."

InuYasha nodded. "Oh, I suspect Chime's going to keep him pretty busy most of today," he said, chopping another section of branch into useable firewood. "But I didn't expect to see you here this early."

"You're working already?" Aki asked. "Choujiro-ojisan was right." He looked back up at his new mentor appreciatively. "I didn't know if you'd even be up yet."

"I get up with the sun, boy," InuYasha said. "Sometimes before it." He repositioned his chunk of wood on the chopping block.

"Eh, when you have a job to do, it'll get done faster if you get to it." Choujiro wheeled his cart up to the area where he had been working the day before. "I see you understand that rule as well."

"The wood's not going to get chopped by just thinking about it," InuYasha said, nodding. He looked down on the branch and cut another section, then tossed it to the side. "There are worse things to do in the morning."

"I always hated it when Chichi-ue or Ojiisan asked me to chop wood," Aki said, taking InuYasha's information in with a nod. "It always made my arms tired and my hands hurt."

"It's good for you, Aki-kun," Choujiro said. "Builds your arms up. If you do it enough, it doesn't hurt, and makes you stronger. A woodworker needs strong arms." The older man began taking tools out of the cart. "Here, boy, come hold this wedge."

Aki left InuYasha and hurried to the woodworker's side, where Choujiro handed him the hefty piece of metal.

"That's heavy," the boy said. His arm sagged under the weight.

"See," Choujiro said, laughing gently. "And that's not the big one I use sometimes. You need to be chopping more wood, not less." He looked back up at InuYasha, and then at Aki. "Besides that, a man who likes to get down to business early in the day and not wait around until he's nudged or desperate to get the job done is a man you can depend on. Sometimes, it's a hard lesson for young ones to learn. People appreciate being able to rely on you."

The boy swallowed, and then looked down at his feet, scuffing the ground with his right food. "I guess . . . I guess I haven't been very dependable."

"Some things we have to learn while we're growing up," InuYasha said. "It's not always fun."

"The smart ones do, anyway," Choujiro said. "Some men go to their graves wondering why they never got any respect, or even why they didn't get good at their work. Now, boy, let's see if we can get this log into place and start making some more boards."

InuYasha let Choujiro and Aki wrestle with the long a bit, but eventually put his axe down to give them a hand, then went back to his work while Choujiro explained about the importance of learning to work together. A little later, Kagome stepped out of the house to see Choujiro and Aki splitting down their first board and InuYasha stacking up his firewood on the rick alongside of the house.

"Everybody's so busy!" she said, drying her hand on a towel.

"It's the best way to be, Miko-sama," Choujiro said, looking up as Kagome spoke. He turned back to Aki. Placing his hands gently over the boy's hands, he said, "Try to keep the bar even. It's easier to handle, and you're less likely to get a bad split."

Aki nodded and continued working the tool down the wood.

"Keh," InuYasha said, agreeing. "Busy is good. Otherwise, you can spend too much time worrying about things."

"Sounds like you have some practice at that," Choujiro noted, stepping away from Aki's side.  
>"Enough," the hanyou admitted. He turned towards his wife. "Breakfast?"<p>

"If you're hungry," she said, nodding.

He propped his ax against the wall. "If there's food, I'll eat it."

Laughing a bit, Kagome turned and went back into the house, followed by her hungry husband.

Things down in the village weren't as placid.

Toshiro was walking to Tameo's place, wanting to ask a favor. As he passed the watch tower, heading east, he could hear the noise, several men talking all at once, but one especially strident.

It got louder as he reached the headman's compound. He walked through the gate to see a small cluster of men standing in the courtyard - Tameo and his workers, Jun and Koichi, along with Susumu, and Eiji. There were shouts coming from the small building they used as a lockup, and Seiji's son Sukeo was there, arms crossed and red in the face, as if he had been arguing. A dog wandered around, sniffing by the door of the lockup, then turned and looked up at the boy. His tail wagged nervously as Sukeo rested a hand on the animal's head.

"The boy just did what his father told him," Jun said. "Can't blame him too much for that."

"Whether he was wrong or just being a dutiful son," Tameo said, rubbing the back of his neck, "we can't allow this to happen. I'm sorry, Sukeo-kun. You won't be able to stay here unless one of us is with you until the elders decide what to do."

"Curse you, Tameo," a voice yelled. It was Seiji's and it was coming from the little building. "Let me out of here!"

The adults turned to look at the building. The dog turned as well and whined. Sukeo knelt down and hugged the dog's neck, soothing him with words too soft for Toshiro to hear.

Tameo rubbed the back of his neck again. "Nobody's letting anybody out until we have a council, Seiji," the headman said. "You can do with your family what you want, but when you attack a miko, it's a different matter."

"The hell you say." Seiji's voice was loud and strident. "Damn, my head hurts. My chin . . . "

"It wouldn't hurt so much if you weren't shouting. Hisa-chan can prepare some medicine, if you want," Tameo said. "She's had some experience," he said, looking at Susumu, "at treating headaches for what caused yours."

"Keep your woman's poison away from me, Headman," Seiji said. The way he said headman sounded like an insult. "Sukeo-kun!"

The boy turned towards the lockup window. "Yes, Otousan?"

"Go home and get your okaasan to make me her headache potion," Seiji said. "I'm not going to take anything these . . . these . . . people try to pour down my throat." He started coughing. It sounded like he was about to retch, but he got it under control. "No telling what they'd put in it."

"Seiji," Eiji said, disapprovingly. "Stop pointing fingers to try to pass the blame. All this is your own fault. I was there. I saw it. Don't accuse Tameo-sama of whatever darkness is in your own heart."

"Fuck you, asshole," Seiji said. He began to cough again. "Stop sticking your nose into other people's business." His voice turned softer, but darker, with a clear threat. "You keep it up, and who knows what will happen."

The dog began to growl, softly. Sukeo patted the animal's ears.

"Enough," Tameo said.

The boy looked up at the headman with pleading eyes. Tameo sighed and nodded.

"Suit yourself, Seiji," Tameo said. "Sukeo-kun's a good boy. He stayed watching by your side all night. We won't hold it against him that he tried to let you out without permission." He turned to the youth. "Go ahead, son."

"I'll be back soon, Otousan," the boy said. He quickly headed towards the gate, the dog following at his heels. As he passed Toshiro, he greeted the elder with a quick bow before breaking out in a run. In a moment he was out of the gate and heading towards his own home.

"Well," Toshiro said, somewhat surprised by everything he had been listening to as he walked up to the group of men, "it sounds like you're having an interesting morning, Tameo. Looks like I've walked into a cockfight, although to listen to Seiji, it sounds like a wolf's den."


	204. Chapter 204

_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

_A/N I have been getting a lot of comments lately asking about when InuYasha and Kagome will have a child. Let me remind you that quite early in the story I said how conception for them will be rare, and only when certain magical conditions happen. And on top of that, this story is only up to day 16 of Kagome's return. Even if she were carrying, it is highly unlikely anybody would have realized it by now. But, I can assure you, she's not. When we reach that special moment, you, the reader, will know it has arrived. The chain of events I expect to generally follow is marked out in my collection of oneshots. As for their enthusiasm of intimacy at this time, let me remind you they are newlyweds. There's an old saying about putting a bean in a jar for every time a newlywed couple has their fun the first year of marriage, and then taking one bean out for every time after that - supposedly that bean jar takes a long time to unload, especially after the kids start arriving..._

**Chapter 204**

At the village headman's house, Emi, Susumu's wife, stepped on the verandah, carrying a broom. She began to sweep, but kept half an eye on the knot of men.

The loud bickering that had been going on between Seiji and the other men stopped as Toshiro joined the group. For a moment, the only real sound was the sound of her broom sweeping.

Koichi was the first to break the silence. "Ah, Toshiro-sama." He bowed towards the older man. "It does look like it's some sort of fight, and early in the day, too," he said, rubbing his chin, as he looked thoughtfully at the lockup building. "Too early for fun and sport. A cockfight? I don't know if I'd call it that. They tend to be more exciting than this. This one lacks anything like excitement. It's just loud."

Susumu gave a short, bitter bark of a laugh, and nodded. "Loud is the word."

Eiji looked at the elder, much less relaxed than the evening he sat on Tsuneo's verandah all night. He stood there, legs splayed, arms crossed. His eyes were stern, still irritated at Seiji's words and the threat behind them. "The fight was yesterday, Toshiro-ojisan." He spit. "Today is just the leftover mess, the type of mess you like to haul out to a midden and bury because of the stench."

"That bad, eh?" Toshiro said. "I seem to have missed a lot."

The headman, though, seemed pleased to see Toshiro, and his greeting smile reflected that. "Glad you showed up, cousin," he said, moving next to the man. "I was going to send for you, but you beat me to the punch. I hope everything at your home is going well. I know how it can be after the new ones come. Hisa-chan this morning was telling me your new granddaughter has quite a set of lungs."

Toshiro snorted. "All my grandchildren seem to be gifted that way." He smiled, a small upturn of his lips that was filled with some sardonic feeling. "They never seem to outgrow it, either." He clapped the headman on the shoulder. "Maybe you should have moved the lockup to my place, Tameo. We're used to the noise there. We probably wouldn't have even noticed this."

Emi, finished with her sweeping, walked back into the house.

"I wouldn't wish that on anybody," the headman said, shaking his head. "Certainly not someone like you. Your household might be lively, but your daughter-in-law deserves more than having this piece of work hanging around her courtyard, anyway. So how are things?"

Toshiro rubbed his chin. "As well as can be with a new baby. We'll be getting back to normal in a few days . . . I hope." He crossed his arms. "So what's this all about?"

The man inside of the lockup, who had for some reason, been mostly quiet during all this exchange, took this question for his cue. "That white-haired monster that Tameo keeps in the village attacked me!" Seiji said, his voice booming. "I've got witnesses!"

Toshiro rubbed his fingertip in his ear, as if the sound from Seiji's voice was painful. "White-haired monster?" The elder frowned, thinking whom he might mean, and then his frown deepened. "Do you mean InuYasha-sama?"

"Who else would I mean?" Seiji said. He began to cough. It was a chokey sounding cough, more from his throat than from his lungs.

Susumu spit. "The hells, Seiji," the village guard said. "What dream world have you been living in? He attacked you?"

"Go to hell, Susumu," Seiji replied. "I'm the one who got attacked."

Emi walked back out of the house. This time she carried long lengths of cloth, coverlets from the family beds. Walking to the side of the house, she began putting them on the clothesline there to air out.

"And I was there to see it all," Susumu replied. He crossed his arms, and his eyes narrowed. "Don't tell this story backwards. Your witnesses will all say how you pushed the miko Kagome-sama in front of her husband. After she hit the ground, he punched you for it. Who's going to call what he did an attack? You're lucky he didn't take your head. He had the right to."

"InuYasha-sama's warrior class." Tameo said, sighing. "You know that. And he's more than a peasant-warrior like you." He shook his head. "Susumu's right. You're lucky to still be breathing. I - "

Whatever he was going to say got interrupted. Just then, a chicken squawked, loudly. Heads turned to look. What they saw was Jun's young son Mikio running across the courtyard. The bird scooted out of the way with a noisy flap of its wings as the boy made a beeline for the gathered men.

"Somebody got away from his mother, it seems," Koichi said. "Looks like you're wanted."

Jun sighed, and scratched the back of his neck. "Now what? If it hasn't been one thing today, it's been another."

"Otou, Otou!" the boy called as he ran up to the farm worker. "Otou!" He stopped in front of his father and wrapped his arms around the man's leg, looking up. "Otou!"

The farmhand picked up his son, with an apologetic smile to the other men before turning his attention to the boy. "You're looking for me, Mikio-chan?" he asked, ruffing his son's hair. "I'm not lost. I've been here for a while."

Mikio nodded. "Okaasan knows. She sent me. Where's Isao?" the child asked. "Okaasan wants him."

"Well, at least that's not a disaster," Susumu said, a bit amused, having been caught in the same situation more than once. He unfolded his arms and scratched his chin. "And you even know the answer."

Jun rolled his eyes. "Isao's helping Emi-obasan," he told his son who was already wiggling to get down. "They're in the big house. Did you look there?"

"Nooooo," the boy said, shaking his head. "Okaa said to ask you first."

"Well, you've asked me. Now go find him," Jun replied, sighing. "Otou is busy right now. Go ask Emi-obasan." He gave the boy a quick hug.

His son nodded and let his father put him down. With a wave, he ran to the main house. Emi, still outside, met him half way, took him by the hand, and led him in. "Riki-chan's looking for Isao-kun?" she asked as they walked inside the house.

"Sorry, sorry," Jun said, apologizing. "You know how little ones get."

"Indeed, we do," Toshiro said, nodding, amused "Oh, we definitely do."

"I guess that's a reminder that we all have things to do," Tameo said. "Definitely too much to do to put up with your nonsense, Seiji. I think we've listened all we're going to for the moment."

"Go to hell," the voice in the lockup said.

"Today's going to be a busy day in my family. This was an extra bit of excitement that we didn't need." He turned to Toshiro. "Did you hear the details?"

"Not so much," Toshiro said. "I'm afraid I slept through most of whatever happened in the village yesterday afternoon. Didn't wake up until sunrise."

Susumu gave him a sympathetic nod. "After the night you had," he said, "I'm not surprised. Between Yasuo, Sayo and Michio . . . "

Toshiro nodded. "True. It was an interesting night. Still, sleeping in at my house with all the young ones there is quite a feat sometimes. Especially when they get as excited as they were yesterday," the elder said, rubbing the back of his neck. "I must have been bone tired, but I'm still all stiff from laying down that long." He rotated his shoulders, trying to limber up. "So tell me what happened."

"Our friend here," Eiji said, pointing at the lockup, "got into his sake early. He had words with Michio, then decided to beat up on his youngest."

"Stupid boy," Seiji said, his voice non-apologetic. "It's my right. I told him not to do that. Doing his lazy mother's work." His bravado was cut short by a coughing fit. He coughed hard, a gagging cough, almost choking.

"Then the boy sensibly ran to Kaede's. His face was injured." Eiji crossed his arms. "It's a good thing I was there, or our friend here might have gone into Miko-sama's house to drag the boy away before Kaede could treat his injuries." He frowned. "Breaking the peace by entering Kaede's house like that is not a respectable act."

"Bah," Seiji said. He panted a little, catching his breath. "He only got part of what he deserved. Hells, he didn't get enough. He got away from me before I was through."

"It is your right to discipline your family," Toshiro said, his brows knitting together. "But not so much to interfere with Kaede-sama's work."

"Then tell her to stay out of the way," Seiji replied. He began to cough again.

"That's not what I meant," the elder said. "If she thought he needed treatment, it's her right to give that person sanctuary while she does it. Threatening to do into her house to take out someone? Eiji is right. That is breaking the peace."

Whether Seiji heard him or not was impossible to tell. The man kept coughing.

"Drink something, Seiji, before you drown in your own spit," Tameo said, staring at the little building, his face a stern frown. "Or do you think we poison our own well water?"

Seiji replied with something no one could understand, but they heard water slosh.

"That was bad enough," Eiji continued. His arms gripped his biceps and dug in. "But then, later, he came back. Maeme-sama was with Kaede this time, and he demanded she come out. Kaede said no. But this time, there was a crowd gathered. He was drunker, and while he was ranting, he knocked the young miko-sama to the ground."

"Some miko," Seiji said. "Married to that monster. Married to anybody. What type of miko is that? Married. Miko belong to the kami, not to men like us, much less a half-youkai vagabond. She might dress in miko garb, but - "

"Be quiet, Seiji." Tameo said. "You may not respect her, but she is a miko of our village."

"Tameo-sama is correct," Toshiro said. "Kaede accepted her as apprentice; she is a miko, no matter what her marriage arrangements. And she clearly has the power and calling, from what I hear."

"InuYasha-sama went easy on you, fool," Eiji said. "Even with all your crap."

"Get fucked, Eiji," Seiji said. "I know who turned the council against me being in the guard, don't think I don't."

"I'm not the one who - " Eiji said, but he was interrupted by Tameo.

"That's water under the bridge now," the headman said. "We have enough to deal with now."

Eiji, sighing, nodded to Tameo, but his frown deepened.

"Heh," Susumu said. "But Eiji is right. Seiji's lucky to still have his head. InuYasha-sama was right there when he pushed Kagome-chan. All InuYasha did was punch Seiji once, on the chin. He went out like a light."

Toshiro looked at the lockup. "I didn't know you had such a delicate chin," he said, surprised.

"Fuck you, too, old man." This time, Seiji retched in honesty, and couldn't hold it back.

"You're an ass, Seiji," Susumu said. "I've seen him split trees with that fist. He had to throw his punch not to hurt you any more than he did. If he had wanted to, your brains would have been splattered between here and Fujiyama."

Seiji, too busy losing his stomach, didn't reply.

"Let's move to the office," Tameo suggested. "Jun, Koichi, keep an eye on the lockup just in case."

Koichi sighed. "Only if I get to stand upwind."

Susumu barked a short, bitter guffaw. "Whatever it takes."

The village guardsmen and the two elders headed towards the house.

"So what do you want to do, Tameo?" Toshiro said, rubbing the back of his neck again. "Looks like we have another pretty mess. I know he's of my ko, but we've had so many problems with him in the past. I..." His voice drifted off.

Tameo rubbed his own forehead. "I just want to be sure Shinjiro's wedding goes well today, without any of Seiji's tricks," the headman said. "I don't have the time do solve this problem today. And it looks like we may have more than a drunk episode going on. He's hinted about Chiya. He just threatened Eiji. I don't know if it's the sake or what he really has going on in the back of his mind . . . Michio and his father . . . well, we could have a real nasty situation. Especially if he decides to pull something during the wedding."

They stopped outside of the verandah. Toshiro crossed his arms. "And?"

"Chichi-ue's thinking about calling the full elder's council. Today would not be good. We need to delay the meeting," Susumu said, resting his hand on his father's shoulder. "Keep him locked up until at least tomorrow. Besides, if he decided Kagome was to blame, he might try something on that front as well."

"True," Tameo said, nodding. "And I don't want blood to mar Shinjiro's wedding day. He's waited long enough to give it another try. I can't guarantee InuYasha wouldn't exercise his right to take his head."

"Then keep him locked up," Toshiro said. "We can deal with him later. We all need to think on this."

Tameo patted him on the shoulder. "Good, good. I'm glad you agree. Let's have some tea, and you can tell me all about your new grandchild."

"And maybe Hisa would like to visit my house?" Toshiro asked, as they stepped on the verandah. "If someone doesn't knock some sense into Nanami . . . maybe Hisa can get her to rest."

"Shame Haha-ue's eye doesn't seem to work on older women as well," Susumu said.

"That's because older women all have that eye," Tameo said, sliding the door open. "One day, your Emi will, too."

Susumu snorted. "You think she doesn't already?"


	205. Chapter 205

_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

_A/N Just a note to remind you that I do answer all questions people ask about the story, but if you are not logged in when you ask, and your question comes up as a guest comment, I have no way to respond._

**Chapter 205**

InuYasha and Kagome left Choujiro and Aki to their work and walked back into the house for breakfast.

"Smells good in here," InuYasha said as he stepped through the door after Kagome.

"You say that almost every time it's time to eat," the young miko said, slipping off her sandals before stepping up on the wooden floor. Dropping off her towel by the wash basin, she headed to the fire pit.

"Keh," the hanyou replied as he dipped his own hands in the basin to clean up. "I say it because it's true. Smells like time to eat. I like to eat, so it smells good." He wiped his hands dry. "And I like how you cook."

Kagome, who had already settled down at her place at the fire pit, looked up, and gave a pleased laugh, musical to InuYasha's ears. "You don't know how much I wanted to hear you say that when I was fifteen."

InuYasha sat down at his place, his ears slightly back as he gave her a sheepish grin. "Yeah, well, like I've told you before, I was kind of stupid then. And . . . "

"And?" Kagome said, taking the lid off the rice pot. She gave him a look he wasn't sure of how to interpret, and it made him a bit nervous. He didn't want to spoil the good feeling the morning had started off with.

He took a deep breath, trying to choose his words carefully. "And maybe you learned some more recipes since then." He swallowed, his ear flicking, waiting to see how she would take how he said it.

"That's true," she said, smiling gently at her husband. It amused her somewhat to see how anxious he was getting over this discussion, but better yet was watching the tension leave him as she reacted calmly. "Oh, at fifteen, I was so anxious about cooking. I wanted to be as good at it as my mother, and I really wanted to impress you, even though I don't know how much you understood that. But I learned a lot in the time we were apart. Plus," she said, pausing to dip up the rice. She handed him a bowl.

"Plus what?" He put the rice bowl on his tray.

"I got the impression you really liked my cooking more than you would admit." She put a piece of fish on a plate and gave it to him, waiting to see his reaction.

His lips curled up into another one of those slightly nervous, sheepish grins he got when she compared then and now. "I told you I was kind of stupid in those days. Yeah, I liked how you cooked. Hells, I was amazed you were willing to even want to cook for me. I was just too . . . scared and stupid to talk about it."

"I thought so," she said, beaming at him. She put her own piece of fish on her tray, then handed him a dish of sliced pickles.

"But I really liked it when you put pickles in things," he said, picking up a pickle slice.

Kagome looked at him and grinned. "That I never forgot."

As he popped it into his mouth, she dipped up the soup.

Outside, Choujiro called out to Aki. "That's it, boy. You're doing it!"

Aki, quite excited, replied, "Yes, I'm doing it! All right!"

There was the sound of wood falling, followed by Choujiro's pleased, "Well done!"

"Heh, boy must have made a board. Choujiro and Aki, they sound like a real team out there," InuYasha said, picking up his rice bowl.

"Who would have thought Aki would settle down with any grownup so quickly?" Kagome said, drinking her soup.

"Yeah," InuYasha said, attacking his rice with hungry abandon. "Kinjiro was smart, seeing the way those two took together."

"He was, wasn't he?" Kagome said, nodding. She put her cup down.

"Or else he was just tired of putting up with the boy's crap, and Choujiro was ready to pick up the slack, or both, maybe." He picked up a pickle slice and ate it thoughtfully. "I don't know. Maybe learning he didn't cause his obaasan's breakdown helped him settle down. Guilt can make a person do some stupid things."

"I know," Kagome said. She grew thoughtful as she picked up her own rice. "I've kind of seen that in action. It's hard to try to deal with, when people are reacting that way. You can't just knock sense into them. They have to let that guilt go and get over it on their own, no matter what you try to tell them."

InuYasha's ear flicked. The way she looked up at him, he realized she was thinking about their own past, and he sighed. He put down his rice bowl, determined not to let old memories spoil their day together. "It's hard, you know, letting the guilt go. Sometimes, it takes a determined friend to put up with their crap until they work it out." He gave her an appreciative look. "But we've come a long way since then."

"Yes we have. And it was worth it in the long run," she said, reaching out to touch his hand. Her smile assured him that there were no ghosts out there that were going to haunt them today.

He gave her hand a little squeeze, then picked up his own soup bowl. "Maybe Aki's found what he needed to let go of whatever was making him act stupid with Choujiro. Man's probably known the brat all of his life. Choujiro does a lot of work around Tsuneo's place. He has to know what he's like."

"Maybe they've always been like this?" Kagome said. "They act like old buddies. It's obvious that Aki likes him, and Choujiro seems to enjoy having him around."

"Could be," the hanyou said, nodding. "Main reason Kinjiro took him on is because they needed to make a quick decision. Besides, nobody thought of him. Funny thing, how that works. He's poorer and doesn't have a lot of family in the village. He's liked, but he'll never be one of the important people here because of that. Nobody even thought about him when they were thinking who ought to be the adult he should work with, but it looks like Choujiro might be the best match of all. I'll guess we'll see how it all works out. Aki's still supposed to go to Daitaro's tomorrow. Maybe the old man and Choujiro need to have a talk."

"Sounds like it," Kagome said. "It's a shame nobody stepped up when Seiji was a boy."

"Yeah," InuYasha said, his ear twitching at the mention of his name. "I know they tried. Just might not have been anybody around who was right."

They quietly finished their meal.

After breakfast, Kagome made onigiri for lunch, changed out of her housewife's kosode and wrap skirt and into the red and white of her miko robes, much to the enjoyment of InuYasha's viewing pleasure, ran a brush through her hair, and then sitting on the edge of her wooden floor, she slipped on her sandals.

"Another day, something new to learn, I'm sure," Kagome said. "I feel like I'm still in school."

"Well, you're a student, anyway," InuYasha said, agreeing. "Learning to be a miko-healer. I guess you're in Kaede-babaa's school."

She looked up at InuYasha, who towered over her as she got into her footwear. His face was placid and patient. "That's about right. And I still put on a uniform every day," she said. "Although I do have to admit, this is one of the more comfortable ones I've had to wear. It'll definitely be better in the winter. And better than a wrap skirt for riding InuYasha-back."

"Keh," the hanyou said, smiling softly. "I like it better than your old uniforms. This way, only I get to see your legs."

Kagome raised an eyebrow on that one. "Possessive, are we?" she asked, standing up. For some reason, at this moment, the look he gave her amused her - warm and wanting, not smug, but clear in his preferences.

His arms wrapped around her. "About you? I'm supposed to be. You're my wife. I don't want to share any more than I have to. Bad enough I have to share you with Kaede and the village." He slipped his fingers into her hair.

"But I like learning to be a healer," she said.

"And that's why I'm willing to share you," he said, nodding. "It's a good thing, and I'm willing to do it. It's important to you. But I'm glad I don't have to share your legs, too."

Kagome laughed. "I certainly don't share your legs with anybody else. But I don't think that was my choice. I'd look at them all the time if I had the chance." She stood up.

"And I'd look at yours," he said. "But we have to go out in public sometimes."

That made the both of them laugh as they walked out of their house. The woodworkers waved as they spotted them.

"Sounds like you two are determined to have a good day," Choujiro said. "So, Miko-sama, off to start another day saving us from our hurts and pains?"

"I'm going to try," she said. "Or at least learn something new that will help."

Choujiro glanced at his young companion. "Learning is good, is it not?" He turned back to her and smiled.

"Keh," InuYasha replied.

They made their goodbyes, and the young couple headed down the hill.

About the same time InuYasha and Kagome made it down the hill and started walking to Kaede's house, the doormat lifted on Daitaro's house. Genjo stood there, looking at his mother, who was standing in the beaten earth domo, glancing around as if she were checking to make sure she hadn't misplaced something.

She turned to her son."You've got the right basket?" Chime said. Her voice seemed to echo a little. For the moment, outside of her, the building was empty.

"I do," Genjo said, lifting up his wicker burden. "Mariko-chan had it waiting for me and handed to me herself."

His mother gave him a bright smile."Good, good. This is the last thing I want to do before I come home and set everything up for this evening." The older woman looked back inside one last time. Everything was pristine, even after having made breakfast and feeding her son and husband. "It's hard to believe today is finally here. Tonight, your brother will be a married man once again."

"Everything's going to go perfectly, Okaasan, even if we didn't go up there."Genjo said, nodding knowingly. "Mariko's in the garden, and will get the greens we need. All the dried stuff is soaking. Chichi-ue and Ani-ue are taking care of the animals and double-checking Okuro's enclosure, to make sure he won't be getting out today. There's a couple of cows about ready, so he should stay entertained. Everybody knows we're having lunch at my house, so you won't have to worry about that. Our new clothes are all ready. It's going to be a great evening."

"I know, I know," Chime said. "It's just . . . well, maybe it's for luck, but also, it's to say thanks for the fact this day is finally here. For a long time, I didn't know if I'd live to see your brother remarry. And now . . . "

She let the door mat drop behind her. She, too, was carrying a basket, although not as large.

"Come on, Okaasan," Genjo said. "This was a good idea. It'll give you something to do besides fret all morning."

"I am not fretting," Chime said, as they started down the path.

"If you say so, Okaa."

Genjo noticed the way she carried herself, and the way her fingers danced over the wickerwork of the basket. "Not fretting," he said, just to himself. "Right." To distract her, he began to sing a song.

"We're going up,  
>we're going up,<br>but what do we bring,  
>what do we bring?"<p>

This made Chime laugh. "We're not going courting, son. Are you sure that's the right song to sing on your brother's wedding day? All that was done long ago."

They headed down the path that led to the main road. "We're going to court the gods, are we not?" Genjo said. "So I can sing a courting song. We want them to think we appreciate them, don't we?"

As she rolled her eyes, he went on with the next verse.

"We're going up,  
>we're going up,<br>We bring a rush hat.  
>Not good enough, not good enough."<p>

"What a greedy family in that song," Chime said. "Always asking for more betrothal gifts."

Genjo shifted his basket in his arms to get a better grasp.

"We're going up,  
>we're going up,<br>we bring some pickled plum.  
>Not good enough, not good enough."<p>

"But I do have some pickled plum in my basket," Chime said. "Are you saying pickles aren't worthwhile?"

Her son laughed. "Maybe it'll be good enough after all."

"We're going up,  
>we're going up,<br>we bring a paper fan.  
>Not good enough, not good enough."<p>

"Not hot enough for a fan yet, son." Chime said.

"It would still be good in case of gnats or flies," he said, defensively. "But they didn't think much of it, either, did they?"

They saw Mariko working in the vegetable patch. She stood up and waved. "I'm glad your wife's family wasn't as picky," Chime said as they waved back.

"You are right, there," Genjo said, agreeing.

They passed out of their walk and onto the main road, and headed up the hill.

"We're going up,  
>we're going up,<br>we bring some dried kombu.  
>Not good enough, not good enough."<p>

Chime merely shook her head. "That I didn't bring. I didn't think the gods needed something that suggested they have lots of children."

"Good," her son said. "I doubt if they need any help in that area. Seem to be plenty of kami wherever you turn around." He thought for a moment, before choosing the next verse.

"We're going up,  
>we're going up,<br>we bring a bundle of silken thread.  
>Not good enough, not good enough."<p>

"Enough!" Chime said. "I'm tired of the greed."

"We're going up,  
>we're going up," she sang.<br>"We bring true hearts, true hearts.  
>That's good enough, that's good enough."<p>

"Okaa," Genjo said, mock-frowning at his mother. "You're not supposed to skip to the end."

"Sometimes, it's worth it," she replied, smiling at him sweetly. "That song has enough verses to last all the way to where we're going."

"That was the idea, Okaasan," the young man said.

"Not good enough, not good enough," his mother replied.

This time, it was Genjo who rolled his eyes.


	206. Chapter 206

1_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 206 **

While Chime and her son were heading up the hill, Kagome and InuYasha walked into Kaede's house. The old miko, also an early riser had evidently been at work a while. She had her mortar out, and bags of herbs were scattered around her.

"Good morning, Kaede-obaasan," Kagome said, stopping to take off her shoes as she stepped up on the wooden floor of the miko's little house. "Are we late? You look like you've been busy for a while."

"No, no, children," Kaede said. "I just wanted to get started. She gave her pestle a final push before up. Grabbing one of her herb bags, she took a small quantity of dried leaves out, measured it in her hand, then put it in the mortar, then gave a good look at the newcomers. "I must admit," she said, nodding approvingly as she looked them over with her calm eye, "that you two look much better than you did yesterday afternoon."

Kagome, nodding, walked over to sit next to Kaede. "It's really amazing what a good night's sleep can do," she said. "The whole world looks brighter today."

"Rin thinks it's a good morning, too," Rin said. The girl was sewing in her corner, but looked up long enough to smile at the couple. "You look better, too, InuYasha-ojisan."

"Keh," the hanyou said. "I guess." He moved to go sit down against the far wall, where he would be out of the way of both the sewing and the medicine making. "And what's gotten into you? You look too happy for just a good night's sleep."

Rin giggled. "Sesshoumaru-sama came for a visit. That always makes Rin happy."

"I'd heard he did that," Kagome said, looking up from examining the bag of herbs Kaede had just added. "Kudzu?"

"Very good, Kagome-chan," Kaede said, nodding approvingly. "It's good for fever and body aches."

Kagome put the bag down, and looked at the young girl. "Did you have a good visit?"

The girl nodded, although a shadow briefly crossed her face. "Rin did. She worries about her lord. Jaken, well, likes to complain a lot."

InuYasha snorted. Kagome gave him a sharp look, but smiled at the girl. "I'm glad he came to see you. I know you've been missing him."

"He gave Rin a gift, too." Rin put her sewing down. Getting up, she moved to the chest where she kept her things.

"Sesshoumaru-sama is very generous to Rin," Kaede said as the girl went to fetch her latest gift. "He seldom visits without leaving her with something."

"Feh," InuYasha said, scowling. "At least he's learned better than when . . . "

Kagome gave him a sympathetic look, but touched her fingers to her lips, motioning him to be quiet. His scowl remained, but he nodded his agreement. "That's very kind of him," she said.

Rin gently lifted the bundle of bright cloth out of the chest. "Sesshoumaru brought me this kosode," she said, moving over to Kagome's side, where she half-draped it across the young miko's lap.

"A kosode?" Kagome said, a little surprised. "Interesting. Where I come from, a man giving a girl something like that means he considers her very special." She looked over at InuYasha, who had taken his sword out of his belt and rested it against his shoulder. He shrugged. She ran her fingers over the soft silk, and oohed. "No doubt you mean a lot to Sesshoumaru-sama. This is very lovely, Rin-chan. The color will bring out your eyes."

The girl smiled. "Kaede-obaasan told Rin the same thing. Rin will have to wear it on the next festival day." She got a silly look on her face. "Rin's lord sends her silk. Sometimes she wishes he would bring her linen. Linen is better in the garden. There are a lot more hours she spends in the garden than at festivals."

Kagome chuckled as the girl moved to put her dress back in her clothes chest. "But if he did that, what would Rin learn to sew on? Linen is much better for that."

The girl's eyes widened. "O, that's true, Kagome-ojisan. And then you wouldn't have a partner to learn to make clothes with."

"But I'm glad you're here, Rin-chan," Kagome said. "It's always better to have a partner to learn new things with." As Rin sat down to get back to her sewing, Kagome turned back to the old miko, who was watching their little exchange with amusement. "What are we going to do today, Kaede-obaasan?"

"Nothing critical, I hope," the miko said. She looked at her mortar and decided she had mixed enough. "I'd like to make the rounds of those who need to be looked at. Sora's boy is still down with his throat. Daisuke needs, no doubt, to be coaxed into taking his medicines."

"That old man, he's a hard headed one," InuYasha commented.

"You've noticed that, have you?" Kaede asked. She looked at him steadily, her one eye calm, but a small smile on her lips. "Reminds me of one or two other people I know."

Kagome, catching her reference to both her husband and possibly herself, giggled. InuYasha, though, didn't pick it up, and flicked his ear in uncertainty as he looked first at Kaede, and then back at his wife.

"I'll tell you later," the young miko said. InuYasha shrugged, but Kaede's lips turned up a little more in amusement.

Getting back to her work, the old miko carefully poured the herbal mixture she had been making onto a large square of paper. "We also need to check on Haname. I didn't like the way she was coughing the last time I saw her. This is why I'm mixing this compound. There's Sayo. I'm sure mother and daughter are doing well, or Yasuo would have been over here dragging me to check out his wife and child, but still, it's better to be sure. Some things he might not pick up on."

"When do you think Rin can see the new baby, Kaede-obaasan?" the girl asked, breaking off a new piece of thread. Carefully, she ran it into her needle.

"If all goes well, child, maybe next week when I make my rounds," Kaede said. "It's better that not too many people bother the mother and child the first month, but I'm sure Sayo won't mind."

Rin beamed at that, and resumed her stitching. "Another girl for the village. Rin likes that."

Carefully picking up the paper filled with the pungent herb mixture, Kaede folded it into a neat bundle, then pulled out a red cord to tie it with. "And I suspect we should drop by Maeme's to see how Nakao-kun is doing." She deftly tied the packet closed. "That should be more than enough to keep us busy this morning."

"Keh," the hanyou said. "That's a big circle of people."

"And they all need checking on. It's one of the duties that a healer does," Kaede said. "I certainly don't have the room to have them all in my house. And what about you, InuYasha? What will you be doing while we make our rounds?" The miko placed the packet into her basket to join one jar and several other packets.

"Following," the hanyou said.

Kaede looked up at him, one eyebrow raised at his answer.

"After what happened yesterday, there's no way I'm going to allow that son of a bitch Seiji anywhere near Kagome." His face was solemn, almost daring the old miko to say anything against it.

Kagome looked at her husband, surprised. "What? You don't think . . . I mean, Tameo . . . "

"You do know they have Seiji in the lockup at Tameo's house," Kaede said, looking at him placidly, not wishing to cause a disagreement. "I don't think they have let him out yet."

"Feh," the hanyou said, stuffing his hands in his sleeves. "Who knows how long he'll be there? And besides, his brother's not locked up, and he's nearly the bastard his brother is. I just don't want anything to happen. Especially not today."

The old miko nodded. "It is supposed to be a highly auspicious day today. Still, after seeing what happened yesterday afternoon, I'm not sure all this isn't related to some spell the yamabushi laid down before the kami took care of him - so many things following one after another."

"Yeah," InuYasha said. "Whatever. One thing after another here lately. This is Shinjiro's day, and I don't want those asses to mess it up today. If they try something . . . " He gripped the sword that was resting against his shoulder. "I just don't want to let anything get out of hand. Maybe me just being there might . . . "

"A noble sentiment, InuYasha," Kaede said, nodding. "I don't think anything will happen, but you may follow us on our rounds if you wish. Just don't blame me if you get bored."

Up on the hill, Miroku was hanging around the house for a while before going on his rounds. Sango, taking advantage of her husband's presence, declared it laundry day. As they worked on their linen, the young wife probed her husband about details of the previous day.

"So," she said, handing her husband a length of white linen she had just wrung out. "Kimi was really trying to blame herself for what Chiya did at the temple?"

"I'm not exactly sure," Miroku said. He took the cloth from his wife's hands, and gave it a shake. "Yusuko, don't take your sister's doll," he said, giving his daughter a sharp look. The doll was on the ground, next to Noriko. Noriko was stacking stones together, but soon as her sister would have taken it, Miroku knew there would have been a big squall. Yusuko squatted down next to her sister, looked at him and frowned.

Having averted one minor catastrophe, he hung the cloth on the line to dry. "I'm not sure if it's that she feels she caused it somehow," Miroku said, running his hand along the top of the cloth to smooth it out, "or if she's more upset how she felt with Chiya when Chiya pulled her stunt yesterday morning."

"I know how I would have felt," Sango said, scrubbing the next linen in the tub of water. "And what I would have done in her place. I don't think I would have had any guilt about it, either."

Yusuko, no longer stalking her sister's doll, instead, found a rock, and carefully added it to the stack her sister was building. Noriko babbled something that nobody but her sister could understand, and Yusuko nodded. She got up and began looking for other rocks. After a moment, she found one and hurried back to her sister, who added it to the pile.

"Since when have they started building rock heaps?" Miroku asked. "And what are they supposed to be?"

Sango sat back on her heels, and brushed a strand of hair out of her face. "They've been doing it for about a week now. I think they're trying to build a house for their dolls." She started wringing the cloth out.

Yusuko found another rock and offered it to her sister. "At the rate they're going," Miroku said, looking at them fondly, "they're going to rebuild Odawara castle right here."

"That would be a sight," Sango said, handing her husband the length of wet cloth.

"It would indeed," Miroku said. "But where would we hang up our laundry?"

Sango covered her mouth and laughed. "Where indeed?"

"Why not on the castle walls?" a soft voice asked. The monk and taijiya looked up to see Chime and her son Genjo walking up to them. "I think it would look lovely, like banners flying over the walls," Chime said.

She was carrying a basket, and her son was carrying another. The girls looked up from their building, and smiled shyly at the older woman. In a fit of giggles they ran and hid behind Miroku, peeking around the edge of his robes to look at the two newcomers.

"Ah, Chime-sama," Miroku said, bowing politely. "I certainly didn't expect to see you today."

Sango got up from her laundry, and drying her hands on her wrap skirt, bowed as well. "I thought you'd be too busy with everything," she said. "I hope everything is going well."

"Very well," Chime said. "My husband Daitaro isn't the only one who can turn up in unexpected places." She beamed at the two girls. "Sometimes, I even come around, with unexpected gifts." She reached into her basket and pulled out two chimaki, wrapped in bamboo leaves. She bowed to the monk. "These are for your beautiful daughters."

Miroku accepted them from her. "Thank you, Chime-sama." He stuffed them into his left sleeve. "I'm sure they will enjoy them a little later today."

"Good, good," Chime said.

"Haha-ue knows how to make the best chimaki," Genjo said. "If we lived near Kyoto, we could make a fortune."

"We have everything we need here, son," Chime said, fondly. "Why do we need Kyoto's money?"

"Why, indeed?" Sango said.

"Bring your basket here, son," Chime said.

Genjo brought his basket and set it down in front of Miroku, then backed up.

"They say it's good luck to donate to the Buddha to mark a special day," Chime said. "So we brought these gifts. This is a length of cloth that I and Mariko wove. I hope you can find it useful."

Miroku opened the lid to find a long length of pale blue cloth.

"It's lovely," Sango said.

Chime smiled. "It might come in handy. A monk with a growing family and a temple to run must always have needs." She handed Miroku the basket she was carrying. "And this also is for you. Rice cakes and pickles."

"Ah," Miroku said. "Pickles. I've heard about your pickles, Chime-sama. Thank you."

"Now these are your pickles," Chime said. "Don't let InuYasha-sama wheedle you out of them."

The monk chuckled. "Knowing him, he would."

"I think, perhaps, after this evening, he'll leave you in peace," Genjo said.

"That'll take a lot of pickles," the monk said.

Genjo laughed."You haven't seen how many Haha-ue made for tonight. If that doesn't hold him, I don't know what will."

"You haven't seen how much he likes them," Sango said.

"But I bet I made enough," Chime said. "Even for InuYasha."

Somehow, Miroku was not convinced.


	207. Chapter 207

1_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 207**

As Kaede and Kagome, and an on-alert InuYasha walked up to Toshiro's house, there was a mad flurry of movement heading down the path, with a barking dog, a squawking chicken, a fleet-of-foot boy, and an irritated girl who was chasing him down.

The chicken, its dignity ruffled, hopped on a rock to get out of the boy and the dog's way, and didn't move until the girl had passed.

"Now what?" Kaede said. The group paused for a moment, watching the scene in front of them

"Is it always like this at Toshiro-sama's?" Kagome asked. Asami nearly caught up with Daiki, but he dodged to the right, hopped over a log, and circled towards the back of the house. "It was last time I was here, too. Daiki chased a rooster right into the kitchen area."

"Did they use it for dinner?" InuYasha said. "That's what I would have done."

Kaede chuckled a bit at that.

"No," Kagome said. "Nanami shooed them both out."

"Things are always lively here when Sayo isn't able to keep up with her boys, I'm afraid," Kaede said. "Now what is Daiki up to this time?" Thinking the coast was clear, they began to move forward.

The bird, thinking along similar lines, hopped off its refuge, and began walking, stopping a moment to scratch the ground.

But the scene wasn't over yet. Daiki dodged around a tree at the side of the house, and backtracked to race to the front of the building, with Asami in hot pursuit. He almost ran into Kaede, but swerved at the last moment.

"Daiki!" the girl called. "Sorry, sorry," she said to the old miko, before turning to renew her chase of the boy. "Get back here! Nanami-obaasan will get both of us if she finds out you took her last rice cake, and I let you get away! I don't want to be punished because of you!"

Daiki hopped up on the rock the chicken had used moments earlier, then leaped forward, landing right next to the bird. The chicken, squawking once more, ran at a right angle to the fleet-footed boy, finding safety behind some bushes near the fence line.

The dog that had been following closely on Daiki's feet, adding his barking to the chaos, stopped when he jumped, turned around and noticed the newcomers. His excited barking stopped, and he gave a low, warning growl snarled to the three visitors.

InuYasha's eyes narrowed at the challenge, and he barked something back. The dog's ears perked up. He lost interest in Daiki and Asami, and barked in earnest at the hanyou. InuYasha barked again, a slightly different sound. The dog this time sat down on his haunches, and gave a nervous whine, his tail beating the ground, and after glancing at the hanyou's eyes, decided to walk behind the building.

Kagome turned to look at her husband, surprised. "What did you do?"

InuYasha shrugged. "The noise hurt my ears," he said. "I told him about it. He disagreed, and I told him about it again. He decided to agree the second time."

"Daiki!" Asami yelled as the boy doubled back again.

The old miko waited for them to pass before moving forward. "I don't think you'll be able to stop that particular noise quite as easily, InuYasha," she said. "It would be a handy thing, though, if you could. They make plenty of noise just on their own."

"Maybe more," Kagome said, nodding

"Wait a minute," InuYasha said. "Maybe . . . " Moving fast, almost in a blur, he put himself in the path of the fleeing boy.

Suddenly, there was a loud oomph. Daiki, not really paying attention to his route, was looking over his shoulder to see how close Asami had gotten. His inattention got him as he ran smack into InuYasha's body. He fell back on his bottom. It took a moment for him to realize what happened, but it dawned on him that the red draped man with the crossed arms was looking down on him with a no-nonsense scowl.

"Where did you come from, InuYasha-sama?" he said, in a small, squeaky voice. Turning his head, he saw Kaede and Kagome. "And you, too. I didn't see anybody walking up."

Asami came up, panting after her exertion, her hand across her middle. "Maybe," she said, gulping a mouth of air, "if you weren't so busy trying to get away . . . "

"It seems, son," Kaede said, frowning, "that you have gotten into trouble once again. Perhaps a little more than you would like."

"But I don't want to get into trouble," Daiki said. He started to get up.

InuYasha, quite gently, put a foot on the boy's chest to keep him down. "You're too loud, boy," the hanyou said. "You make my ears hurt."

As if in agreement, InuYasha's ears twitched. Daiki for a moment was speechless. Taking a deep breath, he tried to roll to get away, but InuYasha grabbed him by the collar, and lifted him to his feet.

"Asami's looking for you for a reason, boy," the hanyou said, lifting Daiki up so he could see his face. "Do you always run away like that when you did wrong?"

"Yes he does," Asami said.

The boy gulped. "You're not going to eat me, are you? My otousan wouldn't like that. "

The two miko, not being able to help themselves, laughed at that one. InuYasha shot them a look, but glared more at the boy. He lifted Daiki off of his feet, bringing him up to eye level.

"Like you ate Nanami's last rice cake?" InuYasha asked. "You think you'd taste that good?"

Daiki's eyes widened, and he shook his head. "No, no, not me. But Nanami said not to eat that cake. She's gonna get me for that."

InuYasha's brows knit together. "You did it, huh?" Daiki nodded, and dropped his eyes. "Look at me, boy," the hanyou demanded, and Daiki raised his head, tilting it to the side. "Running's not the answer. You ate it. Now you have to pay for it. Be a man about it. Running away from Asami's not the right way."

"But . . . but . . . " The boy began to squirm. "Nanami-obaasan's going to make me sit in the kitchen. On a bucket. And she won't let me get off it for nothing." His face twisted into one of abject misery. "I can't stand to be still that long. It hurts me."

Asami, finally having got her breath back, put one hand on her hip and pointed a finger at the boy."If she does," the girl said, "whose fault is it? You knew she wanted to eat that when she got up from her nap. She told you she did."

Daiki shrugged, and tried to wiggle out of InuYasha's hold again. "I couldn't help it. It wanted me to eat it. It looked so good. And I was hungry," he said. "I just couldn't . . . not eat it."

"Well then," InuYasha said, "Was it worth the price you're going to pay?"

In the background, Kagome put a hand over her mouth, trying hard not to laugh at the look on the boy's face as he wrestled with that concept.

"I don't . . . Maybe." Daiki stuck out his bottom lip, then sucked it in to chew on it. "It was really good."

Yasuo, hearing all the noise stepped out on the verandah, and motioned for his otousan to join him.

"If it was worth the cost, it's a good deal," the hanyou said. "If it wasn't, you cheated yourself. Either way, a man pays for what he takes. Understand?"

The boy took a breath and nodded.

"Now that we have that clear, if I put you down, you have to promise not to run," InuYasha said. "You need to go with Asami. But if you run, I'll get you. I can run faster than you." He brought the boy closer to his face, almost nose to nose. "I can run way faster."

The boy gulped, and considered his options. "But . . . but . . . "

"Well?" the hanyou asked. "Or do you want me to walk you into the house so your otousan can see what a brat you've been?"

"Uh . . . " Daiki said. He tried to squirm once more, but InuYasha grabbed his arm as well as held him by the collar. Sighing, the boy nodded. "I promise."

InuYasha let the boy down.

Daiki turned around, and saw his father and grandfather there. "Uh . . . InuYasha . . . I . . . Asami . . . "

"Go with Asami, son." Yasuo said, crossing his arms.

Daiki sighed and dropped his head. "Yes, Otousan."

Asami took him firmly by the hand. "We're going to see Nanami next, boy. And don't think anybody will cover for you. You're going to be the one to explain what happened. I'm not getting in trouble for you again today."

"But . . . but . . . " Daiki said as she pulled him towards the house. "But it tasted so good."

The men, as well as Kagome and Kaede, watched Asami march Daiki back into the house. As soon as they were inside, Yasuo broke up into a broad rolling laugh.

"You need to come around more often, InuYasha," Yasuo said. "I don't think I've ever seen anybody as good at corralling my son. Even Sayo couldn't have done it as neatly."

"Sayo's in the birthing house?" Kaede asked.

Toshiro nodded. "Only place where she can get any decent rest."

The old miko nodded. "We'll be going to see how she's doing. Come along, Kagome. InuYasha, I'm sure Toshiro will allow you to keep watch from here while we check up on her and the baby."

InuYasha's ear flicked and he took a deep breath, but nodded. The two miko took their leave of the men and headed to the little house behind the big one.

"Might as well join us, then," Yasuo said. "It'll be different, sitting here in the light."

"Keeping watch?" Toshiro asked.

InuYasha moved onto the verandah, and took a seat at one end. "Kaede-babaa . . . I don't think she appreciated me coming with them today."

Toshiro scratched his head. "This wouldn't have anything to do with Seiji, now would it?"

"Feh," InuYasha said. "Kagome got pushed to the ground by that ass yesterday. Who knows what he or his brother will be up to next."

"I'll go get some tea," Yasuo said, stepping back inside.

"I hear you gave him a pretty good punch yesterday," Toshiro said, watching his son walk inside.

"Barely tapped him," the hanyou said and looking away towards the road. He lifted his hand, waved his fingers and made a fist. "If I had really hit him, he might not have his head still."

"I doubt if anybody in the village outside of his brother would have complained, " Toshiro said, stretching his legs. He arched his left one and laced his fingers around it. "Seiji . . . well you see what he's like. He's more trouble than he's worth."

"Then why?" the hanyou asked, looking at the elder.

"He was the oldest son," Toshiro said. "We had hoped his time in Odawara had rubbed some of his rough edges off. He showed up while his father was in his last days. His father was a good man. I promised him the day before he passed that I would keep an eye on Seiji and help him grow into his work. Of the two brothers, Seiji seemed the better choice. He came back from his time as a soldier knowing how to act, at least in public, at least for a while. You've seen what his brother's like."

"Yeah," InuYasha said. "Not much to brag on."

"Seems what we saw though was just a front. It didn't take long to find out that the Seiji we had on our hands was a lot like the man who had run off after what happened with Michio. Worse in some ways," Toshiro said.

"War time . . . does things to people," InuYasha said. He looked out over the landscape, not meeting the elder's eyes.

"We're keeping Seiji in the lockup today. He crossed a line pushing your little wife around. The law lets a man get away doing pretty much what he wants with his own family, but not anybody else's. And to a miko?" He shook his head.

"He's going to be trouble once he gets out," InuYasha said. "A man like him, he won't take this easy."

"I know." Toshiro nodded his head. "We're going to have to cross that bridge when we come to it. But at least not today."


	208. Chapter 208

1_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 208**

As InuYasha finished the cup of tea that Yasuo served him, he heard a voice that wasn't Daiki's whining one.

"I haven't been around newborn babies before," the voice said.

His ear flicked and his head turned to see Kaede and Kagome walking up from the birthing house.

"She's so small," Kagome continued. "But her voice is so strong."

"That's the way it is with newborns," Kaede said. "So little and so big at the same time. You certainly are not going to ignore them."

"Ah, Kaede-sama," Yasuo said, seeing them walked up. "All is well?"

The two women walked up to the verandah, but didn't step up.

"Sayo is doing quite well," Kaede said. "Your daughter is eating, and seems perfectly happy to ignore her brothers for the moment."

"But . . . but . . . I can't just sit here!" came the wailing voice of Daiki.

"Oh yes, you can," Nanami's voice replied. It was very stern and determined. "You will sit on that bucket until the new rice cakes are made."

"It's probably a good thing she's ignoring them right now," Yasuo said. "It sounds like she might be needing that skill."

"A handy one for around here," Toshiro said, nodding.

"But Nanami-obaasan, I just . . . " Daiki said.

"That, or bad hearing comes in handy," his son replied. "I've been assured I was something like that at his age."

"Something." Toshiro nodded. "But once you hit a certain age you began to get a handle on it."

"I remember those days," Kaede said, giving Yasuo a knowing look. "So, I suspect there's hope for Daiki as well," Kaede said, agreeing.

"Soon, I hope," Yasuo said. "Soon."

Saying their farewells, the group left Daiki trying to talk Nanami into his freedom and headed to the next household on their list.

Sora, when she came to the door was very nervous when she spotted InuYasha, and he made no effort to try to follow his wife inside as the two women went to examine her sick boy. But as he waited, InuYasha discovered that Sora may have been nervous about having the hanyou around, but her children seemed to find him an interesting novelty.

His first sign of this was when the children stopped their playing behind the house, and moved forward, bit by bit. It was a stealth attack. One of them would roll a ball forward, or run with a toy animal or doll, sitting down just a little closer. Before long, the three of Sora's well children surrounded the hanyou as he stood there, his hands stuffed in his sleeves, leaning against a tree in front of the small, poor farmhouse.

The youngest boy eventually got the nerve to show him his toy horse, a small figure made of straw.

"Otousan made me it," the boy said proudly. "He makes the best horsies! My horsie can beat all the other boys' horsies any day."

InuYasha, not sure of what to say, said nothing, but his ears flicked, and then homed in on the conversation inside the house, Kaede advising Sora about when she could let her son go outside. The ear movement amused the little boy so much he started laughing. His sister put down her doll, and squatted down next to her brother and looked up, staring.

"He's got . . . " the younger girl said. Her eyes grew wide as InuYasha's ears flicked at the sound.

"Doggie ears! Move them again!" the boy demanded.

InuYasha sighed, but complied.

"Hurry up, Kagome," he whispered. "Please?"

In a different part of the village, Miroku walked down the hill with Chime and Genjo. As they turned down the road that led to the farmer's house, the monk looked around to see who else was around, but only saw a couple of villagers who worked for the family out in one of the outer fields. A cow lowed as they passed her pasture, but there was no sign of either Daitaro or Shinjiro.

"So," the monk asked, "how's your brother doing, Genjo? Neither he nor your otousan seem very visible right now."

"If they were," Chime said, laughing, "I'd be worried they were plotting something."

"They might still be, Okaasan." Genjo grinned.

A crow, sitting on the fence, saw them as they neared and took off, cawing.

"Now, bird, don't you go warning them," Chime said, laughing a little.

"You know how Chichi-ue is," Genjo said, laughing with her. "One never knows quite what's on his mind, but I think he's mostly trying to keep Shinjiro busy, at least until after lunch. The last thing I heard is that after taking care of the animals, they were talking about going fishing," the young man said. "It's at least a good way to get him out of the house for a while and maybe keep him from doing something he might wish he hadn't."

"There are times," Miroku said, "that I have been glad that my Sango and I didn't have to go through quite all this. And I'm most glad we didn't have to do it for InuYasha."

"Oh, I bet he would have been a hard one to distract," Genjo said. "So intense when he's focused."

"That's one way of putting it," Miroku agreed. "My wife just refers to it as grumpy. There are ways to distract him," he said, "but sometimes, if you do it wrong . . . " The monk rubbed the top of his head.

"I take it that you have done it wrong before," the farmer said. An amused smirk touched his lips.

"A time or two," Miroku admitted, "but I learned fast."

The road to Daitaro's house split off from the road to the village, and they took it, the way lined by rail fences on each side. Genjo tapped his hand on each post on the left as they passed.

"I hope your otousan remembers that he is under strict orders not to bring Shinjiro back with too much sake in his tummy," Chime added. "I know he has the jitters, but we need to be fair to Erime."

"Better than I was, I hope," Genjo said. "I vaguely remember that I didn't take your advice that day." He scratched the back of his head. "I have to admit I vaguely remember the whole evening. Unfortunately, I do more than vaguely remember the next day."

"I'm surprised Mariko didn't demand to go home that night," Chime said, laughing lightly. "I know your otousan didn't do it. You must have had a bottle stashed away."

"I did. Susumu slipped it to me the night before." He grinned at his mother, who rolled her eyes. "It wasn't as good as Chichi-ue's, but it did take away my fears pretty well."

"That Susumu." She shook her head. "He was always a cocky little rascal, ever since he was a boy. He'll get his day, with that household full of girls that he has, and a boy likely to take right after him."

"Are we the ones who gave you and Chichi-ue your day?" Genjo said, lifting an eyebrow at his mother.

Miroku snorted, then tried to smooth his face before Chime caught it, but she did in spite of his effort.

"Just remember you two, you both have children of your own," the older woman said, giving the eye to both the men traveling with her. "You'll learn all about this."

"I suspect we will, Okaasan, and I will remember this day when it happens," Genjo said. "And probably tell it as a story to my own children."

This made Chime laugh. "Be that as it may, all I can say is that what happened on your wedding day proved how much Mariko wanted to be married to you, silly boy. You are blessed."

He nodded, smiling. "We all are. Me, Shinjiro, and especially Chichi-ue. You put up with a lot, Okaa."

"Your father is a good man, Genjo," Chime said, giving him a pleased grin. "I wouldn't have him any other way. And look what he has to put up with!"

The monk stopped a moment, and the two he was with turned to look. He had gotten a very serious look, thinking about what Genjo had said. "It seems to me that all good marriages have that," Miroku said. "The putting up with each other. My poor Sango, she puts up with too much sometimes."

"Then," said Chime, patting his hand in a motherly way, "You need to make sure she knows you appreciate it. Her life has been, and will be, different from most of the rest of ours, just because of your calling, Houshi-sama. But she belongs to us now, me and Hisa and the other women. We'll do what we can to keep her from feeling so . . . well, different." She gave him a warm smile. "Especially now that we know she didn't know how much we thought of her. And she's worth it."

"Yes, she is," the monk said, nodding. "Yes she is."

They walked up into the house. It was pristine, the result of all the hard work that Chime and the others had done the day before. In one corner, there was a stack of mats waiting to be scattered around the room when the guests arrived. The wood gleamed with fresh oil, and the air was filled with the smells of cooking. There were colorful plaques, hanging from the rafters, each with a blessed ofuda. Fresh flowers adorned the god-shelf, and the normal barrels and bundles that a farm house kept out were stored away to make more room.

"Mariko-chan!" Chime called as she entered. "We're back!"

"She might still be in the garden, Okaasan," Genjo said.

"Ah, I wouldn't be surprised," the older woman said. "Weeds wait for no one."

"Too true." Genjo slipped his shoes off, and hopped onto the wooden platform, and walked over to the water bucket, where he filled the ladle and took a long drink. "I can go get her, if you'd like."

"Would you?" she asked.

Taking one more sip, he nodded and headed out of the house.

After he shut the door, Chime turned to the monk. "Thank you for being willing to add your blessing, Houshi-sama. It means a lot to us," she said. "I might be a silly thing for doing all of this, but after last time . . . " She slipped off her shoes. "It hurt so much when we lost Shinjiro's first wife. She was such a dear thing." She sighed, then stepped up on the wooden platform. "It marked my son for many years. I had just about given up on him ever wanting another wife, when he and Erime grew close."

"It works that way sometimes," Miroku said nodding. Slipping off his own shoes, he joined her. "I suspect it was not just Shinjiro who felt her loss."

Chime nodded, giving him a sad, little smile. "You are right. I loved her like a daughter." Her face, though brightened after a moment. "I love Erime, too and Mariko. It will be so nice to have Erime in the family. I just want to make sure I do everything I can to chase any bad luck away from them."

"It's not silly to wish the best for your family," Miroku said. He closed his eyes for a moment, and used his spiritual senses to feel the atmosphere. He opened his eyes back up and smiled. "You must be doing something right. Your house has a wonderful aura of peace over it today. "

The older woman looked at him and smiled. "I have tried. But I would still like your blessing."

The monk nodded and moved toward the center of the room. Lifting his hand in benediction, he chanted the Heart Sutra in a deep and rich voice. As the last tone faded, he pulled a paper sutra out of his sleeve, and held it between his hands.

The paper began to glow lightly, a soft reddish color. As the light moved past his fingers, lighting up his face, he began to speak:

"May all the past generations that lead up to Shinjiro's and Erime's birth, and all the future generations that will stem from their union be present at their joining today. May the spirits of their ancestors and descendants walk with them all the days of their life together. May they be a living link in a chain of life that moves from the timeless to the timeless.

"May they always live up to the expectations of their ancestors and the generations yet to come.

"May their joy and harmony send blessings back to their ancestors and transmit them down to their descendants.

"May they be filled with the compassion that is the foundation of all love.

"May the darkness that shatters lives never touch their souls, and their days travel down paths of peace.

"And may wisdom and mercy shine within their hearts, touching all they contact."

Slowly, the light faded. The monk handed the slip to Chime, who looked at it, and the monk, with some wonder. Her eyes glistened a little at the meaning of the blessing. She took it from his hand.

"Give this to Shinjiro," Miroku said. "He should put it at least in the room where he and Erime will spend their nights. It's a protection ofuda, with whatever poor blessing I can add to it."

"That was beautiful, Houshi-sama," Chime said. She walked over to the god shelf, and placed it reverently there. "I will be sure to tell my son what you did. Thank you very much." She took a breath and moved toward the fire pit. "Could I offer you some tea?"

"No thank you, Chime-sama," Miroku said, shaking his head. "There are some things I need to do today that I have been putting off, and it's high time I get to them."

"Then you must come by for tea later, tomorrow perhaps," she said. "Please, and bring your lovely wife and your children. After all, now, they belong to us. And I have some rice cakes just for them."

"I'll do that," the monk said. "I'll do that. Thank you. And thank you for being my wife's friend."

And saying his farewells, he left the house and headed into the village.


	209. Chapter 209

_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 209**

Kaede's next stop was to give Daisuke his medicine. As usual, when the weather was fair, the old man was sitting outside. The morning found him sitting on a stump. He had a stick in his hand, and a knife, and was occasionally whittling on it. A very small group of wood flakes had piled up near his feet.

For the moment, things were quiet. A chicken meandered around the yard, scratching at the ground, and from time to time, raising her head to swallow something, while still keeping a sharp eye out on the cat who slept in the sun, curled up in a ball. The old man flicked a wood flake at the cat. She flicked her ear, opened her eyes briefly, then decided it wasn't worth moving.

Daisuke, though, was not so content. He looked down the road both ways, and frowned, then flaked another bit of wood off of his stick. "They're late today, aren't they?" he asked. "You're sure there's no baby coming today?" Lifting the piece of wood close to his face, he ran his finger over it and shook his head.

The cat flicked its ear, determining his speech wasn't aimed at her, but his daughter Hisako lifted her head. She was sitting in a sunny spot in front of the house, sewing. Pausing in mid-stitch, she gave her father an irritated look. "I'm sure, Otousan," Hisako replied. "Stop pouting. Why are you sitting in the shade? You ought to come sit in the sun. It'll do you good."

"I am not pouting." The old man shook his head and crossed his arms, the knife clenched in one fist, the wood in another. "I'm making chopsticks. This is where I like to sit when I do that."

"Is that what you call it?" Hisako said as she deftly worked her needle in. "It looks like you're being gloomy to me. I don't know why you're so gloomy today, Otousan."

"Bah. What do you know?" the old man said. He held the wood in his left hand and sliced off another flake. "My back is on fire today. And why? What are you doing, slipping sticks in my sleeping straw?"

"Hardly, Otousan." She shook her head. "You're too contrary as it is without doing anything like that. Maybe if you left your hut and walked to Tameo's house and saw someone once in a while, you'd feel better. And the moving would do you some good."

"And now you're trying to cripple me more, daughter." He put his wood and knife on the side, then with a satisfied sigh, scratched his stomach. That done, he looked down the path and saw something. The old man squinted, trying to make out the figures. "Who's that coming up here? I can't make them out."

Hisako lifted her head. "Kaede, Otousan, Kaede. Who else comes to see you with you talking like you do? And she has that pretty young miko with her, too." She squinted, shading her eyes. "Looks like the young miko's husband's with her, too."

"Her husband?" the old man asked. "Do I know him?"

She repositioned the cloth she was sewing over her lap. "Yes, Otousan, you know him, even if you've tried to chase him away a few times. Don't you remember? We talked about him the last time she came by. The man who brings you firewood."

"The man with the long white hair?" Daisuke squinted down the road, but they were all still fuzzy shapes to his eyes. "He sure seems to like red. Don't think I've ever seen him in any other color."

"I don't think anybody's seen him in any other color," Hisako said. "Time to give this up for a while. Someday, if you quit making me stop, you'll get a new under kosode." She stuck her needle in the cloth she was sewing, folded it and put it away in her basket.

"Feh. This shirt is still fine," the old man said.

"If you like to wear rags," his daughter said, moving the basket out of the way. The chicken, curious, began moving in her direction.

Daisuke began chuckling. "I bet that wife of his has seen him in more than red. Bet she's seen him in at least his skin color. Wonder if he's got white hair everywhere?"

"Otousan! Behave yourself, old man." Hisako stood up. "Who else is going to put up with your sorry self when you need wood and water, eh? You even chased off your great-grandson with that tongue of yours. I'm the only one besides Kaede willing to put up with it."

As she shook her head, he just chuckled some more and whittled away.

Soon the group of three walked up, and bowed their greetings to the old pair. The chicken, almost ready to peck at Hisako's basket, squawked at the newcomers, and headed back to the side of the house.

If InuYasha had heard Daisuke's off-color joke, he didn't act like it. Instead he merely smiled. "Hey, Daisuke-jiji," he said, looking down at the old man who was intentionally not looking at anybody. "How's your firewood? You ready for another load?"

"Don't know," the old man said. He did look up at his daughter, giving her a defiant glare. "Someone I know doesn't let me get near it."

Hisako used her walking stick to move towards the old man. The cat, almost hit by the old woman's cane, meowed once, then hurried out of the danger zone. For a moment, she licked a paw as if to deny being disturbed; then with tail held high, went to take over the spot that Hisako had just vacated.

"The last time you tried, Otousan," Hisako said, looking down at her father, "you were in your bed a week with your back. Some old men don't have the sense not to pick too much up. It's not like you don't complain with your back, anyway. I'm not going to let you make it worse." She shook her head. "So this old woman has to do it for you."

"Heh," Daisuke said, glaring at Hisako. "You just used that as an excuse to try to get me to walk more. 'No more than two sticks at a time, Otousan.' You were trying to two-stick me to death." He took a deep cut on the wood with his knife. "I'm not falling for it. You fetch it."

"It would be good for you if you did it that way, Otousan It'd help your aches," his daughter said, shaking her cane at the old man. She turned to InuYasha. "He's probably got plenty for the next tenday, but I'm not sure how much more. I could get one of the other men to chop it, InuYasha-sama. You've been kind, but don't feel like it's your job." She looked back over her shoulder at her father. "Some people don't appreciate it."

InuYasha had been trying hard not to laugh at how they bantered. Taking a deep breath, he managed to smooth his face. "I'll bring a load down in a few days," the hanyou said, ignoring her offer to find someone else. "It's already cut."

"You like chopping wood, do you?" Daisuke asked, looking at InuYasha, a wistful look on his face. "I remember when I was the best wood chopper in the village." He sighed, and rested his chin in his hand. "It seems like yesterday and forever ago."

"Someone has to do it," the hanyou replied, not unkindly.

Suddenly, the old man looked up. "How about splitting logs?" the old man said, and then, thinking about what he was about to say, he gave a low, snickering laugh. "I hear some logs have long and pretty branches, with a really hot center. I hear those are the best." He dropped his head back into his hand, sighing regretfully once again. "Been too long since I got to play with one of those. Those were sweet days. Some of'em said I was best at that, too."

"Otousan!" Hisako said. She rolled her eyes.

InuYasha's narrowed his at first, and then he just shook his head. A smile touched his lips as glanced at his wife. "Old man, maybe you have a point."

Kagome's cheeks colored as she realized what the old man was talking about. Kaede shook her head. Daisuke's regret over lost time vanished as he watched them, and he laughed.

"Otousan, no wonder you don't have anybody who wants to visit you," Hisako said. She picked up her sewing basket. "Only those of us who are stupid enough to be related to you, or have business even bother."

"Bah," said the old man. But he seemed very pleased with himself. "Give me my medicine, Kaede-chan." Daisuke, still chuckling, had a broad grin plastered over his wrinkled face. He held out his hand. "You need to bring these two around more often. Makes an old man laugh. That can't be bad."

Hisako just shook her head.

Elsewhere in the village, Maeme, Seiji's wife, was anything but mirthful. She stepped out of her house on the edge of the village and began walking towards the river, a basket of clothes in her arms. For a moment, she turned around and looked at the building she was leaving.

Her house was not the largest of the houses in the village by any means, nor was it the smallest, but it was beginning to be run down. The roof beam sagged a little, and two of the outer boards showed the marks of where her husband had kicked them in a fit of anger.

Still, she did what she could do to keep the grounds as nice as she had the means for. A neat kitchen garden grew not far from the house in a sunny patch between her home and the small house where her brother-in-law lived. That one was more ramshackle than hers, but it was empty at the moment. She had watched Yoshimi take off earlier, a jug strapped across his chest and an axe in his hand, off to do whatever it was he did in the woods instead of tending to his share of the family fields.

As usual when she was at home, her face was guarded out of reflex, a solemn face that neither looked to challenge anyone, nor offer any resistance, nor revealed its true thoughts. Even now, when there was no one to watch her, she wore it, although her feelings leaked from her face's mask. Her eyes glistened, as if she was close to tears, but not quite ready to let them go.

Turning away from her home, she stepped out on a path that few used beside her. It wandered past the family's dryland fields and a small wood lot, to meander at last to her washing place at the river. There were other places that women who were not close to a well went to wash their clothes in the flowing waters. On fine days, there might even be three or four or five of them at a time, working their laundry. Those places could be friendly, gatherings of shared work and companionship.

But for Maeme, they might as well not have existed. Although she missed the gossip and the sharing, the women who would listen to her problems or try to comfort her after one of her particularly bad times, she had learned long ago that Seiji didn't approve of her going there, especially after the day she showed up with a dark bruise on her left cheek, setting the village gossip chain on fire. After he had added several more bruises to her collection to make his point clear, she had explored the river bank and found another place, far from the others. It wasn't a bad place for laundry. It had rocks along the bank, and a swift little rivulet that kept the mud away. There was a space free of tall trees with low shrubs she could stretch the wet cloth on to drain until she was ready to go home and hang it on the line. It did the job.

Although the work was harder when she did it alone, the place was peaceful, and she didn't have to find excuses when Seiji had one of his fits. Besides, her husband with his disdain for anything he considered women's work usually would leave her alone, at least for the time it took to wash her things, and she would have a bit of quiet away from any need to tiptoe around her husband.

Reaching the bank, she set down the basket on a flat piece of stone she had dragged to the sight a long time ago, and then she tied her sleeves back. Taking out the first piece of cloth, she knelt down and dunked it into the water. As she worked the cloth clean on a scrubbing stick, she began to sing in time with her motions:

"I look over the sea,  
>and my tears fall like rain,<br>I envy the seabird  
>who fly away over the waters."<p>

Only when she was sure she was alone would she sing these songs. When she was at home and her husband or brother-in-law was around, she did nothing to attract their attention if she could help it.

"I look at the mountains,  
>and my tears fall again,<br>I envy the eagle  
>who flies over the mountain."<p>

All of her songs were about grief and sadness any more. It was her rebellion, to admit to herself that things weren't right, to refuse to paper over the darkness that was taking her over more and more with each day, but it was only something she felt safe to indulge on when she was very sure she wouldn't be overheard.

"How long I ask,  
>walking through the rain,<br>to the shrine in the mountains,  
>but the kami are silent.<p>

"I look at my place,  
>and my tears fall like rain,<br>my wings are clipped  
>and I will stay in this cage."<p>

She sighed, and began to drub more in earnest, humming the tune, but not adding to the verses. She stood and lifted up the cloth, and began to wring out the white length, and as she did, she repeated the final stanza.

"I look at my place,  
>and my tears fall like rain,<br>my wings are clipped  
>and I will stay in this cage."<p>

She readjusted her hold on the cloth. "I dare not start to cry." As the water squeezed out and splashed back into the river, she gave a bitter smile. "So, sheet, I'll let you cry for me instead."  
>Done, she stretched the cloth out over the closest bushes, and began another, this time, drubbing and wringing in silence. Once she was finished that, she had to walk further to get to open bushes to dry her clothes. She did this a lot; she knew just which bushes to do to. They were almost like old friends. While she was there, she heard a splashing in the water. For a moment she froze.<p>

"Tell me again, Otousan, why we had to come to this spot on the river?" a man's voice said.

"Because," said the second voice, sounding older and more gravelly, "Shinjiro, my son, it's the best fishing hole near the village."


	210. Chapter 210

_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**_Today's chapter is my 2 year anniversary of writing TEA. Thank you, all of you who read, and especially all of you who have been so encouraging in your comments. You may not know how much I appreciate them, but I do!_**

**Chapter 210**

Maeme crouched down behind the bushes her laundry was stretched out on. For some reason, having her privacy interrupted this way was not just surprising, but disturbing, and even a little frightening, and she did not wish to be spotted by the two men. "That sounds like Daitaro-sama," she said softly to herself. "I didn't know he fished this part of the river. I didn't know anybody did. There's just so much brush between here and the big outcrop."

Her fear was not based on who the speakers were. Daitaro had always treated her decently, and had even pulled Seiji off her once when he was in one of his rages, but her husband was her husband. If he found out she had been washing and talked to the old farmer, it could set off one of his temper tantrums.

"Should I just go home?" she said, looking back at her laundry basket. "But I've got so much to do. Seiji's going to be in such a foul mood when the headman lets him go. Maybe if everything's perfect . . . " Taking a deep breath she shook her head. "I'm not going to leave. I'm not doing anything wrong. I was here first. I'm going to get my washing done."

Slowly she walked back to her washing station. Picking two garments out of the basket, she threw one on the bank and held the other one under the running water until it was wet enough to start scrubbing. Still, she kept her movements as still and quiet as possible.

While she worked, the men got started with their fishing. She could hear them moving around and handling things. There was a small splash. After that, Daitaro spoke. "My ojiisan used to tell me about the grandfather catfish who lived in this part of the river. There's a deep hole near the other bank where he's supposed to live," Daitaro said.

The water ran smoothly in this part of the river. Outside of a few rocky places along the bank, the water did not roar or babble and sound carried well. She heard another splash, like someone threw a fishing line into the water. As Maeme scrubbed, she wondered if the men could hear her as well as she could hear them. If so, they didn't act like they noticed.

"Did he?" Shinjiro asked. "Bigger than the one that lives on the other side of the big outcrop?"

"He did indeed. I don't know which of the two is bigger." She could hear the chuckle in the older man's voice. "But this one had a special trait, supposedly, my ojiisan said. He said the catfish was a river god and blessed the waters here and made them most productive. Also said that the catfish would eat any person of bad character who dared step into the waters near his hole."

"Eh, if that's the case, I could think of one or two people who I would like to have cross the river here," the younger man said.

"Don't laugh," Daitaro said. "Every now and then someone would go swimming near here and disappear."

"I'm not laughing," the younger man said. "I'm making a list."

This made the older man laugh in earnest.

Kaede and Kagome had not yet finished their rounds. The next stop was to check on Nakao.

Seiji's house was downstream from the place Tsuneo had taken Chiya to stay. That place was on a rise overlooking the land around it. Seiji's place though, was down in a dip, not so close to the river to get flooded, but further south than many other houses in the community. They passed several paddy fields getting to it, and then a small line of trees. As they neared, the two miko, who had been talking about the various herbs that grew along the paddy dyke paths, grew quiet.

"I don't think I like being here," the hanyou said as they passed the trees and started on the path to the violent man's home, neat grounds and ramshackle buildings standing before them. The closer they got, the tenser his stance until he was moving like he was on high alert, his ears swiveling at the least noise, his hands going to his sword hilt. "Something . . . "

There was a sudden caw, and InuYasha circled round, claws in his right hand extended, only to see a bird landing on the roof peak at Seiji's house. The bird began calling.

"Really, InuYasha," Kagome said. "You need to relax."

"I can't," the hanyou said. As he watched, the bird hopped to the edge of the roof, cocked its head to look around, and flew off. "Something in the air here . . . it's not a scent, but it has my neck hairs standing on end."

"There are some anti-youkai wards on the buildings," Kaede said. "I'd heard he did that after Naraku's attack." She pointed to a bright plaque hanging just above the main house's front door. "Perhaps if there are enough . . . "

"Must be a crapload of them, if that's the case. Don't expect me to try them out for you, Babaa," the hanyou said. "Don't feel like getting burned or knocked on my butt today for him."

"I wouldn't dream of it, InuYasha." The old miko sighed as they drew closer. In the hanyou's wariness, his own youki was flaring, making it uneasy for her as well, and possibly causing the wards that hung on wooden plaques around each door and window to intensify InuYasha's discomfort. She idly wondered if what he was doing to her felt like what he was sensing.

Kagome rested a hand on InuYasha's arm, she also aware of how his youki was winding up. The hanyou smiled at her, an unsatisfying smile that did not reach his eyes, and her touch didn't do much to calm him.

Nobody was out around the buildings. Somewhere towards the back of the place, an ox lowed, but outside of a couple of chickens who walked the grounds there was no movement.

"I wonder where Yoshimi is," he said. "I'd be happier if I knew we weren't walking into an ambush. It's just too damn quiet."

"I think, InuYasha, you are worrying too much," Kaede said. "I doubt if he would try anything here, in the open, in the daylight - especially with his brother under Tameo's watchful eye. Besides," she said, looking at the hanyou, "I doubt if he even knew we would be coming by."

"Feh," the hanyou said. His hand clasped his sword handle tightly. "Whatever, Kaede-babaa. But I didn't live this long thinking things like that. I'd have been dead a few times if I had."

The old miko shrugged.

A rooster, standing nearby with a bright cascade of tail feathers, crowed as they started their walk to the main house. InuYasha swirled around at the sound, then tried to hide how it startled him.

"Fool bird," he said, kicking a pebble in the bird's direction. "Do that again and you will be dinner."

Having done its job of announcing new arrivals, the rooster, not taking InuYasha's threat seriously, began pecking along the ground, moving too close to the women for the hanyou's liking. He growled at it, starting softly, but growing louder. For some reason, hearing that, the rooster reared up and flapped its wings at the trio, its neck feathers bristling. InuYasha took a step in the bird's direction. The bird gave a squawk, then retreated to a nearby wheel barrow, so he could keep his eye on the visitors while staying out of line of sight of the hanyou.

Kagome covered her face with her hand, torn between humor about her husband being startled by the bird and his reaction, and anxiety based on his state of alert. She took a deep breath to smooth her face, and lightly touched his arm.

"It's just a stupid bird, InuYasha. I don't think we'll have to worry about it," she said.

He gave her a sheepish look, then flicked his ears, crossing his arms. "Feh."

"Well, let's go find Nakao," Kaede said, amused, but wanting to get her work done. She moved toward the main house.

Before they could reach it, the door mat lifted.

"I heard the rooster," a young voice said as the mat went up. "Is someone there? Chichi-ue doesn't like for people to visit when he's not home. Maybe you should go."

The owner of the voice stepped out as the door mat fell behind him, and Nakao stood there, his battered face even more bruised looking than the day before, a couple of places eggplant purple. Seeing his guests, though, he grew surprised, then bowed his greeting. "I...I didn't expect to see you, Miko-sama. Okaasan didn't know you were going to stop for a visit."

"Is Maeme here, Nakao-kun?" Kaede asked, giving the boy a careful look, but also a reassuring smile. "I was making my rounds and thought it would be good to stop by."

He shook his head no. "She went to do her washing. She'll be back later." He started to turn to go back in.

"Did she?" Kaede asked. "I'll talk to her later then. But come over here, Nakao-kun, and let me get a good look at you. You're the one I came to see, after all."

"Maybe you should come back later," Nakao said, looking at the group uncertainly. "My otousan, he doesn't like when we have visitors he didn't invite."

"Feh," the hanyou said. His face was set in his trademark scowl. "Not surprised, the way this place feels."

Nakao gave him an odd look, shrugged, and started to go, but the old miko, ignoring the hanyou standing behind her, rested a hand on the boy's shoulder.

"This won't take long, Nakao-kun, and then we'll leave you alone," the old miko said, handing her basket to Kagome. "Your otousan is still at Tameo's. He won't be bothered by us." She gently held Nakao's chin in her hand, turning his head this way and that, examining his bruises, and carefully looking into his eyes. "How does your head feel, Nakao-kun?"

"Where . . . where I got hit, it hurts," Nakao said, wincing as she gently touched one of the injured spots on his face. "The top of my head hurts a little, but I bumped it there, I think. But the back of my head, it doesn't hurt none."

She gently touched the area near where his cheek had been cut. The skin around it was heavily bruised, and he winced as she touched. "Hurts there still, right? Is it worse than yesterday?"

The boy nodded. "A little."

Kaede straightened up. "Well, boy, it all seems to be healing. I want to keep an eye on that cut, though, to make sure it's just not the bruising making it sore. But," the miko said, "I think you're doing well. In a few days, the bruises will start to fade. If your head begins to hurt, a throbbing big hurt, and you're worried, get to your obaasan's house, or come see me. We'll take care of you."

Once again, Nakao nodded.

"I'll take my basket now," she said to Kagome. "I've got some medicine for the boy."

As the miko looked into her basket, the boy's face twisted up thoughtfully, and he sucked on his bottom lip. Looking around the compound to make sure there was nobody else but the three people in front of him who could overhear him, he rubbed his chin, and in a very soft voice, asked, "Why?"

"Why what, son?" Kaede asked, stopping what she was doing.

"Why does my otousan do this?" Nakao asked.


	211. Chapter 211

_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 211**

For a moment, Maeme scrubbed the white linen under kosode shirt she was working on. There were moments, like now, she saw the wearer of that shirt and entertained a fantasy of holding him, as well as the garment, underwater.

As the image of Seiji's struggling face filled her imagination, and her hands gathered around the cloth like it was a neck she was holding, she recoiled violently, realizing what she was doing, and dropped the cloth. "I am not like him," she whispered, looking at her hands. The garment started to drift away from the little pool that the rocks created, and was in danger of floating out into the current. She quickly grabbed it, splashing a little as she did.

"Did you hear that, Otousan?" Shinjiro said.

"Don't see anything," the voice that was Daitaro's answered. "Must have been a fish."

"I guess," the younger man said.

Maeme clutched the cloth to her chest, getting her robe wet with it. "Merciful Kwannon," she said, stilling her beating heart. "I promise I will not drown my husband, even when he drives me to daydream like this. I don't want to be like him. You know that."

Taking a deep breath, she dunked the cloth in the water one more time and lifted it up. Deciding she had gotten the shirt as clean as it was going to get, she picked up the wet linen and started to wring it out, but carefully, trying not to splash any louder than she had to.

This time, though, she needn't have bothered. Right after she started squeezing the water out of the cloth, she heard the older man shout, drowning out any sound she might have made.

"That's the way, son! You've got a bite. Let's get him in!"

"I see, I see," Shinjiro said, his voice rising.

There was a splash, louder than any she had made, and a sound that was sort of flapping, sort of crashing.

"Don't let him roll away, Otousan!" the younger man said. He sounded very excited.

"I have him. I have him." There was the sound of movement, like something slapping. "He's in the box," the older man announced. "A good omen that, you getting the first fish."

The flapping sounds died down, and for a moment, all was quiet.

Shinjiro broke the silence first. "A good omen, eh? Me catching a fish? Like me catching a wife?"

"You could put it that way," the older man said. "And a good one. You know how we all feel about her."

Maeme stood up and stretched the wet kosode on a bush near the first sheet.

"You and Okaasan and even Genjo have made that clear," Shinjiro said. His voice was somewhere between pleased and mildly annoyed.

"It's an important thing, having everybody happy with a choice of a spouse," Daitaro said. "We all have to live together, and it's much better to live together in harmony."

"Harmony," Maeme said very quietly. It tasted like a lie in her mouth.

Shinjiro sighed. "I can't believe today is finally here."

Maeme headed back to the water to start washing another shirt.

"Get your line back out there, son," Daitaro said as she began wetting the cloth.

"I'm working on it," the younger man replied. "You need to catch your own fish."

"I'm working on it, boy." The older man's voice grew softer, and more concerned. "I'm glad it's going to be over soon, son."

"You don't think I am," Shinjiro said. Maeme began drubbing a spot on the shirt that didn't want to come out.

"I'm sure, but I bet it's for different reasons. Your okaasan's going to need a good rest after today. She's all smiles, but I can tell this has been tiring."

"I tried to get her not to get so wrapped up in things," Shinjiro said, a bit defensively. There was a small splash. Maeme assumed he threw his line back into the water. A bird on one of the trees overlooking the river took off, flying low to investigate it.

"I know, son, I know, but this is what she wanted to do." It sounded like Daitaro sighed. "Want a drink?"

She wrung out the shirt, and carefully laid it in the grass not far from the other garments. "Men and their sake," she murmured.

"No, I promised Okaasan to come home mostly sober." The younger man sounded almost disappointed. Maeme headed to her basket, grabbed another kosode, and took it to wash.

"Good boy," Daitaro said, approvingly. "There'll be enough to drink at the wedding. And you don't want to disappoint that pretty girl of yours."

As she wetted the shirt, Shinjiro's voice grew soft, and she had to strain to hear what they were saying.

"Otousan, am I doing the right thing?"

"Damn," the older man said. "I think my line got snagged." She could hear his grunts as he worked to free it. Something got knocked over, and something splashed. After some cursing, there was a sound like a bow string releasing, and a humph from the man.

"Ah well," he said after a moment. "Stupid line. I guess I didn't want to bring home a fish after all. Didn't bring any extras."

"You can use mine," Shinjiro said. "My mind's not on fish."

"I bet," Maeme whispered. "Man getting married's thinking of other things. I remember . . . "

She attacked her laundry, working extra hard on the shirt she was washing, as if that could chase away the memories. Her memories of that night were not pleasant. "Stupid drunk man. I should have run away the next morning," she said. "Being in a tea house would have been better, I think."

"So what are you worried about, son?" the older man asked. His voice was both soothing and concerned.

"She's so sweet and young." Shinjiro sighed. Something about the tone of his voice made Maeme stop her work. "Am I doing the right thing? Am I too old? And after what happened . . . "

Daitaro sighed. She heard a sound like a clap on the back, although it might have been a last slap of the fish's tale against the box they put it in. "I wish you and your okaasan would stop blaming yourselves for what happened." Daitaro's voice was gentle, but firm. "She was a lovely girl, and we all loved her, and we will remember the brightness she gave us, and never forget her memorials. I do not regret you bringing her under our roof, but it was her karma only to be with us for a little while. Let's thank her for that, for what she gave us while she was here. She loved you enough that she would have wanted you to move on, and you know it."

There was a heavy sigh from the men, as Maeme dunked the cloth back under the water. She remembered Shinjiro's first wife. She was a pretty girl, pale and hard working, and during the little they had interacted, the girl had spoken kind words to her. But the girl's pregnancy did not sit on her well. Maeme had watched her get sicker as her time neared. For a moment, the two men grew quiet, remembering.

"But what if it was something about me that made her get sick like that?" Shinjiro's voice grew softer even.

"Didn't Kaede explain that to you? Sometimes women get the swelling sickness when they're carrying. It can kill them. It happened to Yasuo's mother, too, you know."

Maeme looked at the kosode in her hand. It was another one of her husband's. For a moment she remembered all the effort she put into that shirt - weaving it, sewing it, and how he spilled wine over it and treated it like a rag. "Would Seiji ever ask if he was to blame for something that happened to me?" she asked. Her voice was almost too soft for her to hear.

"I know, I know," Shinjiro said. "That was a sad day, too."

"Let me ask you this, son. You talk about worrying if you're doing right by your pretty girl. Ask yourself this. Is Erime happy about the marriage?" Daitaro asked. "She sure acts like she's happy to me."

"I...Yes," the younger man said. "I'm not sure why, but she is."

"Your mother is happy. She was happy when Genjo married Mariko, but I think, maybe she and Erime are even a better match." There was the sound of something rattling. "They get along like mother and daughter. My sons know how to choose their women."

"You noticed that, too, did you, old man?" Shinjiro said. There was a bit of mirth in his voice. "I suspect we're in for it when they decide to put us in our place."

"Oh, and there will be days when they'll do just that. But we'll love'em anyway." The older man laughed, but then his voice got quiet. "And what about you, son, do you want this? As much as we want you to be married, with a family of your own, you know we've always wanted your happiness most."

Maeme held her breath, waiting to hear what the young man would say.

It took him a moment. "I do. I don't know how it happened, maybe last year at the rice planting. Suddenly her laughter caught my attention. And she would listen to me. And she laughed at my stupid jokes, like she really liked them. It was . . . well . . . it was like early dawn, when things get gray after being dark all night."

"That sounds about right," Daitaro said. "That's around the time I noticed you were acting . . . well distracted."

Shinjiro laughed. "I don't know if I would have done anything more but find excuses to visit Takeshi if he hadn't stopped me one day and asked why I was mooning over his daughter."

"By that time, it had gotten pretty obvious," the older man said. "We even had a talk about you before he did it."

"Did you?" Shinjiro sounded surprised.

"He wanted to know if there was something going on between you two," the older man said. "I don't think he realized how smitten you were. He thought it might be you were having a fling with her."

"I...I wouldn't have done that." Shinjiro sounded offended.

"I know it, and you know it, son, but there would have been plenty of other men who might have been otherwise. If you ever have a daughter, you'll understand why he asked."

Maeme dropped the shirt she was holding back in the water.

"Well, that's not me," Shinjiro said. There was some rattling. "I want her. I think she wants me. But . . . I only want to do right by her. Let's go home."

"Well, you'll have her tonight. Don't be surprised if she's too nervous or tired." The old man's voice grew distant. "Your okaasan fell asleep almost right after they let us get away."

Shinjiro snorted. "The way I'm feeling, I might be the one to do that."

"Let's go home. A nap might be in order if you're already feeling that way."

"Maybe you're right, Otou. It'll at least pass the time away."

There was a splash, and she heard them walk away. Soon they were too far to hear any more.

Maeme fished her husband's shirt out of the water. Suddenly, with a shriek at the hand fate had given her, she ripped it apart at the seams.

"Damn you, Seiji," she said, letting part of the garment drift off in the current. "Curse you for being a cold-hearted monster."

Maeme tossed the rest of the shirt in. "And may the good gods watch over those two. They owe me that much."

She gathered up the cleaned laundry, and put it on top of the unwashed. Not sure of what she wanted to do next, she knelt down next to her laundry basket.

The song she was singing earlier came back to her lips.

"I look over the sea,  
>and my tears fall like rain,<br>I envy the seabird  
>who fly away over the waters.<p>

"I look at the mountains,  
>and my tears fall again,<br>I envy the eagle  
>who flies over the mountain.<p>

"How long I ask,  
>walking through the rain,<br>to the shrine in the mountains,  
>but the kami are silent.<p>

"I look at my place,  
>and my tears fall like rain,<br>my wings are clipped  
>and I will stay in this cage<br>until I die."

Her eyes glimmered, but no tears fell. She had learned well how not to let them drop. Instead, she merely sat there and watched the river.


	212. Chapter 212

1_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 212**

Back at Seiji's house, Nakao's question surprised the adults. Kagome and InuYasha exchanged glances, not knowing what to say.

For a moment, everything was quiet. The only sound came from the chickens strutting in the yard in front of the house.

Nakao looked at the others and then back at Kaede. "Can anybody tell me why my otousan is like this?" The boy's voice still quite soft, as if he were afraid someone was going to overhear him, but there was a rising tone to it that required an answer. "Sometimes, he's almost nice. Once, last fall, he even took me fishing. But then other times . . . " He shook his head. "Like yesterday. I wasn't doing anything bad. I was just pulling a weed I found in the garden. My okaasan does so much of the work herself. I just wanted to help. Why should I let it grow? Why did he think that was a bad thing? Is he possessed? Does he have a fox spirit?"

The old miko sighed, and rubbed her lips with a knuckle as she thought about how to answer him.

"Who told you about fox spirits?" InuYasha asked. "And why do you think he might have one?"

"My obaasan. She thinks he got a fox spirit when he was a boy," Nakao said, looking up at the hanyou. He sucked on his lip. It was evidently a nervous habit. His bottom lip was chapped from doing it a lot. "Rikuyo-obasan said when she was fourteen, he fell out of a tree, and she says that's when the fox spirit got him. She says before that, he was a nice person. But he never was after it."

Kaede shook her head, and twisted the corner of her mouth into a doubtful expression. "I don't know, child. Your obaasan is not the first person who's suggested that. If it's a fox spirit, it's one that's too strong for everyday magic to chase away, or even discover."

"Too strong?" the boy asked. "I didn't think . . . "

"I know I've tried. Even Houshi-sama can't feel any magic on him. People like to blame the foxes or other youkai, or ghosts, but sometimes, it's not magic at all," Kaede said. "And sometimes, we just don't know why these things happen."

"He fell out of a tree when he was a boy?" Kagome asked. Nakao nodded.

"Aye, he did," Kaede said, also nodding. "I remember. I think he was about seven at the time. He hit his head pretty hard. We were worried that he might not make it because of it, but he did."

The young miko rubbed her chin, thinking. InuYasha looked at her, curious about where she was going with this.

"I'm afraid I didn't feel any magic on him, either, Nakao-kun. But where . . . where I come from, they tell us that people who hurt their heads sometimes have problems." Kagome briefly looked up at InuYasha, who nodded for her to continue. She turned back to the boy. "Sometimes, when a person hits their head too hard, it changes their whole personality. A sweet person might become demanding. A person who never cared about food might become a famous cook. Usually it was for the worst, though. A lot of the time people injured like that would get angry and have trouble controlling their feelings."

"Do they know how to fix it?" Nakao asked. "Do you know how to do it?" There was a flicker of hope in his eyes.

Kagome shook her head sadly, and watched the little flame go out, which made her feel more sad than she expected. "I'm afraid not. If our healers got to it early enough, they sometimes could make a difference, but not always. And never after so many years from the injury." She sighed, and reached out, leaning forward and resting her hand lightly on the boy's shoulder. "But if you need help because of your otousan, and you see me or InuYasha, tell us. We'll try to do something."

He looked up at the hanyou, questioning. InuYasha looked back at him with a steady, amber gaze. "Keh," he said, nodding. "You know we will."

"I...I better go inside," Nakao said, not exactly sure of what to say next. "I promised Haha-ue I would rest."

"A wise thing," Kaede said. "Come see me tomorrow if you can. I want to check that cut on your cheek. But before you go, here," she said. She took a small bottle out of her basket and opened it, then handed it to him. "Drink this. It'll help your hurts. It might make you sleepy though."

Nakao nodded and drank it down. He made a face and wiped his mouth, then handed her back the bottle. "That tasted awful."

"Alas," Kaede said. "So many of the things that help us get better do. Drink some water when you go inside. It'll help."

With a nod, the boy turned and walked away, lifting the mat door and disappearing into the house.

They stood there a minute, and watched for a moment.

InuYasha shook his head. "It's always foxes," he said. "When anything goes wrong, they blame foxes. I'm surprised they don't chase Shippou away."

Kaede looked up at him and nodded. "Some would like to," she said. "Not many, but some. People like to have a reason for why things go wrong, and the kitsune people are a convenient excuse. It's not helped by their tendency to trick people, either."

"Feh," the hanyou said. "Anybody who complains should be glad he's here, even if he does like to pull pranks sometimes. I bet his uncle helps keep the black kitsune away. They're the ones who do the most trouble. If someone gets fox possessed, it's almost always one of them. Shippou's uncle - that one's a smart old fox. He wouldn't want anything to happen to his nephew's village."

"I hadn't thought of that," the old miko said. She tilted her head, considering. "There really hasn't been much talk of real kitsune problems around here for the last few years. Maybe he has been."

InuYasha took a deep breath, looked around the place, and scowled. "If they want to chase someone away, it ought to be that bastard Seiji," the hanyou said. He stuck his hands in his sleeves. "Let's go. The air here stinks."

"I think we'll all feel better going elsewhere," Kagome said, nodding.

"You may be right," the old miko said. She began leading them towards Tsuneo's house.

For some reason, the sunshine seemed brighter as they walked to the western side of the village. InuYasha visibly relaxed as they headed toward the elder's house.

"You know, InuYasha," Kagome said, "you don't really have to make this last stop with us. There's no way Tsuneo-ojisan would let anything happen to either Kaede or me."

"And this should be the last stop we do today, I believe," Kaede said. "Just in time for lunch."

"Come this far," the hanyou said, giving his wife a look that let her know what he thought of her trying to shoo him off. "After putting up with Sora's brats and old man Daisuke, I'm not stopping now."

Kaede shrugged. "But tomorrow, we might not need to make rounds at all. I suspect we will need to find some other way to pass your morning."

Akemi and Jiro, two of the village boys who were fans of InuYasha's fishing skills walked by, heading for the river. A small brown dog trailed after them. They waved as they passed.

"Going fishing," Akemi said. "Wish me luck!"

"Catch a big one," InuYasha said as they passed. He looked at them with a touch of envy.

Kagome, catching his look, rested her hand on his arm. "I can think of one or two ways you might pass the time then."

He nodded.

Kagome turned to Kaede. "So, you think everybody is doing well enough to not do your rounds?"

"Maybe," the old miko said. "Sora's son is getting back on his feet. I doubt if she'll be able to keep him inside."

"He did seem a bit restless today," Kagome said, nodding. "And all the rest of Sora's children seem to be doing all right."

"Oh, I have no doubt that he'll be driving his mother to distraction by the end of the day." The old miko chuckled. "I knew he was getting better when he asked me to tell his mother to let him play on the verandah."

"Did he?" Kagome asked. "I missed that."

"It was when you were giving the medicines to the other children," Kaede said.

"They really like those," the young miko said. "I'm glad it kept the sickness away."

"I'm afraid Sora's children don't get sweets very often," Kaede said, nodding. "Sweet medicine tastes as good to them as any other special treat."

As they walked, they passed a number of people going about their business. One of them was

Toshiro's farmhand Shigeru, who was heading towards the dryland fields pushing a handcart. He did not look very happy. Seeing the small group, he stopped his cart, waved, and then took the moment to wipe his face.

InuYasha snorted, looking at the workman. "Wonder how many stops he'll make before he gets where he's going." A small boy, seeing Shigeru's cart, threw a mud clot at it. It splatted and made a big circle. Shigeru shook his fist at the boy, started to chase him, thought better of it, and began heading to where he was supposed to go. "Wonder what that was all about?"

"Shigeru's tongue doesn't always know it's place," Kaede said.

The hanyou shrugged. "He's not the only one around here like that. Look at old man Daisuke."

Kaede stepped over a small pothole in the street. "That one definitely has a sharp tongue in his head, true."

"But the old man is looking pretty good," InuYasha said. "There was a time there I wasn't sure he was going to make it through the winter."

"He is indeed. I believe he's finally getting over his winter cough," Kaede said. "Now if he can keep his back in shape . . . "

"He gives old Hisako a run for his money," the hanyou said, chuckling. "He's probably the only person in the village that can get the better of her."

"Perhaps you are right, InuYasha. But where did you think she learned it from?" Kaede asked.

InuYasha nodded. "You have a point."

"I think," Kaede said, "Unless Hisako sends word, we'll skip visiting him tomorrow." She rubbed her chin. "And Sayo won't need to be checked on for a few days. She's doing quite well, just as I suspected."

"As long as they can keep her from chasing after Daiki-kun," Kagome said. "He seems to be a real handful."

Kaede nodded. "She needs to just stay away from the rest of her household for a few more days. It's important that she gets her rest. If I know her, though, she'll try to get back to work in a week, instead of taking her month off. The men in her family get overwhelmed trying to keep up, even with Nanami and the girls helping. And I doubt if it's going to get any better. Daiki-kun's little brother seems to be about to take after him."

"They need to get some more help," InuYasha said, stuffing his hands in his sleeves.

"You could always volunteer, InuYasha," Kagome said. "You did such a good job with him this morning. Toshiro might offer you the job."

The look he gave her in return made her laugh.

"I take it, then, that's a no," Kaede said. A corner of her mouth turned up, watching the two of them.

"More than a no," InuYasha said.

Kagome laughed some more.


	213. Chapter 213

_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 213**

As the two miko and InuYasha headed to Tsuneo's house, Miroku walked into the village. The first person he saw was Hisoki, one of Toshiro's many cousins.

"Ah, good morning, Houshi-sama," Hisoki said. He had a hoe over his shoulder and a pack basket on his back.

"Off to the fields?" the monk asked. "It looks like a good day for it."

"Looking to see what I can get done. I may check on my eggplant patch," the man said, nodding. "It's a little early to plant, but the ground needs work, I'm sure. But I was really thinking of mushrooms."

"I wish you good luck with that," Miroku said. "It's supposed to be a very auspicious day. Maybe you'll find a good place."

"I've got a secret place or two that usually have some by now. If I do, I'll be sure to put a few aside," the man said, smiling. "I know how much your woman likes them."

"She does, indeed," Miroku said.

"And after your help with that ghost that was haunting my okaasan's house - well, I'm still grateful."

Miroku bowed slightly. "It's what I'm here for."

"And we're glad you're here. Well, the day's not getting any younger," the man said, and nodding his goodbyes, he headed off for his field.

Smiling at the way the morning was turning out, Miroku headed west along the main village street. He usually stopped and talked with a few of the villagers every day. Sometimes, as he did this, the people he visited would give him donations of food or other things for the temple, because it was considered good merit and all monks were expected to be supported by the people they passed by. A few, like Kimi, were grateful to have him in the village, because it had been a long walk to the nearest temple. Sometimes, others would stop him and ask for prayers and tell them their troubles, and a few, like Isamu and Susumu, seemed to just enjoy his company, or at least his love of gossip. He very seldom returned home without at least a piece of news to share with Sango.

At the moment, he didn't spy anybody else out on the street, and stopped a moment to think of what to do next. "Maybe I should stop at Tameo's," he said. "I wonder how things are going with Seiji?"

Before he got that far though, his attention got drawn by the sound of loud giggling, the type girls do when they think grownups aren't listening.

The sound came from the back of Kaede's house. "Rin must still be at home," the monk said. "And from the sound of it, Tazu and Iya are there, too. This must mean Miko-sama is out doing rounds." A thought struck him. He leaned his staff up against the wall of Kaede's house and moved quietly, along the side of the building.

"I saw them coming - Obaasan and Emi and the children, so I asked Okaa if I could come see you," Tazu said. Miroku peeked around the side to get a glimpse of the girls, and Tazu looked quite proud of herself. "If I had asked even a little bit later, I bet I would be watching the little ones."

"Emi-obasan and all the children from Tameo's household were with them?" Iya asked. The girl's voice sounded rather amazed.

"All of them. Even Riki-obasan's little boy," Tazu said, with a nod. "I got away just in time."

"Now that's curious," the monk said. His voice was too soft to be overheard.

"Aomi-chan is such a sweet little girl," Rin said. She had her sewing in her lap and took a few stitches. "Rin likes to play with her."

"But Mitsuo . . . you know how wild he can be." Iya shuddered in mock fear. "He reminds me of my brother when he was little. Toshiki was a brat."

"Ha!" Tazu said, grinning. "Remember what he did last week? He's still like that."

"That is interesting," the monk said to himself as he leaned back against the wall of the miko's house. "Why would all the children at Tameo's be ushered over to Fujime's place?"

There was another burst of giggles, and Miroku used that noise as an excuse to withdraw, pick up his staff, and head down the street towards the headman's place.

He heard a voice singing, or rather yelling out a song before he reached the complex. The words intrigued him; he'd never heard that particular one before and he leaned against the gate to listen.

"If at night, you get close,  
>and her womanhood smells too bad to breathe,<br>Yoi, yoi, yoiya sa,  
>and it smells so bad you can't breathe,<br>boil up some fish,  
>some nice salt fish,<br>and wash her well in the water."

If at night, you get close,  
>and her womanhood smells too bad to breathe,<br>yoi, yoi, yoiya sa,  
>and it smells so bad you can't breathe<br>even with the fish,  
>even with the fish, add pepper to the water."<p>

The monk looked into the courtyard. The only people that he could see about were Jun and Koichi, one standing, one sitting near the lockup building.

"The effects of bad singing," the monk whispered. "I wonder how long he's been at it?"

"Kuso," Miroku could hear Jun say. His voice was strained and very irritated

"Too long, I guess, if he can make Jun that angry. Jun's usually so patient." As he watched from the street, the farm worker picked up something off of the ground and threw it through the lockup's window.

"You missed!" Seiji's voice from within the lockup sounded gleeful.

"Keep it up, and I'll be throwing more than dirt clods, you asshole," the farmer said.

"Definitely too long," Miroku murmured.

Koichi pointed to a water bucket, left out for the guards to slake their thirst. "Might try this," he said. "Pouring water over cats that won't shut up helps sometimes."

"How about a bucket of cow piss? I bet we can find one of those." Jun said. "Or maybe just dung."

"Definitely plenty of dung in the back," Koichi noted.

"Damn you two," Seiji said. "Your turn's coming." The effect of his rant was broken though, as he started coughing, and hard.

"If he keeps this up, he's going to eventually run out of voice," Koichi said, hopefully.

"We should be so lucky." Jun replied.

"Well that answers that question," the monk said, "but I'm not sure I want to deal with that quite yet." Turning, he headed back the way he started. "It would certainly spoil the plan I have in mind."

To the west of Tameo's place, it was much more quiet. Amaya, Isao's mother, was not working in her garden for once. She, like Maeme, had laundry to do and at this moment, she stood by a clothes line, where she was hanging up a sheet she had just washed. Like Seiji, she was singing, but the song that she chose was a totally different type than the locked up man was belting out. Her voice was sweet and not nearly as loud as she smoothed the cloth across the line.

"In a little house  
>underneath a pine tree,<br>the house with the wicker gate,  
>look at them working,<br>the old man and his wife,  
>the old man and his wife."<p>

Moving back to her laundry tub, she added a couple more garments to the water, and began rubbing them across her scrubbing stick.

"Heading for the hills,  
>his back stood straight<br>heading for his home,  
>his back was bent over<br>with a load of firewood,  
>a heavy load of firewood."<p>

She lifted the white under kosode she was washing, and looked at it. Displeased, she dunked it back in the water.

"There you are, Okaasan!"

Turning around, she saw her son Hiroki walking up to her. He was carrying a large bundle on his back. It made him lean forward under its weight, much like the old man in the verse she just sang.

"I didn't expect to see you! Tsuneo-ojisan said you'd be spending most of your time up there this week," she said. She let the kosode slip back into the water, and stood up. "When did you come down? That's a big bundle you're carrying."

"Pretty early this morning, right after breakfast. Chiya-obasan asked for some things," he said in a resigned voice. "I'm her pack horse today."

"Is Michio-sama sending all of her things over?" she asked, wiping her hands dry on her wrap skirt.

"I don't think so," the young man said. "I hope not. She sent me with a list. This wasn't his doing. I don't want to be making that many trips."

"How is it going?"Amaya asked.

"She's sad. She cries. She bosses me and Hana-chan around." He tried to make a joke about it, but they both knew how Chiya behaved. "Sometimes, she even spins."

"And . . . and that . . . that man?" she asked.

"He's happy as a bee. He thinks he's found his long lost family. It's really rather amazing. No more stealing the pickle lid to chase monsters. No more panic attacks. At least not yet. It's only been a day." His voice signaled just how sure he was that it wouldn't last.

"You be careful, son," Amaya said. "I'm still not sure if this was the best idea."

"Maybe it'll turn out all right. At least Haname-obasan will be able to get some rest and quiet now." Hiroki shifted his pack a little.

"Yes. And it's been wonderfully quiet since they took him to the other place." Amaya sighed. "And Haname-obasan needs it."

"Is she any better?" Hiroki asked, his eyes marked by real concern.

"She's . . . she's holding her own. Maybe the quiet will help." Amaya wrung her hands together, and catching it, she moved them to clutch her wrap skirt.

The youth sighed. "Maybe it will. I had better get to the river before Chiya-obasan drives Hana-chan crazy."

Amaya nodded. "Take care, son. I'll try to get up there sometime tomorrow."

"Maybe we'll be lucky," the youth said. "Maybe Michio-ojisan will come to his senses and we all can come home."

"Maybe so." Amaya managed to wrap her hands totally in the fabric of her wrap skirt. "Maybe so."

Waving goodbye, the boy headed off to the river.

Amaya went back to her laundry. She picked up the kosode and looked at the spot that had troubled her before her son had walked up. Frowning, she rubbed it once more on her rubbing stick. "If this doesn't come out this time, the sun's going to have to bleach it. I have too much to do to deal with it now."

She wrung it out, and started another, picking up her song again.

"In a little house  
>underneath a pine tree,<br>the house with the wicker gate,  
>look at them working,<br>the old man and his wife,  
>the old man and his wife."<p>

"She headed for the stream  
>a basket on her head,<br>it didn't weigh a thing.  
>The basket was much heavier<br>full of wet clothes,  
>so full of wet clothes."<p>

She picked the kosode out of the tub and began wringing it out. "So true, that verse. Wet clothes weigh so much." Once done, she walked to her clothes line, and hung it up.

"Hang them in the sunlight  
>let the breeze work,<br>there at the house  
>with the wicker gate<br>they move like warrior's banners,  
>they dance like warrior's banners."<p>

"We might not have a wicker gate, but let the breeze work anyway," she said. Turning, she rested her hand on her back and stretched. Looking at the road that ran in front of the house, she noticed three figures coming up the way. "Must be time for a break. We're about to have company." 


	214. Chapter 214

1_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 214**

As Miroku headed back to Kaede's, he could hear the girls talking even before he got to the miko's house.

His eyes lit up with anticipation as he moved in. "This will be so much more pleasant than dealing with Seiji-sama," he said, as he checked to make sure Kaede was not at home. Assured of that, he once again left his staff propped up against the wall of the house so the jingle wouldn't give him away, and quietly walked towards the back of the house to listen.

The monk leaned against the wall of the house, just peeking around the corner. He was not disappointed with what he found, as the girls sat there in rapt attention, listening to Tazu once again.

"And for a moment, I just stood there," Tazu said. Her eyes were wide open as she told her tale, and she held her hands up, emphasizing her feelings. "He looked . . . he looked . . . "

"What? What did he look like?" Iya asked, leaning forward. She had her hand resting on her chin, and her eyes were lit with determined curiosity. "What did you think of him?"

Rin watched the two girls, highly amused, and laughed, covering her mouth, but it was not enough to stifle her mirth. "Yes, Tazu-chan, tell us. What do you think of Rin's lord?" She moved her sewing basket out of the way so she could lean closer to the girl, although she gripped her work firmly in hand. Still, she was currently too interested in what Tazu thought to take any stitches.

Tazu took a breath and closed her eyes, almost overwhelmed by her friends' interest, but also grinning in a pleased way at their attention. She licked her lips as she got ready to comply with her friends' request. She opened her eyes. "He's tall," she said, raising a hand over her head to indicate height.

"How tall?" Iya asked. She had a weaving strap around her lap, and the cords to make straw sandals wrapped around her foot, and a basket of straw next to her, but like Rin's sewing, the partially woven sandal was just sitting there, untouched. "Taller than Susumu-sama?"

Tazu nodded. "Definitely taller."

"Of course he's taller," Rin said, nudging Iya as if she were being stupid. "InuYasha-ojisan is as tall as Susumu-sama, and Sesshoumaru-sama is taller than InuYasha-ojisan," she said. "Rin's lord is the older brother." Suddenly she covered her mouths and started to giggle.

Miroku leaned against the wall, rather amused.

"Is he taller than Seiji-sama?" Iya asked. Sitting back up straight, she grabbed some straw out of the basket and actually started to work on the sandal. Trying to hide her impatience, she looked down at her work, weaving the straw between the four cords of the sandal's warp. Her tone grew matter-of-fact, yet just a little snooty. "Seiji-sama is the tallest person I know of."

At the mention of Seiji's name, Tazu scowled deeply. "And the meanest." She crossed her arms. "Did you see what he did to Nakao yesterday?"

Iya, still looking at her sandal, shook her head."I heard about it, but didn't see it." Trying to keep the conversation from derailing onto who was the worst in the village, she looked up at her friend. "Maybe it's true that he's the meanest," she said, "but that's something different. Is Rin's lord as tall as Seiji-sama?"

Tazu squeezed her eyes shut and tapped a finger on her lip, trying to compare the two men in her head. "I...I think Sesshoumaru-sama is taller, but I think Seiji-sama is wider," she said at last. She opened her eyes and looked at the girl to her right. "What do you think, Rin-chan?"

"Taller," Rin said. She looked at her sewing, found the needle, and started stitching again. "And definitely more handsome than Seiji-sama," she said, pulling the thread through the fabric. "And much, much nicer."

"Almost anybody's handsomer that Seiji-sama," Iya said, archly.

"Nicer? Maybe. We all know how mean Seiji-sama is. But your lord seemed scary to me, Rin-chan," Tazu said, frowning. "His voice didn't sound nice. He sounded . . . irritated, maybe. Like I was a flea that was biting him."

"Maybe that's because you were peeping?" Rin said, shaking her head. She took another stitch. "Sesshoumaru-sama is not as scary as Seiji-sama." Her voice was emphatic, daring the other girls to disagree with her.

The monk moved forward out of his hiding place. "I'm not sure if everybody would agree with that, Rin-chan," Miroku said.

The girls, realizing their conversation was being overheard, turned around and looked up at the monk. Various shades of blushing followed.

"Miroku-ojisan!" Rin said. "Where did you come from?" She half-covered her face with the fabric she was sewing.

"Houshi-sama!" Iya said. She seriously began working on her sandal. "Have you been listening long?"

Tazu, though, merely buried her face in her hands.

The monk chuckled. "Long enough to know that Tazu has an excellent memory for heights."

Tazu looked up at the monk, then blushed even redder than she was already.

"It's true, you know," Miroku said. "Sesshoumaru-sama is about this much taller than Seiji-sama." He gestured a distance of about three inches. "And yes, Sesshoumaru-sama is not as broad as Seiji-sama, but then, he doesn't need to be. I have no doubt which of the two can lift more weight, or who would win if they were to fight against each other." He leaned heavily on his staff. "I doubt Seiji-sama would last as long as it takes to say merciful Kwannon."

Tazu's and Iya's eyes got big, and they swung around to look at their companion.

"He could do that, Rin?" Iya asked.

Rin nodded. "He's very strong and very quick. Rin's lord has saved her from some awful monsters."

"So let me change the subject, my pretty young women, now that the question of who's taller is settled," Miroku said. "I was looking for you, Rin-chan to ask if you're planning to come see Sango today."

The girl nodded. "Rin was thinking about it. But just as she was leaving, Tazu and Iya showed up," she said, looking at her friends. "Rin thinks now that she won't be able to get away until after lunch."

"How about this morning?" Miroku asked. "All three of you. In return, I can tell you some stories about Sesshoumaru-sama. True stories. Rin-chan doesn't know all of them. She wasn't always there. And in return, you three can watch my daughters while I . . . run an errand . . . with Sango-chan."

"True stories?" Iya asked.

The monk nodded.

"That Rin doesn't know?" Rin asked.

Iya looked at Tazu, and Tazu looked at Rin. There was a flurry of giggling, and the girls stood up. It was decided.

Outside, at Tsuneo's place, Amaya might have been doing laundry in the sunshine, but inside, in the main room, a darkness hung over the place that had nothing to do with how much light came through the windows. A sad and confused Michio talked to his father-in-law as they both sat next to the fire pit.

The young man buried his head in his hands as he sat cross-legged on the floor. "I don't know what to do, Tsuneo-otousan," he said. "I just don't know what to do."

Akina, Joben's wife, hovered around the men as they talked. Unobtrusively, she moved a bubbling tea kettle off of the fire, then, poured hot water into the tea pot, which rested on a tray. Getting up, she went to the kitchen cabinet, where she added some rice cakes onto a plate. For the moment, neither man paid much attention to her actions.

"You heard what happened yesterday afternoon, didn't you?" Tsuneo asked. He rested his cheek in one hand, then looked up, watching his daughter-in-law's graceful movements instead of his son-in-law's agitation.

"Would you like some chimaki?" she asked. Tsuneo shook his head, then focused once more on his son-in-law.

"Which thing?" Michio said. "There were multiple things that happened yesterday. " He slumped forward, and rested his chin in his hand, his elbow on his knee.

Akina placed the plate of rice cakes on a tray, along with tea cups. Smiling a smile that didn't quite touch her eyes, she brought the tray across the room with her. Sitting down near the tea pot, she poured cups of the pale green liquid and placed them on the tray before moving towards the men.

"Seiji caused a stink in front of Kaede's house," Tsuneo said. "He even pushed InuYasha's wife to the ground, and in front of the man, too. And she was still wearing her miko clothes at the time." Akina handed him a cup of tea. He nodded his thanks as he took it. "He doesn't know how lucky he is that InuYasha knocked him out instead of taking his head."

"I don't . . . " Michio shook his head. "I don't understand that man." Akina handed him his tea as well. He took it and placed it in the palm of his hand.

"Amaya said that Koume said that quite a few people watched," the woman said, getting up to attend to the fire. "Fumio was there. And Eiji, too."

"Did he go crazy yesterday? Me, you, and now at Kaede's, too?" Michio asked. "Did someone put a spell on him?"

"I think," Tsuneo said, shaking his head, "that he was born that way. But too much sake really calls his monster out. They put him in the lockup after InuYasha-sama knocked him out."

"I couldn't believe the way he acted when he showed up at my place," Michio said. "Chichi-ue was ready to call the elders then and there. I'm afraid he might try something . . . Maybe we need to put some extra people on the house by the river."

"He has to be running out of friends," Akina said. "Who's left to stand up for him?" There was a noise from the back of the house. "Ah, Okaasan must want something. At least she's able to call when she wants today." She got gracefully to her feet, moved the teapot onto the tray, put it where the men could easily reach it. "I better go check on her." She bowed, then left the room.

"Friends?" Michio asked, watching Akina slide the door closed behind her. "I think he's chased everybody away from him except his brother."

"We'll find out," Tsuneo said, reaching for a rice cake. "There will be a meeting of the full council tomorrow to discuss him." He gave his son-in-law a knowing, although not accusatory, look. "But you, Michio . . . if you're worried about Chiya-chan and whatever Seiji has up his sleeve, you could stop it all by bringing her home. I'm pretty sure he wouldn't try anything there."

"I wish it were that simple." Michio closed his eyes and shook his head. "I...No, not yet. One of the things Seiji accused me of is being walked over by my woman." His body slumped forward. "She left me no face with her stunts. If I take her home today, what would everybody say?"

Tsuneo's eyes looked at his son-in-law with sad understanding, and a bit of sympathy. "I've been pushed to the edge of my limits a time or two myself. Chiya is very much Haname's daughter." He took a sip of his tea. "Do what you need to, Michio. A man needs his pride and his public face. Just make sure you're not paying more to hold onto your pride than it's worth."

"Pride. I think I gave that up a long time ago." Michio's tone was bitter, resigned. He drank a sip of tea, then rotated the cup in the palm of his hand. "It's more than just pride. I...I was mad enough to hit her, in public, with everybody watching. I just saw red. I've never been so angry. I'm still not sure if I can deal with it yet. If she looks at me the wrong way, or says the wrong thing . . . " His voiced trailed off for a moment. "I don't want Seiji to hurt her, but by the hells, I don't want to be the one to do it either."

"That's the difference between you and Seiji, son." Tsuneo said, sipping his tea. "You, you know when acting in violence isn't what a true man should do. You know when to step back. That's one reason I let you two get married in the first place. That's another reason that ass will never get my daughter, ever. I'll sell all my things to get her a dowery to send her to a convent first. Better that we starve than have a man like him touch her. How can you do what he does to someone you care about?" He finished his tea.

Michio refilled his cup. "How indeed?"


	215. Chapter 215

1_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 215**

Kaede and her two companions neared Tsuneo's house.

"Our last stop of the day," the old miko said. "We'll be done with more than enough time to get ready for Shinjiro's wedding. Maybe even time for a nap."

Hearing that, InuYasha looked at his wife and wiggled his eyebrows. Kagome in turn, giggled.

The old miko looked at her companions, knowing she had missed something, and raised an eyebrow at Kagome's slightly blushing cheeks.

"Is all well, child?" she asked, and glanced at the hanyou who was looking rather smug. "I seem to have missed a joke or something."

"It's nothing, Kaede-obaasan," Kagome said, looking down at her feet.

"Keh," the hanyou said, still smirking.

Kaede shrugged. "Well, the world is filled with private jokes," she said, softly.

They passed along the fence line that marked the edge of Amaya's vegetable garden. The greens nodded lightly in the morning breeze, but Amaya was, for once, not working there. The only activity they spotted as they passed by the fertile plot was a wasp that hovered in the air, and a few birds, that seeing them, took off with a whirl of wings for the shelter of nearby trees. The birds scolded the three as they walked. One thing was missing, though. Nobody was out chasing a confused Morio.

"It looks different from the last time I was here," Kagome said. "It's so quiet. Is anybody outside?"

"Most of the work probably takes place on the far side of the main house," Kaede said. "That's where the outbuildings are."

"That looks like Amaya over there," InuYasha pointed towards the house, where cloth fluttered on a clothes line.

The woman working spotted them about the same time they spotted her. She waved and ducked around the clothes line and the wash tub to come meet them. "Hello!" she called out. "It's been such a nice morning. So quiet! I had forgotten what it was like. I hope your day is going as well."

As she reached them, Kagome gave her a big smile. "It's nice to hear that, Amaya-chan," she said. "I hope it stays that way for you."

Amaya stepped between the fence rails, ducking down with a grace that demonstrated much practice, and joined them on the road. Wiping her hands on her wrap skirt, she bowed a greeting. "Kaede-sama, Kagome-chan, InuYasha-sama. Are you here to see Haname-obasan?"

"We are," Kaede said, glancing at the hanyou. InuYasha's ear flicked at her gaze. "At least Kagome and I are. How is she doing this morning?"

Amaya's face went from happy to guarded. "She's not much different. If she has to lie down flat, she begins coughing. But she's determined. And she finally got to rest after they moved that . . . that . . . man-child away. This morning she made me set up her spinning wheel and sent her granddaughter out to go gather some spring herbs with one of her cousins."

"She always was a stubborn one," Kaede said, nodding. "She doesn't give up easily, and she hates to be fretted over. That, I think, will help her most of all to get well."

"Stubborn," InuYasha said. "That's the word."

Kagome looked up at her husband. "Reminds me of someone else I know."

Amaya smiled at the look that crossed InuYasha's face at the young miko's implication.

"Not the only one," he replied.

At that the old miko chuckled.

"Well, let's get you inside," Amaya said. "We've moved Haname to the add-on room at the far end of the house. You have to go outside to get to it. There was so much noise with Morio that she wasn't getting any rest. And besides that, it gets good light. Tsuneo-ojisan thought it might make her feel more cheerful to see light. The room she was in was gloomy."

"Sometimes," Kaede said, nodding, "light makes a body feel better."

As Amaya directed the miko to Haname's quarters, InuYasha reluctantly let himself be separated and followed the woman back to the main door.

"I am sorry, InuYasha-sama," Amaya said. "But I have strict orders about this. You remind Haname-obasan of someone . . . "

"Yeah, I've heard the story," the hanyou said, nodding. "I don't want to make her worse."

"Thank you," she said, sliding open the front door.

As Kaede and Kagome headed to Haname's room, Nakao was laying down on his pallet more asleep than awake, thanks to the miko's healing potion.

As he lay there, the doormat rattled, shattering a dream he was having about a large white fish floating down the river. He opened his eyes at the noise, but didn't sit up. "Okaasan? Kaede-sama came by while you were out."

Feet stepped up on the wooden floor.

"I'm not Okaasan," a voice said.

Nakao lifted his head enough to see the frowning face of his brother standing near the edge of the wooden floor. Sukeo's tone was disapproving as he looked around the room.

He walked over to the part of the neat, if somewhat bare, house where his brother rested on his pallet. "What are you doing, laying down? It's a good thing Chichi-ue can't see you now."

"Kaede-sama told me to. She gave me some medicine and said it was going to make me sleepy." The boy sat up on one elbow. "It did. I was almost asleep when you walked in." He yawned, almost as if to prove his point. "Where is Chichi-ue? He's not with you, is he?"

"Do you think it'd be all right for you to be on your bed this time of day if he was?" Sukeo said. "I'd be yanking you to your feet to save your hide if he was right behind me. The headman has him in the lockup house still. They were talking about keeping him there until tomorrow."

Nakao blinked heavy eyes. "Still?" As drowsy as he was, he still seemed surprised. "Last time they let him out in the morning." He laid his head back down. "But yeah, that's what Kaede told me. I forgot."

"Where's Okaasan? He wants Okaasan to make him some headache medicine," Sukeo said, crossing his arms. "I looked for her in the bean field. I thought that's where she said she was going to go today. Where is she?"

"Doing her laundry, I think," Nakao said. His eyes were getting very heavy.

"I'll have to go find her," Sukeo said. "And where's Yoshimi-ojisan?"

"Took his axe and went into the woods. You'd have known that if you had ever come home last night. Okaasan was worried," Nakao said. His head snuggled into his pillow. "So sleepy."

"Chichi-ue's not going to like this," Sukeo said. "We know how much work Yoshimi-ojisan does when he heads off to the forest." He looked down on the bruised face of his little brother, patted him lightly on the head, and dragged his covers up, tucking him in. "At least you'll get some rest. You look like you need it."

As he stepped out, he looked up at the sky. "I try to do the right thing. What do you want from me? How much of this are we supposed to do, or have you gods just cursed everybody in my family?"

Not seeing any answer from the heavens, Sukeo took a deep breath and bowed his head.. "Doing laundry," he said, heading toward the river. "Chichi-ue isn't going to like how it's taking so long, but I don't know what else to do. Let's see if I remember how to get to Haha-ue's spot."

As Amaya and InuYasha stepped into the domo of Tsuneo's house, they could both hear the elder's aggravated voice. "Damn that Seiji. I'm getting tired of these meetings. First one thing, then another."

The two men were sitting by the fire pit, hunched over as they talked. Neither turned to look at who might be standing in the entrance way.

"Michio's here visiting," Amaya said, very softly. "He comes here a lot when he is having . . . well . . . problems with Chiya-sama. It'll be a wonder if he gets any work done until she goes home."

The hanyou nodded. "Tired of meetings, Tsuneo?" he said loud enough to catch the men's attention. "You're not the only one." He walked further inside, with Amaya close behind him.

The two men stopped their discussion, and turned around to look at the newcomers.

"More company?" Tsuneo said, putting down his teacup. "Is anything wrong, InuYasha-sama?"

Amaya bowed. "Kaede-sama and Kagome-sama came to visit with Haname-obasan. InuYasha-sama was with them. I thought perhaps it was better if he came here? I didn't want to upset her."

Tsuneo rose to his feet, and nodded. "Good thinking" the elder said. To InuYasha's eyes, the older man looked tired and the lines on his face seemed deeper than he remembered. After the week they had been having, the hanyou wasn't surprised. Still, he seemed pleased to see InuYasha and gestured for him to join him by the fire pit.

"You are welcome here, InuYasha-sama. I think destiny is trying to drive you and me crazy, friend," Tsuneo said. "And maybe, just maybe, about half the village. The fact that you are being included must mean that you've really become one of us. Come sit down and have a cup of tea."

InuYasha, giving the elder a nod, and a touch of a smile, jumped up on the platform. He quickly walked to the fire pit to join the two men, sitting down at Tsuneo's left side, across from Michio.

"Do you need me to stay?" Amaya said. "I'm still working on the laundry, but if you need me to serve . . . "

He looked up at his niece-in-law. "What? You think men don't know how to handle hospitality? We'll do fine. Go about your business, woman."

She smiled, pleased at his waving her off. "If you need me, I'll be outside," Amaya said.

Tsuneo nodded, and Amaya went back to her work, humming.

At the other end of the building, Kaede and Kagome followed the path to another sliding door. This room had a window looking west, a pretty view that took in the road and some paddy fields beyond it. It too had a covered verandah, facing north.

Kaede knocked on the door.

"Just a minute, Okaasan, while I get the door," someone from inside said, and then the door slid open, revealing a tired but placid Akina.

"Ah, Miko-sama," Akina said. "It is good to see you this morning. We missed you yesterday with Sayo-chan's baby coming. I hope everything's going well at her house."

"Yes, it is," Kaede said.

The room they walked into was like a miniature version of the main room of the farmhouse. There was much less stored in it, and the fire pit was only really big enough for warmth and making tea. Haname's bed, piled up with pillows and blankets, so the woman could sleep with her head elevated, was empty, although neatly made. Looking towards the window, Kaede saw the sick woman sitting up in a pool of light next to her spinning wheel. She still looked quite frail and drawn, but there was a light in her eyes that flashed with resistance against the condition she found herself in.

She had dressed in a bright colored kosode, red and blue and yellow, with full sleeves. Still, she had a blanket tucked around her legs and other over her shoulders. The wraps didn't seem to be impeding the flow of her spinning. As they looked, she pulled out a long thread. Glancing up, she turned the wheel the opposite direction to wrap up the length of thread she had just made.

"Coming to check up on my progress, Kaede-sama?" she asked, putting her fiber down. "Akina-chan, please make us some fresh tea."

She, nodding, hurried to move the kettle back onto the hottest part of the fire.

"So Sayo had a daughter?"

"Yes, she did. I could tell everybody in that family was relieved." Kaede slipped off her shoes and walked to where the ailing woman was sitting. "I don't think they were ready for another Daiki."

Kagome, just watching at for the moment, not yet ready to speak, followed in Kaede's footsteps.

"Hah. I'm surprised they had any more after that boy," Haname said. "He seems to be more than anybody wants to handle. What do you think, Kagome-chan?"

"Uh . . . " Kagome said, being caught off guard. "You may have a point there."

Haname nodded, smiling, and started to chuckle, but the laugh quickly turned into a cough.

Kaede nodded. "Yes, everybody was very pleased about being spared that particular situation. That's enough about Sayo, though. I needed to see how you are doing and to bring you some more medicine for your cough."

"Well, as you can see, I'm still breathing," Haname said.


	216. Chapter 216

_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 216**

Kagome watched with interest as Haname picked up her fiber, wetting her fingers in the little bowl of water, and then turning the wheel, and skillfully pulled out another length of thread. Winding it back, she almost got the thread wound before she started to cough, a hard and heavy cough that left the ailing woman almost no chance to catch a breath.

Akina moved from the fire pit and patted the older woman on the back. It didn't help much. Reaching towards a tray next to the ailing woman, she picked up a medicine cup. "Drink this, Okaasan," she said gently.

Haname held onto the cup with both hands. They trembled as they moved, and she coughed once more before she could bring it to her lips, but she managed to swallow first one, and then another sip of the potion, making a twisted face at the bitterness of the medication.

She quickly handed it back to her daughter-in-law. "I don't know which is worse, the coughing or the cure."

"My okaasan used to say that you knew how good the medicine was by how bad it tasted," Kagome said. "I never wanted to believe her."

"Mine did to," Akina said as she moved to put the medicine away.

"It's an old saying," Kaede said, nodding. She moved across the room, sitting down next to Haname. "Still, the cough might kill you, even if you don't think it is serious," she said, with her usual reassuring calm, resting her hands on her thighs. "The taste, though, merely makes you think you might die. Alas, I know of no good way to hide the bitterness. It pushes through the sweet."

"Like so many things in life," Haname said, working to get her breath again.

"True, true," Kaede said. Kagome quietly sat down next to the old miko.

Akina, replacing the medicine cup back on the tray, looked back up at her mother-in-law. "Would you like some water now?"

Haname waved her off. "Not yet. I don't want the taste of the cough medicine to spoil whatever I drink next. Give me a few moments." Her daughter-in-law nodded, and went back to her place by the fire pit.

"So, we know the cough is not going away. How are your dreams?" Kaede asked. She rested a hand on Haname's forehead and looked carefully at her eyes.

The ailing woman pulled away. "I doubt if you learn anything that way, Miko-sama. I haven't had a fever since the second day. So you want to know about my dreams? They're awful." Haname looked at her, tilting her head to the side. Why?"

"Sometimes, they tell us what's happening," Kaede said. "Especially if it's more than an illness behind it - a kami, a fox, a ghost."

Haname shrugged. "Fever dreams or hauntings - I can't tell the difference. Or even if they're just ordinary. I'm always being chased, always." She finished winding her thread back up, but pushed the basket of fiber away. "Enough spinning for a while. I think it's tiring me out."

Akina got up and pushed the wheel against the wall to get it out of the way.

While the younger woman did that, Kaede looked at Haname thoughtfully. "Do you remember any of your dream from last night?" she asked.

"She ought to," Akina said, moving back to her tea-making table. After checking the kettle, she measured tea into the pot. "It woke us up."

"That was a bad one," Haname said, nodding. "I'm not surprised. Something was chasing me. It had long claws and glowing eyes. I think it was black. I never could quite make it out - only that I was terrified that it was going to eat me, and we were both running through a forest in the dark. There was some light ahead. I knew if I could get to it, I could be safe, but it seemed to keep moving. The monster was growing closer and closer, but Tsuneo woke me up before the dream ended. Evidently I had been calling out in my sleep."

"You did, Okaasan," Akina said. "I woke up in the other room. Even the girls woke up."

"I'm sorry, child. I know with Joben taking care . . . of that . . . that one and things aren't particularly pleasant right now." She turned back to look at Kaede, and gave the woman a hard look. "There's something here that's disturbing you, isn't there? What are you worried about, Kaede-chan?"

While Kaede and Kagome were entering the room where Haname was staying, InuYasha, sitting down by Tsuneo's fire pit, laid his sword down alongside of him and shifted in his seat to get comfortable. He looked first at Tsuneo, and then at Michio, both watching him expectantly, but he was not exactly sure of what to say.

Tsuneo, sensing his uneasiness, broke the silence first. "Well, friend," the elder said, "I'm not Daitaro, and I don't have his bottle of sake that makes hearts open and loosens our tongues, but since we keep meeting in these odd moments, I'll give you the best I have." He picked up the teapot and filled a clean cup with the pale green infusion, and handed it to the hanyou. "What brings you to this side of the village today?"

"I followed Kaede and Kagome on their rounds today," InuYasha said simply. He took a sip of the tea, and as Tsuneo hinted, it was very good. Holding the cup in the base of his palm, he looked up at both Tsuneo and Michio. "After yesterday, with Seiji . . . "

"Seiji's bad news," Michio said, nodding his agreement. His face showed his displeasure with the man, a deep frown, as if even the man's name left a bitter taste in his mouth. "If I didn't know that he was safe in the lockup, I'd be more than worried about Chiya. I learned a long time ago you can't trust him." Michio grabbed a fire poker and began stirring the coals. "That ass has something going on in the back of his mind and I don't like it."

The hanyou nodded. "It's not just him. I don't trust his brother, either," he said. "Not really." He brought the teacup back up to his lips, holding it in both hands, letting the steam and scent fill his nose, then drank once again. "He's smaller, but he carries an attitude just as stupid."

Michio put the fire poker down. "Yoshimi's been trading on how his brother was willing to back him up a long time. Outside of a few good souls like Tadaki who put up with him, there's not many who will put up with him. He's a snake. I think he's got fewer friends in the village than Seiji. We know him for what he is, a conniving weak man who likes to use his brother's muscle."

"Weak men often act like small angry dogs," Tsuneo said. "They're sometimes more willing to bite when they feel threatened, especially if they see an opening where a bigger dog won't chase them off."

InuYasha's ears twitched at the dog reference, but Tsuneo either missed seeing them or pointedly ignored the gesture. After a moment, InuYasha relaxed and nodded. "Keh," he said. "I just didn't feel right letting her run across the village without being there to keep an eye on things."

"Better safe than sorry," Michio said, nodding.

"Indeed," the older man said. "He's caused enough trouble sneaking around the village. More than one bottle of sake has disappeared when he's walked by, and if you hire him to work, you'd better be there to watch him do it."

"What I want to know is what's going to happen when they let him out of the lockup?" InuYasha asked.

"That's a good question," Tsuneo said. "I've been thinking about it." Michio refilled his tea cup for him, and he took a thoughtful sip. "Tameo wants the elders to decide what to do next. I really think he'd like to kick him out." He picked up the plate of rice cakes and offered one to InuYasha, who shook his head no. "It's an attractive idea," the older man said. "Seiji's been causing trouble for years. But it comes with its own problems."

"Being cast out is a hard fate. Man like Seiji's just as likely to turn bandit as to do anything sensible," the hanyou remarked.

Michio sighed. "Maybe you should have done something more than knock him out," he said. "You always were someone he saw in a bad way. But now, he's going to be really out for revenge."

InuYasha rocked back, and rested his hand on the hilt of his sword, stretched out next to him. "Let him try."

"You have to watch out for those little ones," Michio said. "Sometimes, they sneak behind you and tear up your things when you aren't looking. Spiteful."

"Enough of this darkness," Tsuneo said, standing up. "Let's go outside. I want to check and see if that's straw's getting taken out to the fields. It was Tadaki's day to do it."

"You don't trust Tadaki?" Michio asked. He and InuYasha stood as well.

"It's not that I don't trust him . . . " Tsuneo shrugged. "Maybe I'd just feel better being outside. This house has gotten gloomy, and it only seems to be getting worse." He headed towards the door.

Michio took a deep breath. "After this last week, I'm not sure but that the whole world's gotten gloomy." He, with InuYasha close behind, followed the older man out.

In the added-on room, Kaede took a breath, and sucked on her lip, then looked at Haname squarely in the eyes. "You should have been getting better by now. You were given a nasty tonic, but most of that seems to be gone. Your heart handled the poison. Your body rested from the fever it gave you."

Akina took a breath, and nodded. "Okaasan has been holding on, neither getting worse nor better."

"To sit up for more than an hour makes me feel like I've worked in the fields during the rice planting," Haname said. It was not a complaint, merely a statement of fact. "It has been that way since it happened. Why?"

"And it sounds like you didn't sleep well, even with Morio out of the house last night," Kaede said, tapping her chin.

"That's true," the ailing woman said. She began to cough again, not a long spasm, but as she finished she slumped forward, resting her forehead in her hands. "Akina-chan, help me back to my bed. I don't think I can sit up any more."

Akina, who was bringing teacups from a cupboard, hurried and put them down next to the tea pot.

"I'll help you, if you'd like," Kagome volunteered.

"Ah, young, strong backs," Haname said. "Remember when we had backs like those, Kaede-chan?"

"Indeed, I do," the old miko said, nodding. She watched as Kagome got on one side of Haname, and Akina got on the other. Haname threw off the lap robe she had been using. Akina put it out of the way, draping it across the spinning wheel. Looking at Kagome, she gave the young miko a nod, and the two women wrapped their arms around the ailing woman's waist.

"Ready, Okaasan?" Akina asked.

Haname draped her arms around their necks. "Slowly," she said. "I get dizzy standing up."

Slowly, they helped her to her feet, and giving her a moment to catch her breath, and they moved the ill woman, careful step by step back to her bed, where they reversed the process. Akina grabbed the lap robe off the spinning wheel, and tucked her covers around her legs, and helped her smooth her shoulder wrap. "Is that better, Okaasan?"

The older woman sighed, clearly exhausted by the event. "I suppose. At least it doesn't make keeping my head up such a hard job."

Kagome moved out of the way and let Kaede kneel next to her. "Let's see if we can't figure out why you aren't getting better."

Haname held out her arm and looked at Kaede. "You want this, I suppose?"

"I do," the healer said, taking Haname's pulse. After that, she pressed on the woman's abdomen, felt around her throat, rested a hand on her forehead.

"How long did you wear that amulet for?" Kaede asked, sitting back with a thoughtful look.

"That amulet?" Haname rubbed her lips. "Most of two days, I think."

"Was it cursed?" Akina asked.

"Cursed? No, I don't think it held a curse. But it was powerful magic. Far more magic than that yamabushi had in his body," Kaede said. "I wonder where he got it?"

"Considering the state of him mind today," Haname said, her lips curled up into a bitter, frustrated look, "I highly doubt we'll ever get that answer. I don't know all the reasons the kami did what he did, but answers to our questions weren't part of it."

"Magic things like that, they can do unexpected things," Kaede said.

What Kaede said made Kagome look up at the older miko. "That is so right. Look at all the damage the Shikon jewel did," she said. "Was this that strong?"

"Few magic things were as strong as the Shikon no Tama," Kaede said, "Nor do they draw evil so strongly. I don't think this one is that bad, but it is powerful." She put her finger to her lip, thinking. "You, more than most, have had experience with strong magic like this. I wonder . . ."

"Am . . . am I ever going to get better?" Haname asked. "Has it marked me for the rest of my life?"

"We will do the best to make sure you get better," Kaede replied. "The best we can."

_A/N Season's greetings, Merry Christmas, Happy Festivus, Joyous Yule, and all the other holiday wishes to each and all of you who celebrate holidays this time of year whatever they are, and best wishes to those whose holidays fall out of this time of year._


	217. Chapter 217

_I do not own InuYasha or any character created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 217**

Amaya was still working on her laundry as InuYasha, Tsuneo and Michio headed out of the main house. Wet clothes, mostly white and blue with a smattering of other colors, flapped in the breeze, testimony to her hard work.

She was still singing as she hung up another towel to dry.

"Hang them in the sunlight  
>let the breeze work,<br>there at the house  
>with the wicker gate<br>they move like warrior's banners,  
>they dance like warrior's banners."<p>

"Yes," Tsuneo said, as they walked past her and around the main building, "It's much less gloomy out here."

"Keh," the hanyou said, nodding in agreement. "Outside is almost always better than inside."

"When the sun's shining," Michio said. "I don't know about on rainy days."

InuYasha shrugged. "It counts," he said.

He looked so solemn as he said this, with his hands stuck in his sleeves, that Michio let out a short, sharp laugh, then clapped the hanyou on the arm. "I see you've had different rainy day experiences that I have, friend. Maybe digging in the dirt when it rains gives one a different perspective."

"I guess," InuYasha said. He shrugged once more.

There was a small path, not quite an alley, that ran behind the main house that ran along the outbuildings and the homes of Tsuneo's farm workers. As Kaede had explained to InuYasha earlier, there was more activity here than could be seen from the road.

The group, led by Tsuneo, headed for the largest of the outbuildings. "That's where we keep the carts and wagons we use around here," the farmer said, pointing to their destination, "and some of the other tools. Tadaki had better not still be there, unless he has a good reason."

As they neared it, a boy about Aki's age was raking straw that had been spilled on the ground. He had a rather exasperated look on his face, and was grumbling, but he worked with good efficiency for one so young.

Tsuneo, a bit curious, walked up to the boy. "You're working hard, Hideo-kun. Good boy. Have you seen Tadaki?" he said.

The boy, hearing his name, stopped. For a moment, his eyes widened just a bit in surprise, and he made a quick bow. "Ani-ue was here earlier, Tsuneo-sama. He spilled a lot of straw when he filled his cart, then told me that was what younger brothers were for, to clean up after their older brothers." The boy frowned. "I am not sure if that is right."

"Hmph," the elder said. "Not exactly, boy. I'll have to talk to him."

This made the boy smile, and he returned to his work. A chicken wandered in front of the area the boy was going with his rake. "Now why did you want to do that, bird? Go!" Hideo made a push with his rake, and the bird squawking, moved out of the way, but not too far.

Chuckling a little, the trio headed down the path to the next building. Out of sight, but not out of hearing, someone was hammering on something. Someone else was leading an ox towards the animal pen. Somewhere else, a horse neighed.

Watching all of this activity, Michio heaved a sigh. "Tomorrow, I will have to get back to the fields," Michio said. "I should have gone today, but . . . "

"There's nothing like dirt and seed to connect a man to what matters," Tsuneo said. "You'll feel better once you get back to work."

"Maybe if you're a farmer," InuYasha said, shrugging. "Dirt I know, but I'm not all that good with seeds."

"So where do you feel better, InuYasha?" the elder asked.

The hanyou pointed to a stand of trees. "In the forest in a tall tree, where I can keep a proper watch on things."

"Better you than me," Tsuneo said. "Heights don't make me feel safe at all."

Michio laughed. "And this is why there are all types, my friend. Keeping watch, eh? It's a good thing you do more than watch. You're far better at fighting bandits than I will ever be."

A cat wandered out of one of the outbuildings, and saw the men gathered there. It rubbed up against Michio's ankles, and he picked it up. "And I'm not nearly as good a hunter as this cat." He scratched it behind the ears. "I hear you're pretty good with that, too."

"It's how I've been making my living a long time," the hanyou said. "Might have starved when I was younger if I didn't."

"See? Different skills for different work," Michio said, putting the cat down.

"Sometimes, even the farmers go hungry," a voice from within one of the outbuildings said. Masu, the man whose children were rescued by InuYasha, stepped out of it, pushing a cart. "But some folks like to prey on us, like we're rabbits or something."

The other two men nodded. "That's true. Last winter's a good example," Tsuneo said.

Masu bowed in the hanyou's direction. "InuYasha-sama, don't let these farmers make you feel like you're missing something. Having someone like you who can deal with the bandits makes you worth your weight in seed."

InuYasha wasn't quite sure how to respond to that, so he changed the subject."How are those young ones of yours today?"

"The two little ones are busy helping their mother in our vegetable plot, I think," Masu said. "Or that's what she said they were going to do. More likely driving her crazy."

Tsuneo sighed. "Seems like that's the job of our children and grandchildren, to drive us crazy. Have you seen Tadaki?"

"Last I saw, he was heading out to the south field," Masu said. "Or at least, that's what he told me. He did have a load of straw."

"Well, that's something," Tsuneo said. "Maybe he'll stay away from mooning over that girl he's sweet on long enough to get things done."

"Ah, spring. Hard not to moon after those pretty things," Masu said, lifting up the handles of his cart. "That is, until you find your own pretty thing. At least if you're smart. Now it's time for me to get my own load of straw spread."

As he walked, he sang:

"If I had my way,  
>I would make a road<br>through the tallest mountains,  
>a smooth road,<br>with no climbs or cliffs  
>so you could visit me<br>in the dead of winter,  
>and I could sleep by you<br>in the warmth of spring."

While Tsuneo and his hired men discussed the value of dirt and farming, back at the headman's compound, Hisa slid the door to her husband's office open and walked in, sliding it quickly behind her.

"I'm torn," Hisa said, leaning against the panel.

Tameo looked up. He was sitting behind the table he used as a desk, brush held in midair, as his wife walked in, looking upset.

"You're torn?" he asked. Quickly, he wrote down the words he was recording, a record of the fields they had planted in soybeans, before the ink dried, and having once recorded it, he put the brush down and put the planting registrar to the side.

She moved across the room and sat down next to him. "I am."

"About what, Hisa-chan?" She was usually so calm and balanced, that to Tameo, seeing her perturbed about anything was unnerving.

She moved over to his fire box, and looked into it. There were a few hot coals left, so she added some fuel and blew on it lightly to help it catch. A small flame leapt up as her reward. While she worked, Tameo put away his writing materials.

"Well," he asked.

She put the water kettle on over the heat. "Seiji is making the place . . . unpleasant."

"This is true, woman," Tameo said, nodding. "It's safe enough for the moment, I believe, but he's being an annoyance."

"That's putting it lightly." Hisa brushed a lock of hair out of her face and tucked it back under her hair scarf. "So far he's sung every rude song he knows, and he knows a lot, called Jun an amazing variety of rude terms, and Koichi even more. Our grandchildren were asking me to explain what some of those mean. I caught Mitsuo trying to repeat one of the less pleasant ones."

The headman sighed."He's doing this on purpose, you know," Tameo said. He rubbed the back of his neck. "Maybe I should go find InuYasha to get him to knock the man out again."

Hisa gave him a small, wistful smile. "If only that was practical," she said, getting up to find the small teapot she kept in the office. "Fujime came by and offered to put the children up at her place until you do something with him. I hate to put that burden on her."

"It might be best for tonight," Tameo said. "What does Emi-chan think?"

Hisa laughed. "She's already gone over there. I suspect that Kimi and Fujime and maybe even Koume will be spoiling them all rotten before the evening."

"So why are you torn, wife?" he asked.

"I want to go, too. But then, I want to go to check on Sayo," she said as she began to rummage for the tea, "and I want to go help Chime, as well."

Tameo chuckled. "Too many riches to choose from?"

"I wouldn't exactly call it riches when so many things are happening at once. More like being in a tsunami." She frowned, and pulled the tea chest out of the cabinet. "You really need to put the tea back in the right place, husband." He shrugged. "And someone needs to be here to cook lunch, and I haven't been able to budge Matsume out of her house yet. She's even closer to the lockup than we are. This can't be good for our unborn grandchild."

Tameo thought for a moment, drumming his fingers on his desk. "Perhaps you should see if she would like to go to Sayo's in your place?" he suggested. "It might do her some good to visit Sayo. I'd keep her away from the main house, though."

"We could go see if Nanami has finally relaxed enough to get some sleep," Hisa said.

"And then, maybe you could leave her there and then go to see if Chime wants some help." Tameo rested his hand on his wife's shoulder, and pulled her close. She nestled her head against him.

She nodded, and let herself lean into his embrace. "Maybe that would work," she said.

His arm slipped down, and slid under hers, and he rested his cheek on top of her head. "See, we can get it all figured out."

"But what . . . " Hisa started.

He could feel her tensing in his hold, and knowing his wife well enough, he knew that she would work herself into a new level of concerns if he didn't put an end to it, and quickly. "Enough whats, woman." He slipped his finger under her chin and lifted up her face to look at him. "I can fend for myself at lunchtime. Riki will stay here; she can work in her house, or in the kitchen at the back if she needs to, and cook for the rest of whoever's around. We're not going to let Seiji get the better of us. We didn't when he got Susumu in all that trouble, and we won't now. He's still the bullying brat he was back then, only bigger."

"But being big and mean is how he gets people to give in," she said. Her eyes searched his, uncertain. "What are we going to do this time?"

"You forget, dear woman, that we have a new weapon. Seiji's no longer in the village guard. And InuYasha, who is far stronger than he is, is."

Hisa thought about that for a moment, and she began to smile, a smile which brightened quickly. "So if he tries anything to retaliate . . . "

"We'll tell our new cousin to handle it," he said, nodding. "After taking care of that awful youkai that took poor Kikyou away from us, I suspect Seiji will be a piece of cake."

Hisa leaned forward and gave her husband a quick kiss, then pulled out of his arms and stood up. "I'm afraid, husband, you'll have to make your own tea," she said.

"So you're no longer torn?" he asked.

"Not any more." She gave him a brilliant smile. "I'm off to get that daughter-in-law of mine and we're off to make our rounds. If you don't see me before sunset, come and find me at Chime-chan's."

She walked out of the room, a determined set to her shoulders.

Tameo pulled out his accounting materials once again, and started to prepare his ink. "If only every problem I had got solved that easily," he said. "Life would be so much simpler."


	218. Chapter 218

_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 218**

At Tsuneo's place, while the men walked around the outbuildings and made jokes about the difference between farmers and warriors, a different scene was taking place in the room where Haname was lying down on her bed.

Kaede tried using her spiritual powers on Haname, but she was not satisfied with what she sensed. "Do you mind if I let Kagome-chan examine you? I'm sensing something, but she's always had stronger reiki than I do."

Haname looked at the young miko, who was looking at her with worried, sympathetic eyes. She chewed on her bottom lip a moment, then nodded. "If you think it will be worth it."

"I do," Kaede said. She motioned for Kagome to come and sit next to her. "I believe all you will need is to hold Haname-chan's wrist," the old miko said. "It should be all you need to see what's been going on."

Kagome nodded and moved into position, and took the ailing women's wrist in her left hand. Kaede watched her technique. The young miko, still inexperienced held it awkwardly.

"I don't . . . I can't seem to get her pulse right," Kagome said, looking at Kaede.

"You need a better grip. Hold her wrist like this," Kaede said, adjusting Kagome's hand. "Now what do you feel?"

"There it is," Kagome said, looking first at Kaede. "Thank you." She looked back at Haname, and knit her brows in concentration. "It feels . . . fast, but not strong. Is that what you felt?" she asked the older miko. "I'm not sure how to say it, but that's what it feels like."

"That's how I would describe it, too, child," Kaede said, nodding. "Now open your mind, and let your spiritual power touch her lightly. You can follow her ki channels, but don't dip into them deeply. You just want to trace them. Then tell us what you see."

Kagome looked up at Haname. The young miko felt far more uncertain than she looked. "Are you all right with this, Haname-obasan?"

"Go ahead, child. She is your sensei," Haname said. "And even though we sometimes," she looked straight at the old miko, "have words that shouldn't have been said, I have never known Kaede to do anything that was intentionally harmful. Do what she says."

The young miko nodded, and wrapping her hand more firmly around the woman's wrist, she took a deep breath and let her own spiritual energy loose, delicately, delicately tracing the path of the woman's ki channels.

Her eyes were closed at first, but then she frowned, opening them to look at Kaede. "I don't really have the words to explain it. The closest I can come to it is that it's kind of like what happened to Miroku when he got sick near the last battle."

"What do you mean, child?" Kaede asked. "We could see the path the shouki poisoning was taking from his hand to his heart. There's nothing to see here."

"I don't understand," the ailing woman said.

"I know," Kagome said. "It's not the same, I know, but there's something dark, almost like a bruise, except it's all energy," she told Kaede. Looking back at Haname, she said, "The energy following your ki channels, moving from its source until it spreads out over your whole body. I guess that's why you haven't been getting better. It's kind of feeding off of you, and you haven't been making enough energy to feed it and get better."

Haname looked up at Kaede. "Could this be?" she asked.

"If Kagome-chan is sensing it, there is something there," Kaede said. "She has great powers to see magical energies." She turned to the young miko. "Where is it centered?"

"It seems to center here," Kagome said, hovering her hand in an area between Haname's throat and her heart.

Kaede nodded, then looked at Haname. "Was that where the amulet rested?"

Haname nodded. Akina watched in rapt attention, twisting the fabric of her wrap skirt.

"What is it, Kaede-obasan? Is it a curse?" Kagome asked, looking up at Kaede. "Curses can be hard to break if you can't throw them back on the curser."

"I don't think so," Kaede said. "You were right saying it was like a bruise. I believe it is a spiritual wound."

Haname looked at Kagome, then Kaede, then back at Kagome, then shook her head. "I don't really understand any of this. A wound?" Haname asked. "But how?"

"Magic stronger that the person who uses it can turn on a person and do this - it wounds the spirit of the user," Kaede said. "It can twist their soul, and sometimes leave them wounded long after they let the container of that magic go. And this amulet was far stronger in magic than you are."

Haname sucked in a breath.

"Twist their souls? Like the Shikon shards did?" Kagome asked. "I've seen what they could do to most youkai who got them. Only a few, like InuYasha's brother, seemed to be immune from that effect. But youkai heal much faster than humans. I've never seen a youkai who was damaged like this after the shard was removed."

Kaede nodded. "Youkai and humans are not quite the same, child." She turned to Haname. "This is what the yamabushi's amulet has done to you. This is what I was feeling, but Kagome-chan confirmed it for me."

Haname covered her face with her hands.

Akina came near and sat next to her mother-in-law. "Okaasan . . . " For once, the ill woman did not brush off the offering of sympathy. Instead, she grasped her daughter-in-law's hand and held it tightly.

"In the time you were wearing it, it managed to wound your spirit, probably made worse by that nasty potion he fed you," Kaede explained. Her voice was sympathetic. "I was hoping that with it off of you and you taking the medicines I gave you, that your own soul could chase the darkness away and bring your ki back into balance. But so far, it has changed very little since that first day. I can't see it as well as Kagome-chan can, but I can feel the blockage."

Haname looked down. She brought her hand over the area that Kagome had indicated, and held it there, like she could feel the fountain of darkness. Suddenly, she began to cough, and cough hard. After she caught her breath again, she looked up at Kaede. "What . . . what is it going to do to me?"

"It is keeping you from healing fully," Kaede said. "Until the magic fades away, you will stay ill."

For a moment, Haname collapsed against her pillows and stared at the ceiling, taking shallow breaths to keep from coughing again. She closed her eyes for a moment, dared a deeper breath, then lifted her head. "Am I...am I going to recover?" she asked, looking at Kaede.

"I'm not sure," the older miko said. "If we cannot help the magic to fade, or it does not do it on its own . . . "

Haname let out a deep sigh, and dropped her head back against the bedding. "If . . . if this is my karma . . . " Her voice was small, and sad, trying to sound resigned, but not really convincing anybody there.

"Whatever it is wounding you, Haname-sama, it feels like jyaki," Kagome said, looking up at both women.

"What do you mean?" the ailing woman said.

"It's not just like a cut or a bruise," Kagome said. "There's something there, more like a splinter of dark magic, radiating out of that place."

"Are you sure, Kagome-chan?" Kaede asked.

She hesitated a moment. "I think so," the young miko said.

"You haven't done this type of thing much yet," Kaede said, looking at her apprentice thoughtfully. "Could you be mistaken?"

"I guess it's possible," Kagome said. "Still, I've always been able to purify that type of dark magic. If it's a sliver of jyaki or something like that . . . Do you think I could purify away what's making Haname ill?"

Up on the hill at Miroku's house, things were much lighter than they were at Tsuneo's house – no shadows of dark magic, just Miroku, Sango, his children, and the three girls he had rounded up to do his bidding on a promise of true stories.

The monk had not yet held up his end of the bargain. As soon as he arrived at his house, the girls trailing in his wake, his own daughters had made a beeline for Rin and her friends. The three older girls, quite amused, began to play with the twins immediately.

This definitely worked out in Miroku's favor; it gave Sango enough time to finish feeding their son and getting him sound asleep in his wicker baby bed before he sprang his idea on his wife.

Currently, all five girls were involved in some sort of circle dance, one the older girls knew well, but was new to the twins. Amid much giggling, Tazu sang the song that they were dancing to.

"Over the mountain,  
>see the bird fly,<br>over the mountain,  
>where the nursemaid went home."<p>

At this point, the children changed direction and went back the other way. Noriko bumped into Rin, not expecting the direction change. This led to a loud giggling laugh from Yusuko. For a moment, Noriko looked mad, but Rin said something, and Tazu repeated the verse and both girls made the change perfectly this time.

"But over the mountain,  
>she came back again.<br>What did she bring,  
>what did she bring,<br>to the bright-eyed children  
>who cried when she left?"<p>

The girls imitated crying babies, rubbing their eyes. Yusuko lost her balance, and looked unpleased enough to start crying in earnest, but Iya helped her back up.

"A drum, a drum,  
>to beat out the time,<br>a whistle, a whistle  
>to play out the tune.<p>

"Daruma who tumbles  
>with fierce looking eyes,<br>and a dog made of straw  
>to guard them all."<p>

The girls mimicked the varying actions. Noriko particularly liked the Daruma doll line, rocking stiff-legged from one side to the other. On the final line all the girls fell to the ground and barked.

Miroku, who was leaning up against the corner of his house, watched them and laughed. "Perhaps, it was good that InuYasha wasn't here for that last line. I'm afraid his dog voice is a little more than Iya and Tazu might be ready for."

Sango, who was standing next to him, smiled. "You might be right." She leaned against her husband's shoulder. "They do seem to be having a good time, though."

"They do, indeed, all of them." Miroku said. "Naoya is asleep, and not due to eat again until after lunch time. Rin and the girls seem more than capable of handling the twins. All your fears about them being overwhelmed seem unfounded. Let's do what I said earlier and take advantage of the moment, and go for that walk."

"But why?" Sango said. "You just want to walk? There's nobody to meet, or anybody to visit?"

He shook his head. "Nobody but you, Sango my dearest. Is it wrong that I wish to spend some time with my wife?" the monk asked.

"No," she replied. "But it just seems . . . "

"I give so much time with the villagers," he said, slipping his arm around her waist. "I wish today to spend that with you, instead." He bent close enough for her to feel his breath. "A lovely morning, and an even lovelier woman. Who could ask for more?"

For some reason, Sango felt her cheeks coloring, but she was rather pleased at the same time.

Miroku waved to the girls and led his wife away from the house.


	219. Chapter 219

_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 219**

As InuYasha continued to follow Tsuneo through the various buildings near the elder's house, suddenly their talk was interrupted by a young man's singing. InuYasha noticed it first. As his ears focused in the direction of the sound, he smiled at the content of the words.

"Look at that girl  
>down by the river,<br>yoi, yoi, yoi,  
>look at that girl<br>down by the river,  
>her mouth is like<br>a crocodile,  
>yoi, yoi, yoi,<br>her mouth is like  
>a crocodile,<br>the better to eat you."

"Who's that singing?" InuYasha said, once he thought it would be loud enough for the other men to hear.

The three of them turned to the sound of the voice.

"Look at that girl  
>down by the river,<br>yoi, yoi, yoi,  
>look at that girl<br>down by the river  
>her tongue is as sharp<br>as a soldier's sword,  
>her tongue is as sharp<br>as a soldier's sword,  
>ready to cut you down."<p>

"Ah, I recognize that voice," Michio said. "I believe it's your missing farm worker, Otousan."

"I believe you're right," Tsuneo said, nodding. "Now to find out what he's been up to." He took a stance in the middle of the path.

The singer came into the complex pushing a handcart. His cart was empty of everything except a pitchfork. It rattled as he pushed the cart over the beaten dirt that surrounded the outbuildings.

"Look at that girl  
>down by the river,<br>yoi, yoi, yoi,  
>look at that girl<br>down by the river,  
>her eyes are as red<br>as an oni's,  
>yoi, yoi, yoi,<br>her eyes are as red  
>as an oni's,<br>because of what you did."

Michio said. "Well, it looks like he's been doing something, at least."

InuYasha recognized him as the young man who tried to talk some sense into Seiji's brother the afternoon they reroofed Miroku's temple. The farm worker seemed in a rather pleasant mood as he moved closer to the three men.

"The question is, what?" Tsuneo said, crossing his arms.

"Is he singing about that girl you think he likes?" Michio asked. "Eyes as red as an oni? Doesn't sound like much of a love song."

"If he is, I don't think he likes her any more," InuYasha said.

"Yo, Tadaki!" the elder said, as the young man neared.

Hideo, now carrying a bucket of water for the oxen, stopped long enough to watch what was going to happen.

Tadaki, slender and tall, waved at them as he neared the area where the straw was stored. He stopped for a moment and bowed a greeting. "Ah, Tsuneo-sama! You're out of the house today. It's good to see you outside. It's a good day to be working. Are you coming out to work in the fields today?"

Evidently, this was not the reaction Tsuneo was expecting from the young man, and he was taken aback. He scratched his head, trying to cover his surprise. "I was thinking of it. I'm curious how the south field was doing," the old farmer said.

Hideo, realizing that whatever his brother had been up to, it wasn't going to cause a scene, picked up the water bucket, and went back to his watering duties.

"I think its doing well," Tadaki said. "I was coming back for some more rice straw. Soil's warming up nicely. It'll be ready for the eggplants soon."

"Good, good. Maybe tomorrow we get busy getting the plot ready," Tsuneo said, nodding. "See anybody while you were out?"

"Yoshimi stopped by for a little bit," the young man said. "He said he was going for firewood in the woods. Had an axe with him, so I guess he was." Tadaki shook his head. "I'll never figure him out. He ought to be helping his brother get their beans planted, but instead, he's wandering around. Smelled like stale sake, too."

"So that's why he wasn't by Seiji's place," the hanyou said, softly. "I was wondering where Seiji's brother had gone."

"You were there today?" Michio asked, surprised.

InuYasha nodded. "That's one of the stops Kaede-babaa made. Only person there was Nakao."

Tadaki thought a moment, scratching his head. "There was something else I wanted to tell you."

"It didn't have anything to do with a pretty girl, did it?" Michio asked, giving the young man a knowing look.

"I didn't see any girls while I was working," Tadaki said, shaking his head, his look a little regretful. "Yaya-sama's daughter was stuck at home today working with her mother getting ready for market day, if that's what you wanted to know. The only woman I saw on my way here was Hisako-sama. She was walking towards the east side. She's a woman for sure, but I don't know if I'd call her a girl."

"You have a point there," Michio said, nodding. "She packs a mean cane, though."

"That she does," Tsuneo said, chuckling.

"She must have been in a good mood. She didn't shake it at me today," the younger man said, his face growing serious as he remembered what he was trying to recall. "Oh yeah, I remember what I wanted to tell you. I saw deer tracks while I was up there. We're going to have to keep a watch."

"If it's not deer, it's rabbits," Tsuneo said, nodding. "Good work. Get some onions planted up there, too, then."

"I'll do that," The young man said, nodding. "That's what my ojiisan always said to do. I'll get to work on that." Picking up his cart, and humming his song, he headed off to pick up another load of straw.

"So he wasn't mooning over that girl down by the river," Michio said.

"I guess not," the older farmer said. He turned to the hanyou. "You should come over to my side of the village more when you want to hunt, InuYasha. We could use a hand keeping the rabbits and the deer under control."

They began to move back towards the farmhouse.

"Never thought about hunting over here," InuYasha said. "They're causing you problems?"

"Sometimes. If there are too many of them. We've hunted them some, but I hear you're better at it than most of us. Last summer, we had a real problem with rabbits in Amaya's garden, but they hit the eggplant beds, too."

"And my beans, too," Michio said. He was surprised by the hanyou's question. "When don't we have problems with deer and rabbits and birds and whatnot? You really don't know much about a farmer's life, do you?"

The hanyou shook his head. "Most farmers I knew tried to run me off. They usually thought I was bad luck or something."

"Ah, it's a hard life sometimes," Tsuneo said. "We need the rains to be right. And there are so many things that want their share of what we grow - rats and rabbits and deer and birds and insects, and after that. it's the bandits and the tax collectors, and finally, our own stomachs. If the kami are generous, we have a little extra for the markets. It's usually enough to get by."

"But not every year," InuYasha said, nodding. "I've seen years when that happens."

"No, not every year. Six years ago, that was a hungry one," Michio said. "I remember eating - "

He was interrupted by a loud, penetrating scream coming from the main house.

"What the hells was that?" Tsuneo asked.

InuYasha's ears were focused tightly on the direction of the sound. "It's a woman's voice. It sounds . . . it sounds like Haname."

Back in Tsuneo's house, Kaede looked thoughtfully at her young apprentice. "Purification might help . . . "

"Will it hurt?" Haname asked. "Will it harm me?"

"I don't think it will harm you," Kagome said, "but I don't know if it will hurt." She looked up at Kaede. "All I need to do is go into the ki channels. I stayed above them earlier," the young miko said, "just like you told me. I wouldn't have to go deeply, I think. Just brush them with my spiritual powers. It might be as easy to do as purifying the shards was."

"You'll have to be careful," Kaede said. "You don't want to channel too much reiki into Haname's center. It could cause another wound."

Haname closed her eyes, then nodded. "Try. If it works, I'm healed. If it doesn't, I'm already crippled."

Kagome gave the ill woman a kind, understanding look."I will do my best," she said, and took the woman's hand again, this time securely gripping it and feeling her pulse.

She closed her eyes, and let her spiritual power rise. Briefly, she thought of the time she threw back a curse. This wasn't exactly the same thing. This was more like the time where her touch healed Kikyou for a time. But on this occasion, though, she thought as she let her reiki touch the edge of Haname's network of ki channels, she was going to have to use a much lighter touch.

The young miko let go of Haname's wrist, and got up on her knees. Instead of directly touching her, Kagome let her hands hover over the ailing woman. With her eyes closed she could see what was wrong with the woman better, the filaments of darkness weaving in and out of Haname's aura. She started with the woman's right arm. As her hand passed above Haname, she followed the ki channels, letting a fine tendril of her spiritual powers walk along them. Wherever it went, the darkness faded.

What the women in the room saw was different from what Kagome was seeing. She began to glow as she tapped into her reiki. The light around her was visibly pink. As she moved her hand over the woman, the flow from her body encircled Haname, encasing her with a bubble of pink light that grew more intensely the longer she worked.

Finally, there was just one area still needing Kagome's purifying light. As she moved her hand over the area of Haname's chest where the amulet had rested, the woman tensed, arching up. A long, high-pitched cry of pain reverberated through the room as the magic touched whatever was injuring her.

It was an awful sound, and Akina couldn't take it. "What is she doing to Okaasan?" she cried, trying to push past Kaede to stop the young miko, but Kaede grabbed her, and kept her from interfering.

At the sound of the woman's agony, Kagome stepped back, although the pink light that surrounded them both did not dim. As she did so, Haname stopped screaming, and her body collapsed back on the bed, but just for a moment. The ailing woman bolted up with a cough. It wasn't just one cough, but a coughing spell, hard and heaving, that had her wrap her arm around her middle, a choking cough like a person could get when trying to cough up something that didn't go down right. Nearly retching, she leaned to the right, her arm outstretched and pushed against Kagome. Not expecting this, Kagome lost her balance and she tumbled to the ground. The glow surrounding them both faded.

Suddenly, something black flew out of Haname's mouth and landed on the floor, smoking in the morning light. The room was filled with an awful smell, something like burning sulfur and rot.

As Kagome got to her feet, Akina moved to pick the black thing up.

"Don't touch it, child," Kaede said, blocking her again. "That's dark magic. If you touch it, it could do to you what it did to Haname."

Akina recoiled, and looked at the miko, torn between running and the need to do something. Instead, she just watched. Haname slumped forward, looking dazed, which broke Akina's trance. The younger woman went to her mother-in-law's side, and tried to ease her back into bed. Haname shook her off.

"That . . . that . . . I felt so warm . . . what . . . " She sat up straight with no help. "I...I feel . . . " The confusion in her face faded quickly to be replaced by a feeling of amazement. "I feel like a load of lead was just lifted off of me."

"It worked," Kagome said, straightening up after her fall. Her face beamed in satisfaction and triumph as she smiled at the woman. "It worked!"


	220. Chapter 220

_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 220 **

In the little room where Haname still lay in her bed, Kaede, amused at her assistant's excitement and quite pleased with the outcome, smiled at Kagome. "Yes, child, it definitely did work. Rather impressively, at that."

The younger miko beamed. "I've never done anything quite like that. I could feel it in her. Something was protecting it, like it had a shield, so I couldn't purify it directly. All I could do was nudge it out. It . . . I'm still not sure how I did it."

"We'll talk about it later, child. You can tell me everything, and we'll see if we can't figure out how you did it and how you might be able to use that skill later, but first, we need to take care of our patient." Kaede said.

"I...you . . . " Haname said. Akina held her mother-in-law's hand as Kaede began to check her more closely.

Kaede rocked back on her heels, and let go of Haname's hand. "It's remarkable. Your pulse is normal again, Haname-chan, and I can't sense any of that darkness any more. You may be a little weak from being in bed for a week, but whatever was preventing you from getting well is totally gone."

Kagome nodded. "There is no black in your aura any more." Suddenly, though, her nose wrinkled, as if she just became aware of the stench filling the room. She saw the smoking black fragment on the floor "One last thing to do. Let's take care of this nasty thing." She began to head towards the fragment

Akina looked up at her, and then glanced at Kaede, looking alarmed at what Kagome was about to do. "Is that safe? I thought it was too dangerous to touch."

"Not for someone with Kagome's spiritual powers," Kaede said. "Watch."

While the women watched, the young miko bent over and picked up the dark crystal. As she picked it up, it stopped smoking. Resting in her hand, it began to glow pink with her purification powers, and slowly evaporated. Soon there was nothing in her hand, and the stench that had filled the air evaporated with it.

"What was that nasty thing?" Akina asked. "Why was it in Okaasan, and . . . " She ran out of words. "This . . . " Giving up, she looked at her mother-in-law and smiled. "Whatever. I am grateful."

"It was the evil that was poisoning Haname," Kagome said looking up at Akina. She turned to Kaede. "When I held it now - it felt just like purifying shards. It had to be some form of jyaki. Where did Morio get that amulet? It didn't feel like something you'd expect a yamabushi to have."

"That is a good question," Kaede said, pursing her lips. "Later, we'll have to let you look at it. But I suspected all along that it was more than he could have made on his own."

"I believe you," Kagome said. "He didn't seem to have a lot of power of his own. But this is more than that . . . it feels like youkai instead of human magic."

"We'll deal with that later, child," Kaede said. "I can see we will have a number of things to discuss. Now is not the right place."

"Of course, of course," the young miko said. She came and sat down next to Kaede, then looked at Haname. She gave her a big smile. "I may not know exactly why I was able to help you, Haname-sama, but I am glad I was."

Haname started to lift up a hand, but dropped it, and began to struggle with what she wanted to say. She shook her head, then rubbed her hand across her lower face, trying to think of something. Suddenly her eyes glistened, as the enormity of what happened really hit her. "You have saved my life. I tried to attack you and you healed me," Haname said, her voice soft. "I called you such bad things, but you saved me." Her eyes were filled with awe.

"It's what I do," Kagome said, bowing slightly. "I'm here to help."

Haname looked at Kagome for several minutes. Then unassisted, she got out of bed under her own power for the first time in days. She swayed for a moment, but the color in her face was good, and she walked under her own power to stand in front of the young miko, then bowed.

"I'll never quite understand you and the choices you have made in life," Haname said. "But I know that no one dark could have done just what you did. I owe you my life. Thank you."

The men outside froze as they heard Haname's scream as Kagome healed her. Tsuneo reacted first.

"Damn," the elder said. "What was that?" Suddenly the sound stopped and his face went pale. "She better not be . . . "

"Kaede's with her," InuYasha said. His ears focused on the main house, but he could hear nothing of note. "And so is Kagome. They'll take care of her." His voice was more confident than he felt. "You know they'll come get us if they need you."

The elder shook his head. "I..." he stared at the house. "Kuso. Haname never sounds like that. That woman could have her leg cut off and she would barely make a noise." Without a look at the others, Tsuneo started moving towards the big house at a run.

Michio swallowed a big gulp of air. "He's right. Haname-obasan just doesn't let people know she's hurting. We better go see what happened." InuYasha gave him a curt nod, and the two men hurried to catch up. Behind them, the other farm workers stopped what they were doing and began to follow.

Tsuneo, panting lightly, reached the door to the room where Haname was staying just as Amaya did.

"What's going on?" she asked, looking nearly as out of breath as Tsuneo. "I heard the most awful sound. I dropped a sheet in the dirt, it startled me so bad."

"That's what I'm here to find out," the elder said, his face somewhere between adamant and panicked. He didn't stop to knock on the door. As he opened it, Michio and InuYasha caught up with him. Amaya and the three men peered into the room in time to see Haname, standing up unassisted for the first time since the day that Morio's magic took her over, bowing to InuYasha's wife.

"Merciful Buddha, that's not what I expected to see," Michio said, looking up at the hanyou.

InuYasha's ear flicked, but he kept his face neutral. "Me, either."

Tsuneo stepped inside, kicking off his sandals, jumping up on the wooden floor where he hurried to his wife's side. As Kaede and Kagome watched, he took his wife's hands in his.

"Haname-chan?" he asked. "What's happening? We heard . . . "

"Why does she look so well?" Amaya asked, looking at the two men standing beside her. "She looked like she was getting worse when I left her this morning to do the laundry."

"Tsuneo," she said, looking up at her husband. Her face was glowing, and although it was still marked with fatigue and the effects of being ill for almost a week, the pain and darkness he had seen there since the day Aki had gotten into trouble were gone. "Kagome-sama . . . she . . ."

The elder studied his wife's face, and gently cupped her cheek. "Kagome-sama?" he asked, looking briefly at the young miko. "She did what?"

"She healed me." Haname took two steps forward, and fell into her husband's arms, out of breath from being in bed too many days, but glowing. She leaned against his chest. "An auspicious day indeed, my husband. The darkness is gone."

"She . . . she did what?" Tsuneo said, brushing a stray hair, long and gray, out of his wife's face.

"She purified something. We didn't know it was there. It was in me, husband. Right here," she said, touching the part of her chest where the black shard had resided. He rested his hand on top of hers. "It was in the place that was making me cough, and it wasn't until she used her powers on it that I could cough it up. If she hadn't done it, if she hadn't used her powers, I might not have ever gotten better. It would have eaten up at me until I died."

Tsuneo ran his fingers through his wife's hair, and let one hand pull her closer to him, ignoring the onlookers, still trying to understand what had taken place. He looked up at the old miko.

"Is this true? She had something in her, and we never found it?" he asked. "You, I, Akina all have seen her, and none of us noticed she had a wound?"

"This is true," Kaede said, nodding. "It wasn't like a splinter of wood. It wasn't . . . material. For a time, the fact that there was something else making her ill was hidden by the effect of the potion the yamabushi had given her. What she had . . . it was some sort of magical remnant. Today was the first day I could really begin to sense it. And then it was too faint for me to be sure. That's more Kagome-chan's gift."

Other members of the household had reached the door and were standing around with InuYasha and Michio.

"Haname-obaasan is better?" Tadaki asked.

"Sounds like it," Michio said. "Now that was something special. You don't see things like that every day."

"Keh," the hanyou said, crossing his arms. While the other members of the crowd had their eyes focused on Haname, InuYasha watched Kagome. She was watching Tsuneo and Haname with some pleasure, but he could tell by the way she was holding herself, and by the look around her eyes that whatever she had done had tired her out more than she might want to admit.

Tsuneo bowed towards the two miko. "Whatever it is, if you have saved my Haname, you have my undying gratitude."

"It was . . . I don't have the words to describe it. There was such a burning, while Kagome-sama was working on me. Fire, fire everywhere. That must have been when I screamed. It centered right here," Haname said, tapping her chest. "Then I started coughing. It was hard, like something burning was caught in my lungs. I had to keep coughing until I got it up, and I did."

She shook her head, then looked up at Tsuneo. "It was choking me so bad, but finally, it just flew out of my mouth and landed on the floor right there," she said, pointing to a place on the wooden floor that looked scarred. "That nastiness looked like black glass, but it was smoking, an awful smoke, almost like those shouki bombs that horrible youkai threw at the village four years ago. It smelled like the pits of hell. I was afraid to touch it, and Kaede warned us not to touch it. But Kagome picked it up. It glowed pink in her hand, and it just evaporated." Haname looked at the young miko, her eyes still filled with awe. "Even the smell went away. I'd never seen anything like that. Before I coughed it up, it felt like I was wrapped in lead. It was so hard to move, and everything felt heavy. It was even hard to breathe. Afterwards . . . it was like I had been let out of prison."

The healed woman swallowed turned to Kagome."I...I once had a horrible experience. I will always be marked by the horror of that day, and there are times I may act foolishly because . . . because I am back there, in that moment once again, and all I can sense are death and fear and the cries of my family. But . . . even though I may act foolishly from time to time, and I cannot see with the same eyes you do, Kagome, wife of InuYasha, miko of our village, I will never forget that even after I attacked you, you still reached out and brought me back to the living. I owe you more than I can pay back." She bowed deeply.

Kagome stood up and returned her bow. "This is my calling, Haname-sama. To help and to heal."

"It is indeed, it is indeed," Tsuneo said. He bowed as well. "Thank you for not holding what was done to you and your husband against us."

There was a small scuffle at the entrance to the building. Akina and the two miko turned to watch while Tsuneo walked with Haname to her pallet.

"Get out of my way, Amaya," InuYasha said.

"InuYasha?" Kagome said, trying to see over Amaya's body. "What?"

"No, you aren't supposed to go in," Amaya said, pulling on the hanyou's sleeve as he started to push past her. "You mustn't!"


	221. Chapter 221

_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 221**

"Please, InuYasha-sama," Amaya said, trying to keep the hanyou out of the room where Haname was busy talking with Tsuneo. Still holding onto his sleeve, she slid in front of him and squarely placed her body in front of the doorway. "You know how Haname feels. You know she's asked us to keep you away from her. Please respect her feelings."

The hanyou pulled his sleeve free from the woman. "Like hell is anybody going to keep me away from my wife. Move, or I'll move you."

People behind them watched what was going on with interest. While Amaya blocked the doorway, Tadaki nudged his brother who had followed him to see what was going on.

"I don't think anybody can stop him from doing very much," Tadaki said. "What do you think?"

"It'd be like me trying to stop you, Ani-ue," Hideo said, still irritated by the extra work he had to do that morning.

Tadaki ruffed his brother's head, oblivious to his brother's attitude. "Something like that."

Michio, ignoring the young farm workers, tugged on Amaya in return. "Let him go, woman. His wife is involved with whatever happened. Don't make him move you. If he thinks he needs to check on her, he has every right, no matter what Haname-okaasan thinks."

With an unhappy sigh, Amaya looked at the two men. She had no doubt that if she didn't do something soon, InuYasha would indeed pick her up and set her aside. She smoothed her sleeve, then crossed her arms glaring at the men. "On you own heads be it if it sets back Haname-obasan and she gets sicker."

Tsuneo, watching the scene out of the corner of his eye, turned and nodded to Amaya. "Nobody will fault you, Amaya-chan. Today, now especially, it is all right. Come in, InuYasha-sama. My family owes you once again a debt, and you, as much as your woman, are welcome into my house."

Bowing, Amaya stepped aside. With a curt nod of his head, InuYasha pushed into the room and went over to Kagome, who was looking tired but happy, standing up not far from Tsuneo and his wife.

"You didn't have to make a fuss, InuYasha," Kagome said. "There's no danger here."

"I'll be the judge of that. What was going on? Are you all right?" he asked. He looked down on her with a somber face and his amber eyes took in every bit of her, the smile at a job well done, the fatigue lines around her eyes, but as he looked, and as his nose and other senses let him know that she was indeed content, if a little tired, he too relaxed. "I didn't know what to think when I heard Haname scream. You look like you've done too much. What were you doing?"

Kagome nodded. "It did take some effort. I haven't used my powers that much in a while, and never this way. The amulet the yamabushi had Haname wear . . . it left something dark and nasty in her. It felt so much like jyaki." She took his hand in hers. "I was able to help purify it. I've never done anything quite like I did with her." InuYasha brushed a bit of bang out of her face as he spoke, but his seriousness began to melt as he grew more assured, and that pleased her as well. "But Haname screamed? Loud enough for you to hear it outside?"

"We all heard it," he said, nodding.

"I was so busy with what I was doing, I didn't even notice. I knew she was in pain for a moment, but I was more busy dislodging that shard of dark magic that I didn't pay enough attention."

"I'd say she screamed," Akina said, turning from her mother-in-law to nod to the young couple. "I never heard anything quite like it. Okaasan hardly ever lets you know when she's in pain."

Haname, still standing next to her husband, leaned lightly against him and took a deep breath before looking at the hanyou. InuYasha was standing very close to his wife, pretty much like her own husband was doing. The hanyou, even though his fingers were tipped with deadly claws, was cupping his wife's cheek gently, whispering soft words to her. The older woman tilted her head to the side and looked at the hanyou more carefully than she had ever looked at him before, getting past his uncanny eye color and silver hair. The caring husband she saw there was so different from the mental picture she had of him that something broke in her mind, dropping the blinders she had been wearing since he showed up four years ago, and for the first time, she really got a glimpse of who he was.

Tsuneo, about to nudge her to sit down, noticed what she was looking at. "What is it, Haname-chan? You look confused, wife. After what happened, I just could not let him come in."

"I know, I know" she said. "So like, and so unalike that other one . . . " Her voice was quite low as she shook her head. "I just never really looked . . . "

InuYasha's ear flicked at the sound of her voice, but he didn't leave his wife's side.  
>"You look tired, woman. You should sit down."<p>

"I think you're right," the miko replied. She sat, and then patted the ground next to her.

He turned to look at Haname before sitting himself. "What?" InuYasha said, uncomfortable at her gaze, especially with how there was no fear or malice, merely curiosity. She had never looked at him that way before.

"I was remembering someone who . . . who did me wrong many years ago, InuYasha-sama," Haname said. "He looked much like you, but his eyes . . . he was so cruel, cruel beyond words. How can you look so much like him and be so different?"

"Feh," the hanyou said. His ear flicked. He glanced at his wife who gave him a reassuring look. "Whatever that one did to you, it was him, not me. I'm me. Can't help what I look like." He turned to Kagome. "Are you tired? Do you want to go home?"

"It has been busy," Kagome said as she squeezed his hand. "If Kaede is ready for us to call it a morning, I wouldn't mind." She looked at Kaede, who nodded.

"Perhaps," said the old miko, "now would be a good time to leave. After all, lunch time is fast approaching, and Shinjiro's wedding is this evening. There will be time to talk about all that has happened today more fully later."

As InuYasha and Kagome were finishing up their business at Tsuneo's house on a positive note, things at Tameo's courtyard were not so pleasant.

Koichi, Tameo's farm worker who got saddled with the job of keeping an eye on the lockup, paced back and forth across the courtyard. From time to time, he would stop and glance at the lockup. His looks were black and his body tense, as if expecting more unpleasant things to happen.

As he turned to cross the courtyard again, a voice chided him.

"You're making me tired looking at you, man," Jun, the other man Tameo had set to guard duty, said. He was sitting on the ground to the west of the lockup, leaning forward, with his elbows on his thighs, and his face supported by his hands. "Might as well sit down. We're not going out in the fields today. We're not even going to get to work in the out buildings or on the compost heap today." He sighed. "You know it's one of those days when I'd rather be cleaning up after the oxen."

"I feel like I ought to be doing something," Koichi said. "I just can't sit there like you. I need to be working."

"So go grab some straw," Jun said. "There's plenty in the back, and there's cord, too, in the storeroom. The way you're pacing, you're going to wear your sandals out. Might as well get started on a new pair. It'd kill the time."

"Funny, funny," the farmhand said. But he did lift his foot to check the status of his footwear. Deciding it was good enough, he squatted down and pulled on a weed that was growing there.

Jun shrugged. "You're the one who said you needed to be working. That's work."

"I have plenty to do," Koichi said, tossing the weed to the side. "What I need to be working on just isn't here in this damned courtyard. Where'd Susumu get off to? He ought to be here. He's captain of the guard. He should be babysitting this loudmouth."

"You heard Tameo-sama sent him off. I think he went to check on the crazy man over by Tsuneo-sama's place by the river. "Or maybe it was to check on something at Toshiro's place. Whatever. I forgot, because it's not my business," Jun said. "He'll be back."

"After he's talked everybody's ear off," Koichi said. "Maybe we'll see him after lunch." He plopped down on the ground, knees arched, leaning his weight on the palms of his hands stretched out behind him. "We deserve an extra something for today's work, we do."

"I'll be sure to tell that to Tameo-sama," Jun said, his voice clearly sarcastic, "when its time to write - "

Suddenly, a loud and scratchy voice interrupted his line of thought.

"Tell me why your hem is wet,  
>why your back is wet<br>and it's such a dry day.  
>Yoi, yoi,<br>you have straw in your hair.  
>yoi, yoi, yoiya."<p>

"I was hoping that after the women left, he might have gotten tired of this game," Kochi said. "I guess we're out of luck." He looked up at the lockup building. "Shut up, Seiji. Why haven't you lost your voice yet?"

"Fuck you, Koichi," Seiji said. His voice was getting rough, but he was far from losing his ability to annoy the people near him. He continued his song:

"Did he push you down  
>to show you his tool<br>while it was still dewy?  
>Yoi, yoi,<br>you have straw in your hair,  
>yoi, yoi, yoiya.<p>

"They say his tool  
>is so nice and thick.<br>Was it as good as mine?  
>Yoi, yoi,<br>you have straw in your hair,  
>yoi, yoi, yoiya."<p>

Koichi rose to his feet and threw a rock at the lock house window. "Shut the hells up, Seiji. We don't need to hear anything more about your prick."

"Jealous are you, Koichi?" Seiji said, his voice unrepentant. "I've heard the women gossip about how the kami cheated you."

Koichi picked up another rock, when Jun, jumping up from the bit of grass he had been sitting on, grabbed him. "You know this is his way, man. Just let him be. Everybody knows he likes to push people until they do something that gives him an excuse to react. If you react, he'll just dish out more."

"Kuso, but I'm tired of him," the farm worker said.

"I think the whole village is tired of him by now," Jun said, patting his co-worker on the back. "Maybe even Toshiro-sama."

"Damn you and the broodmare who gave you birth," Seiji said. "Where's my headache medicine?"

"Too late to get Hisa to make something for you, you stupid ass," Koichi said. He bent down and picked up another small rock. "You should have thought about that before you chased her off. Maybe we can ask if Kaede might make something. Maybe she won't want to, after how you acted yesterday."

"Not drinking anything either of those witches make," Seiji said. He kicked the door of the lockup, which reverberated, but the heavy door didn't budge. "Where's Sukeo?"

"Who knows? Maybe he couldn't find your woman," Jun said, shrugging. He looked around th grounds, and found a patch of grass that was getting some shade. "If she had any sense, she'd just take off and head out of town and not come back." He walked over to the shaded grass and sat down. "You've scared your boys so much that they'd probably be too afraid to come tell you they couldn't find her. You have to learn how to treat people better, Seiji. Chasing them away is a loser's bet."


	222. Chapter 222

1_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 222**

Away from the problems that were going on at Tameo's place, a happy and grateful Tsuneo had finally gotten Haname to sit down next to the small fire pit in the add-on room.

"You're sure you're comfortable, wife?" he asked.

"You're getting as bad about that as all the women around here, husband," she said, looking at him fondly, but still waving him off. She looked at Kaede and the rest. "We never did get to have that cup of tea, Kaede-sama. Perhaps Akina would like to finish making it?"

Her daughter-in-law for some reason blushed. "There was so much happening, Haname-okaasan. I forgot." She hurried back to check her tea kettle, to see if it was hot enough.

Kaede stood and shook her head. "We will do it another time, Haname-sama. Today, these old bones have seen too much excitement, and I am thinking it is time to go home."

"Not yet, Miko-sama!" Tsuneo said. "I can't let you come by, and have you and the young miko-sama work marvels and then just go home."

"This time, friend," Kaede said, "I think it's necessary. Shinjiro's wedding is this evening. I would like to rest some before that bit of entertainment happens."

Kagome and InuYasha also stood up.

It was not easy to leave. Tsuneo and Haname both wanted to be able to do something that showed their gratitude, but Kaede was firm, and with promises to see them later, the old miko managed to extricate both her and her apprentice and InuYasha out of the house of the old elder and down the path that led to the main village street.

"So, that's the last stop for the day?" Kagome said.

"I am pretty sure we've done enough for one morning," the old miko said. "Unless you want to check on Chiya-chan?"

"Like hell," the hanyou said, crossing his arms. Kagome frowned for a moment, and then yawned. "See, you're tired, woman," he said to her. "It's time to go home for a while."

The old miko gave InuYasha a knowing smile and a nod of her head. "That is pretty much what I thought, myself."

As they entered the main village street, Kaede looked thoughtfully at the young couple. "It's going to be interesting when word about this gets out," she said. "Be prepared for people to come up and ask you to try to heal this or that."

"Feh," the hanyou said. "It's not like she healed a regular illness. She purified the woman. Just tell them that she used her spiritual powers to take care of some dark magic."

"I will tell people that, InuYasha, but desperate people do desperate things." Kaede sighed. "Well, we'll figure out what to do."

The only people on the street were a few children who ignored them, and Benika, a friend of Chiya's, coming back from the well. She looked at them curiously, but merely put her buckets down to bow a greeting as they passed.

"At least she wasn't at Tsuneo's house when this happened," InuYasha muttered, frowning as they passed. "Woman likes to spread all the news. And with a nasty twist, if she can."

"Benika always was too fond of gossip," Kaede said, nodding. "Although after what happened with Sango-chan after Hisa's sewing party, I suspect she's going to be very careful about playing games like that. Still, what happened today will no doubt be the talk, maybe more than what Seiji did yesterday."

"Feh," the hanyou said. "None of their business."

Kagome chuckled. "Since when has that ever stopped people from talking?"

"Maybe," Kaede said, "After the wedding you should take a couple of days off. Perhaps they would bother you less if you did."

"Would that really help?" Kagome asked. "Besides, shouldn't we be thinking about the amulet? "What type of magic did he bring into the village? Are we safe?"

They looked at Kaede.

"I put a seal on it, and stored it in a safe place," the old miko said. "Perhaps we should take it out and look at it again. But not today. I would not be willing to release anything that might be dark until we are prepared to deal with it," the old miko said.

"Yeah," InuYasha said. "Maybe you should have Miroku there, too, if it's that bad."

"A good point," the old miko said. "I will have to contemplate this." She was quiet for a moment. "So, child, Koume-chan told me she asked you to go with her to the next market day. Have you decided? If you are, I might want you to pick up some things for me."

After a promise to discuss what she might be able to get for the miko later, InuYasha and Kagome decided to take the back way through the paddy field dykes home, and bid farewell to Kaede-sama.

As they began their walk back to their side of the village, Sango and Miroku were enjoying their own walk together, one with much less purpose except to enjoy a respite from their everyday routine.

Their journey had started up on the hill, where they had moved at a fairly brisk pace until they had made it past the activity at Daitaro's home. But after that, they had slowed down noticeably once they had escaped into the dyke paths in the paddy lands beyond, taking their time as they strolled by the fields mostly planted with barley and a little wheat, green with springtime growth.

On their way they had passed Momoe's house. She and her daughter-in-law and grandson were out working in their vegetable patch. All three had waved as the couple walked by, Momoe getting the monk to stop by and give her house a quick blessing, something he had promised her several days ago. Intoning the heart sutra with a resonating voice, the monk complied. In return, the anxious woman pressed a basket of spring greens on them. The peace that it brought to the little family, and the laughter that the grandson's song about frogs had pleased Sango, and she had no resentment. With a promise to stop by again soon, they had continued their walk.

Halfway to where they found themselves now, they had come across Daitaro and Shinjiro on a different path, one paddy field width apart. The bridegroom was carrying a fish in his hand, and his father carrying fishing poles. The younger man walked with a nervous lope, his father pleased and relaxed. Although they didn't stop to talk, the two men waved as they headed home.

"Wedding days seem to be a stressful thing," Miroku had remarked as they passed the two. Sango had agreed, and both felt lucky in a way to have missed all that excitement. For a few minutes they speculated what it might have been like if they had the family left to do something like Chime was doing for Shinjiro. Sango, though, had started to get sad, remembering her lost family, and Miroku had changed the subject to the next market day, and how some of the women were going. It did the trick of saving their excursion.

Passing through the farm fields, Miroku led his wife towards the river to find a bit of land that was not used for farming or other chores. There was a path that ran through the grasses, which proved it did get some use, but also gave the young couple a nice place to get away from it all.

"It feels so strange to be going somewhere without keeping an eye on the twins, doesn't it?" Sango said, smiling at her husband.

"I get to do it a bit more often than you, but yes." Miroku gave his wife a big smile in return.

"And it feels strange to be walking without Naoya on my back." She looked up at her husband. "It's like something's missing. But . . . "

Miroku shook his head. "You are an excellent mother, Sango my dearest, but if you miss that this much, perhaps we haven't been taking these simple pleasures often enough," Miroku said. He took her hand. "It's so seldom I get to do this with you. It almost seems like a guilty pleasure."

Shifting the basket that Momoe had given them, Sango laughed at Miroku's comment about guilty pleasures. "Aren't those the type you seem to like best, husband?"

He grinned at her. "You know me too well, my Sango, too well."

She beamed at him, and laced her fingers into his free hand."Just don't take advantage of all the girls in the village to babysit for you so we can do it."

"Would I do that?" he asked, pretending to be insulted.

"Yes," Sango said. "I know you and your guilty pleasures. If you thought it would get you something you wanted . . . "

He wrapped his arm around Sango's waist and pulled her close. "But what I want is merely to be with you."

"But you can do that at home," she said, coy and smiling, but pulling away.

"But it's more fun when we can sneak off together like today," the monk said, not letting her go. His eyes sought hers. Transferring his staff to the hand wrapped around her waist, he used his free hand to brush his fingertips across her cheek, and then let one gently trace her lips. "Don't you think?"

She kissed his fingertip lightly. Her eyes smoldered, but he knew from long experience that she had great control over that fire, and it wouldn't be until she was ready that she would let him blow it up into an open flame. He kissed her forehead, and not her lips as he wanted to do, and let her loose, especially realizing that there were on a stroll, and would have to go back to a house filled with children. It was enough, he decided to keep that smolder hot until tonight.

They began walking again until they drew close to the river. This particular stretch was not used much for daily chores like laundry; there were a lot of rushes and willows growing in the area, and the bank had more mud than rock except for one large wedge of stone, longer than a man was tall, jutting out into the stream, half hidden by willow branches.

"Is this the outcrop I've heard some of the boys talk about?" Sango asked as they came closer.

"It is indeed, Sango," Miroku said. "I've come here a few times when I wanted to just meditate by the water. Sometimes, though, the boys have claimed it for fishing before I've reached it. They like it because nobody comes here to wash clothes or get water."

Sango nodded, but pointed a finger at a stand of rushes not far from the rock. "It looks like we're not quite alone."

"Who's that?" Miroku asked.

A young woman, her skirts hiked up to her knees and her sleeves tied back, was wading at the water's edge. She looked to be about fourteen. Holding some rushes, she flashed a knife, and cut them clean. Putting them over her shoulder, she brought them away from the water's edge to join other ones that she had cut. With a practiced skill, she tied all the loose ones into a bundle, and tossed the bundle on top of the two other bundles she had already made.

"It looks like Furume," Sango said.

"Isn't that Masu's daughter?" Miroku asked. "One of the people the bandits kidnapped last year?"

Sango nodded.

"She seems to be doing pretty well for having gone through all of that," the monk said, watching her get up and go and step back to the water at the river's edge where she began cutting more rushes. "It seems too cool a day to be wading in the water if you ask me," Miroku said. "I wonder why she's doing that?"

"She and her mother make mats and baskets, I believe," Sango said. "Koume-sama mentioned having them make some for her once."

"Ah," the monk said, nodding. "I guess she has to get the supplies from somewhere, but it still seems too cold to go wading."

"Sometimes, husband, you do what you have to do. But then, I know you know that," Sango replied, "or we would have never met, and you'd still be staying at Mushin-sama's temple, getting sloshed every evening."

"Ah, Master Mushin. True, true," the monk replied. "He has a good heart, but after all the things he went through . . . "

"You should go check on him soon," Sango said. "You ought to see how he made it through the winter."

Miroku headed towards a large willow tree, somewhat out of the line of sight of the busy girl. "No doubt you're right, Sango my dearest. Maybe we'll be able to do it when we go pick up the sutra."

"Has InuYasha agreed to that yet?" Sango asked.

"He's . . . weakening," Miroku said, giving his wife a wry, but knowing smile. "I believe he'll come to accept it's one of those things that he needs to do because it needs to get done. If Kagome-sama hadn't come back when she had, we might have already gone."

He ducked under the canopy of the willow's branches and held out his hand. "But that's for another time. Let's talk about what needs to be done today," he said, holding out his hand.

Smiling, she took it and followed. "And what is that, husband?" She ducked under a trailing willow branch.

He led her a little further into the willow stand, where they were isolated from anybody's sight. "Today, that thing I need to do is walk by the river with a beautiful woman, because a kindhearted girl and her best friends could be persuaded to watch the children for an hour or so," he said, grinning at his lovely wife.

"I still don't know how you persuaded Tazu and Iya to help Rin watch the girls," Sango said. "You and your charm."

He leaned his staff against the trunk of the willow tree, then took both of Sango's hands. "Sometimes, it's not hard at all." He leaned his staff against a tree trunk, then wrapped his arms around his wife. "Sometimes, all it takes is the right motivation."


	223. Chapter 223

1_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 223**

InuYasha and Kagome were walking down one of the paths that ran along the dykes that separated the paddy fields. As they looked to their left, they could see the main cluster of houses that ran along the main street of the village, and the watchtower, rising over it all. On their right beyond the fields was a line of trees and a few fields. A couple of the village women were walking back to town balancing large baskets that no doubt held clean laundry. A few children hurried between other paddies, off on some errand of their own.

Nobody even waved their way. For the moment, the miko and the hanyou were just another pair of passers by, drawing no real attention from any of the other villagers going about their work.

This pleased InuYasha. His arms were crossed, but he often did that when he was walking. He moved with a relaxed gait, a soft, almost smiling, look on his lips.

Kagome looked up at him, and smiled herself. "You look rather contented," she said. "I didn't know how you'd feel after such a crazy morning. All those people to see."

"We've seen crazier," he said, his almost smile spreading out into a small grin. "A lot less crazy than running after some stupid youkai or the other. Even stopping by to look at Nakao wasn't that much."

"That's true," she said, nodding, "Although I'm not sure some people would be able to tell the difference between Daiki and a kitsune at first glance. I don't know who has more energy - that boy or Shippou-chan."

"He's a handful," the hanyou said, nodding. "If they hadn't known him from birth, people would be whispering stuff about fox spirits and him."

That made Kagome grin, knowing how irritated InuYasha could get over people in the villages around where they lived blaming everything on kitsunes before any other cause. "But you handed him pretty well," Kagome said. "That was probably just what he needed to hear."

"He sure squawked about it, though." The hanyou gave her his trademark smirk. "Although I have to say, his otousan seemed to get a kick out of it, too."

"There's definitely a difference between what he needed to hear and wanted to hear," Kagome said. "One day, after Sayo-sama is back on her feet, we're going to have to visit just to see how things are there when she's in control."

"It's got to be better than it was today," InuYasha said, nodding.

They heard footsteps closing in on them, and turning, they saw Iya's brother Toshiki running up to them. He was panting a little as he stopped in front of the couple.

"InuYasha-sama, Miko-sama," the boy said, bowing.

"You're . . . " Kagome said, thinking a moment. "Toshiki? Iya-chan's brother?"

The boy smiled, revealing missing baby teeth. It made him look rather innocent, although, from what she had learned from Kaede, that wasn't exactly true. He nodded at her mention of his name. "Yes, yes, that's me," he said, grinning widely.

"What do you need, Toshiki?" InuYasha asked, mildly irritated that his privacy had been invaded.

"My okaasan, she sent me looking for Ane-ue. Have you seen her?" he asked, rubbing the top of his right foot with his left. "She's been gone all morning."

"I'm sorry, Toshiki-kun, we haven't seen her." Kagome said, shaking her head. "Have you looked at Kaede-obaasan's house? You know how much time she spends with Rin-chan."

"Nobody was there," the boy said with a sigh.

"Did you look at Kaede-obaasan's garden?" the young miko asked. "Rin goes there sometimes. Or you can try Houshi - "

"Thank you," he said before she could finish her statement, and dashed down the road.

Kagome laughed a little watching him run. "And people used to say that you were hasty. I wouldn't be surprised if they were up at Miroku's, and he'll run all over the village before he finds her."

"Hasty, eh?" InuYasha said, giving her a rather amused look. "You didn't say that about me yesterday."

She looked at him, momentarily confused. He waggled his eyebrows at her, and her own eyes grew big as she realized what he was referring to.

"Hentai," she said, giving him a little shove.

"Only for you," he said.

Laughing, they continued their walk home.

Away from all the maddening noise by the headman's house, Emi and the children of the headman's household were spending the morning on the grounds that separated Fujime's house from Kimi and Eiji's place. Today, while all the children were about, Fujime's husband Akimori had headed to his soybean fields; Eiji at the moment, had joined him. Kimi sat on her own verandah for the moment, busy at her own spinning wheel while she helped keep a watch on the children, especially to make sure her boy Yoshi played well with the others.

Fujime handed Emi a cup of tea. They were sitting on Fujime's verandah, watching the children playing - all of Emi and Susumu's brood, the children of Tameo's farm workers, and Fujime's grandchildren. Isao and Yorime were watching over the troupe, and so far, most of the play was going smoothly. Even little Mitsuo was avoiding harassing his sisters for the moment.

Emi accepted the cup, smiling at the older woman. "It is so much nicer here. Thank you for rescuing us from . . . that . . . that . . . "

"I can think of many words to describe him, Emi-chan, and most of them are too rude to say around the children." Fujime had her sewing basket out, and picked up the section she was currently working on.

"Throw me the ball, Isao!" Yorime said. The older children were playing some sort of ball game that seemed to require frequent chasing. Isao, still bruised, but barely, tossed the ball to the girl, who promptly dropped it.

"Especially Mitsuo," Emi said, watching her young son pile rocks up to make a little fortress. "I know he's going to learn them all sooner or later, but at his age . . . "

"I know, dear, I know," the older woman said. Fujime ran her needle through the fabric with patient skill. "I'll still never understand why the elders didn't do more when Seiji got himself kicked out of the village guard. I thought for a time there was going to be a real feud between his household and Susumu, with Toshiro and Yasuo caught in the middle. And last winter, when they had that run-in with him during the bandit raid. He almost cost Masu his daughters. If Masu had been a richer man, instead of Tsuneo's farm worker . . . " Pulling the thread taut, she smoothed her work in her lap and examined the stiches, before nodding, and running her needle back in the cloth.

"I've listened to them talk during their council meetings. It's always the same thing, isn't it?" Emi said. She looked into the green liquid in the cup she was holding, and took a drink. "What they're most worried about seems to be who's going to handle the rice fields? The village's tax burden won't go down just because one of the villagers is a no-good piece of trash who they kick out. Better to keep him around until they get a replacement."

Fujime's grandson Yoshi walked shyly up to the two women.

"Did you want to play, too?" she asked him.

"It's all right?" he said. "Okaa said to help."

"You want to help?" Emi asked.

He nodded his head.

"Why don't you go play with Mitsuo?" Emi said. "He has so many sisters that he doesn't get to play with boys as much as he wants to."

"It's all right?" he asked, looking at his grandmother first and then Emi.

"Yes, it's all right. Just remember he's a bit younger than you are. But I bet he'd like to play horsie game with you," Fujime said.

The boy ran across the yard to go join the other boy.

"He's not used to having so many children come over to play," Fujime said. "I think he's a bit intimidated."

"With my crew here, I don't blame him," Emi said, laughing.

"Now what were we talking about?" Fujime said, taking a few more tiny stitches on the garment she was making. "Oh yes, Seiji." She frowned, like she had bit down on something distasteful. "My husband's been getting really irritated with that one. It's not like we don't have willing backs to pick up some of the slack. If you ask me, they ought to get rid of him, and let one of the other men act as caretaker until Sukeo is old enough to do it."

"It's Toshiro that has to be convinced," Emi said. "Seiji belongs to his ko. I don't know why he's been protective, considering all the work he gets out of him."

Fujime's grandson threw the ball towards Suzume, who dropped the ball. She pumped her arms, running to get it. Jun's little boy, though, grabbed it and started running towards Isao, much to Suzume's dissatisfaction.

"Give me that!" she yelled.

Isao deftly took it out of the small boy's hands and tossed it back to Suzume, who caught it this time.

"Isao-kun has some smarts," Fujime said. "It'll do him good to have him over at your place. I'm not sure if Tsuneo-sama ever appreciated him enough." She put down her sewing and picked up her teacup. "I'm not sure what's going on with Toshiro. There's some talk that he made a promise to Seiji's father before he died." She took a sip of the tea, and shook her head. "I don't know if it's true, though."

"I've heard that myself," Emi said. Looking at her children, she sighed. Her son had walked away from Yoshi and was closing in on her youngest daughter. "Mitsuo, leave Aomi alone!"

The boy looked up at her and frowned.

"Come on, Mitsuo," Yoshi said. "I'll tell you about the Peach boy."

"Peach Boy?" he said.

"Yeah. He beat up on the Oni King really bad," the boy said, making galloping motions with his own toy horse.

Curious, Mitsuo went back to join him at the toy fortress.

"I don't know why they think Seiji's so valuable," Fujime said, giving a short, bitter laugh. "Everybody knows it's Maeme who does the most work on their lands, anyway. Seiji hasn't been much good for anything in years. Once she got over the birth of their oldest boy, he just sort of dumped almost everything in her lap." She turned her cup around in her hand, and took a sip. "Wood chopping, maybe. He's been pretty good at that, but farming? And there's that brother of his. He ought to be picking up more of the slack, if his brother won't, but he's nearly as bad as Seiji. What does he do in the wood so much? He doesn't bring home nearly that much firewood in."

"Be sure, it hasn't gone unnoticed," Emi said. "But the title of the land is in his name. I wonder if the elders are afraid if they give it to another man, they'll lose all the work Maeme manages to do . . . "

"I hope not. I think better of most of our men than that," Fujime said. "I suspect they're more worried about keeping the property in the family for Sukeo."

"Maybe . . . maybe they'll get some sense this time." Emi took a sip of her tea.

"Well, if they call the council, I'm sure my man will give them his piece. Fumio, too. He was right there when it happened." Fujime sipped her own cup. "Koume tells me that he's taken a liking to Seiji's son. Maybe something good will happen for that family."

Aomi, tripped as she chased after one of the girls. First, it looked like she might just get up and continue her game, then she sat down and started to cry. "Something always happens," Emi said, and got up and went after her daughter.


	224. Chapter 224

1_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 224**

"So," Kagome said, ready to change the subject about InuYasha and hastiness, "Michio was with Tsuneo when you got there?"

"Yeah," the hanyou replied. "I think Tsuneo's trying to talk him into taking Chiya back home, but he's not ready."

"Considering everything that happened," Kagome said, "I'm not really surprised." She looked up at her husband. "You're getting along well with Tsuneo. When I first heard how his family felt about you, us, I never would have believed it."

"Yeah, me either," InuYasha said. "I knew Tsuneo didn't care much one way or the other, but the way his wife and his son felt . . . never ever expected to be invited into their home, much less to be treated like a friend."

As they walked near the end of the field they were passing, InuYasha's ear flicked, and then there was a high-pitched whine and a sudden crash into the young barley field. Almost as fast, a hawk rose into the air, carrying a small rodent, which he carried off to a more convenient perch.

"Eeek!" Kagome said, jumping into InuYasha's arms as the bird dropped down and flew off. The hanyou conveniently wrapped his arms around her. "Where did he come from?"

"Up there," the hanyou said, pointing up. He had a small grin on his face that he was really trying hard to control.

"I never had a bird like that land so close to me," the young miko said, untangling herself from her husband's hold. "It's like it came out of the blue."

"Speaking of coming out of the blue," InuYasha said, brushing a stray bit of Kagome's bangs out of her face, "What did you do to Haname that made the old thing behave like I was a real person?" He looked at her with real curiosity. "That's the first time since I've been here that she even talked to me instead of about me."

Kagome shook her head. "I'm not sure." They started walking again, crossing over to the next field. Kagome kept looking up, to see if there were any more hawks flying over.

"It felt weird," the hanyou said. "I don't know if it's right or not, but I knew where I stood with Haname. And now? It . . . it's just kind of got me off my track."

"It's hard to explain," Kagome said. She stopped examining the sky, looked at her husband, and sucked on her bottom lip while she organized her thoughts for a moment. "There was something stuck in her chest right about here," she said, pointing to a spot about 3 inches below the base of her throat. "It was like she had a curse lodged right there. It wasn't like one of the shards, where it was a real piece of a stone. I could feel it with my spiritual powers, but when we examined her, there was no physical way to tell it was there."

"Huh," the hanyou said. "So it wasn't like the Shikon jewel, where the magic had taken real form?"

She shook her head. "It was different. When I tried to purify it directly, I couldn't touch it," Kagome said. "I could purify the effects that were running through her aura, but that wasn't going to end her problem."

Isamu, one of the regular supporters of Miroku's temple came down the path from the river, carrying a bundle of willow branches on his back. They were too far apart to meet; by the time their path intersected the one he was on, he'd be well past them, but he called out a friendly greeting and waved.

"Must be going to make some baskets," InuYasha said, waving back. "So if it wasn't physical, what was going on?" he asked Kagome.

"This is the weird part," Kagome said, frowning, as she tried to explain. "I'm not exactly sure how it was happening, but it was like the darkness was using her own spirit to make a shield around it. Kaede said she had a spiritual wound, so maybe it was like what happens when you get a physical infection because you get a splinter of something under your skin . . . the body tries to protect itself, and the object gets surrounded with some nasty stuff."

"That kind of makes sense," the hanyou said, nodding.

"I couldn't quite figure out what to do. Kaede had told me I shouldn't send my purification powers too deeply into her, but I gave it one last purification poke, much stronger than I had used before then." She watched as her husband bent down and picked up a small rock. She looked at it questioningly, but didn't stop her explanation. "It must have been like when you lance a boil. Right after I did that, she started coughing, and she coughed something awful up. It was black and smoking and smelled like sulphur. That was from Haname's own soul, I think, bruised and battered by what the dark magic had done. It was so bad it was starting to take physical shape. Inside though, was the little kernel of something. It surely felt like jyaki to me, youkai magic, not senki, wizard magic, like if the amulet the yamabushi had was made by a youkai and not a sage."

There was some motion in the field on their right. A rabbit hopped up onto the road. With a lighting fast toss, InuYasha hit it with the rock he had picked up. Twitching once, it lay there, still. He raced ahead a bit, and picked it up.

"Did you need to do that now?" Kagome asked, catching up to her husband, but uncomfortable with having witnessed one of InuYasha's kills.

"Tsuneo told me that rabbits cause him and the other farmers problems. He even asked me to hunt over by his fields. I heard it, so I thought . . . "

"Oh," she said. "I hadn't thought about that."

"Me, either, until he said something." InuYasha made sure to carry the rabbit away from her line of sight. He decided to get her back on her story. "So why were you able to purify that thing she coughed up?"

"I guess it was because it wasn't in her body any more, and her own soul wasn't trying to keep it surrounded," Kagome said, unable to stop herself from trying to look at what he was carrying, but he was deft in keeping it out of sight. "It purified as easy as one of the shikon shards. But when I did it, it totally evaporated."

"Well, if anybody was wondering if a married miko could still have spiritual powers, this is going to kill all that talk," InuYasha said. "I wouldn't be surprised if some folks get . . . well, they'll either want to get close to you or do what they did to Kikyou, and try to put you on a pedestal."

"I don't think I want to be treated like I'm some sort of . . . what, a kami?" Kagome said. She wrapped her fingers through one of InuYasha's hands. "And they better not think I'm so special that I should be locked up at the shrine or something."

"Yeah?" InuYasha said. The fire in Kagome's eyes pleased him.

"Yeah. I might be able to do what I did to help Haname, but I'm InuYasha's wife first," she said.

He gave her hand a happy squeeze, and they continued on the road home.

Down by the river, hidden in the willows, Sango looked up at her husband. "So all it takes is the right motivation for you to get a way to get me all to yourself? What motivation was that today? You're sure it wasn't that charming tongue of yours?"

Miroku liked the fire he saw in his wife's eyes. "Alas, today it had nothing much to do with my charm, I think. This time, I believe it was because Emi-sama has brought all of her children over to Fujime's house, and Fujime and Kimi are busy playing hostess to the crowd. That made Tazu very willing not to go home. And Iya and Tazu right now are far more charmed by Rin's talk about Sesshoumaru-sama than they ever will be with me. Between Tazu wanting a good reason not to go home, and my promise to tell them some stories about InuYasha's brother, it really was quite easy. I got the impression that Tazu would rather babysit our beautiful girls than Susumu's little boy. I hear he can be a handful sometimes."

"And our girls aren't?" Sango asked. She leaned up against the willow tree, feeling the bark of it rub against her back.

"Perhaps it's because our girls are a handful in the way that girls can be, instead of the way boys are," Miroku said, waggling his eyebrows. "Boys are just different."

Sango gave him a knowing smile as he demonstrated what he meant. Her husband, there in the privacy of the willow tree, and mostly hidden by its branches, let his hand drift down to her shapely bottom.

"You, Houshi-sama, have always been a handful. Or grabbed a handful," Sango said, giggling. "You always did push your limits. Should I slap you like I used to?"

"I don't think that's necessary any more, dearest Sango," the monk said, removing his hand, then turning to lean back against the same tree trunk. He found her hand and laced his fingers into hers. "I used to be amazed by how well you stood up to me. You're right. I've always been very good at pushing limits. Most women enjoyed my silliness, and didn't put up any fight and let me get away with it, or ran the other way. But you, my lovely wife, made it clear about where you drew the line - but at the same time, you didn't really run away. Such a strong, bold woman you were. But you don't need to slap me to remind me of how worthwhile you are or how strong you are." He turned to her, and let his fingers run into her hair. "You prove it to me every day. How else could you put up with my foolishness?"

They drew closer. Miroku could feel Sango's breath on his cheek, and began to bend low to give his wife a kiss, but their moment was spoiled by a sudden, loud yell.

"Help!" a woman screamed, back at the water's edge. "Help, someone! A woman's in the river! I think she's drowning!"

"What the hells," Miroku said. "That's Furume. What's she seeing?"

"We better go," Sango said. "She wouldn't do that if there wasn't something going on."

With a quick nod, he grabbed her hand, and the two of them began running out of the trees towards where they left Furume.

She was standing on the big outcrop, walking back and forth frantically, looking for something that she could use to grab whoever she saw in the water, never stopping her yelling for help. Picking up a branch, she shook her head and tossed it aside.

"What's happening?" Miroku called out as they grew close enough for her to hear them.

Furume turned as they neared, and began gesturing wildly, pointing upstream. "Come quick! Look, look, Houshi-sama!" she yelled. "See! Someone's in trouble!"

The river was fairly deep this time of year; it was still swollen with the spring flood, definitely over a man's head deep in the center channel, and the current was swift. In the center of the flood, a woman was being carried along. She was splashing a little as she worked to keep her head above water, but showed no signs of panic, nor was she making any effort to swim to shore.

"Damn it, what is that woman doing?" Miroku said. Taking a quick assessment of what his options were, he pulled off his purple gesa wrap and then his black robes, and stood there in the white, close fitting, knee length pants and kosode that he always wore under them. "Furume! Go get help! Momoe, Daitaro, anybody."

The girl nodded, ran off the rock, and went for help.

Sango grabbed her husband's arm right before he jumped in. "Be careful, Miroku. I don't want to lose you."

He handed her his staff. "I will. You're not going to lose me. Hold onto this. Try to follow where I end up going. I might need to grab it." And then, not giving Sango any time to try to talk him out of what he was planning, he jumped in.

"It's too damn cold for this," he said, as he surfaced after he leapt in. "Why does it have to be me who thinks he has to rescue every damsel in distress?"

"Because they're women!" Sango said from the bank.

"Maybe so," he said, and began swimming.


	225. Chapter 225

_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 225**

Down by the river, but a good bit upstream from where Miroku and Sango were walking, Sukeo pushed through the thick brush growing near the bank. He pulled a branch of willow away from his face and blew a bit of hair away from his eyes.

"Sukeo, you have to be as stupid as Chichi-ue says you are to wander around in the willows like this. You know Haha-ue uses a better path." He stepped over a fallen tree limb, nearly as thick as his leg. "A rabbit must have made this trail. I wonder why I missed Haha-ue's way?"

He broke out of the brush and found himself in a clearing, and he sucked on his lip, looking at the river. "Is this the right place? It looks like it, but I've only been here once."

"Don't be mad, Okaasan," he said as he walked towards the bank, both relieved and nervous. "I know you use this place as a way to get away from all of this, but Otousan sent me. I wouldn't have come otherwise."

No one replied, and the only sound he heard was the wind and the water.

"Where are you, Okaa? Otousan needs you." Worried for a moment that he might have picked the wrong location, he looked around, confused until he saw a large basket sitting near the water.

He recognized the basket. A large dark stain marked one side of the container, nearly black against the brown of the basket withies. As he walked towards it, Sukeo thought about the stain got there. His father had been in a foul mood that day, the day after the village elders had let the hanyou go after Masu's kidnapped children. Okaasan was out at her laundry spot and Seiji was nursing a hangover from the night before, complaining about everything he and his brother were doing. Sukeo had sent his brother out to work in the fields, because his father almost never did more than yell at him. This day though, his father was worse than normal. Sukeo had been a little slow getting Seiji a cup of water, and his father roared at him. His mother had just come back with the laundry and was starting to hang it up when he ran out of the house. Seiji caught him and he stumbled, hitting the basket and scratching his forehead on a splinter. For a moment, Seiji looked at his son, and then his hand, and didn't do anything. Maeme took that moment to hurry him away to go wash his head. As he worked to stop the bleeding, he could hear the cries of his mother taking a beating.

Sukeo shuddered at the memory.

Neither one of them had realized he had bled on the basket until later, and by that time, the color had set. He ran his finger over the markings. The basket was filled with wet clothes. At least he knew he was in the right spot.

"Okaa?" he said, looking around "Otou wants some headache medicine."

There was no answer. He stood up, and walked around the area. He could see wet spots on the ground near some of the bushes where she had hung some of the laundry up to dry, but neither she nor the laundry was there. "Okaa, why would you leave the laundry here if you're not going to hang it up?"

Nobody answered. He walked around the site in circles, going deeper into the shrubs and poking around trees. "Where is she?" he asked. The only answer he got was the chattering of a squirrel high up in the branches.

Confused, he went back to the river. He could see her footprints near the water. "I know you've been here, Okaasan," he said, rubbing the top of his head. "Did someone come by?"

The only answer he got was the chattering of a squirrel in a tree.

"This is weird," he said. He walked around the area a little more, but he didn't find any sign of her. "Maybe she went home to check on Nakao," he said. "If she took the right path, and not the rabbit track I came in on, I would have missed her."

Not sure of what else to do, he picked up her basket, now heavy with the wet clothes, and headed back to the house. When he got there, all Sukeo found was his brother sleeping.

Stalling for a moment, hoping his mother would show up, he hung the wet clothes up to dry on the clothesline, but soon the basket was empty.

"What do I tell Chichi-ue?" he said. "I can't find Haha-ue anywhere." Feeling like he was heading towards his own execution, he began walking as slowly as he dared towards the headman's house.

Someone else reached the headman's house before Sukeo. Kinjiro wandered into his family's courtyard, a hoe on his shoulder and mud on his knees. He looked around, saw no children in the courtyard, no laundry hanging up to dry, none of the usual activity. He did notice Jun and Koichi, sitting in the shade, looking like they were in pain. Curious, he started walking in their direction.

The source of their discomfort made itself clear as he crossed the courtyard.

"Women," Seiji started to sing,  
>"touch them right there,<br>as juicy as sake,  
>hot and wet,<br>salty as the sea,  
>smelling like a - "<p>

"What the hell, Seiji," Kinjiro said, interrupting as he walked up to the lockup. He banged on the wall. "You're trying to get my okaasan out here to knock some sense into that empty head of yours? She can do it, too, and if she can't do it by herself, I'd probably help."

"He's not going to listen," Jun said, straightening up as he watched the headman's son. The farmer worker sighed, a look of fatal resignation etched around his mouth.

"I wish she had done it," Koichi said, standing up and dusting off. "That would have been worth seeing, but she's not here. Just us to babysit the asshole."

"I don't blame her for leaving," Jun said. "Not with the music he's been filling the air with. She's got too much dignity to put up with crap like that. Matsume-sama's not here either. Your okaasan took her to go visit Sayo-sama. Neither is Emi. Or any of the girls. Fujime came over and took the whole lot of them, the girls and even the younger boys, to get away from this kuso-coated baka. My wife's around towards the back if you came in to eat, but that's about it. I suspect she's pounding on pots to drown out the worst of it."

"Damn it, damn it, damn it," Seiji groaned. "Where is that no good wife of mine? Damn this headache. Her butt is going to ache worse when I get her alone. Stupid bitch keeping me waiting all this time."

"You keep going on like that and more than your head will ache." Kinjiro struck the little building again. "Your brains must be made of shit if you think this is going to get you out of there," he said. He looked over at the two men. "He's been doing this all morning?"

"Sometimes," Koichi said, nodding."Sometimes we're lucky and he just pukes. Smells worse, but sounds better."

"His voice is getting rougher, though," Jun said. "We keep hoping that one more retch will do it. Haven't been that lucky yet."

"Sukeo!" Seiji yelled, his voice cracking. "Where the hells are you? Maeme, you lazy bitch, just you wait."

Jun sighed, and doodled a little in the dust of the ground.

"All morning, eh?" Kinjiro asked. His scowl was deep. He dropped his hoe off his shoulder and began tapping the ground with it, as if trying to decide whether to use it as a tool or a weapon. It was a habit he had when he was irritated and trying to think.

"All morning," Koichi said. "Since he woke up."

"Where's my otousan?" Kinjiro asked. His scowl got even deeper. "And my brother?"

"Susumu-sama's running your otousan's errands, but your otousan, I think he's in the office," Jun said. He stopped his doodling, his finger's way blocked with a pebble. Picking it up, he tossed it away. "Hiding, like everybody else."

"Except us," Koichi said. He scratched his stomach. "We've gotten it all. Boy of his tried to let him out, so Tameo-sama had us keep watch."

"Hmph," Kinjiro said. "We've got more important things to do besides that." He began stomping off towards his father's refuge.

Jun watched Kinjiro trudge off, then looked up at the lockup, and smiled. It was a very satisfied grin, almost frightening. "You're in real trouble now, Seiji," he said. "You got Kinjiro white-hot mad at you."

"Get fucked," the man in the lockup croaked. "Not afraid of him any more than I'm afraid of the whole lot of you."

Koichi leaned towards his companion. "I can see he doesn't know what it's like getting Kinjiro mad at you," he said. "I much rather have Tameo-sama mad at me, or even Susumu-sama. Kinjiro . . . well, you know how he is."

"He'll learn," Jun replied, chuckling darkly. "He'll learn."

Away from all this noise, InuYasha and Kagome were nearing the path they would turn to begin heading for the hill they lived on. One of the village women, Momoe's daughter-in-law, was collecting herbs that grew along the paddy dykes. Looking up, the woman saw them and waved.

"Well, I can tell the news about what happened at Tsuneo's hasn't made its way here yet," the hanyou said.

Kagome waved back, then gave her husband a look as the woman went back to her work.

InuYasha's ear flicked. "Don't give me that look," he said. "You know that Momoe wants you to come and give her house a blessing. I guess she thinks you'll help her get her luck back. If she knew, she'd probably have the whole family looking for you."

Kagome sucked on her bottom lip a moment. "I remember. I've been talking to Kaede about what to do. I've never done that before."

"Probably won't take much to make her happy," the hanyou said, sticking his hands in his sleeves. "But if she thought you might change her luck before, I bet she'll really think that once she hears what happened."

The young miko nodded. "I guess." She stopped a moment, and bent down, picking a small early spring flower.

The hanyou's eyes followed her as she moved, taking in how tired she seemed. "At least we have time to rest first. Let's hope this evening will be different than today, "he said. "In a good way."

"Yeah," she replied, twirling the little yellow flower around in her fingers. "I can do without too many mornings like this."

"Keh," the hanyou said, nodding.

She brought the flower up to her nose, but was disappointed when it had no scent, then tucked it in her sleeve. "Where I grew up, people always drink too much at weddings," Kagome said.

"That's what I hear," InuYasha said. "People don't normally ask me to come. It's usually just family," he said. "Only Daitaro's crazy enough to claim me for family."

Kagome tugged her husband's arm free and took his hand. "What about Miroku and Sango?" she asked. "I know they consider us family."

"They didn't have any fancy wedding party," he said. "A couple of days after the final battle, they went to Tameo and he registered them, and then they moved into an empty house behind Toshiro's place until their house was built."

"Oh," she said. For a moment, neither said anything, but she broke the quiet. "So, who's going to be first at drinking too much tonight?"

InuYasha stopped, and he scratched the side of his head while he thought for a moment. "Hmm . . . It won't be Daitaro. I think that man can out drink every man in the village," the hanyou said. "We're all lightweights according to him. And it won't be me." He shook his head. "Who's going to be there?"

"I know Tameo, Hisa, Susumu and I think his brother," Kagome said. "I guess Kaede will be there, too. Takeshi's family, you, me. Genjo and Mariko."

He shook his head. "Can't make up my mind. Susumu, maybe, or Genjo. Somehow, I don't think Shinjiro wants to drink too much, not really. He's got other business to take care of." He wiggled his eyebrows at her which made her giggle.

She gave him a little shove, but still amused. "I suspect you're right. If he does, that means he's more nervous than he ought to be. I'm not sure of Takeshi. I don't know him very well."

"He's pretty level-headed, compared to some we know," the hanyou said. "I don't think he likes to drink too much, although he might have trouble not doing it with Daitaro pushing the sake."

They were almost to the intersection of the road they needed to take. Here the paddy lands ended and there was a small stand of trees that blocked the view. The way home was north. The road to the south led to the river. They had just about reached it, when suddenly InuYasha froze, tilting his head to the side. His ear flicked and homed in on a sound coming from the direction of the river.

"What's up?" Kagome asked. She looked up at his face. He was concentrating hard, and his brows knit together, his expression growing more serious. "Is something wrong?"

"Not sure. Something," the hanyou said. His ear twitched as he focused in on the sound. "I thought I heard . . . " he said. "Damn. It's Sango. And it sounds like Miroku's in trouble."


	226. Chapter 226

1_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 226 **

"This water's too cold to be doing this," Miroku said, treading water as he took one last look at Sango. She was standing on the rock outcropping, holding his staff in her hand, looking concerned, but hiding any sense of worry behind carefully masked eyes. He took a deep breath and looked upstream to get his bearings. "The water won't get any warmer with me just treading water."

He began moving with strong strokes towards the drifting woman, who had her head facing the direction she had come from. It was an odd thing to see. She kept her head above water, but she was letting herself float along the current with no effort to swim or come to shore.

"What are you trying to prove, woman?" He moved further out into the stream where the current was stronger and the water grabbed him, trying to push him against the bank, but he angled his approach and began to close in on her.

Kicking hard, his feet made a loud splash as he neared her. The woman turned her head, surprised at the sound, and spotted him. Her calmness disintegrated as she looked at him and, she suddenly began to flail, beating the water with both arms in a vain attempt to move back upstream. Water splashed in her mouth as she began trying to move away. Spitting it out, she began yelling. "No, don't come any closer, Houshi-sama! Let the water take me!"

"I can't do that," he said. Pulling himself through the water as hard as he could, he reached the woman and finally got a good look at her. Her hair was plastered to her head. The scarf almost all the peasant women wore having come off some time before, but her eyes grew more terrified as he neared. It was a lean face, one that had seen too much in the last few years, and he recognized it almost immediately. It didn't take him much thinking to know why she had been floating down the river so calmly and why she was now upset. "Maeme-sama?"

She splashed at him. "Why are you doing this? I was at peace," she said, splashing at him, trying to push him away. "For once I was at peace. Go away."

"I can't let you die, Maeme-sama." He wrapped a sash he had brought, one that he used on his own robes, around Maeme's torso, even as the woman, tried to push away. She was getting tired, and her attempt to push off of him was weak, but somehow, the heel of her hand hit his face just right and his head went briefly underwater.

Breaking back through the surface, the water streamed from his face and nose. "Damn it, woman. Don't do that. We don't have a lot of time."

He wrapped the loose ends of the sash under his right arm and over his left shoulder. It was hard to knot it. His hands were getting cold and the sash was wet, but he got some sort of knot made and then wrapped his arm around her.

She beat at him weakly. "I don't want to go back. Please let me go."

"Yes you do, woman. Your heart may not want it, but your body does," the monk said. "Help me. I'm going to try to get us to shore. Don't fight me, or you might just kill us both," he said.

"My husband, he'll kill me anyway," she said, almost too soft to hear. "I am already a dead woman."

"No, he won't," Miroku said. He tugged at her, trying to get them to move back to the bank. "No, you're not. I promise you. I will not let him touch you if you let me take you to shore. I will protect you."

"I...I..." Maeme looked at him, staring into his eyes, and saw something in them that made her nod her head. She didn't say any more, but she stopped fighting, and clung to him instead.

"Merciful Kwannon, watch over us now. You know Sango will jump in if she thinks I'm not going to make it, and then we all might die," he prayed, and began swimming towards the bank.

Miroku was a strong swimmer, but he had to work to keep the woman's head above water, and the current was pulling them downstream, and every stroke was getting harder and harder.

"Miroku," he heard Sango yell. She was tracking them along the bank of the river, and he could glimpse her as she ran.

Clinging to her voice like a lifeline, he swam on.

At Tameo's compound, a different crisis was going on. Kinjiro, his face not hiding any of his own feeling about the situation he had found when he came home for lunch, slid open the door to his father's office and stomped across the threshold. The noise he made as he entered made his father look up from his paperwork for a moment. Taking in the way his son was moving, he sighed briefly, then turned back to finish his writing before the ink dried on his brush.

"Close the door, son," he said as Seiji's raspy cursing followed Kinjiro in. "It helps keep the noise down."

Kinjiro made a sound in the back of his throat, voicing his displeasure at the situation, but turned around to slide the door behind him. It was harder to make out the words from behind the closed doors. He turned back to his father, and crossed the wooden earth domo, his fists clenched.

Tameo avoided looking at him, rattling his papers instead. Kinjiro stomped across the wooden platform and stood there, glaring down.

The headman dipped his brush back in his ink.

Kinjiro took a deep breath, and crossed his arms. "What," he said, breaking the silence.

Shaking his head a moment as he looked up the ledger he was working on, the headman laid his brush down carefully. He met his son's eyes, noting the way he carried himself, and licked his lips. "You look so much like your mother when she's giving us the eye, son." He moved his ledger to the side, and steepled his fingers together. "Except when she gives me that look, it doesn't look like she's about to hit something or someone."

"There's someone here who deserves hitting," the younger man said, but he eased his stance at his father's calm look.

"That may be so," Tameo said, nodding. "So, what do you mean, what, son?"

"What are you going to do about that piece of trash in the lockup, is what I mean." Kinjiro moved to the side of the table and sat down. He leaned forward. "You remember what I said about him last year when he almost cost Masu his family. Are you planning to let him chase your own family out of their homes? And for how long?"

"That, Kinjiro, is a good question." Tameo picked up his brush and a fresh sheet of paper, like he was going to make notes. "What do you think I should do with him? Why do you think he's making all that noise?"

"He . . . he wants . . . " Kinjiro frowned. "He's trying to get you to let him out, no doubt."

"No doubt," the headman said. "Remember that time when you were about ten, and his otousan tried to keep him locked up?"

"After that shed got burned up?" Kinjiro said, straightening up. "It was a long time ago."

"Longer for you maybe. For me, eh . . . " Tameo said. "He sat in that room and wouldn't shut up. He drove everybody crazy. Eventually, his otousan said the hell with it, dragged him out by his hair, and beat him until he agreed to apologize and do some work to pay off his debt."

"He's one stubborn fool," the younger man said. He began to drum his fingers on his father's desk. "So what do we do?"

Tameo dipped his brush in the ink and began writing. "Our choice is to gag him, which means we'd have to tie him up or chain him." Lifting up the brush, he looked at his son. "That is doable, but it will take some effort. The question is, is it worth it for the short time we plan on keeping him in the lockup?"

"How long are you planning to keep this ass there?" Kinjiro said. The corner of his mouth curved up as he pondered his father's words. "Last time he caused this much stink, you only kept him in until he slept it off."

"Well," Tameo said, rubbing a finger across his chin. "We don't want him to spoil Shinjiro's wedding, and as mad as he is right now, I don't trust him not to do it. So he's in overnight. And there's Maeme and his boys to consider. You know if we let him out right now, he'd probably find a reason to beat the hell out of his woman."

Kinjiro, still not fully mollified, nodded. "Be better if we put her in the lockup," he said. "It'd be a lot quieter."

"Or we can do what he wants us to do, and let him go, the hell with the consequences," Tameo said. "But besides whatever damage he might do to the wedding, or to his own family, it would let him think we have no guts to preserve order in this village. With him, I suspect, that'd give him the idea he could set himself up as a little warlord, making us all miserable. I've seen villages where they let a bully get too much power. Not a pleasant thing."

"Might as well call in the bandits and give them everything," Kinjiro said. He began drumming his fingers again, more loudly.

"Maybe," Tameo said, "we can get lucky and think of another solution. That's why all the elders are going to meet tomorrow. It's a hard decision. But I think even Toshiro's getting tired of it. I don't know how much longer his promise to Seiji's father is going to hold." He turned around and opened a cabinet behind him, took out a small bottle of sake and two cups and placed them on the desk. "In my opinion, we win by putting up with it until tomorrow. After that, something will give. If it was up to me, we'd kick him out."

"Or let InuYasha have at him. He's got cause," Kinjiro said. "Sake already?"

"A day like this deserves it, I think," the headman said. "Just don't tell your okaasan we got into this before lunch."

"I won't, but you know, she always finds out. Sooner or later." Kinjiro stuck his tongue in his cheek, darkly amused by his father's word.

The headman sighed. "Usually." He unstopped the bottle. "But she's gone, and may be gone most of the day."

"It seems like all the women have left," Kinjiro noted. He watched as his father poured small amounts of the wine into each of the cups.

"Everyone here but Riki." Tameo pushed a cup towards his son. "After today, I'm probably going to need to give her an extra something for being so willing to put up with, well, everything."

"If what I heard coming in is a sample of what's been going on, you ought to, Otousan," Kinjiro said, picking up his cup. "What woman would want to listen to all that? They wouldn't even hear all this in a brothel."

"True, true," Tameo said, putting away his paperwork and lifting his own cup, "Seiji is doing what he's always been so good at, acting like a bully. If he can't get his way one way, he'll try another. First, it was singing rude songs." He took a sip. "It sounds like he's still doing that."

"And yelling for his son and his wife," Kinjiro said.

"Sukeo hasn't come back yet?" the headman asked, surprised by that news. "He left a good while ago." Tameo scratched his head. "It must have been a couple of hours ago. He was supposed to go ask his mother to make a headache potion. Seems our . . . guest . . . thinks we might try to poison him or something."

Kinjiro shrugged. "Maybe she was out in the fields. The boy might have had to check around to find her."

"That woman. I somehow doubt if she was very far from either whatever field she been working in or doing her woman's work. I know he tends to chase away any woman who wants to try to make her life a little better." Tameo shook his head. "I wonder if we need to check on them."

"You might want to." He took a sip of the wine. "I thought today was supposed to be an auspicious day," Kinjiro said. He drained his cup.

"It's supposed to be," Tameo said. "Just maybe not for us."

"Man makes his own fortune, some people say," Kinjiro said. He stood up. "I'm going to make some good fortune for my belly. It's time for lunch."

Tameo laughed. "I do believe you're right. Let's go see what Riki's managed to stir up."

"Not as much as Seiji, I'm sure," Kinjiro said. "But I bet it tastes better."


	227. Chapter 227

1_I do not own InuYasha or any character created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 227**

In the cold waters of the river, it was taking Miroku longer than he liked to reach the bank, even though he was a strong swimmer.

His reluctant passenger picked up on this.

"Let me go, Houshi-sama," Maeme said, her voice quavering and barely above a whisper as she watched their progress. "My life is worthless. I don't want you to die because of me." Her mouth may have said one thing, but even so, if anything, her grip on the monk grew tighter even as she spoke.

"Nobody's going to die if I can help it," Miroku said. "You're coming with me. We're almost to the bend. We'll try to catch one of the willows there." Working to keep Maeme's head above the water, he yelled as loud as he could. "Sango!," he yelled. "I can't get to shore here. I'm going to the bend! Look for me there!"

"I'll be there!" she yelled back.

Miroku was not surprised to hear that she was tracking him as he worked on his rescue of the woman, but part of him was warmed with amazement once again at her strength, and how her voice held back the worry he knew she must have felt. Her ability to do what was needed, no matter how intense the situation got was one of the things he had always admired about her. It helped calm his own rising panic over how strong the current was and how heavy Maeme's burden felt as he tried to pull them closer to shore, and increased his determination not to fail.

"So will I, Sango my dearest," he whispered. "So will I."

As they neared the bend, the current seemed even harder, and he was tiring, and he knew it. The closer he got, the more work it took to get closer. One thing was in his favor. Even though the water was high, it lapped against the trunks of trees, covering their roots. The tips of many branches were close to the water level. He grabbed an overhanging branch. It wasn't strong enough to bear his weight, but he thought he might be able to use it to pull him in nearer to shore until he could grab something stronger.

It worked. He lifted one hand and dragged, moving a little closer to the bank. "Hold on tight, Maeme-sama. I'm going to need both arms," he said. She wrapped her arms more firmly around his shoulders. He grabbed another branch, and then another. They grew slightly closer to his goal, but the weight of Maeme holding onto him made reaching up an arm-wrenching task.

"Grab something and help, woman!" he yelled. "We'll get there quicker that way."

She turned her head and whimpered, clinging to him more tightly, as if afraid to let go even one arm. "I...I..."

Miroku had no time to argue with the frightened bundle clinging to him. Somehow he managed to wrap both of his hands around a thicker branch. "I think this one will do it," he said, as he lifted up his right arm to get a better handhold, but he had misjudged its strength, and the wood, burdened with their weight split with a sickening snap, running up the length of the branch.

"I...I...No!" he roared, feeling his hands cling to nothing but a piece of wood that was fast separating. As he grabbed frantically, the wood snapped even more, the green split only connected by an inch-wide piece of wood that was giving away as the river tugged at him. The split dropped them towards the surface of the water, dumping them further and further into the current. He could hear the roar of the water as it went around the bend. There were rocks there he knew that would almost be sure to tear them apart, especially tied together the way they were.

Just when it looked like he was going to be swept away, there was a splash and a flash of red, and an arm that encircled both him and Maeme.

"Bouzu, you sure picked a lousy day for a swim," InuYasha said, scowling. "You must like cold water baths."

"About as much as you," the monk managed to croak. "You wouldn't have a towel, would you?"

"Heh," InuYasha replied. "Hold on."

Acting like the current wasn't even there, the hanyou pushed them to shore.

Sango was there at the riverbank, standing next to Kagome as InuYasha got his burden to shore. "See," the miko said, her hand resting lightly on her friend's shoulder. "I told you it would be all right."

The taijiya nodded, but her eyes didn't leave the three heading to the shore.

InuYasha gave her a small smile. "You missing something?" he asked as she scrambled to the water's edge, still holding her husband's staff.

"Miroku!" Sango said, taking in the sight in front of her. "Who? Is that Maeme?"

The monk nodded as she reached out and grabbed his right arm, steadying him. He clasped hers in return. Kagome took his left as InuYasha shoved at the forms from below. Miroku arose out of the wet, water streaming from his hair, plastering the fabric of his under kosode against his chest, bent over from the weight of the woman still on his back. His legs trembled as his adrenaline gave way to exhaustion and he leaned against his wife.

"Help me get her off," the monk said. "We're tied together."

"Poor thing," Sango said, fumbled with the knot for a moment. "Are you all right, Maeme-chan?"

Maeme slowly turned to look at Sango with a dazed look, but made no sound or gesture. InuYasha grew impatient. "Here, let me," he said, slicing through the sash. "Wet knots take forever."

The remnants of the sash fell apart releasing the monk and the woman. Miroku shrugged, and it slipped to the ground. Maeme, though, didn't move. Miroku arched, trying to get her off of his back, and Kagome and Sango guided her until, freed from any bonds, the woman's feet touched the ground. As if she still couldn't believe what had happened, though, she didn't release her hold on Miroku's shoulder. He had to turn around to peel her hands off of him.

"It's all right, Maeme-sama," he said, turning to face her. He put a hand on each of her upper arms, as if he understood her need for reassurance. He gave her a triumphant smile."You're alive, just like I promised. And I like I promised, I won't let anybody else hurt you."

For a moment, she stood there trembling, and her eyes grew wide as the implication of his words hit her."Alive," she said, in a voice just above a whisper. "Alive." Suddenly, she went limp and crumpled to the ground.

Kagome was the first one of the friends to react. She bent over the crumpled form of Maeme, laying on the ground like a soaked, broken doll. "Oh my," Kagome said as she lightly rested her hand on the woman's throat checking her pulse. Sango knelt down and joined her.

"What . . . " Miroku said, shocked. "Is she . . . "

Kagome looked up at him, her lips twisted up in a frown. "Her pulse is good. I guess she just fainted."

"She's not had a good day," the taijiya said. "I bet she hasn't had a good day in a long time."

"We need to get her out of these wet things so I can see if it's more than just . . . well . . . nerves," Kagome said, nodding.

"Let's get out of here," InuYasha said. He looked over his shoulder at the river behind them. "Can't do anything for her in the willows."

"Indeed," the monk said. He took his staff from Sango, who was still holding it, even as she crouched next to Maeme. Sango stood up, and he leaned on her, his legs still trembling some from exhaustion. Together, they began to push through the willows and into the open field beyond.

InuYasha gently picked up the unconscious Maeme and followed as Kagome walked behind him. As they pushed through the underbrush, Kagome spoke the question that was on everybody's mind. "Did she fall in?"

Miroku turned and watched them bring up the rear, leaning heavily on his staff. "I don't think so," he said, shaking his head. Sango held back a willow branch and he ducked under it. "I suspect she jumped. Or walked. She asked me not to save her."

Sango turned around to look at the unconscious woman, keeping the branch pinned back as InuYasha followed. "I...I knew her life was miserable," she said. "I didn't know she had reached that point."

InuYasha glowered. "One more thing to blame on Seiji."

On the west side of the village, there was no indication of the excitement going on down by the Willows. Sukeo walked across the paddy field dyke, his head down, anxious about why he couldn't find his mother, but even more afraid of facing his father. He had been walking circles, checking the fields and the house one last time, but he knew he was running out of options, and he could feel his stomach churning. "I wish I had drank the medicine that Kaede-sama gave Nakao. It'd be a lot better to be sleeping. Where are you, Okaasan?" He kicked a lump of dried mud he found on the path into the nearest paddy field. It startled a bird that was hiding in the green barley, and with a loud whirr of wings, the bird flew off.

He shook his head."You know how Chichi-ue gets when he has a headache, Okaa. Are you hiding?" He looked across the paddy fields like he might see her walking down one of the other trails, but there was no sign of her. "I wish I knew where you were, so I could hide, too. He's going to be so angry when I get back to Tameo-sama's."

A small creature, maybe a rabbit, made the weeds nearby shake. He tossed another mud ball at it, and the movement stopped, but no animal bounded out. "Obaasan would try to hide me if I asked, but she never seems to have good advice," he said, sighing. "And Chichi-ue knows her too well. The last time Nakao tried that one, Chichi-ue went straight there. Maybe if she were really his okaa, she'd understand what to do, but she just doesn't seem to be able to help any of us with him."

Two paths intersected and he went left, heading towards the main street of the village. He stuck his tongue in his cheek then scratched his nose. "I could talk to Kaede-sama. She's always tried to help. She tried to help Nakao." He scratched the back of his head. "I don't know how much good that did yesterday. Still, she kept my brother from getting beaten worse. And the headman listens to her."

His thoughts were interrupted as two boys ran down the dyke.

"Hey Sukeo! Wanna go fishing?" Jiro, the first of the two, called out, waving a fishing rod.

Sukeo, watching as they neared, shook his head. "Can't do it today."

The other boy, Akemi, knocked Jiro a light tap on the head. "Stupid. Did you forget what happened yesterday? I bet he has other things he has to do today."

"Uh . . . no?" Jiro said, looking surprised. "Something happened?".

Akemi gave him a real shove this time. "Baka. I'll tell you later." He looked up at Sukeo with slightly embarrassed cheeks. "Don't mind Jiro. He was over at the next village visiting his Obaasan yesterday. If we catch enough, we'll save one for you."

"Yeah," Jiro said, giving his friend a very confused look.

Sukeo shrugged, trying to cover up his own embarrassment. "I have to go."

As the two young fishermen walked off, he could hear Akemi whispering something to Jiro. Jiro turned around and gave him a pitying look. Sukeo flexed his fists and turned back to the village. "One day, Otousan. One day."


	228. Chapter 228

1_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 228**

Miroku stepped past the last of the willow trees to reach a grassy field. "I never thought I'd be so happy to see dry ground," he said. "I need to rest." He found a spot in the full sun and sat down, spreading his legs out in front of him, leaning back on his arms. "That water was too cold."

InuYasha lay Maeme on the ground near him. She groaned, then curled into a ball. As Kagome knelt next to her, Miroku glanced at the despondent woman. "We're going to need to get her warm soon."

"Soon, but you need to catch your breath," Sango said as she knelt down next to her husband. "I'm sorry, Miroku. I left your robes on the rock. I...I..." She swallowed. "I was just too worried to think about them."

"Sango," he said, looking up into her beautiful face. "I don't like to worry you like that. We'll get them later. I won't worry you like that often, I can assure you." Too tired to let his arms hold him up any more, he collapsed totally onto the ground. "But I can't promise never."

She took his hand in hers and interlaced their fingers. "I know. I...Sometimes I wish Kirara wasn't with Kohaku," she said. "Like on days like today."

He lifted their joined hands.

"That would have made it a bit easier, yes," he said, leaning into her touch. "I still probably would have gotten wet, though." He smiled, lifted up his other, slightly trembling arm, and touched her cheek. "But maybe not quite so thoroughly."

"It's a good thing Sango knows how to yell loudly," InuYasha said.

The two looked up at him.

"That's why I'm here, you know. Otherwise, I would have been up at my place eating lunch while your stupid ass got swept down past the rocks at the Courtesan Spider den, and out to sea." He gave the woman a small, silly grin. "And then, Sango would have found your lousy body, got Sesshoumaru to use his sword on you, and killed us both for being stupid."

"Maybe," she said, giving the hanyou a grateful smile.

"I always wondered what a monk wore under all those robes," a familiar voice said.

Miroku looked up, to see the smiling face of Daitaro. The old farmer held up the black and purple garments that belonged to the monk. "Found these by the rock. They look familiar?"

The monk nodded. "Now you know. But all you really had to do was ask."

"But think of all the excitement I would have missed otherwise," the old man said. He handed Sango the monk's robes, then sat down next to the two and unslung his jug. "Have a drink."

Daitaro held out his sake jug, and Miroku took it from the old farmer. He took a solid drink from it. "As good as always," he said."Where'd you come from, anyway? I figured you'd be close to home today."

"You're right about that," Daitaro said, nodding. He offered it to InuYasha who shook his head no, so he sat it up against his thigh. "It was Furume-chan. She's a good girl, but was so excited that I didn't know whether to expect a funeral or a rescue when I got here, so I came prepared for both." The old peasant grinned. "A rescue is much better. I brought sake and blankets, and Genjo and Mariko to help out - I figured they'd be handy in case of either. Almost had to lock Shinjiro and Chime-chan up to keep them from following."

"Sorry to interfere with your day's plans, Daitaro-sama," Miroku said, laying back down.

"Not your fault someone needed to play hero." He took a small drink of his own potion and offered it back to the monk, who shook his head no. "But I didn't expect this one, though," Daitaro said, nodding at InuYasha"If I had, I would have taken more time to get here."

"I'm glad you showed up anyway. Did you say blanket? A blanket would be nice now," the monk said. "It's getting a little cold."

Daitaro gestured to his daughter-in-law, who was carrying a basket on her back instead of her son. She swung it to the ground and took out a yellow and brown cloth, which she proceeded to wrap around the monk.

"Not the best day for a swim," she said. She dug into her basket, and pulled out another length of cloth. "I have another if you need it."

"Thank you, Mariko-sama." He pulled the cloth close. "This is good for right now. I'm sure Maeme-sama needs it more than I do."

"Do you want me to make a fire?" Genjo, squatting next to his father, asked. "That might warm you better."

"I'm hoping we won't need to be here that long," Miroku said. "Soon as I feel like I can start walking, we can leave."

"Keh," the hanyou said. "I could always sling you over my shoulder."

"Like Daikokuten the kitchen god?" Genjo asked. He scratched the back of his neck, thinking. "We could use one of the blankets for his bag." He looked at the hanyou, grinning. "That'd be something to see."

"InuYasha as one of luck gods?" Daitaro said, nodding. "Now that would be a sight. Might be worth it."

InuYasha looked at his friend and gave him a wicked smirk. "All that Miroku luck in the bag . . . we could do it."

"I've had enough excitement today," the monk said, giving the whole group a dark look. "I'll walk back. Even if I have to crawl."

The men laughed.

While the men bantered, Sango left Miroku's side to walk over to Maeme, where Kagome was sitting by her side, taking her pulse. Mariko followed close behind.

"Is she injured?" Sango asked as Mariko prepared to cover her with a blanket.

Maeme lay there, her eyes closed, curled up, not moving except for the low, even rise and fall of her chest. She had ripped the sleeve of one arm during the struggle to get to shore, but she was not bleeding. The unconscious woman shivered, her wet clothes plastered to her skin, but she made no other movement.

"Nothing obvious," Kagome said. She had her hand around Maeme's wrist. Mariko gently tucked the blanket around all of the unconscious woman's body except for where Kagome was checking her life signs. "Her pulse feels all right, maybe a little slow."

"Why is she still out of it?" Mariko asked. She pulled out another blanket and began spreading it over Maeme.

"Chilled and exhausted, mostly I think, but I think Kaede ought to look her over," the young miko said. "And we need to get her somewhere warm as soon as possible."

Mariko looked down on the unconscious woman. "We can take her to my place. It's the closest."

"No," Miroku said, sitting up and watching the women.

"No?" Mariko asked, surprised "Why?"

"You're going to be busy enough with the wedding tonight," the monk said. "Besides that, I promised Maeme-sama that I would take care of her." He looked over at his wife. "It was the only way I could get her to cooperate. I promised her that her husband would not touch her if she let me save her." He looked at Sango. "You know how he treats her."

Sango nodded.

"It's a shameful thing," Genjo said. "You need to tell them that tomorrow when the elders meet, Otousan."

Daitaro nodded. "Oh, they'll get an earful from me."

"I want her at our house," Miroku said. "It's the only way I know right now to make sure I can keep my promise to her."

Sango looked at her husband. She could see worry and fatigue in her husband's eyes, and honest sincerity, and the desire to do a good thing, not a hint of anything else, unless it was worry that she would take him the wrong way. "I understand, Miroku," Sango said, nodding. She looked back at the unconscious woman. "Her life has been . . . not good."

"She was worried about him hurting her?" Kagome asked. "In this condition? Would he really do that?"

"That wouldn't matter much to Seiji," Daitaro said, nodding, "Especially once he got to drinking. Her trying this - it'll probably make him madder than hell, even if he pushed her to it." He shook his head. "He's got weird notions about being insulted and how things really work, and especially doesn't like to admit if he's at fault." The old man stood up. "Well, then. Soon as everybody gets their breath, I guess we ought to head up the hill."

A few minutes later, they started walking towards Miroku's house. Daitaro's son was carrying the blanketed form of the unconscious woman, and Miroku, also blanketed, walked with them. Sango walked next to her husband. Behind them, InuYasha and Kagome followed, along with Mariko and Daitaro.

"You're sure you don't want to let us put her in my house?" Mariko said. "It's separate from Daitaro-otousan's building. You know we wouldn't mind."

"That's true," Genjo said.

The monk shook his head. "No, I don't think that's a good thing to do today. Your family's going to be too busy, and I wouldn't want Chime to have to deal with whatever bad luck is involved in this."

"My poor woman has been going crazy this week," Daitaro said. "But she wouldn't feel like she'd be getting any bad luck, you know."

"I believe you, Daitaro-sama," Sango said. "But still, we'll take her," Sango said. "There's no way I want to let her go home like this. We know what . . . her husband . . . is like." She almost spit at the word husband. "This way, you don't have to worry about him tonight."

"Just don't blame luck. Today's luck can't be that bad, even for Maeme-chan," Daitaro said. "She may have fallen in the river, but you were there to rescue her, Houshi-sama. That's one of the deeper places in the river near here. And the old catfish who guards the river decided you were both worthy, and left you alone."

"There's a catfish kami in this stretch of the river?" Miroku asked. "I hadn't heard of him before."

"There are a couple of them," Daitaro said. "One where you were, and one further upstream. Both of them have the reputation of eating people with bad hearts." He sighed. "Shame it wasn't Seiji instead of Maeme. Might have been the end of our troubles."

"Alas, he's also lucky, too, sitting in the lockup, where we can't go push him in," Genjo said.

"I guess," said the older man. "And besides you two not drawing attention of the old catfish, you yourself were lucky that InuYasha was coming back when he did. That's quite a chain of good luck it seems to me."

"Maybe so, maybe so," Miroku said, nodding.

"In a weird way," the hanyou said. "A chain of good luck to make the bad luck sweeter?"

"It's all a matter of how you choose to look at things," Genjo said. "I'd rather see the good."

"I was not lucky about the temperature of the water," the monk said. "It was cold."

"Spring flood time, the water's always cold," Genjo said. "That might not be luck. That might just be circumstances."

"Genjo's right. I prefer," the old man said, lifting his jug, but then regretfully shaking his head, and letting it fall back on its cords, "to consider the chain of positives."

"So if you want to leave her with us," Mariko said, "none of us will think it's bad luck."

"I promised her I would take care to make sure she's safe if she'd let me rescue her," Miroku said. "so we will warm up at my place."

"Another piece of luck," Daitaro said. "She found the man most likely to try to make sure some good comes out of all this mess. Don't know what the elders will say about all this, though. They don't like to step between a man and his woman. But this . . . I don't know. Going to be an interesting elder's meeting tomorrow. Anything you might find out about what's been going on might help."

"Maybe so," Sango said. "But first things first. We need to get her home and warmed up. Until she gets warm and wakes up, we're not going to find out much."

Miroku nodded. "We'll figure it all out later. First things first. We'll take care of her. You enjoy your wedding. Tomorrow we'll decide what's next."

"That's a good plan," the old farmer said. "No doubt Chime would agree with you totally."


	229. Chapter 229

1_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 229**

The little parade of participants and well-wishers made it up to Miroku's house to find the three older girls playing ball toss with the twins. Naoya still slept in his basket cradle.

Rin was the first to spot them. Her eyes grew wide as she saw the grownups grow near. Tossing the ball to Tazu, she hurried over to where they were walking up the path.

"What happened, Miroku-ojisan?" she asked. She looked surprised, and then seeing the burden Genjo was carrying, worried. "You're all wet."

He gave her a little grin. "I had a little run-in with the river, Rin-chan," he said, his voice reflecting the fatigue he felt. His smile faded. "Will you watch the girls a little longer? We have a few things to take care of."

Tazu sighed. "No Sesshoumaru stories today, I guess." She slapped her hands over her face when she spotted Genjo. Her eyes grew wide at the figure of the small woman wrapped up in a brown and yellow blanket "Is . . . is she alive? Who is it? I...I apologize for . . . "

"It's all right, Tazu-chan," Miroku said. "Maeme-sama fell in the river. She's alive, but we need to take care of her. I'll have to owe you on the stories."

"Can I help?" she asked.

"Me, too," Iya said, looking equally surprised. "What . . . why . . . does someone need to tell her family?"

"Stay with the girls a bit longer?" he asked, then headed inside. "We'll send word down the hill once we have her dried off and resting. That'll help the most."

Sango followed right behind. "I'd really appreciate it," she said. Rin nodded.

Genjo entered next, gently carrying Maeme into the monk's house.

"We'll put her in the sleep room" Sango said, walking to the back of the building and sliding the door open. "That way, we can give her some space from our little ones."

He nodded and walked to the back of the building. "She's so light," the man said. "Such a frail thing."

Sango rolled out a dry coverlet. "Lay her here, please. We'll dress her in some dry things and lay her down on a straw bed once we get her cleaned up."

Genjo lay the small form of Maeme on the coverlet, then nodding, left her there with Sango. As he left, Kagome walked in with Mariko, and slid the door closed.

While all this was happening, Miroku took a moment to change into dry things. Even while he was doing it, he could hear his daughters crying to come inside, so he hurried. As soon as he stepped back out, the twins began to try to escape their babysitters. Yusuko was first, wiggling out of Iya's arms, and Noriko didn't take long to escape Rin. He picked them up, one in each arm. They snuggled up against him, but Yusuko tugged on the monk's hair.

"It's wet, Otou," she said.

"I know, I know," the monk replied, pulling her hand away. "So how are my beautiful girls?" he asked. "Were you good while we were gone?"

"They were. We played ball and sang a lot of songs," Tazu said, nodding. "I think I'm tired."

"They can do that," the monk said, smiling at each girl in turn. "Can't you, my pretties?"

Yusuko hugged his neck. "Okaa all right?" she asked.

"Yes, Okaasan is all right, babies. She's helping Maeme-obasan who fell in the river."

Noriko looked shocked. "Why?"

"Why what, baby?" Miroku said.

"Why river?" the girl asked. She had been warned about the river a lot by both of her parents.

"We don't know," Miroku said, shaking his head sadly. "We just don't know. But we'll take care of her."

"You jumped in after her?" Iya asked.

"I did indeed," the monk said, nodding. "It was a rather cold swim."

"And," InuYasha said, coming to stand next to the monk, but not quite close enough for either of the twins to change position, "I helped haul him out."

"You did more than that, InuYasha," Miroku said, a grateful note in his voice. "Otherwise, I might be heading towards the sea by now."

"So, that's why you're wet," Rin said, noting the fact that his hakama and jacket still were hanging limply along his body.

"Hard to jump in the river and stay dry," the hanyou said. "Even fire rat takes time to dry."

The girls, either nervous or amused, laughed.

While the girls and men chatted outside, the three women worked on getting Maeme out of her wet things.

"I...I have seen women like Maeme before," Sango said. Although she was not really wet, she hugged herself as if she were cold. "If she was truly seeking her death, her life must be very bleak to her indeed. One of the women in my village, she thought she had lost everything, and only sought her death." She looked at Kagome, and Kagome could see reflected the memory of the emptiness Sango had felt once after Naraku had destroyed her family and she realized he had used her as a tool.

Kagome returned the look with understanding. "It has to be bad if living with a husband and family is more painful than having nothing," the miko said.

Sango's eyes dropped back to the unconscious woman and she nodded. "It must be very bad for her right now. A woman with children who will do that . . . there must be no hope anywhere in her life."

Maeme's eyes remained closed, and she neither helped nor hindered the women as they stripped her of her wet kosode and under things.

"Why is she still unconscious?" Mariko asked. "Did she injure herself some way that did it?"

Kagome shook her head. "I'm not sure why," she said. "Sometimes upset people withdraw so deeply that they act like they've fainted or are in a deep sleep." She undid the woman's wrap skirt, and pulled it away from her body. "It can be the mind's way of coping with deep mental pain."

"Let me get her some dry things," Sango said. She went out of the room, and the two women could hear her pulling open a clothes chest.

"I wonder why her things are so bad," Mariko said, looking at the unconscious woman's garments. They were thin and worn, often mended. "She weaves beautiful cloth. I've seen some of it that went to market day. Why doesn't she make better clothes?"

"Perhaps," Sango said, as she returned and slid the door behind her, "her husband won't let her keep enough of what she makes for her own needs. Her boys aren't dressed much better."

Mariko shook her head and held the wet things in her hands as Kagome was gently drying her off with the coverlet they had spread over her. Her eyes looked at the unconscious woman and back at the young miko, and they were very troubled. "Let me go hang these up before they get everything wet," she said. Standing up, and clutching the wet things to her chest, she left the room and went outside.

"I think," Kagome said, "this is getting too much for Mariko."

"I heard her youngest aunt had a bad husband who beat her," Sango said, shaking out the white under kosode she selected. "One day, he went too far and she died. Maybe this is bringing on bad memories."

"That makes sense." Kagome rolled the woman, who by this time was wearing nothing more than a coverlet, over on her side. The cloth dropped off her back towards her waist when she did, and what Kagome saw made her catch her breath.

Sango looked down at what Kagome had been reacting to. Maeme's back was marked with recent, but not fresh bruises. She had raised scars across her back where she had been beat some time or the other with something, perhaps a bamboo rod.

Kagome gently ran a fingertip over one of the stripes. "These are old," she said.

"Look at that cut," Sango said, showing Kagome an old, healing mark on her shoulder blade. It had slightly puckered, and the skin was still not fully healed. "It's not that old. She should have had Kaede stitch it."

The young miko nodded.

They slipped the garment behind her. Those weren't the only bruises they found.

"How many does she have?" Sango said. "What happened to her? Those aren't new injuries."

They rolled her on her back and moved the coverlet down. Sango reached out and touched one particularly nasty looking bruise. It was the size of a man's fist. "That didn't happen today. She looks like she's been in a battle, or worse, a brawl." Sango looked up. "What happened to her?"

Kagome looked up, torn between pity and anger. "What happened to her? One word."

"Seiji," Sango said.

"Seiji." Kagome reached out for the kosode Sango had picked out. Together, they slipped the woman into a dry white undergarment, and then a plain blue one.

"We need to get her moved onto the straw," Sango said.

"What should we do?" Kagome asked.

"I'll go get Miroku or maybe Genjo if he's still here," the other woman said. She started to turn.

Kagome grabbed her wrist. "I don't mean about moving her. I mean, about the shape she's in."

Sango let out a long sigh. "I know Miroku promised to take care of her," she said. "I understood that Seiji was hard on her. The fact that she did what she did says so much, and I wasn't upset about his promise. But now I want more." She looked up into Kagome's eyes. "I want him to feel what she's been feeling."

She brushed a stray bit of damp hair out of the woman's face. "We'll figure out something, Maeme-chan. We don't ever want you to go back to that hell hole. You're safe. Even if I have to take him down myself."

In a different part of the village, unaware of the activity going on at Miroku's house, and not involved at all in the nastiness taking place at Tameo's compound, Ushimi, wife of Takeshi, mother of Erime, was sitting by her fire pit. Her face had a busy, but content, glow about her, surprisingly at peace considering the importance of the day.

"I always found fixing food one of the things that made everything feel normal, even on special days like today," she said, lifting the lid off a pot she had cooking. A cloud of steam rose up, filling the room with a delicious odor. "That's why I asked you to help me fix lunch, daughter."

She poked the coals under a pot of soup, and added another stick.

"The rice should be about ready," she said, "and the broth's coming along just right." Sitting back, she dusted her hands off on a towel.

"I'm just about done," a young woman's voice said, coming from the kitchen counter in the domo behind her.

"Take your time, daughter," Ushimi said. "It's not good to rush something like this. I don't want you to cut yourself slicing greens. That would cause bad luck."

"You always tell me that when I'm excited, Okaasan," the young woman said. "How many times have you told me that?"

The older woman laughed. "No doubt more times than you want to count."

The girl preparing the vegetables laughed. "Maybe, Okaa. But maybe not as much as I need to."

"If it makes you feel better, my own okaasan told me that, many times." Ushimi gave the fire one last check, then got up and walked across the room, and onto the domo.

"You, Okaa?" the girl put chopped vegetables into a bowl. "I can't believe you needed to hear that."

Ushimi wrapped her arms around the young woman and gave her a hug. "On my wedding day, she told me that it was going to have to be enough times to hold me, because it meant I was grown up. It's going to have to be enough to hold you, Erime-chan. It'll be enough, just like it was for me. After today . . . "

Suddenly, the girl whirled around and hugged her mother in return. "After today . . . Am I really going to be a grown up? Is this the last time we fix lunch together?" Her eyes got wide. "I never thought of that before, Okaa. These moments . . . "

Ushimi brushed a stray lock of hair out of her daughter's face. The girl looked up and her eyes were shimmering. "This is how the world goes, daughter. I'm sure we'll have our moments, but after today, your first job will be to be there for Shinjiro, and after that, to help Chime-sama. You'll belong to his family first. But we'll have our times."

Erime dropped her face and looked down at the ground, sucking on her lip. Ushimi used two fingers under her daughter's chin to bring her face back up. "That's the way it's supposed to be, daughter."

"I know . . . " Erime said. Her voice was thick. She put the knife she had been using down, and ran her hand over the wood of the cabinet top. "But . . . but . . . it's going to feel so strange." Her brows knit together. "I know every inch here."

The woman laughed gently. "It's the day you've been dying to have come, but now you realize how much everything will change, right?"

Erime, too choked up with emotion, merely nodded.

"Bride jitters, dear," Ushimi said. "Remember I told you about them?"

Erime nodded again.

"But you know that Chime loves you like a daughter."Ushimi asked. She tucked a wisp of hair back under her daughter's head scarf. "I've seen you two together, and there's no masking it."

"I know," Erime said. She swallowed like her throat was constricted, like it was hard to do. "I'm being silly."

"No, you're not. Every bride has this moment." She pulled her close and rested her cheek on the girl's head. "You are very lucky. Shinjiro will always treat you with kindness and respect. I'm glad you two wanted this. There are a few unmarried men in the village I would have wanted you to wed, but he is one of the best of the lot."

Erime nodded. "He makes me happy, Okaa. I've heard what happens to some girls, and they don't even know their husbands. But he really likes me." She took a deep breath. "I want this," she managed to say. "But I don't want anything to change, either."

Her mother laughed gently. "I understand, daughter, but you can't have one without the other. You will do well. And just think - you and your mother-in-law love each other, and you have a good man, but luckiest of all, you're staying in the same village instead of moving out like so many girls do. You can still find time to come by and eat up all my chimaki!"

This made the young woman laugh.

"Now let's see what you've got left to do. Your otousan and everybody else will be coming in soon, hungry and almost as nervous as you."

"Really?" Erime asked. "How can they be that nervous? They're not the ones getting married."

"Trust me," Ushimi said. "Remember when your brother got married? We may not be making the wedding meal, but trust me, everybody else is just about as wound up."

"Will Chichi-ue get the nervous itch again?" the younger woman asked. "Will you have to give him vinegar compresses?"

"I have the vinegar ready, just in case." Ushimi picked up a bowl of vegetables and began moving it to the fire pit. "Enough to give him a bath in it."

Erime giggled. Her mother, pleased at how she had calmed her daughter down, poured a little oil in a pan. Together, they began cooking the greens.


	230. Chapter 230

_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 230**

Sango and Kagome got Maeme off the damp coverlet and moved onto the sleeping straw they had piled in one corner of the sleep room, and covered her with dry blankets.

Sango rubbed her forehead. "I think . . . I think I'll go and start lunch. I need something . . . well . . . normal to do."

The young miko gathered up the cloths they had used to dry the unconscious woman and bundled them up. "That sounds like a good idea," she said. "Sometimes when things get crazy, it's the normal things that make us feel more like ourselves." She stood up. "I'll go hang these up and see what to do next."

"A good idea," Sango said. "If Maeme wakes up and needs anything, I'll hear it and come get you."

The two women filed out of the sleeping room, and Sango quietly slid the door closed behind them.

As Kagome stepped out on the verandah, she found Mariko sitting there, looking sad and thoughtful as she watched the twins play with Rin and her friends. InuYasha and Miroku sat underneath Miroku's favorite tree, along with Daitaro and Genjo.

Mariko looked up as Kagome came outside. She sucked on her bottom lip a moment, looking slightly embarrassed. "I'm sorry, Kagome-chan," she said. "I meant to come back in, but I . . . I . . . "

"It's all right, Mariko-chan," Kagome said, nodding at the woman. "We moved her into the bed. She's dry and comfortable, but still seems to be out of it." She gave the woman a gentle look and an understanding smile. "Besides, it's not a good day for you to dwell on sad thoughts. You have Shinjiro's wedding to get ready for."

"Still," Mariko said, sighing. "It's just that . . . "

"Sango told me about your obasan." Kagome said.

Mariko nodded. "It . . . It brought back many memories," she said. She sighed, then clasped her hands, bringing them up to her face. "I hate feeling helpless to stop something."

Kagome put the wet things down for a moment, and sat down next to her. "We're not going to be helpless on this one anymore," she said with great determination. "It is an auspicious day. We have the chance to make a difference."  
>Mariko nodded, her look lightening at Kagome's suggestion. "Maybe making a difference with one person's life is worth something . . . "<p>

"If that's all we can do," Kagome said. "It's better than pretending it away." She picked the clothes back up. "I'm going to go hang these wet things up."

The other woman nodded, but didn't say anything more, and Kagome stepped off the verandah. Her face lost the edge of determination as she walked, and instead, she chewed on her bottom lip, thinking about what could be done. As she walked around to the clothesline, she could hear the men talking.

"Seiji had Susumu convinced that there was oni treasure up on his father's cowshed roof," the old farmer said.

"How old were they?" Miroku asked.

"Oh, eleven or twelve, I think," the old farmer said. "He got Susumu to get to the top of the roof. Just then, he saw Toshiro coming down the street. I don't know if he panicked, or if that was his plan all the time, but he knocked down the ladder and left the boy stranded up there. Stupid boy."

InuYasha spotted Kagome as soon as she stepped out. Not really interested in Daitaro's tale, his ears focused on the conversation on the porch. He only caught part of it, but it was enough to get him to stand up.

"Hey, InuYasha, don't you want to hear the end of the story?" Miroku asked, looking up at the hanyou.

"I'll be back," the hanyou said. As Kagome began to walk around the building to where the clothesline was, he followed.

Daitaro turned to watch, and caught a glimpse of the young miko. "Woman troubles?"

"Don't know," the monk said, looking at his two friends.

"Woman troubles seem the order of the afternoon," Genjo said, spotting the way his wife was sitting. "Maybe I should go send Mariko-chan home." He stood up.

"You might be right, son," Daitaro said. "Send her back down the hill. Your okaasan will want to know what happened anyway, and it might help her to get busy. But you stick around."

The young man nodded, and headed for the verandah.

"This is not how I expected today to turn out," Miroku said. The ball the girls were playing with escaped and rolled next to him. He picked it up and tossed it back to Tazu.  
>"Neither did I," the old farmer said. "Still, it'll work out, and probably for the better."<p>

"Let's hope so," Miroku said, willing to let some of Daitaro's optimism rub off on him. "So what happened to Susumu?"

InuYasha, wanting to keep his talk with Kagome as private as possible, let her get around the corner before he caught up with her. "Hey," he said.

"Hey yourself," she said. "Daitaro keeping you entertained?"

"Mostly Miroku, I think," the hanyou said. "Probably a good thing. I think he's trying not to think about what to do next. The old man's keeping him from brooding. Plus he's smart."

"A break is good sometimes," Kagome said. "It's nice to have someone who can keep you from overthinking." They reached the clothesline, where Sango's wash from earlier in the morning still hung up, as well as Maeme's wet things. She went to a place in the line where there was still some room and threw the coverlet over the rope.

"I guess," InuYasha said. Something about how she was acting made him edgy, and he stuck his hands in his sleeves. "So . . . "

"So what?" She looked up at him from around the edge of the cloth. "You look like you're almost dry already."

InuYasha shrugged. "Fire rat cloth doesn't stay wet long," he said. "Rin could tell I had been in the water, and now I'm almost dry."

Her fine hands tugged on the damp cloth, smoothing it across the line.

"How is she?" he asked.

"Dry. Unconscious," she said. Not yet ready to meet his eyes, she focused on the coverlet instead, pulling on it to make sure it hung there as even as possible.

InuYasha didn't like how she was avoiding looking at him. He grabbed and tugged at one of her hands, pulling her into the circle of his arms. "Looks like Miroku's not the only one trying to overthink. Want to tell me about it?"

"I...I..." she started. "Tell you what?"

"I can tell you're upset," he said. "It's about Maeme, right?"

She looked up at him for a moment, to read what she could from his look. His eyes were filled with concern and little more. Kagome rested her head against his chest. "I'm not sure where to even start," she said.

"Pick a place," he said, running his fingers through her hair. "Whatever you found was bad. I can tell from how you're acting."

"What has she been living with?" Kagome fisted handfuls of InuYasha's jacket, almost burying her face. "She has scars and bruises everywhere. Some of them are marks from old beatings. I've never seen someone who wasn't in an accident or who wasn't in a fight bruised the way she is."

He pulled her close. "I...I...I didn't know . . . She never was around much."

"I bet that's because he wouldn't let her out much." She sighed, and looked up at her husband. "That's the way people who do this to their family usually behave. They don't want them to have anything to do with anybody else, in case they lose that . . . that control over their victim."

InuYasha glanced back toward the village. "And he calls me a monster. I never yet hit a woman that wasn't attacking me in honest battle."

"Ironic, isn't it?" Her voice was very sad. For a moment she just pulled her husband close. Swallowing, she looked up. "Is there anything we can do? Can the elders fix it? Nobody should have to live like that. Whatever he's been doing to her, it's been going on a long time. No wonder she wanted to die."

He frowned, and took a deep breath. "If they won't, Miroku will, and I'll back him up. He's just as upset as you are." He gave her a hug back and kissed the top of her head.

"Miroku likes women too much to be happy about people doing things like that to them," Kagome said.

InuYasha pulled back. "Heh. His hentai brain thinks women are for . . . well, not for abuse."

"There was a time when we were on the quest that I wasn't sure that he wasn't the one wanting to be abused," Kagome said, the tiniest of grins on her face.

"You weren't the only one who thought about that," InuYasha said. His grin was a bit larger.

She reached up and touched his cheek. "So what do we do?"

"You stay here for right now," InuYasha said. "Someone probably needs to be around in case she wakes up. I'm going to go down to the village." His face was solemn. He ran his hand along the line of her cheek, and into her hair, a reassuring gesture that separated him from an animal like Maeme's husband.

"You're going to tell Kaede?" Kagome asked. "She'll know what to do, what medicine might help. Tell her she's unconscious still."

"Yeah," he said, "I'll tell her that. She might even be on her way already. I bet Furume's told everybody she could find."

Kagome nodded. "I wouldn't be surprised."

"After that," the hanyou said, "I'm going to have a talk with Tameo. Maybe it's time to use some of that warrior rank they keep saying I have."

He gave her one last hug. In a flash of red, he turned and was gone.

As InuYasha talked to Kagome alone and Mariko started heading down the hill, Sukeo circled around the edges of the village, not really willing to talk to anybody. He too found himself on a hill, one overlooking the garden behind the headman's home. He sat down on the grass with a heavy sigh.

"Okaasan's off hiding somewhere. Otousan's going to want to beat me up. Obaasan wasn't home." He picked up a pebble and tossed it down the slope. "I don't know what to do. But not doing something is just going to make it worse. What did I do to deserve this?"

A breeze blew up suddenly. It carried the scent of summer flowers, something sweet and clean. The boy looked around and didn't see anything much that might have made such a scent. What he did see, though, was an old peasant walking his way, a hoe over his shoulder. He was too close for Sukeo to get away unseen, so the boy just sat there, resting his head in his hands.

"My luck today must be horrible," he said.

He thought he said it too softly to be overheard, but the man walked up to him and stopped.

"Luck's a funny thing," the newcomer said, in a soft, but friendly voice. "Sometimes, what we think of as horrible luck turns out to be just the start of something wonderful, and what we thought was good luck bites us in the ass before we know it." The farmer squatted down next to Sukeo, a position where he could look the boy in the eye. "And which type of luck are you having today?"

"It's not any kind of good luck," Sukeo said.

"That bad, huh?" the stranger said.

Sukeo nodded. For some reason that he didn't quite understand, as he looked at this man, someone he didn't even recognize, he felt the need to unburden himself. "Chichi-ue sent me to get Haha-ue, and I can't find her anywhere. I don't know what to do, and I don't know who to tell, and my otousan's going to be furious."

"Did you tell the headman about it?" the farmer asked. "He's the person whose supposed to help when people go missing."

Shaking his head, Sukeo sighed, and buried his face in his hands. "My otousan's there. If he catches me, he'll be ready to beat me for not finding her."

"He's that type of person?" the man asked.

Reluctantly, Sukeo nodded.

"What's he doing at the headman's place? Tameo-sama's a good man. He doesn't usually put up with that type of thing."

Sukeo looked up at the man. The old farmer looked at him gently, concerned. "I..." the boy said, chewing on his bottom lip. "I can't talk about it."

The farmer rocked back on his heels, rubbing his hat back and forth across his head as he thought. "You wouldn't be the son of that man in the lockup, would you?"

Curling small as he could, Sukeo covered his face with his hands and sighed deeply. He gave the farmer one brief nod. "You . . . you heard about that?"

The farmer patted the boy on the shoulder. "I'm sorry to hear you're having such an awful day. Sometimes, they're just impossible to get away from." He stood up. "Still, there's more than one way to handle things, usually. If it's going to rain in June, plant barley instead of wheat."

Confused, Sukeo looked up at his companion. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Well," the old man said, scratching under his chin. "You need to talk to the headman. You don't want your otousan to know you're there, right?"

The boy nodded.

"I don't know if you know it, but there's a back way into his yard. I just came from there." The old man used his hoe to point at a large dark boulder. "You see that rock?"

Sukeo stood up. "I don't remember that being there."

"It's been there long before you were born, boy," the farmer said, smiling at the youth. "Before the headman was born, too. Sometimes, people have to point things out before we notice."

The boy looked at the farmer, and rubbed the back of his neck. "If you say so, Ojiisan."

The old man laughed. "Oh, I do. So, how about I show you where the path is? If your okaasan is really missing, you should tell Tameo-sama. He might need to get the guard to look for her." The man put his hoe back over his shoulder and began walking.  
>"He would do that? And not tell my otousan?" Sukeo said, falling in behind him.<p>

"I suspect keeping your otousan quiet is something he'd really value right now," the old man said. "Seemed like he was making a lot of noise when I came up here."

The boy sighed. "He does that sometimes."

The two reached the rock. Leading away from it, a narrow path, seldom used from the looks of it, meandered down the hill and into the garden that housed the small family shrine at the back of Tameo's complex.

"I suspect you can find the way from here," the old farmer said.

Sukeo nodded. "I just never saw this before."

"Sometimes," the farmer said, "things seem to be hidden right under our eyes." He patted the boy on the back. "Now, you get going. Maybe this will change your luck today. Tell Tameo-sama that Old Kazuo-ojiisan will come later on after the wedding to see how everything turned out."

The boy nodded once again. He headed down the hill, but realizing he hadn't thanked the kind man who set him on the path, he turned around, but there was no sign of the farmer. He paused a moment, and felt a cold chill pass over him. Shrugging it off, he continued down the path to the headman's house. 


	231. Chapter 231

1_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 231**

Like InuYasha suspected, he met Kaede on the way down the hill. She was walking with Furume, and he heard the girl talking excitedly long before he spotted them. As they neared, InuYasha leapt into the branches of a tree near the path, not really wanting to deal with the young woman. As he watched, it seemed to the hanyou that although Kaede nodded at all the right places, the old miko looked a little irritated with the constant stream of chatter the girl was producing.

"Houshi-sama is such a brave man," Furume said, her face animated with at least a small amount of hero worship. "He didn't even wait. Soon as he spotted her, he jumped in."

"Feh," InuYasha muttered, too soft to be heard. "Acts before he thinks sometimes."

"He swims so well," the girl said. "I didn't dare jump in myself. The last time I was in water up to my neck I almost drowned."

"It does take some real practice," Kaede said. "I never learned to swim properly myself."

"Otousan told me that peasant girls don't need to do that," Furume continued. "That swimming was for samurai. But Houshi-sama, he was raised differently. He went straight for that poor woman."

The old miko took a long breath and nodded. "He is a good man," she said, shifting her medicine basket on her hip. "I hope they all are all right. I suspect the water was still quite cold."

"It was," the girl said, nodding. "I was cutting rushes when I spotted her." She looked down at her bare feet, still muddy from her work by the stream bed. "If I knew my okaasan wouldn't have come out to cut the rushes herself if I didn't do it, I wouldn't have been there. I barely could feel my feet while I was working. It must have been really cold in the deeper water. Even by the river bank it was cold." Suddenly, the endless stream of nervous talk stopped, and she brought her hands up to her face, covering her mouth, and her eyes grew wide. "I just remembered. I left everything back by the river, the rushes and my knife, too. I hope my knife is still there. Otousan will be very unhappy if that knife's lost. I think it belongs to Tsuneo-sama. I don't know what he'll do if someone takes it."

"Then, child, you should go check it. I can find my own way to Houshi-sama's house," Kaede said, patting her on the shoulder. "Go before someone finds it."

The girl bowed. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry," she said, then turned and ran down the path.

Kaede watched her go, and sighed. She shook her head and looked up at the sky. "An auspicious day, eh? The gods are having a funny way to show us how auspiciousness works."

There was a flash of red and silver behind her.

"Daitaro says it's all how you look at things. Maeme choosing today to try to drown was auspicious because Miroku was there to save her," InuYasha said. "I'm not sure if I agree with him."

Kaede turned around to see the hanyou walking towards her.

"Ah, InuYasha," Kaede said, taking him in as he moved closer. He seemed quite solemn. Although he tried to keep his face unreadable, the ghost of a scowl told her how unpleased he was by the current turn of events. She took a deep breath. "Sometimes, my cousin is right. I'm not sure about today yet. You were there?"

He nodded. "I had to haul both of them out of the river. They were at the Willows; I was afraid they'd hit the Courtesan Spider's rocks."

"They were lucky, then, you were there. How are they?" She shifted her basket on her hip. It was filled with bags and packets of herbs, more than she usually brought, as if she wasn't sure what she would need.

"Miroku's all right," the hanyou said. "He got wet and cold, but he's all right. Kagome told me to tell you that Maeme is unconscious still."

That made the miko frown. "Unconscious? Did she hit her head or swallow too much water?"

InuYasha shrugged. "The women think that maybe it's just all been too much for her. Kagome's upset though. I think . . . well, you'll talk to her." He took his own deep breath and his ear twitched. "From what she told me, Seiji's handiwork on her was pretty obvious."

The old miko closed her eye, and gave the hanyou a single nod. "I am not surprised to hear that. After the birth of their second child, he's been trying to keep her away from visiting me. I have heard tell of men who do this to their women." She looked back up at the hanyou. "Her story is sad."

"Feh," InuYasha said. He clenched the hilt of his sword, and his eyes dropped their mask a moment, revealing the depth of his anger. "More than sad. I'm going to the village. I need to tell Tameo about what happened."

"Yes," the miko said. "He does, indeed. Perhaps with this, the elders will have to do something about Maeme's husband, I think."

"Yeah," he said. "I'll see you later." And with that, he headed down the road.

While InuYasha headed towards the headman's house, Mariko walked into Daitaro's house, looking for Chime, but the older woman wasn't there. Heading back outside, she walked behind the main house, and heard voices coming out of the small building behind it.

"It's not much," she could hear Chime say. "Some people keep their farm workers in bigger."

She could hear Hisa laugh. "Not many. I'm sure Shinjiro and Erime-chan will appreciate having their own space for at least a while."

Mariko lifted the doormat, and walked in. Chime had a cleaning cloth in her hand, and she was standing in the middle of the room. Hisa, standing next to her, carried a basket with an arrangement of early spring flowers and greens, which she placed on a low table against the wall. Next to it were a jug, cups, and a tea pot.

"So, Okaasan, you're getting them ready for whatever they want, to stay alert or to relax?" Mariko said.

"Or something," Chime said, turning to her daughter-in-law. "You're back, daughter. Did your husband and mine happen to follow you home?"

"Not yet," Mariko said.

"It looks like a room at an inn," Hisa said, smiling knowingly. "No cooking tools, but everything for tea . . . and bed."

She was correct. Outside of the clothing chests pushed against one wall, the room was missing all those things that a real farmhouse had - no food or tools stashed. There was a water bucket with a bamboo ladle, a cradle for firewood, but none of those tools needed for meal preparation.

Bedding had been laid out, waiting for the young couple, a red ground cloth and blue and white coverlets and new pillow rolls.

"It does, doesn't it?" Chime said. This amused her. "Well, it does what an inn does - gives them a place to sleep. But I don't think they really want to spend all their time here."

"Well, maybe for a few days," Hisa said. "At first. Who knows? Maybe they'll ask you to bring them their meals?"

This brought laughter out of all three women.

"It'll be perfect, Okaasan," Mariko said.

Chime wiped her hands on the towel she had been carrying, and tucked it into her waistband, and began heading for the door. "So tell me, what was it that Furume was coming for? Someone fell in the river?"

Mariko nodded. "Houshi-sama and InuYasha managed to pull her out. Let's not talk about it here. It seems the wrong place to talk about something like this. I don't want to spoil the luck."

"Good idea," Chime said.

The three women stepped outside. "Let's go to my place," Mariko said. "I need to get lunch started, anyway."

They headed that way.

"So it was a woman?" Hisa asked as they walked to the second son's house, built next to the main building. It was smaller than Daitaro's place, but not by a lot, wooden planked and roofed, like the old man's home, with boards and not with thatch. It was a little closer to the outbuilding where the miso was made and stored, and whiffs of it drifted on the air.

"It was," Mariko said.

Mariko lifted the door mat and the women entered. Shinjiro sat inside, babysitting his infant nephew, who sat on his lap. The moment the child saw his mother, though, there was an outcry, and Mariko went to pick him up.

"And he had been so good," Shinjiro said. "What is it, I'm not good enough to hold him when Okaa's around?"

"Probably more like you're not good enough to feed him," Mariko said. She went over to a cabinet and picked up a large white towel and threw it over her shoulder before loosening her top. "Food trumps ojisans every day."

"So," Hisa said, following her in, right after Chime, "Who was it they pulled out of the river?"

"It was Maeme," Mariko said, picking up her son.

Sitting down in her place, she began to nurse her son.

"Maeme?" Chime said. Her lips pulled into a sad, knowing frown.

Hisa took a long breath. "She didn't fall in by accident, did she?"

Mariko shook her head. "I don't think so."

Chime got up. "I'll start the rice," she said, moving to Mariko's kitchen cabinet, where she found a large bowl.

"Where is she?" Hisa asked. "I hope . . . I hope they aren't leaving her alone after this. Not with those two boys to look after. Not when . . . that . . . that . . . "

"She's up at Houshi-sama's," Mariko said. "He's not going to let Seiji get anywhere near her, at least for a while. Or so he says."

Hisa nodded. "He's a good man, for all of his odd ways," the headman's wife said. "And Sango-chan, she agrees?"

"She does. I think Maeme reminds her of someone she knew once," Mariko said. "She was telling us about knowing a woman she knew who had lost everything, and gave up on wanting to live."

"Houshi-sama's wife has had an unusual life," Shinjiro said. "Losing her entire village must have been hard. I hear she had the hardest time finding her brother afterwards."

A light dawned in Mariko's eyes, and she looked at her brother-in-law. "Do you think she was talking about herself?" she asked. "I didn't think about that."

"Maybe so," Shinjiro said. "I wouldn't be surprised."

"No wonder she is so willing to help," Mariko said, sighing. "She knows just what it must feel like."

Chime scooped rice into the bowl, and then poured water on it.

"What bad luck. Poor Maeme," Hisa said. "Her life has been one thing after another."

"No, no," Chime said, looking over at her friend. "It's not bad luck on this auspicious day. She threw herself in the river, but she was rescued." She stirred the grains of rice in the water, to clean them. "And she was rescued by someone who will try to help her beyond that. I would say that's good luck. Far better than she had been having."

"Okaasan, you sound just like Daitaro-Otousan," Mariko said, almost amused by her mother-in-law's reaction. "He said almost the same thing."

Chime smiled as she began to pour the water into the slop bucket. "Daitaro-chan and I, we see a lot eye to eye."

"But not to sake drinking," Shinjiro said.

"Oh, we see eye to eye on his drinking," his mother said, amused. "Just not his son's drinking. Especially on his wedding day."

"I think your brother taught them why," Mariko commented, laughing a little. "Don't you remember?"

He nodded, and returned her grin. "Probably a good idea," the man said. "A very good idea."


	232. Chapter 232

1_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumkio Takahashi_

**Chapter 232**

InuYasha, having left Kaede to make her own way to Miroku's, hurried in his own way to the headman's compound.

For the moment, the place was fairly quiet. Susumu had finally made it back and was talking to Koichi. He looked up as InuYasha entered, as first all smiles. "Well, cousin, what brings you here?"

Susumu's pleasure at seeing the hanyou wavered as he noticed the look on InuYasha's face and the tension in how he was walking. He wasn't the only one who noticed.

"Uh-oh," Koichi muttered. "He doesn't look very happy. I wonder what's up now?"

"Who's coming this time?" Seiji croaked. His voice was getting rather hoarse.

"Shut up," the farmhand said as Susumu walked toward the gate.

The village guard rubbed the back of his neck. "Is something wrong? This has been a strange day from the sound of what Koichi's been telling me."

"Something like that. Don't want to talk about it here," the hanyou said, nodding towards the lockup. "Where's Tameo?"

Seiji was trying to sing something, but his voice cracked and he began to cough.

"Ha!" Koichi said, looking up to the sky. "Praise to Kwannon. I knew you'd run out of voice some time or other."

"Fuck you," the man in the lockup croaked out. At least it sounded like what he was trying to say before he began coughing again.

Susumu took a quick look at the lockup and shrugged. "Chichi-ue? He's either in his office, or in the kitchen outback," the village guardsman said. "I just got back myself. I haven't had a chance to find him yet. I'll walk you to him, if you'd like. I need to talk to him anyway."

InuYasha glared at the lockup building and took a deep breath. "Yeah. He'll want to know about this."

They started to head off when Seiji's coughing fit stopped. "Ah, the white-haired freak returns," Seiji said from within the lockup. His voice was soft and hoarse, but more than loud enough to stop InuYasha in his tracks. The hanyou stopped, his ears swiveling towards the little building. "What happened to bring you back this way? You and your . . . miko . . . " Seiji stopped for a moment and hacked. "You two ran out of people to use your magic on? Or did you get tired of your games in the woods?"

A soft growl came from InuYasha's throat, and his nostrils flared as he clenched his fists. Susumu laid a hand on his shoulder.

"Shut up, Seiji," Koichi said, standing up and brushing off his hakama. "Aren't you in enough trouble? You have a death wish?"

"Up yours, toady," Seiji replied. His voice dropped to a whine. "Where's that boy of mine?"

InuYasha whirled. "You piece of crap, I ought to . . . " he said, and began to take a step towards the lockup, but Susumu was there, at his side. He grabbed the hanyou's wrist.

"Don't do it, cousin. We need that building." He rubbed his chin, as if thinking. "What's in it's not worth much, but the building . . . Might let you at him tomorrow, though, if he doesn't get some smarts before then. But only once we get him out of the building."

"Run and hide behind your pet youkai, asshole," Seiji said. "I bet neither of you are man enough to do more than talk."

InuYasha growled again, and his hand grasped the hilt of his sword. "I shouldn't have held that punch back," he said, taking a step in that direction. "Didn't do anybody a favor."

Susumu tugged on the hanyou's sleeve."It's all on purpose," the village guard said. "He's been trying to bully his way out of the lockup. He wants you to go after him, and ruin Shinjiro's luck. Don't give him the satisfaction. Let's go see Chichi-ue."

InuYasha stopped and swallowed. He looked at the headman's son, and weighed the look he gave the hanyou, equal to equal.

The look that InuYasha had on his own face was something darker, filled with a youkai anger that set Susumu's teeth on edge, and the village guard almost took a step back from what he saw there, but he held firm, and instead of fear he felt a need to know what triggered it. "The sooner we get out of earshot of the stupid, the sooner we can talk about what brought you here," he said. "Then we can deal with whatever it is we need to do."

The hanyou gave one last glare to the lockup, nodded, and followed Susumu towards the back.

Koichi picked up a pebble and tossed it through the window of the lockup. There was a slightly satisfying ouch as the pebble found its mark.

"I'll remember that," Seiji said, his voice not much more than a whisper.

"You might be remembering a lot more before you get to that one," the farm worker said. "You didn't see InuYasha's face. If that was coming my way, I'd run."

"Coward," Seiji said.

"No, I just know when I've bit off more than I can chew. Even if you don't." Koichi settled back down. "I wouldn't want to see that face coming my way, but I don't think I'd mind watching it aim at you."

Seiji coughed, and for once, decided to be quiet.

Susumu and InuYasha passed the main house and headed for the headman's office. The courtyard seemed eerily quiet without the children and the women around. Even most of the farm workers were finding places to be gone to.

"I take it from your unwillingness to talk in front of that ass that your current irritation has to do with Seiji himself," Susumu said as they entered the little path to the office building.

"Keh," the hanyou said. "Something like that."

"You're not alone," Susumu said. "I bet over half the village wouldn't shed a tear if something happened to him today." They reached his father's office, and the village guard slid the door open but the room was empty. There were sake cups on the table, and a stack of papers, but no headman. "Chichi-ue must be feeling it, too, if he's hit the sake already."

"Kinjiro was here, too," the hanyou said.

"Was he?" Susumu said. "Maybe that's why Chichi-ue's not here. From what I hear how Seiji's been behaving, my little brother probably wants to tear into the lockup as much as you do." He slid the door closed. "They must be around back. Koichi told me Riki opened up the planting time kitchen," Susumu said, stepping off the verandah. "I bet everybody else who's not off hiding somewhere else is there, too."

"Further away from that piece of crap up front, the better," InuYasha said.

"No doubt they'll all agree with you on that one, cousin," the village guard said. "Sounds like he's been pushing everybody to the edge today."

They began heading to the back. "More than you know, maybe," InuYasha said. "And he used to be your best friend?"

"Hard to believe now, isn't it?" Susumu gave him a small, apologetic smile. "I was young and he hadn't showed his true colors yet. At least not all of them. Still, we managed to get into a lot of trouble together when we were younger," Susumu said as they walked to the back. "I guess I got smarter as I got older, or the whacks Chichi-ue gave me sank in better than the ones he got. I decided to do things the right way. He didn't. I think he thinks I betrayed him or something for straightening out."

"Don't need friends like that," the hanyou said.

"No, you're right." Susumu nodded. "It's been a long time since I called him friend."

The smells of lunch reached them before they got to the outbuilding Riki was cooking in. The structure was not much more than a fire pit covered over by a roof, open and airy to let the heat out, but the roof gave the space good shade. She was working at a bench, chopping some vegetables as they walked up. Her husband Jun had just walked off with the water buckets, heading for the well. The headman was sitting on a mat on the ground in that shade, next to his son Kinjiro, the two of them having traded their sake for tea.

"I think Haha-ue would approve of what you're drinking now more than what you left on your desk, Otousan," Susumu said as they reached the kitchen.

"No doubt you're right," the headman said, looking up. "I'll need to put that away before she gets back from Daitaro's."

Riki, coming back to her cooking pots laughed a little. "Hisa-sama is hard to fool, Tameo-sama."

"True, true." The headman took a sip of his tea. "Ah, InuYasha," he said, pleased to see the hanyou, but he began to frown when he saw how irritated the two newcomers were. "Something's happened?" He looked up at his son. "You should have come got me if there's something I should know. Chiya-chan's not misbehaving again, is she?"

Susumu shook his head. "It was perfectly calm up at Tsuneo's riverside place. Chiya was pouting, but doing her spinning and Hana-chan was running and fetching for her. Even Morio was behaving. Everything just the way you hoped."

"Feh," InuYasha said, crossing his arms and stuffing his hands in his sleeves. He couldn't disguise his own glower, and his right ear tweaked. "Wrong side of the village."

As Riki began to cook something heavy with the smell of onion, Tameo rubbed his chin. "Something happen on your side? I hope nothing's wrong at Daitaro's place."

"You could say that." InuYasha stepped closer, unfolding his arms as he grasped the hilt of his sword. "That . . . that man, if you want to call him that, the piece of crap you have in the lockup?" He looked down at the headman, his eyes locking with the older man. "His wife tried to throw herself in the river. She'd be dead now if it wasn't that Miroku saw her first. What type of man makes his wife so afraid of living that she'd rather die than see him come home?"

"What?" Susumu said. "No wonder you wanted to take Seiji down."

Riki gasped and dropped the pot lid she had been lifting, and splashed something into the fire which sizzled and steamed. Kinjiro sighed and shook his head. Tameo set his cup down, and began to stand up. "What?"

InuYasha's ear twitched again as his eyes never left Tameo's even as the man changed position. "You heard me. That asshole's wife threw herself in the river rather than live a day more with him. She was begging Miroku to let her drown."

Susumu let out a deep sigh. "And this is supposed to be a lucky day?"

There was a gasp behind them. "My Okaasan?"

The men turned around. Sukeo was standing there. His eyes grew big and the blood drained out of his face. His hand came up and covered his mouth. "My okaasan? In the river? Is she . . . "

"Sukeo-kun?" Susumu said. "Where did you come from?"

"Damn me," InuYasha said softly. "I should have noticed you were near." He sighed deeply and stepped towards the boy.

Sukeo backed up one step. "I...I wanted to ask Tameo-sama a question." He began to tremble. "I looked all over the village for Haha-ue, but couldn't find her. I was going to ask Tameo-sama if he could help. Someone showed me the back way in, and I took it because," he said, choking up, "I didn't want my otousan to know I was here."

"You should have come and got me," the village guard said.

The anger drained out of InuYasha, quickly replaced with regret. He rested his hand on the boy's shoulder."She's at Miroku's house," he said gently. "She's alive. We got her out of the water in time. Kagome's taking care of her and Kaede-babaa is heading there, too."

"Okaa . . . " the boy said. Shrugging the hanyou's hand off his shoulder, he turned and ran towards the front of the complex.

The men watched for a few moments, growing disheartened as what happened sunk in.

"Kuso," Kinjiro said, and got to his feet. "What else can go wrong today?"

"Poor Maeme-chan," Riki said. "Poor boy. I..." She covered her face with her hand, having run out of words.

"It's time to do something with that asswipe," Kinjiro said. "I'm going to go tell Toshiro."

As Kinjiro started to move away, his father grabbed his sleeve and shook his head. "I would not have broken the news to that poor boy that way if I had a choice," Tameo said, looking disheartened. "But what is done is done. Seiji's locked up where he can't hurt anybody else today. Toshiro will be joining us tomorrow. We'll deal with Seiji soon enough."

The hanyou looked the most stricken of all. "Do you want me to go after him?" InuYasha said. "I'm faster than the rest of you."

"And do what? I am pretty sure we know where he's headed," the headman said, shaking his head. "Give him a chance to run off some of his shock. Poor Maeme. This turn of events wasn't something I expected today."

"This is what happens when you let a man like Seiji get away with thinking no one can tell him no," Riki grumbled.

"We should have sent him away after the last bandit raid," Kinjiro said. "Didn't I say that?"

"And so did I," Susumu added.

Tameo rubbed his hand over his forehead, and took a deep breath. "I think even Toshiro will agree after this."

"So what do we do?" the hanyou said.

"Pray. And stay away from that poor excuse of a man until after Shinjiro's wedding." The headman looked at his hands. "I'm afraid that I'd strangle him myself right now if I went anywhere near him."

"Keh," the hanyou said. "You'd have to get in line."

"You first?" Tameo asked.

"Maybe. But once that boy gets a look at his mother," InuYasha said, "it might be him."


	233. Chapter 233

1_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 233**

After InuYasha left, Kagome walked back into Sango's house, and lost in thought. As Sango worked at her kitchen counter, preparing some vegetables for the midday meal, the young miko went and sat down near the fire pit, and drew up her knees close to her body, resting her cheek on her knees, and sighed.

"Genjo sent Mariko home," she said.

Sango picked up an onion and began to peel it. "That's probably a good thing. I am sure Chime needs her more than we do."

"Yeah," Kagome said. "How's Maeme-chan?"

"I haven't heard anything," the taijiya replied. "She's been very quiet." She began to chop the onion. The heaviness of how her blade fell across the feckless vegetable revealed her own agitation.

Kagome walked to the back of the house and slid the door to the sleep room open. The unconscious woman lay there on her side, eyes closed. Her hand twitched a moment while Kagome stood there, looking at her, but made no real sign she was aware of anything happening around her.

"Maeme-chan, just let me know if you need something," Kagome said softly. The woman lay there unmoving, her face marked with lines, too thin and tired, her long hair damply laying over the straw and sheet, cascading around her like a black aurora streaked with gray. It emphasized her smallness, making her seem especially frail to the young miko. Shaking her head, Kagome slid the door shut and walked back towards the fire pit.

As she neared, the front door slid open, and one of the twins ran in.

"Okaa, Okaa," Noriko said, excited and almost out of breath. Someone was calling her name from outside of the house. "Baachan! "

Sango looked up. "Baachan?" she said. "Kaede-obachan?"

Noriko nodded.

Rin ran into the house and picked up the girl. "Noriko-chan shouldn't run away from Rin like that," the girl said. The toddler tried to wiggle out of the girl's arms, but this time Rin was prepared and wasn't having any of it. "You know that your otousan asked Rin to watch you."

The girl frowned and crossed her arms. "But Baachan!"

"Kaede-obaasan is coming?" Sango asked, stopping her cutting, and putting the contents of her cutting board into a bowl.

"Yes she is," said a familiar voice. Sango, Rin and Kagome turned to see the familiar form of the old miko step through the door.

"See?" Noriko said, "Baachan!"

This made the old miko smile, as she walked further into the house. She slipped out of her sandals. "I hear you had a rather eventful morning. Furume-chan was quite impressed with everything that happened."

Noriko held out her hands towards Kaede, but Rin shook her head. "Not right now, little one. Kaede-sama has work to do. Don't you remember, poor Maeme-sama's in bed, waiting for Kaede-obasan? We'll go play with your sister and Tazu."

The toddler was not pleased with the answer, but before she could say anything, Rin took her outside.

Sango wiped her hands on a towel. "We've had more excitement today than I expected," she said. "After what happened, it's a good thing that . . . husband . . . of hers wasn't around. He's safer in the lockup than he would have been anywhere near me, much less InuYasha or Miroku."

"It is supposed to be a fortunate day," Kaede said. "Maybe that's part of the luck. Where is she?"

"In the back," Sango said.

Kaede shifted her herb basked on her hip. "Well, let's go see how she's doing." She stepped up on the wooden platform. The three women headed to the back.

Sango slid the door open to the sleeping room open, and the two miko slipped inside.

"How long has she been like this?" Kaede said, kneeling next to the unconscious woman. "Was she like this when Miroku pulled her out of the water?"

"She seemed alert enough," Sango said, leaning her cheek against the door frame. "I heard her talk while he was grabbing her. It wasn't until she got out of the water that she collapsed."

"It's true," Kagome said, sitting next to the older woman. "Once she realized she wasn't going to drown, it was like the shock of surviving was too much and she just crumpled."

Kaede looked over the poor woman, still not very responsive. She pulled back the blue and white coverlet that covered the woman, touching the pulse at her throat, and gently tugging back the clean kosode she was now dressed in.

"You should look at her back," Kagome said.

Maeme limply allowed them to roll her over on her side. She moaned a little as the miko probed the worst of her scars, but otherwise, made no reactions.

"I didn't . . . " Kaede said, looking at the unconscious woman's injuries. "I knew he was not being gentle with her. I didn't know it had gone this far."

They returned her to her back, and the old miko began to check her for other injuries, gently pressing her abdomen, listening to her breathing, checking her pulse.

"I don't think she received any serious injury in the water," Kaede said at last, her one eye solemnly gazing at her patient. She pulled the coverlet back over Maeme and then rubbed her own chin with a knuckle, thinking. "Chilled from the water, perhaps, but she had no injury to leave her in this state. We can be thankful for that much. She has enough injury to her body without adding any others."

"Then why is she still unconscious?" Kagome asked, frowning.

"She is fleeing away," Kaede said. "I've seen this before, when people have had too much grief or too great a trauma for their souls to deal with." She rested her hand on the woman's forehead. "Sometimes, a person can stay this way until something happens to convince them to live again. Or they awake in a rage, their grief turned into anger."

"What do we do?" Kagome asked. She reached down and brushed a stray lock of hair out of Maeme's face.

"We need to keep her warm, and make sure she has enough to drink and eat. Broth and maybe rice gruel will be all we can give her at first. It'll be important to watch out for fever. Laying down like this can be hard for the lungs." Kaede rocked back on her heels, and rested her hands on her thighs."She'll either come out of it once she warms up and realizes nothing is going to happen to her, or she won't. If she won't, she'll waste away. It's rare, but it does happen." She looked up at Sango. "Has anybody been to see her children?"

"Not that I know of," Sango said.

"We'll need to make arrangements then. I don't think their obaasan is able to take them in. She's rather frail."

"So is their mother," Kagome said.

Kaede nodded and stood up. "I'll make her some medicine."

The group filtered out of the sleep room, Sango last, and she shut the door behind her.

.

While Kaede prepared her medicine, Sukeo began a mad run to the monk's house. As he ran to the gate of the headman's compound, his world shrank into a blur, dominated by his fears and guilts and the pounding of his beating heart. Everything seemed to be moving in a fuzzy slow-motion haze. He nearly ran into Koichi on his way out. The old farm hand, surprised, and not sure of what was panicking the boy, brought a finger to his lip, and glanced at the lockup. Sukeo, nodding, gave the man a grateful look and hurried out to the street.

Here he didn't almost bump into someone. He did. Denjiro, Sora's husband was walking toward home, carrying a load of firewood. As they collided, pieces of wood and bundles of sticks scattered across the street.

"Sorry, sorry, Denjiro-sama," Sukeo said. He looked at the wood on the ground like they were snakes about to attack him, and he began to back away.

"Hey!" the man yelled, obviously irritated. "Watch it! Just because your dad is in trouble . . . "

The boy took half a moment to bow. "Sorry, sorry," he said, "my okaasan needs me." He turned and continued his run.

"Stupid brat," Denjiro said, bending down to pick his load "He's going to turn out to be just like his otousan."

Sukeo's ears burned at the insult, but his mind was focused on other things. As he ran, he just missed meeting Furume who had stopped by the blacksmith's forge to tell Fumio the news. He could hear Fumio's surprised voice as he dashed by.

"What?" The blacksmith said. "That poor woman."

"Is he talking about Okaa?" Sukeo said. He could feel the shame of having everybody talk about his family rise up in him to join his panic and anger. It spurred him on. "Okaasan, be all right," he whispered, his throat too dry to do more. "I don't care what they say, just be all right. I'll do whatever it takes, let Otousan do whatever it is he wants to do to you to me, just be safe."

A few people who had already heard the news watched him pass, and some of them followed at a more leisurely pace, but he didn't notice. As quickly as he could, he headed up the hill. There was a small group of people outside of the monk's house sitting in the shade. Miroku stood as he spotted the boy, and called to him by name, but Sukeo didn't stop, and instead, dashed inside.

"Okaa!" he called, then stopped, panting, catching his breath. "Where is she?"

Sango was sitting at the fire pit with Kaede. A pot of soup was cooking on a tripod. Sango had the lid off and was stirring it. Surprised for a moment, she held the cooking ladle in one hand, then a sad, but gentle look crossed her face.

"Sukeo-kun, you made it." She put the ladle down. "I thought you might show up."

"Where is she?" He almost screamed it. "Where's my Okaasan?"

She got up. "She's in the back room, son. Don't scream, though. The noise might make her worse."

"Let him see her, though," Kaede said. "It might help."

"Is she . . . " he said. "Was she hurt?"

"Not exactly," Kaede said. "But she needs your strength."

Putting his hand over his chest, as if that would help him catch his breath, he nodded, and followed Sango as they walked to the back. Sango slid the door open to reveal his mother laying on a straw bed. Not turning her head, Maeme clutched and unclutched her hands, and was staring into nothing. Kagome sat at the head of the bed, combing the woman's tangled hair.

"Okaa?" Sukeo said, his voice almost too small to hear. He rushed to the side of the bed, and took the woman's hand. She didn't react.

"What's wrong with her?" he asked Kagome, looking up at the miko. There was fear in his eyes. "Why is she acting like this?"

"I think she's afraid," Kagome said. "Maybe if you talk to her . . . "

Sukeo raised Maeme's hand to his cheek. "Okaa, Okaa, what happened? Okaa, I looked for you everywhere. Who did this to you?" His eyes glistened, wild with worry, and a single tear trickled down his cheek, soon followed by others. "I was so worried."

For a moment, Maeme still didn't react. She started to pull her hand into a fist, like she was trying to hold onto something, but he didn't let go. "Okaa . . . "

Then slowly, she took a deep breath, and to Kagome's surprise, Maeme turned her head enough to look into her distraught son's face.

"Su...ke...o?" she said, dragging each syllable out, like it was very hard to speak. "Su...ke...o?"

"Okaa?" he said. "Don't leave me, Okaa."

She pulled her hand out of his, and, even though it was trembling, she reached up, and traced the tears that stained his cheek. "Tears? For me?"

He nodded. "Don't leave me, Okaa."

"You cried for me?" she said, as if it were the most amazing thing in the world. Suddenly, the glistening tears in Maeme's eyes, the ones that had been threatening to fall all day, started trickling down. "You cried for me."

She did more than weep; she began to sob, deep heart-rending spasms. Sukeo threw his arms around his mother, and together they let their tears fill up the room.


	234. Chapter 234

1_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 234**

At the headman's compound, Tameo and Kinjiro watched the hanyou and Susumu walk off towards the main entrance.

"Well, that adds another spin on things," the headman said. He picked his teacup back up, and he looked at the pale green liquid. "Maybe I should have brought the sake jug with me. I'm not so sure that tea's strong enough to get me through today."

"Wouldn't make making decisions any easier," Kinjiro said.

"It can make them feel better to make," Jun said, returning with a filled water bucket. Behind him, Isao, almost bruise free, brought up another one. "I take it I missed something of interest."

"Oh, you did, husband," Riki said. She lifted the lid off of the stew she was fixing and gave it a quick stir. "Although I'm sure you'll hear plenty about it before much longer."

"Here, Isao-kun," Jun said, walking to a large wooden barrel. "Let's get rid of our water and find out what happened." He dumped his bucket in, then turned to face the others. "Whatever it is, Riki's stew ought to make it better."

Riki smiled fondly at her husband, but Kinjiro scowled. "Hmph," he said. "I wish it could be that easy."

"A full belly helps many ills, but a bad companion makes them worse," Tameo said. He put his teacup back down.

"We have enough bad companionship here to bring in a plague," Kinjiro said.

"You must be talking about Seiji. Only thing today that could get that look out of you, Tameo-sama." Jun watched Isao pour his share of the water into the barrel and took the bucket from the young man. "Go sit down, son," he said. "It smells like lunch is about ready."

"Just about," Riki said, uncovering the rice pot. A whiff of white steam rose up as she did.

"Ah, Isao-kun. I'm surprised to see you. I thought you were helping Emi-chan," Tameo said to the boy as he took a seat not too far from the others.

"She sent me back," the boy said. "She said I ought to eat lunch here. There are a lot of people at Fujime-sama's. And I saw Jun-sama, and he asked me to help."

"Well," Jun said, putting the buckets away and taking a seat next to the boy, "their loss, your gain. You get to eat my wife's cooking, and that's worth something, even on a crazy day."

Isao wiped the tip of his nose with the back of his hand, chasing off a stray hair. "More people seem to be coming over there, too. Right as I was leaving, Masu-sama's girl Furume walked up. Did something happen by the river?"

Riki began to dish up rice. While Jun and Isao looked on, Tameo stood up. "Kinjiro, tell Jun and Isao-kun about what happened. Nobody talk to Seiji about it yet. I have to think."

"You're not going to eat, Tameo-sama?" Riki asked.

"I...later. Right now my appetite has gone walking towards Toshiro's," he said. "I think I'll go follow it."

While Kinjiro and Tameo talked, InuYasha slowly headed for the front gate with Susumu trailing behind him. His eyes were focused on the ground, and his ears signaled his agitation. Although he almost choked the hilt of Tessaiga on the way out, he avoided even looking at the lockup.

Koichi looked at the two with some curiosity, and walked towards them.

"My head hurts!" Seiji said from within his cell. His voice cracked. "What did I do to deserve such a stupid family?"

"Shut up, Seiji," Koichi said. "What did your family do to deserve you? Think about that for a while."

"Fuck you," the man in the lockup said.

Koichi made a rude gesture, then hurried to catch up with the two.

The hanyou stopped and waited as he reached the gate."I'd like to cure his headache for him permanently."

Susumu fell in beside him. "Maybe tomorrow. I won't tell you no. I doubt Chichi-ue would say anything."

Keeping his voice low, Koichi said, "What happened when you were back there? Sukeo came running out like he was being chased by hell hounds."

"He overheard something he shouldn't have," Susumu said. "Did Seiji notice?"

The farmhand shook his head.  
>"Well that's something," Susumu said. "One less thing for him to be complaining about."<p>

Koichi leaned on the post to the gateway. "Someone want to tell me what happened? I deserve that much, after putting up with this crap all morning."

Susumu patted him on the back. "I'll have to tell Chichi-ue to do something special for you. You deserve some sort of hero's reward for all you've been through."

InuYasha shifted from one foot to the other. "Damn man's wife tried to drown herself. His boy heard me telling Tameo."

"Ah, damn," Koichi said, sighing. "That'd be a rough way to learn about it. Is she . . . "

"We got her out in time. She's up at Miroku's." The hanyou shoved his hands in his sleeves.  
>Koichi nodded, sucking on his bottom lip. "I thought today was supposed to be lucky." He scratched his head, clearly uncertain about how to deal with the new information. "I don't know . . . me having to put up with this asshole all morning and now this."<p>

"Just don't mention it to him," Susumu said, resting a hand on the farmworker's shoulder. "If Chichi-ue wants to, well, that's up to him. But he doesn't deserve to know, and we have to make some decisions."

The older man nodded once again, glancing at the lockup. "Won't hear it from me. With my luck, that'd make him find his voice all over again. But damn, you know she did what she did because of what type of life he gives her. Hope the elders won't let that keep going on." Shaking his head, he wandered back to his post.

InuYasha watched him return to his post near the lockup. The hanyou's face was stern, but also marked with confusion. "I can't believe I didn't notice that boy was nearby," he said. The regret and frustration lit up his face. He made a fist, glancing around like he was looking for something to punch. "I...I..."

Susumu grabbed his hand. "If you need something to hit, I can take you somewhere where we're getting ready to dig, but I've seen the hole you leave behind. If you do it here, Hisako-obaasan could trip and fall, or even Matsume-chan. Daisuke-ojiisan might think poorly of you, and no telling what my brother would do."

InuYasha looked up at the village guard, sighed, and gave him a tiny smile that came nowhere near to his eyes, and he freed his hand. "Hisako would hit me with her stick for sure. Kinjiro . . . he'd probably try to run me over with that cow of his."

"No doubt," Susumu said. "And probably come after me, too, for good measure. Still, as angry as you were when you charged in, I'm not surprised you didn't notice. You were too busy giving Chichi-ue a piece of your mind."

The hanyou slumped a little, looking at his hand. "This is the weirdest day. Kids made me wiggle my ears for them this morning." He looked up at Susumu and gave him a small, wry smile. "Haname actually said something nice to me." He dropped his hand. "But then this."

"Auspicious days can be like that," the village guard said. "Weird things can happen. Makes me wonder if the kami are walking around pulling strings."

"Even Daitaro says it was the luck that made sure we were there for Maeme." InuYasha's ear flicked. "I keep trying to believe it. It must be, because Seiji's still breathing."

"Tomorrow's not supposed to be nearly as lucky," Susumu noted. "I think whatever's been keeping him safe today . . . I think it's going to look a lot different tomorrow."

"It better," InuYasha said darkly.

"So how much of a head start should I give Sukeo?" InuYasha asked.

"I think we've given the boy enough. I bet he's nearly there," the village guard said. "We can start heading back if you like."

"You're coming too?" InuYasha asked, a bit surprised.

"Someone's got to point you to the right things to punch out," the village guard said. "And I want to make sure nothing too bad happens after Sukeo finds out. I'm not exactly sure how he's going to take the news. There's no way we want him to come back and get into a fight with his otousan. Besides," he said, rubbing the back of his neck, "Daitaro has the best sake. I suspect I'm going to want a drink by the time we find out what happened when the boy gets there."

"Keh," the hanyou said, snorting a little, but the two men began walking to InuYasha's side of the village, he cracked a dark grin."If things get much crazier, you might not be the only one."

They had barely gotten past the edge of Tameo's compound when they ran into Koume and her husband Fumio standing in the street, talking to Yaya. The trio noticed them and waved, but Yaya, looking curious but uncertain, merely bowed towards the two men and headed towards her own house.

"Now what's up?" InuYasha asked.

"Guess," Susumu said. "No doubt word is getting around."

Fumio, wearing his blacksmith's apron and carrying a hammer over one shoulder began to walk in their direction, but his wife pushed ahead.

"InuYasha!" Koume said, twisting a kerchief in her hand as she stopped near the two men. "I'm glad we found you. Is it true?"

The hanyou's ear flicked as a chicken, disturbed by something nearby, squawked. The sound was followed by a cat mewing. Swiveling his ears back forwards, he stopped and stuffed his hands in his sleeves. "Is what true?"

"See?" Susumu said. "Get ready for more of this."

Fumio put a hand on his wife's shoulder and took a step forward. "A few minutes ago, Furume, Masu's oldest, came bursting into the forge. Said something about Houshi-sama fishing Seiji's woman out of the river."

"Furume knew?" Susumu said, scratching her head. "That girl . . . I've heard her before. She comes over to talk with Emi-chan sometimes. She likes to talk almost as much as Houshi-sama. She'll be telling everyone."

"Oh, I don't know if anybody likes to gossip more than Miroku-sama," Koume said, stuffing her handkerchief in her sleeve, and smiling a little. The smile didn't remove the concern in her eyes. "Still, she seemed quite upset. She tends to talk even more when she's like that. I suspect she'll tell everybody who'll listen. Is it true?"

"Yeah, it's true," InuYasha replied. "She was there when they spotted Maeme in the river. Miroku and me, we fished her out and took her up to his place."

"That poor woman. Her life has been one thing after another since the sickness took out her parents. She was lucky that you two found her," Fumio said, shifting his hammer to his other arm.

"I'm not so sure if luck had much to do with why she was there." InuYasha looked back to Tameo's place. "I tell you who's lucky - her no-good piece of crap husband. He's in the lockup up driving everybody within earshot crazy with his singing and ranting about his family. If it wasn't for Shinjiro's wedding today, I'd give him something to complain about, treating his woman so bad she tried to kill herself rather than live with him."

"She . . . she tried to drown herself?" Koume said, covering her mouth with her hand in surprise. "Furume didn't mention that."

"The girl didn't know. She left before we found out ourselves," he replied. Unfolding his arms he clasped the hilt of Tessaiga tightly.

Turning, Koume looked up at her husband. "I didn't think she'd ever do something like that . . . She loves her children. She has gone out of her way to protect them from that oni of a husband of hers. Something . . . something new must have happened. The darkness in her mind must be very strong."  
>"It's hard to know what's going on with her sometimes," Fumio said. "The way he keeps her away from everybody."<p>

Susumu sighed. "Ah, Maeme has had a bad lot in life." Shaking his head, he looked down at his hands. "I knew we should have kicked Seiji out after the bandit raids last winter."

"He'd have just dragged his family with him," the blacksmith said. "Who knows what would have happened then?" He looked at Susumu in the eyes, his bushy brows knitting together. "He'd have probably put her to work in a brothel to get drinking money by now."

"Daitaro would call that luck," InuYasha said, shaking his head.

Fumio spat. "I tell you what would be lucky - if the kami would let me give him a taste of my hammer. That would be real luck."

"They may have to hold a lottery for the honor," Susumu said.


	235. Chapter 235

1_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 235**

"We better get going," InuYasha said. He looked down the road impatiently.

"Yeah," Susumu said, nodding. "Sukeo ought to be up at Houshi-sama's by now."

"Sukeo-kun?" Koume asked, frowning. "You sent him off alone?"

Susumu took a step back, and rubbed the back of his neck, his face looking both embarrassed and a bit intimidated by the small woman who was glaring at him. "We didn't plan it that way. He . . . he overheard us talking about what happened to his okaasan," he said, then swallowed as her glare grew deeper. "We didn't even know he was there when he heard us. He began running before we were able to do anything else. Chichi-ue thought that maybe the running might help him calm down."

"Bah," Koume said. "Your otousan ought to know better than that."

Fumio shook his head. "That poor boy. Well, what is done is done. Let's go. Maybe if he knows some people care it'll help."

She glared once more at Susumu, and gave a sharp enough look at InuYasha that he, too, took a step back, then nodded. "Sometimes patching is all you can do once you've put a hole in something."

They all began walking down the street, Susumu and InuYasha unwilling to tell the older woman no. They walked for a bit in silence.

"It's hard to believe now what a sweet happy girl Maeme was," Koume said, the first to speak up and break the uncomfortable silence. "She was, very much like her mother, gentle and not afraid of much in the world." She twisted up the corner of her mouth remembering. "She would sit near us and play with my girls when her mother and I worked together." Koume sighed. "Maeme's mother was a good friend. We used to work the dyeing together. She had such a talent for knowing just how much dyestuff to use to get the best colors." Her voice drifted off, and then looked up at her husband. "I still miss her."

"I know," Fumio said, and briefly gave her hand a small squeeze.

They passed the village well. One of the women who lived near Sora's place was there, filling her bucket. She nodded a greeting as she placed one bucket on the ground. The woman watched them walk by with curiosity, then continued to draw her water as they passed without saying anything.

"Ah, someone Furume hasn't talked to yet," Fumio said.

"The way news travels through this place, that won't last long," Koume said.

InuYasha scowled. "Won't matter if nothing changes."

The blacksmith nodded, scowling as deep as the hanyou. He shifted his hammer to the other shoulder. "This time . . . "

"I did try to keep an eye out for Maeme, for her mother's sake," Koume said. Her voice was sad, tinged with regret. "I know Yaya-chan tried too. Everybody knew Seiji got . . . well stupidly angry sometimes, and had been rather crazy when Chiya married Michio, but he convinced the elders, and most of the rest of us he was past that point. He had grown up and learned about what mattered in life, fighting, he said." She shook her head sadly. "For a while, he even fooled me. Nobody knew that he would turn out to have a heart as black as he does. Bit by bit, he changed, especially after Nakao was born. Things changed quickly then. Before we knew it, he started chasing everybody off whom he thought might interfere with how he treated his family. He's just about as bad as . . . " Her voice dropped. "As the man who hurt my daughter. At least the world doesn't have to look at that one's face anymore."

"We need to stop letting things get so bad before we take steps," Fumio said. "My girl . . . well, she'll never be the same." He sighed, and Koume gently rested her hand on his arm.

Susumu scratched the back of his neck, uncomfortable at the implication that the leadership, including his father, was at fault. He decided to push the talk in another direction. "You might not think today was auspicious, InuYasha, but it sounds like Maeme was lucky that it was Miroku who found her. And maybe, maybe we can use this as a way to get her out of her husband's hands."

"Some way for luck to run," the hanyou said.

Koume looked at the village guardsman thoughtfully for a moment, and gave a curt nod, willing to change the talk as well. "Susumu is right. It may be the pivot point where we get to change her luck for her," she said. "Surely, Toshiro will do the right thing. He's the main reason Seiji's still here. Loyalty to the man's father is one thing, but . . . "

"He better," Fumio said. His voice was dark with promise. "Time to put an end to our Seiji problem."

"I can think of a way or two to get that done," the hanyou said, his voice just as dark.

Fumio hefted his hammer. "You're not the only one."

At Miroku's house, Kagome watched for a moment as Sukeo and his mother wept in each other's arms. Quietly, trying not to disturb or embarrass them, she slipped to the door of the sleeping room and taking care, slid the door open just enough to step outside of the room, and just as quietly, slid it closed behind her.

For a moment she just stood there, catching her breath, covering the bottom half of her face with her hand, leaning against the panels of the door, hearing the poor woman sobbing.

"Sorry, so sorry," Maeme said. It was hard to make out her words as she wept. Sukeo murmured something back, his voice too soft and muffled to make out.

"Come here, child." Kaede's voice was soft but calm and louder than the sounds Kagome was hearing from the back room. "I see that Maeme has come back to us."

Kagome turned around and looked out over the main room. Kaede was preparing a cup of medicine by Sango's fire pit, adding some herbs from the bags she had brought with her in her basket. Sango was sitting near her, tending the fire under her soup pot. Sunlight was pouring into the room from the open sliding door. Outside, Kagome could hear the sound of the girls playing in the yard in front of the house. She could just make the shape out of a cluster of men sitting under a tree. Someone, one of the village women, maybe Momoe, was walking towards the house. It all seemed so normal, and sunlight, and non-tragic that the contrast was almost too much for the young miko.

"I guess she has," Kagome said, and began walking back to join her teacher. "She's sitting up and talking to Sukeo-kun."

"She has always cared a great deal for her children," Kaede said, pouring hot water into the medicine cup. "I suspect they are the main reasons she never ran away from Seiji."

Kagome sat down next to Kaede. Kagome nodded. "She seemed so surprised that Sukeo would be crying for her."

Kaede gave the little cup a swirl and then set it down. "The mind of a person who has given up on life can see things in odd ways," she said.

"I've seen that before," Sango said. She lifted the lid off of the stew pot, and a delicious-smelling steam rose to fill the room. "One of the women in my village lost a child. It took her a long time before she could believe her husband didn't blame her for it, even though we knew he didn't."

"Well, the fact that she was able to weep is a good sign," Kaede said. "A person too lost in their own darkness often cannot weep. Perhaps it is a sign that she really does want to live, but felt too trapped to find a way."

"We will help her find a way, won't we?" Kagome said. She covered her face with her hands and shook slightly, trying to clear her own mind. "Nobody deserves to be that hopeless."

"Yes," Sango said. "We will." Her voice was steely, unwilling to take no for an answer. She filled two bowls with the soup she was making. "My aunt would make this soup for me when I was ill. I think . . . well, at least we can try to see if they'll eat it." She put the bowls on a tray. "Maeme, at least, ought to get some food inside her."

"Maybe Sukeo-kun can make sure she eats some," Kaede said. "And it might help her take this medicine." She added the cup to the tray. "It should help calm her. Maybe she can get some real sleep. I wonder how much real rest she gets at home."

Sango stood up, taking the tray with her. "We can only try."

Kaede stood up. "I want to go and check her as well." She looked at Kagome. "You, child - you should go out into the sun. It will do you some good. It's been a trying day."

Kagome nodded. "And the day's not over yet." As the two women headed for the back, she headed outside.

By the time InuYasha and his companions reached Miroku's house, the crowd of onlookers had started to swell. Iya had gone home, but Tazu stayed. She was carrying Noriko on her hip when the three of them got to the monk's house. Noriko was holding her stick doll, but looking very unhappy about being held.

Yusuko, spotting InuYasha, managed to wiggle out of Rin's hold and ran up to the hanyou. "Inu-oji! Inu-oji!" she said, standing in front of him with her arms open.

"Where did you come from, girl?" he said, picking her up.

"Too many people," the girl declared.

"So, you don't like all these people?" Susumu asked.

She shook her head. "Go home!"

"There are a lot here," Koume said, agreeing as she looked around. About ten people mulled around the front of the monk's house. Momoe and her daughter-in-law were among the curious onlookers.

Noriko spotted InuYasha and tried to get away, but Tazu decided to walk up to him instead. "InuYasha-sama," she said.

"Where's Miroku?" the hanyou asked.

"Over there," she said, pointing to the tree Miroku liked to meditate under. He was standing there, clutching his staff, talking with Genjo. Daitaro, surprisingly, was nowhere to be seen. Much to her dissatisfaction, InuYasha put Yusuko down, and walked over there. Before the little girl could follow, Rin and Koume, both took her by one hand and walked in the opposite direction.

"Back with us, I see," Miroku said. He was drier, and looked less cold, but there was a set to his mouth that betrayed his true tension.

"Yeah. Did Sukeo get here?" the hanyou asked.

"I saw him run inside a few minutes ago. What happened?" Genjo said.

"He was at Tameo's. Don't know what he was doing, maybe going to ask Tameo something, but he heard us talking about Maeme." The hanyou sighed. "Probably no good way to tell a kid about something like this, but hearing me rage about how his father drove his mother to try to kill herself was probably not the best way to get the news." His ears flattened a little, thinking about it and he sighed.

"Is that what happened?" Kagome said, walking up to the men. "I was wondering."

"Damn," Miroku said.

"How are they?" Koume asked.

"Maeme finally has come to her senses," Kagome said. "She was unconscious for a while, but when Sukeo showed up, she came to and sat up. Kaede-obasan is with her right now."

"Good," Koume said. She headed for the house.

"At least we know where he is. Someone's going to have to go get Nakao, eventually," Susumu said. "But where do we put them tonight? I don't think having them at my place would be a good idea with Seiji there. And there's Shinjiro's wedding . . . "

"Such a day," Momoe said, joining the little group. "People will be talking about it for years."

"You can bring him to my place," Fumio said. "Maeme's okaasan, his grandmother . . . she was a friend. I'd like to think her ghost would rest happier if she knew that the people who knew her didn't desert her grandchildren...I'm surprised she hasn't been haunting us all this time, after what's been going on there."

"And then what?" InuYasha said. "We pretend today didn't happen?"

"Nothing, today," Miroku said, his eyes hard. "We're not going to spoil Shinjiro's special day with what that...that...person deserves. But when the elders meet tomorrow, I want to be there." 


	236. Chapter 236

1_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters create by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 236**

Furume had finally made it home, just in time for the midday meal, where most of the farm hands who worked for Tsuneo but had no other family of their own would come to eat. They were gathered in a shady spot in front of the family's little house at the back of Tsuneo's farm buildings.

The chatter of the adults was filled with discussion of the news she had brought, but that didn't stop her from needing to do her usual chores. Furume, even though she was still agitated by the morning's events, stood next to her mother Kahoru, Masu's wife, who was manning the soup and rice, ladle in hand.

"Are you sure, Furume-chan?" Masu asked. "It was Seiji's wife in the water? This isn't just something you think happened?" He looked at his daughter thoughtfully as she walked towards him with a steaming bowl of rice.

"I saw it with my own eyes, Otousan. I was there when Houshi-sama jumped in," Furume said, handing it to him. "I saw her myself. I was the one who yelled loud enough for Houshi-sama to come see what was happening." She returned to her mother as her father started to eat.

Kahoru handed her a bowl of soup. "Give this to your little brother, child," she said. "It was a lucky thing you were there cutting mat rushes today."

Furume nodded. "I guess it was. If you hadn't said something about it, I'd have probably just worked on the bean field."

Taking the soup bowl, she walked over to where her brother was playing with Tadaki, mock-wrestling. Her brother was on top of the older boy, laying across Tadaki's back

"Help me, Furume!" Tadaki said, looking up at the girl, and giving her a big grin. "He's pinned me down! He's too strong for me."

This brought a peal of laughter out of the boy that did not amuse his sister.

"Get up, Sho," Furume said impatiently holding out the bowl. "Eat your lunch."

"But . . . But . . . " the boy said. He sat up, allowing Tadaki to sit up as well.

"A time to play, and a time to eat, silly boy," Furume said. "Okaa didn't cook for you to just eat straw, you know."

Tadaki pulled a length straw out of the boy's hair. "If you want straw, you could eat this," the young farm hand said.

"Or this," Furume said, handing her brother his bowl.

"This tastes better," Sho said, finally accepting the dish from his sister.

She headed back to her mother, and picked up more to hand out.

"The water in the river must be cold still," Masu said, as Furume walked past.

"It was. My feet were cold almost all the way home. I bet they were really exhausted when they came out of the water," she said.

Amaya from time to time when she was too busy to go home and cook her own meal, would come and join them for the noon meal. Today was one of those days. She accepted a bowl from the teenaged girl.

"Did anybody say how she got in the water?" Amaya asked.

"I don't know, but Houshi-sama was very brave jumping in like that. He swims as good as a fish," Furume said, taking her own soup and rice and sitting down, but quickly getting up. "Who put that stick on my mat?"

Sho looked steadily at his own food. Furume kicked it away and sat back down again. "Someone will remember that."

The boy snickered, but stopped at the withering glance his mother gave him. "Someone will remember more than that," she said, dishing up her own food.

Furume took a bite of rice then tilted her head, gazing thoughtfully in the direction of the river. "She looked so peaceful as the river pulled her along. I'm wondering . . . "

"Wondering what?" Amaya said, picking up her bowl of soup.

"I was wondering if she walked into the river on purpose," Furume said. She took another bite of rice. "Why else would she be just floating along in the deepest part of the water?"

Kahoru paused for a moment as she considered her daughter's words, her dipping ladle posed in midair. Her brows knit together as she considered it. "Could it be?" she said. "I know Seiji was strict with her, but . . . "

"Strict? Keeping her locked up in that shack and only letting her out to do his work is a bit more than strict in my book," Amaya said. She took a drink of her soup. "Isao-kun was heading over to go fishing with Sukeo one day when he heard her shrieking and Seiji yelling. Sukeo wouldn't admit anything to him . . . but I heard that Kaede-sama had to be sent for. He said she had fallen out of a tree, but I don't think she believed him. I know Haname-obasan didn't. A man who beats up on his woman all the time . . . "

"Do you think they'll do anything if she did?" Furume put down her rice bowl and picked up her soup.

"Oh to be an elder," Masu said. "If it's true, I suspect the next time the elders meet, it's going to be an interesting meeting. Especially if Houshi-sama takes her side."

"He's a good man," Kahoru said. "And you know what he thinks about women."

That caused the men to laugh.

"So," Tadaki said. "You women noticed that?"

Amaya giggled. "How could we not? I remember before he got married to Sango-chan . . . "

"Hmm," Kahoru said. "If Maeme walked into the river because he made her that miserable, they should give Seiji to the women. Big man thinks he's so tough. I wonder what he would do if we all gave him what he deserved."

"That's a scary thought," Masu said.

His wife gave him a particularly vicious smile. "I know."

At Miroku's house, Sango was feeding lunch to her daughters and their babysitters. Although Tazu and Rin were trying to keep the twins quiet, the air still filled with soft giggles. All talk stopped though, as the door to the sleep room slid open.

Sukeo stepped out, followed by the old miko.

"Okaasan? Why?" Noriko said between bites of rice.

Sango picked up a bite of fish out of her own bowl and popped it into her daughter's mouth. "Ssh, baby. Remember? I told you Maeme-obasan is staying back there right now. She needs some rest."

The girl looked unconvinced, but let Rin give her a piece of her onigiri. Chewing she watched the boy turn to the miko. He looked tired and worried, but not so panicked as when he had run in earlier.

"The medicine you gave her . . . " he said, hesitantly. "Will it help her to become happy? I remember . . . sometimes when I was young, she would smile for real and sing songs to me and my brother. It's been a long time since then."

Kaede sighed. "It's going to take time, son. It took her a long time to get to this point. We will do what we can."

He nodded. "Please. I..." he looked ready to cry again. He turned his head and rubbed at his eyes.

Sango reached for a clean bowl. "Sukeo-kun, would you like some food?" Sango asked. "You didn't touch the soup I gave you earlier."

He turned to look at the little group around the fire pit.

"It's very good," Rin said, feeding Noriko some more Yusuko held out her hand, and Rin gave her a piece as well.

"Mine's not good enough?" Tazu asked, taking a bite herself. Yusuko shook her head.

"Thank you, Sango-sama," the boy said. "I...I don't think I'm hungry right now. My okaa . . . "

The old miko nodded, put a hand on the boy's shoulder. "Give her time, son. She's safe for now."

"Safe." He stared at his feet. "Can . . . can we keep her safe?" Sukeo asked. "Even safe from herself? I didn't know she felt so . . . "

"We will try," Miroku said, stepping into the house. He did not slip off his sandals. "In fact, there will be no trying. We will keep her safe."

The boy looked up at the monk who stood there. Miroku's eyes looked back at him soberly, but kindly, but the set of his mouth very determined. It was a look Sukeo found reassuring for some reason.

Sukeo bowed toward the monk. "You have my eternal thanks, Houshi-sama. If you hadn't . . . "

Miroku nodded. "Not just me. If InuYasha hadn't been there to pull us out . . . well, it's over and done."

"The hanyou?" Sukeo said, straightening up. His brows knit together, a look somewhere between uncertainty and disbelief. "They told me that, but Chichi-ue says . . . "

"Did you want your lunch now, Miroku?" Sango asked, intentionally interrupting as she picked up the dishes that her daughters had used.

"Not just yet," the monk replied, shaking his head."Let's go for a walk, Sukeo-kun," he said, beckoning to the boy. "I bet there's a lot happening today that doesn't match what your otousan says. We'll get that all straight, but first, let's go to the temple, and say a prayer for your okaasan."

Miroku led the boy outside. The well-wishers who were curious about everything had started drifting away, since it had been made clear that Maeme looked likely to survive her experience in the water. Daitaro and Genjo had headed back to their house and midday meal. Koume was talking with Kagome, not far from the front door. Susumu and Fumio and InuYasha, though, were standing under the monk's favorite tree, glancing towards the house, and looked as if they were waiting for someone to step outside.

"You're smart, Houshi-sama," the boy said as they stepped outside. The women looked up, and gave him kindly looks, but didn't say anything as he walked through the entrance. Embarrassed, he kept his eyes on Miroku. "Why . . . why did this happen? Why today?"

"I'm not really sure," the monk admitted.

"But who made her like this? It . . . it was my otousan who made her like this, wasn't it?" He looked down at his feet and swallowed. "It's not fox magic, or a curse, is it? My otousan is always blaming everything on luck and foxes."

"I don't think it was a curse," Miroku said, gently. "No, not a curse. Maybe destiny that brought her to your father."

"Can we change destiny?" Sukeo asked. "I...she . . . It hurts to see."

"We can try," Miroku said.

"All right," the boy said.

As they walked around the side of the house to pick up the path that ran from Miroku's place to the temple beyond, the three men who waited under the tree began walking towards them.

"I know this has been a bad day for you," the monk said. "Susumu told me how you spent the night sleeping near your Otousan." The boy nodded. "And Fumio told me how you wanted to protect your Okaasan."

"I..." the boy said, letting his voice drift away. He swallowed, then looked up at the monk. His eyes were somber, and his bottom lip was trying to tremble, but he fought to get his emotions under control. "I just want to be a good son."

"I know," Miroku said, nodding. He stopped walking to let InuYasha and the others catch up with them. "Being a good son is sometimes one of the hardest jobs."

"My . . . my okaasan would tell me that." Sukeo looked up at the monk. "Especially after Chichi-ue had . . . had one of his bad days." He covered his face. "She always tried to hide it when he . . . he . . . hurt her. When he got mad at me, she would try to encourage me. 'Just do a little better, Sukeo-chan. Your father, he has high standards. Just do a little better.'" His throat caught and he sobbed, once, but shed no tears. He looked at the little circle of men who were now surrounding him.

"Why does she lie for him?" he asked. "It never was about high standards. We all knew that."

Fumio rested a hand on the boy's shoulder. "I think . . . I think maybe she was trying to hide the truth from herself."

"Pretending can help," Susumu said. "Until the pain gets too bad."

"We'll find her a better way to take the pain away," Miroku said. It sounded like a promise.

Sukeo looked in the eyes of each of the men who surrounded him, even InuYasha. Nodding, he began to walk.


	237. Chapter 237

_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 237**

At the temple, Miroku burned incense, and chanted prayers in a deep resonant voice. Then afterwards, he led the men to a comfortable spot nearby; ironically, it was the same spot that Chiya had attacked InuYasha the day of the workday. InuYasha looked at the scorched area of ground where Kimi and Yaya had tended the tea fire and stuffed his hands in his sleeves, scowling.

"Let's sit here," Miroku said. He looked up at InuYasha, and gave him an understanding look, but he sat down in spite of the hanyou's scowl.

Susumu and Fumio joined the monk and the boy. InuYasha gave a little sigh and sat next to Susumu.

"I've been thinking about the best way to insure Maeme-sama will be kept safe - safe from her own self, or from . . . others." Miroku said. He placed his staff over his lap and then steepled his fingers together, half closing his eyes. "This is a tricky thing to accomplish."

"Feh," the hanyou said. His hand went to his sword hilt. "I could just . . . "

Susumu grabbed InuYasha's hand, and nodded his head in the direction of Sukeo. InuYasha looked at the boy, who was sitting there, struggling between trying to look like a man, but at the same time, looking like a frightened and overwhelmed child. He met Sukeo's eyes and his scowl softened. "Yeah," he said.

"So," Fumio said, placing his own hammer in front of him. "Have you come up with any ideas?"

"Maybe," the monk said. "That's why I wanted you three here." He looked down at Sukeo. "Your mother now owes a life debt to me, son."

Sukeo looked up at the monk, confused. "A life debt?"

Susumu's eyebrow went up at that. He scratched the back of his neck. "Going to try that way? I wonder what Chichi-ue would say to that reasoning . . . "

"I saved her life, didn't I?" the monk said.

"What do you mean, Bouzu?" InuYasha asked. "You've saved a lot of people before. Never heard you talk about them owing you a debt." He plucked a blade of grass near his feet, and twirled it between his right thumb and forefinger. "Why now?"

"Usually, when I save people, they stay saved for a while," the monk said. He opened his eyes wide, shattering the look of composed Buddha he was trying to convey. "If I send her back home, is she going to stay safe?"

Sukeo covered his face with his hands and shook his head. "My otousan . . . "

"I do not want the life of that woman thrown away by sending her back to her husband," Miroku said. His eyes were very serious. "I promised her that I would protect her if she let me rescue her. How can I do that if we let her go back to Seiji-sama?"

"But . . . but . . . " Sukeo said, frowning. "You can do this? How?"

"I'm not sure," Miroku said. "But I know she's not going back to that man's house tonight. She might not be going back tomorrow, or the day after."

"Are you going to turn your temple into one of those refuges that women who run away flee to?" Fumio asked. His voice was somewhat hesitant, but approving.

"The thought crossed my mind. There's only one of me, and it wouldn't be an easy thing." Miroku rested his face in the palm of his hand.

"Why are you telling this to me?" Sukeo asked. "Are you asking me for permission? It sounds like you've made a decision." He rubbed his hands through his hair. "I...How can I do anything to stop you or help you?"

"You are the eldest son," Miroku said. "I thought you had a right to know. And I need to know whose side will you be on. Will you stand with your father or your mother?"

"Houshi-sama," Susumu said, frowning at the monk. "Is that fair? He hasn't even had his coming of age yet. And look at what he's gone through today."

Miroku shook his head. He looked at Sukeo, and reached out and rested a hand on his shoulder."When I was a small boy, younger than Sukeo here, younger than Nakao, I watched my father die from a horrible curse, and I had to accept an awful burden. My friend here," he said, nodding at InuYasha, "lost first his father, and then his mother, and then he was disowned, and sent out to live or die the best of his ability. Maeme's family died of a sickness, and left her alone, and she was sent to live with a man who would beat her until she decided death was better. Life isn't about fair." He sighed. "But we need to figure out something."

The boy's face drained white. "But . . . but . . . "

"I have seen you, Sukeo," Miroku continued, "how you have tried to shield your brother from your father, how you ate shame rather than admit how you hated how he behaved."

"I...I..." the boy said. He took a deep breath, and nodded before burying his face in his hands one more time. "Sometimes."

"If you stand with your father, no one will say you are a bad son." The monk's voice grew gentle. "I'm not trying to make things difficult. I, too, am struggling to find a path that might protect everybody. Some might even praise you for being a dutiful boy, and see that as a virtue." Miroku leaned forward. "I will not criticize you, either. I just wanted you to know what I want to do."

"Don't pressure the boy, Houshi-sama," Fumio said. "His world just turned upside down."

Sukeo looked up at the blacksmith, looking at him with a grateful look.

"I don't know what you want me to do, Houshi-sama. You saved my mother," the boy said. "Thank you. I don't know what else to say."

Miroku scratched the side of his head. "I'm not sure I do either," the monk replied. He sighed. "I don't know what your okaasan will want to do either. I just . . . I just hate that all this happened." He hung his head. "Maybe I'm still too tired myself to make sense. But you deserve to know what's going through my mind. I just want to make things right for you and for her."

"Can I . . . " Sukeo said, getting to his feet. His eyes looked red and glistening, and his face reflected his agitation. "Do you mind if I go back to sit with her? I'm afraid she'll wake up and find I'm gone."

"Go ahead, son. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have even started this. I just . . . I'm just glad I was there for her. This way you have a mother left to sit with."

Sukeo got up, and bowed, then hurried back to the monk's house.

The monk looked up at the men who were still sitting with him. "That didn't go over the way I meant it to." He rested his head in his hands. "I don't know if I even know what I meant to do."

"Are you serious about claiming that she owes you a life debt?" Susumu asked, leaning forward, thoughtful.

"Maybe. I don't know. It was the first thing I could think of that might keep her from going back to that animal of a husband."

"Where would you put her?" Fumio asked. "Your temple doesn't even have real living quarters yet."

"Something more to think about tomorrow," Susumu asked. "We're going to give the elders a lot to deal with, it sounds like."

"It does, indeed," Miroku said.

Back at the village, away from both the monk's house and the headman's compound, Yurime was the first to break the news to Fujime and Emi and Kimi.

"Did you hear?" she said, walking up to Fujime and Emi as they sat on the verandah.

Fujime looked up at the wife of Choujiro, standing there, wringing her hands. Next to her was her son Daichi, a small child not yet four years old. He looked at the children playing and tugged on his mother's skirts.

She bent down and picked him up, balancing his weight on her hip. "Not right now, little one. Let Okaa tell Fujime-sama the news."

"Well?" Fujime said. "Sit down, woman. It's hard looking up." Yurime bowed, and sat down next to the two women. "So what is this news?" the older woman asked.

"My man, you know he's been working up the hill, making boards for InuYasha-sama?" Yurime said. Daichi tried to wiggle out of her lap.

"Okaa, play!" he said, looking up at her with pleading eyes.

"Let him go join," Emi said. "He's welcome."

"You're sure?" Yurime said, a little shy of putting herself forward.

"Of course. He's just the right age to play with Riki's little boy. Mikio!" Emi called.

Mikio looked up from a pile of sticks and rocks he was making.

Emi smiled and gestured for him to come join them. "Come here, boy. Come meet Daichi."

He walked across the yard, a little hesitant. Yurime put her boy down. They looked at each other a little shyly. Mikio stuck a finger in his mouth.

"Go play?" Daichi asked.

"Yeah," Mikio said. Soon both boys hurried over to whatever it was Mikio was building and they both got busy building the structure.

"So," Emi said, looking at Yurime. "Choujiro told you something about things at InuYasha's house?"

"No," Yurime said, shaking her head. "Not at that house. At Houshi-sama's house. They brought Maeme there about an hour or so ago. She had jumped into the river."

"Now that's interesting," Fujime said, leaning forward. "Tell me more."

Back at Miroku's house, Kagome and Koume sat by Sango's fire pit, drinking tea. The girls were playing with their dolls in one corner. Chika the cat curled up next to Sango, trying hard to ignore everybody else in the room.

"Do you think they'll be long?" Koume asked. "I'd really like to get to Nakao before he hears all the rumors. Furume probably told everybody she saw on the way home."

Chika shifted, opening her eyes. Briefly looking around the room, she jumped up into Sango's lap. The taijiya's hand went to her back without thinking, and stroked the soft calico fur.

"Not too long," Sango said. "Miroku hasn't eaten, and I know InuYasha must be hungry, too."

"Hunger can speed them along sometimes," Koume said nodding. "But we really need to get moving."

"I could go get them," Kagome said, holding the cup in her hand. She took a sip of the pale green liquid.

"I think," Sango said, "that what you really need to do is go home and get ready for Shinjiro's wedding."

"But what about Maeme?" the young miko asked. "Shouldn't I stay here and help?"

"Chime is really looking forward to having you and your husband show up," Koume said. "She got me and several other people to donate pickles."

"She didn't!" Kagome said. This got a small smile from her, but it was just a little one. "She really means to have InuYasha sample all the pickles?"

"Oh yes," Koume said, nodding. "You have to show up."

Kaede stepped out of the back room and slid the door behind her. "No, child, you shouldn't stay. Maeme will probably sleep off and on for a while after the medicine I gave her. There is no need for you here, child. I'll stay here in case she needs something, but mostly she needs time and sleep and quiet."

"But I thought you were going to Shinjiro's wedding, too?" the young miko asked.

"Ah, but you are going, child." Kaede said. "Chime knows that sometimes emergencies happen, and I don't have a husband who must try all the pickles. They don't need two miko. You can give them the kami's blessing."

"Me?" Kagome said, surprised. "What blessing?"

"After they've both shared their cup, take water and sprinkle them with it," Kaede said. "That's a final purification. It signifies that they are starting their new life together as pure in the eyes of the kami. Then say a word or two of blessing. I usually say something like 'Be blessed all the days of your life together.'" She looked at her apprentice, who was looking back at her with some anxiety. "I know you did miko work for your grandfather. You've told me that. You never did something like this as a miko at your old home?"

"No, what people did at weddings was much different where I lived," Kagome said. She thought about what Kaede had said, sucking on her bottom lip, then nodded."This sounds much easier. You're sure they'll want me to do this?"

"I can't see why not," Kaede said, sitting down near the fire. "But if Chime or someone else is bothered, they can send me word, and I'll walk down the hill to do the blessing. But you are a miko. This is the type of work you will be asked to do from time to time."

Kagome looked uncertain, but nodded. "I'll talk to Chime and Daitaro before things get started."

"Good," the old miko said. Sango poured her a cup of tea which she drank gratefully.

As she sipped, Sukeo slid the door open, and walked inside. His eyes were troubled and he looked as if he might have been crying. Chika peeked up at the boy, and for some reason, decided to walk over to him and rub her head against his leg. He bent down, and patted her gently between the ears.

"How is my okaasan?" he asked, still bent over. Chika started to purr, a loud, pleasant sound, but then he stood. "Did she wake up?"

"Just to take a sip of water. Then she went back to sleep," Kaede said. "Why don't you go sit with her? I suspect she will rest better if she knows you're there."

He nodded and went to the back. As he went in, Rin, who had been sitting with her, came back into the main room. Noriko, seeing her, held up her doll. Rin walked over to her and sat down, and Noriko put the toy in the young woman's lap.

"Sing to her?" the girl asked.

Rin picked up the doll, and Noriko climbed into her lap.

"Go into the mountains,  
>and count the flowers," Rin sang,<br>"Azalea and lily,  
>camillia, peony,<br>and don't forget the wisteria -  
>how sweet it smells."<p>

Yusuko crawled over next to them, and rocking her own doll, sang,

"Lily sweet,  
>azalea sweet,<br>wisteria."

This amused Rin. "Let's go outside, and see if we can find any flowers."

Yusuko nodded, and Noriko got off her lap. Taking each of the girls by hand, she led them out of the house.

"If it were only that easy to solve all problems by singing about pretty things," Sango said.


	238. Chapter 238

1_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 238**

"I think," Susumu said as he looked at the men gathered in front of Miroku's small temple, "we're going to have to work on what we are going to do about Maeme still."

Fumio nodded. "That was an awful lot to drop on a young one's shoulders." He stood up. "I hope we can figure out the right thing. But for now, I had better go so we can check on Nakao-kun before he hears all the talk. Between the people who came up here to find out for themselves, and Furume, the whole village must be buzzing by now."

Susumu also stood. "I...I think I'll go tell my otousan what you were thinking about, Houshi-sama. He's a smart man. He might be able to figure out something. Or maybe we'll just all gang up on Toshiro tomorrow. Or something."

Miroku sighed and nodded.

"Keh," InuYasha said. "Or something."

"At least he's locked up for today, cousin," Susumu said. "That way, we can go and pester Shinjiro in peace. I'm looking forward to seeing how many pickles you can actually eat. I hear Chime-obasan is getting pickles from all the women for you to try out."

InuYasha looked up at him. His face wavered between solemn and surprised, his right ear twitching as he tried to figure out what to say.

Before the hanyou could react, Susumu grinned, and slapped Fumio on the shoulder in a friendly way. "Come on, Fumio. Let's get that woman of yours and go see what other things this auspicious day is going to bring us." Together, the two men headed back towards the monk's house, leaving Miroku and InuYasha sitting down together.

InuYasha shook his head.

"I believe you've gotten a reputation," the monk noted.

"Feh," the hanyou said. "At least I can eat that one. Not as much as you've bitten off. A life debt?"

"First thing I could think of," the monk said. He rubbed the back of his neck. "We need to do something."

InuYasha nodded. "Damn, but I don't want to let that piece of crap back anywhere near any of his family. Don't deserve a family."

"Exactly." Miroku looked off in the distance, his eyebrows knitting together. "She looked like a bit of rag floating in that water when I first saw her. She wasn't really splashing much, just moving to keep her head up enough to breathe. She tried to push me away when I jumped in and swam to her." He took a deep breath. "Why now? Why today?"

InuYasha shrugged. "Maybe she heard about how he was talking about dumping her for Chiya?"

"She didn't say anything about it," Miroku said "I don't know why she did it. She only talked about how badly it all hurt."

InuYasha cracked his knuckles. "I'd like to hurt him."

"Maybe tomorrow," Miroku said.

The hanyou flexed his fingers, emphasizing his claws."Can't happen soon enough."

Unaware of the drama taking place in the rest of the village, Takeshi, Erime's father, was singing softly to himself as he stacked some firewood in the woodshed they had built against the wall of the house.

"To meet the girl of my heart,

I went out in a field,

surely I would find her there

walking among the lilies."

Takeshi, not exactly sure of what to do with himself until it was time to get ready to do the wedding procession, found himself splitting fire wood. Normally, he left this for his oldest son, who seemed to have an affinity for it. Masayo, though, was working on the field where they would be planting their hemp linen, at least until lunch time, so he took over the wood splitting duty. Leaving the wood shed, he walked over to his splitting stand, and put a piece of wood on it, and continued his song.

"But the field was empty,

and all the lilies dead,

the only person I saw there,

was a peddler with a tray."

"No peddler here today, though," he said, putting the next piece of wood up. "And its too early for lilies."

He split that, and picked up the cut wood, and tossed it on the side.

"To meet the girl of my heart,

I went and stood along the bridge,

Surely I would see her there,

crossing the swift-flowing river.

"Many people came and went

across that busy bridge,

a beggar asked me for a coin,

and a soldier chased me away."

"Bridges," he said. "Isn't that what life is like?" He put up another length and cut it, and again.

"To meet the girl of my heart,

I followed a sweet voice singing,

it led me to a little house

with only a single window.

"My true love's voice

I thought looking in the window,

but the voice belonged to a grandmother

spinning at her wheel."

"Sounds like you're rather stupid at love, Takeshi," Ushimi said, peeking out of the house.

"I was stupid, but you were smart," the father of the bride said. He put down his axe, and picked up the pieces of wood he had split. "But the verse is true. My true love is now a grandmother who spins at her wheel. Still my true love, though." He gave her a warm smile.

"That might be," Ushimi said, "but I know you're smart enough to eat lunch."

"That's a good idea," Takeshi said. "I probably am, most of the time."

"Your daughter worked hard to fix it just right. Her last meal with us as just our daughter." Suddenly, her eyes glistened. "After today, we have to share her with Daitaro and Chime."

"That's what happens, isn't it?" he said, dropping the axe down and wrapping his arms around his wife. "We share Masayo with his wife's family, too."

"But it's different with a son!" Ushimi said.

"It is, but look how close your daughter will be. Our little Sakami, it's a long day's walk to her parents' house."

Ushimi nodded.

"She's the first we've had to let go," Takeshi said. "Maybe that's it?"

"Maybe." Ushimi wiped at her eyes. "I remember, when I was carrying her, thinking about this day."

"And I remember the first time I held her," her husband said. "So small, and so beautiful. She's still rather beautiful, if not so small. Takes after her mother."

Ushimi leaned into his hold and wrapped her arms around his waist. "You always knew how to sweet talk me, husband. Since that first day you convinced me to put that ribbon you gave me in my hair. My mother was rather furious."

He laughed. "Let's go have lunch. We can save the tears for later. At least we know she's going where she wants. I am sure that they will try to make her as happy as possible."

"And Shinjiro . . . they seem content around each other."

"Like you and me, wife?" he asked, resting his forehead on hers.

"I hope so, husband. I hope so. They'll have to learn how to work those details out for themselves." She took his hand, and together they walked inside of the house

Kagome walked the path from Sango's house to the temple, where InuYasha and Miroku still sat on the grounds in front of it.

"So, there's a sculptor I know at the temple in Odawara," Miroku said.

"So?" the hanyou said. He was lying back on the grass, looking up at the clouds. "Sky's changing. It looks like it's going to rain soon. Been a few days since it rained last."

"Today?" the monk asked, looking up.

"Probably not until tomorrow," the hanyou said. "So what about this man?"

"You know I've been trying to raise enough money to have him make us a Jizo statue," Miroku said. "He's the artist I want to make it, but I don't think I have enough yet. I wanted to do it when we go there for the sutras, but I don't think we'll have it yet."

"Not the biggest village," the hanyou said. "People here, they can only give so much."

"We need another exorcism," Miroku said, nodding, He looked up at the sky once again, and moved his hands in a prayer gesture. "A nice troubled merchant would be handy, Jizo Bosatsu. Maybe someone will show up on market day . . . "

"You better not go hustle someone who doesn't have a real problem, not for this," InuYasha said. "Doesn't seem right to raise money for a temple on hustle."

"You'd be surprised how often that gets done, and by temples with far greater reputation for holiness than my little one," the monk said, leaning forward to rest his cheek in his hand. "But, alas my friend, I think you're probably right. I want the statue here for Jizo's blessing, not his displeasure. Even I have some ethics."

"Some," the hanyou admitted. "Nice to hear you admit it. I didn't want to pull that life debt crap you were talking about with Maeme on you to keep you from trying."

"You did save me today," Miroku said. "I'm pretty sure I could have saved myself, but I don't know if I would have made it with Maeme. Once that branch started to break, the one thought that ran through my head was how to explain why I let myself get killed to Sango . . . "

"That's what friends are for," the hanyou said. His ear flicked, and his nostrils flared, and he sat up, turned around and saw his wife walking up to them.

"So there's where you are," Kagome said as she neared the two of them.

"You have found us, Kagome-sama," Miroku said. "Staying close to the Buddha's presence and letting that last cold of the river bake out in the sunlight."

"Or something," InuYasha said. He motioned, and Kagome came and sat down next to him.

"So how are things at the house?" Miroku asked.

"Kaede is keeping an eye on Maeme. She said in her experience, that sometimes when people do what Maeme try to do, the darkness in their minds drives them to do it again," Kagome said, sighing.

"I, too, have heard of that," the monk said, nodding.

"I can't blame her for feeling hopeless, caught with that piece of shit she has for a husband," InuYasha said. He stuffed his hands in his sleeves.

"True, true," Miroku said nodding.

"Most of the other people have left. Koume and Fumio were going to get Nakao. They'll probably bring him up here to see his mother." Kagome looked thoughtfully at her hands for a moment. "I was sort of surprised by how involved those two have gotten."

"Ah, I suspect this makes them both think of what happened to her daughter, Kimi's sister. Nahoi," Miroku said. "She had a man who almost killed her. He had hit her head, and did other things as well. She never has been the same."

Kagome nodded. "I noticed she was . . . different. I met her at the sewing party. What happened to the man who did that to her?"

"He tried to run, but the village guard chased him down. Fumio killed him. With his heaviest hammer."

"Served him right," InuYasha said, scowling.

The young miko shuddered. "No doubt he deserved it. This must be hard on them then."

"I wouldn't be surprised if it's bringing up memories," Miroku said, nodding. "Maeme may not realize it, but she has them on her side. It's going to be an interesting meeting at the council tomorrow, I suspect. Koume's never been one to hold back if she feels like something needs to be said."

"And," Kagome said, standing up, "Sango told me to come tell you that your lunch is getting cold."

"I don't know how she managed to cook during all of this," InuYasha said.

"Sango is a strong woman." Miroku got up.

"She has to be, to put up with you, Bouzu," InuYasha said, also rising to his feet.

"No doubt, my friend, you are right." Miroku said.

They all walked back to Miroku's house. InuYasha and Kagome, taking their leave, headed home.


	239. Chapter 239

1_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 239**

For a moment at Toshiro's house, things were approaching a moment of calm. Asami had rounded up all the children and somehow herded them into the house. The rooster strutted across the yard, keeping a watchful eye on a cat sleeping under a tree. From the back of his house, one of the workmen, Shigeru, from the sound of it was talking to the horses, and one whinnied back at him.

"Hard to believe this is my house," he said, leaning up against a post on the verandah.

Even the house seemed calm. The only real sounds drifting out were the sounds of Nanami ruling over the midday meal. The children of the family, eager not to be denied both their rice and the treat she promised for the end of the meal, murmured in soft voices as they ate.

"If it were only like this all day," the old elder said, stepping off of the verandah and into the sunshine.

"Done already, Otousan?" his son Yasuo asked. "I thought you'd still be eating."

Toshiro turned around to look at the younger man. Although smiling contentedly, Yasuo still looked fatigued, like he was the one not sleeping enough with the arrival of his new daughter.

"You look tired, son," Toshiro said. "Maybe more tired than Sayo-chan. And she's the one having to get up to feed your new little one."

"Sympathy, maybe. You're right," Yasuo said. "I didn't sleep very well last night. So, have you eaten?"

"I had Nanami-chan get me a little something early," the elder said. "With everybody so busy, I thought it might be a good time to check up on the gardens. I'm sure there's a weed or two that can use pulling. How is my new granddaughter doing?"

Yasuo smiled. "As beautiful as her mother," he said. "And with good lungs, too. I don't think Daiki-chan cried any louder when he was born."

"You make good children." Toshiro clapped his son on the arm, then turning, he began walking to the side of the building. "Loud, but strong."

"Maybe the goodness will rub off on Matsume." Yasuo followed his father. "The little one took to her almost like she was her mother." He cracked a grin. "Think Kinjiro can handle any of our family's loudness?"

"Might serve him a good lesson," the elder said, heading towards the tool shed attached to the back corner of the big house. "I hear sometimes he gets . . . well, impatient."

"Nothing teaches patience better than trying to deal with your own young ones," the younger man said, nodding. "Especially when you're gifted with a brood like mine."

"They'll be worth it though," Toshiro said, opening the shed door. He looked in, finding a hoe he liked. Picking it up off the rack, he hefted it. "You were worth it, after all."

"I'm glad to hear you think that, Otousan," the younger man said. For a moment he leaned against the wall of the house and rubbed the back of his head. "I'm not sure everybody agrees. The women kicked me out because I was too noisy. I was tapping too much. Sayo-chan told me to go eat."

"You get that way when it's meal time. Sort of like Daiki-chan." Toshiro grabbed a basket hanging on the shed wall. "They're eating now. You might want to go inside before Nanami-chan feeds it all to those boys of yours. She probably expected you to eat with Sayo-chan." He closed the tool shed. "She made that special fish you like so well."

"Did she?" Yasuo said. "Maybe she still likes me after all. I wasn't sure after this morning. Let me get inside before they eat it all down."

"You do that," Toshiro said, putting the hoe handle over his shoulder. "You know where to find me if you need me."

With a nod, the younger man headed towards the house. Toshiro watched him go and called out, "If you're smart, son you'll take a nap."

Yasuo waved at him, but Toshiro doubted he'd take his advice. Shrugging, he headed for the garden.

On the other side of the village, another moment of calm was being appreciated as InuYasha and Kagome neared their own house.

"Such a morning," Kagome said. "It feels good to be going home. I never expected a day like today. Haname, Maeme . . . "

"Been kind of wild," InuYasha said, nodding. "I hope this isn't the way every day is going to go from now on. Seems like one thing's been leading to another. One fire gets put out, and another one starts."

"You noticed that, too? I think that if those fires keep happening, we're moving to the forest," the miko said. Since they were alone, she grabbed her husband's hand and leaned into his shoulder. "This has been just about the craziest day of a crazy week. I don't know if I can take many more."

"Just let me know when you're ready," he said. He had a grin on his face, but there was a look in his eyes that let Kagome know he wasn't totally joking. "I know a good place or two."

"I'll keep that in mind" she said. "If Chime-obaasan wasn't expecting us, and I didn't have to give the blessing, we might have gone off exploring one of those this afternoon."

InuYasha gave her hand a little squeeze, and he sighed, a note of longing in his voice. "Yeah."

Their house grew visible as they walked. "Do you hear that?" Kagome asked.

"Hear what?" the hanyou said, swerving his ears. "I don't hear anything. Just the wind and some stupid birds."

"Exactly," Kagome said, breaking into a pleased smile. "Nothing. Nobody."

"Guess Choujiro went off for lunch," InuYasha said. He pointed towards the side of the house. "Look there." They could see the carpenter's handcart, and a growing stack of boards. "Man's put some work in this morning. I guess he'll be back later."

Kagome sighed, obviously hoping for some privacy. "Well, lunch is a good idea. I was too wound up to eat anything at Sango's house."

"Keh," the hanyou replied. "Miroku was just as bad. After Susumu left, he just didn't want to go back in until you showed up."

They reached the door. "I can understand that. I bet he just needed some time to relax after everything that happened. And think. But now, I think my stomach has decided differently. I'm ready to get cooking."

"Sounds good to me," InuYasha said. "Rather eat your cooking than Sango's, anyway."

Kagome gave him a pleased looked. "Stir up the fire, will you, and I'll get the pickle slices made."

"You can save the pickles for later." InuYasha lifted the mat door of their house and held it for Kagome to walk through. He grinned at the surprised look on her face. " I hear they're expecting me to eat a lot of them tonight."

"I heard that too," she said as she stepped through. "You think you'll get enough?"

He looked thoughtful for a moment and then shrugged. "I used to think that wasn't possible," he replied. "But from the talk, I think Chime's going to see if it's possible. I guess we'll find out."

"My husband - from fierce warrior to village pickle judge," Kagome said, laughing. Amused, but somehow pleased by that title, he went to work on the fire.

Lunch was light, rice balls stuffed with fish and some quick cooked greens. They ate without much talking, each lost for the most part in their own thoughts.

InuYasha, finishing the last of his onigiri began to move his hand in the direction of Kagome's tray and suddenly caught himself. For the first time since they started their married life there was no dish of pickles on her tray, and for the first time since they began eating meals along in their own house, there was nothing for him to steal from her tray.

He pulled his hand back, but not before Kagome caught him. She smiled, and gave him a little grin. He smiled sheepishly back at her. "You saw that?"

She laughed, but it was a gentle sound that didn't make him feel embarrassed, and as he watched she took the hand that wanted to take her pickle and put it over her heart. "It's been such a strange day. You've been harassed by Sora-chan's children, put up with Amaya-chan overreacting at Tsuneo's house, and all the things with Maeme, and didn't even get to steal a pickle from my tray." She dropped his hand, and reached up to brush his cheek. There was a hint of promise, or at least the hope of promise in her eyes. "Maybe this afternoon will be better."

"Yeah." His look returned hers with just the same sort of promise. "We'll see."

She stood up, and moved her tray towards the sink to wash her dishes. "But first, time to clean up."

Picking up his own tray he followed her.

As Kagome began to wash her dishes, Toshiro reached his family's vegetable garden, and began to survey the field. Early spring greens nodded in the sunlight. Other things, not quite so welcome, thrived along with the vegetables.

"I knew it," the old man said. "I've bet nobody's checked this place in a week." He started to sigh, but shook his head, and put down the basket he had brought. "Might as well enjoy it as long as I can."

He started to walk towards the nearest edge of the field when he felt a tap on his shoulder. "What is it now? Did someone . . . " He whirled around but nobody was there, and his words dropped off. "I could have sworn someone was behind me." Looking around to make sure one of his grandchildren weren't trying to prank him, he shrugged then bent down next to the mustard, and started pulling weeds.

Unseen by human eyes this time, Kazuo chuckled. "You always did like to tease him, Sadayori. Somehow I wonder how he put up with you."

Also unseeable by human eyes, a small frail farmer chuckled. The man looked very much like an aged version of young Sukeo, and with reason, since he was the spirit of the boy's grandfather.

"Even more fun now, I think," the man said. His voice was wispy, almost like a breeze. "I take my fun where I can find it. Not that much for a ghost to do. Sure don't want to stay around my house. What that poor excuse of a son does to my grandchild . . . And that poor girl he married . . . " The old ghost scratched the top of his bald head. "I've tried to help. You know how I've been pestering all the local kami. I think they run and hide when I come by, but you're the only one who's even been willing to listen to me."

"The land kami has mentioned that fact," Kazuo said, nodding."More than once." He laughed. "'Take care of him,'" the kami said, mimicking the voice of an exasperated woman. "'Whatever it takes. Just keep him away from me!' She's good at protecting the land, but human hearts - I think they frighten her."

"She didn't really do that, did she?" the ghost said, surprised. "And after all the offerings I sent her way when I was alive . . . "

"Oh yes she did," the kami said, nodding. "Stormed up to my little hole in the wall place in the August Fields. I don't know what you did to your family kami either. He won't even come out of hiding. I've been looking for him. He ought to be involved in this."

"Bah. He always has tried to stay in the background. He's not like you. What good is it to be an ancestor if you don't do anything?" the old ghost asked. He sighed. It was a winter sound, like wind blowing through bare branches. "I didn't mean for this to happen. I should have never gotten Toshiro to promise me to protect that worthless boy. But I was afraid, afraid of death and I knew he was . . . well, you know how Seiji is."

The kami looked at him sympathetically. "Deathbed promises. We don't always think right then," he said. "You meant well. You've always tried to do right. It's not your fault the way Seiji and his brother turned out. Even now, you're doing more than you think, old friend. We're here now, aren't we?" Kazuo rubbed his cap back and forth over his head. "It took a lot of plotting to get to this point. But the luck gods, they seem to be smiling."

"You're sure of that?" Sadayori asked. "What my karma was to have a son like Seiji . . . "

"I'm sure you've worked some of that karma off getting us to this point, old friend," Kazuo said. "Your grandsons are safe right now. And now we work on Toshiro. It would take the luckiest day of the year to budge that man. Loyalty is a virtue, but sometimes I wonder if he doesn't have it too much. Putting up with Shigeru, and Seiji and all the rest. But today, maybe, we can budge him off that. Just watch."

As they hovered nearby, Toshiro worked over his garden, and a small pile of edible weeds had started in the basket he brought. He dropped his hoe onto the ground as he bent over a planting of tatsoi. "Ah, I thought I saw you," he said, tugging at a weed. Lifting it up, he looked at it critically. "Maybe you're still young enough for Nanami-chan to put into the pot."

"And maybe you're still young enough to have some sense in your head, Toshiro-sama." It was a woman's voice, old and cracked with years. Something hard tapped his shoulder even as she spoke.

"You brought her here?" Sadayori said.

"Oh yes," Kazuo said. He crossed his arms, looking quite pleased. "She's a good one for times like this."

"I believe you. I'm a ghost, and she still makes me feel off balance," Sadayori said.

Kazuo laughed. "And I'm a kami and I understand exactly."

Unable to sense his two supernatural visitors talking, Toshiro merely frowned, dropped the weed, and stood up, turning to face his accuser.

Hisako, the daughter of Daisuke, looked at him with scowling eyes.


	240. Chapter 240

1_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 240**

As Kagome was putting the lunch dishes away on a shelf in the kitchen cupboard, InuYasha walked up behind her and wrapped his arms around his wife. Kagome turned her head to give him a quick smile, and then tiptoed up as she put the last bowl in its place.

"You look tired," he said.

"Maybe." Her task done, she let herself relax into his hold.

Snugging her just a little closer under the fabric of his voluminous sleeves, he gave the top of her head a little kiss. "So," he said, his voice soft, but not suggesting anything in particular. "What shall we do until it's time to go to Daitaro's?"

Kagome rested a hand on his encircling one. She tilted her head up, and to the side, so she could get a glimpse of him. He watched her, pleased with the look of contentedness he saw there. "You could just stay there and hold me like this for a while," she said, leaning back against him.

"Is that all?" he said, resting his chin on the top of her head. "You don't ask a lot."

"Feels good." She leaned further into his embrace. "I don't need a lot."

"Oh, I think you need more than you're asking for," he said. "You always were like that."

"Was I?" Her fingers played with the edge of one of his sleeves.

"All the time, trying to hide what was going on inside of your head, like you thought it'd hurt me, or one of the others, or something." He loosened one hand and brought it up to the top of her shoulder. "It's not like I would have ever bit you or something."

Kagome laughed. "It was more your bark, sometimes, than your bite I was worried about."

"Feh," he replied, gently rubbing the top of her shoulder.

"Sometimes . . . well, I just didn't feel right . . . hitting you up with my feelings," she said, dropping her head forward. "Fifteen-year-old girls are really insecure."

"Maybe you were right. Not so sure I was that secure, either." He bent forward and gave a tiny kiss to the area he had rubbed. "Not so sure I'm that I'm that good about talking about feelings now."

She turned around, but didn't move out of his hold. "You're way better now than you were when I first met you."

He sighed, and almost winced. "I was really a jerk then, angry and confused." He pulled her close, resting her head on his chest. "I've always been amazed how you put up with me. And why you kept coming back."

Kagome looked up at him and gave him a crooked grin. "At first, there were times I wondered that, too. It's a good thing we had the shards to gather up. It gave us time." Leaning her head back against his chest, she played with the tie that secured the neckline of his jacket. "But there was a point, even before you tried to block the well, that I knew I just wanted to be with you. And after that . . . I knew it was where I was supposed to be."

"Kagome," he said, slipping a finger under her chin and tilting her face up to look at him. "I...I..." He struggled to find something to say, but failed. Instead he kissed her, a long, slow, tender kiss, which she returned with equal enthusiasm.

"Maybe there's something else besides me holding you that you'd like to do before we go to Daitaro's," he said, breaking off the kiss. His fingers reached for the ties of her own white jacket; her hands slipped into the slits of his hakama.

"Maybe," she said.

As he pulled the tie open, there was a crash outside.

"Damn it," Choujiro's voice said. "Stupid log. InuYasha, are you there? Can you give me a hand?"

The hanyou sighed.

"Or maybe not," Kagome said. With a serious frown in the direction of the noise, she let go of InuYasha and retied the red cord of her chihaya.

As Kagome and InuYasha worked out their afternoon plans, Toshiro's plans were being thoroughly interrupted by the arrival of Hisako, daughter of Daisuke, who looked at the elder with a deep scowl.

"Can a ghost be frightened by a living woman?" asked Sadayori.

Kazuo, still invisible to the humans in front of him, chuckled. "Just watch, friend. You may enjoy this one."

Toshiro removed the end of her walking stick from his shoulder. "Hisako-obasan? Is something wrong?"

She tapped her walking stick on the ground with some irritation. "Is something wrong?" she repeated. Behind her were several other women - Benika, one of Chiya's friends, Teruko, the wife of Haruo, and Yaya, the wife of Isamu, who had helped Kimi the day of the roofing. She turned to the women behind her. "Is something wrong, he asks."

Benika covered her mouth, trying to hide a nervous grin.

"I would say so," Yaya said, crossing her arms in front of her.

Hisako turned back to face the elder. "It's a good thing that Sayo-chan's still in the birthing room, or she would be telling you a thing or two herself," Hisako said. "Maybe you'd listen then."

"Bah," Kazuo said. "Even Sayo-chan's never been able to budge Toshiro on this one."

"Steadfastness was always one of his qualities," Sadayori said, His ghostly fingers scratched underneath his ghostly chin, a nervous habit he had developed while alive and that had followed him into the afterlife. "Never could figure out if it was loyalty or just bullheadedness."

Toshiro, luckily unaware of the commentary being made about him, was free to concentrate instead on the group of women who stood there ready to give him a piece of their mind. He brushed the dirt off his knees, trying to figure out why they were here, hiding his confusion for as long as he could. As they watched, the look on his face went from confusion, to concentration, to finally, surrender. He took a deep breath and straightened up, meeting the elderly woman's eyes, who tapped her walking stick once more, harder than before, impatient for a response.

"Hisako-obasan, you may be right about my lack of sense," he said at last. None of the women looked ready to disagree with him. "But I have no idea what I might have done to cause you this unhappiness. I have been rather busy the last few days. There is a new infant in the family, as I'm sure you know. It's captured a lot of my attention."

From the main house, a boy's voice gave a shout, followed by a girl, calling his name. Yaya looked idly in that direction, but none of the others acted like they noticed.

"You haven't heard?" Benika asked. She looked at Teruko. "Maybe Furume didn't stop here on the way home. She must have told half the village."

Teruko shrugged. "I didn't hear from her, either. Choujiro told Haruo. That's who told me. And from what you told me, Benika-chan, Choujiro knew a lot more."

"I always hated when a group of women would corner me this way," Sadayori said.

"It is . . . nerve wracking," Kazuo replied. "Toshiro's handling it well, though. Some men would have tried to hide their nerves by yelling by now."

Toshiro, though, didn't yell, although his brows knit together, and his irritation was beginning to show."Told you what?" He brushed his hands off, a small scattering of straw falling as he did so.

Hisako tapped her walking stick again. "That man of yours," she said, lifting her stick to point at the elder. "It's all his fault. She'd never have done something like that if he acted like a real man."

The elder sighed. "It would help to know which man you are saddling me with, Hisako-obasan. Outside of the fact I know you can't be talking about Yasuo, I'm rather confused."

"She means Seiji," another man's voice said, coming up to the small group.

"You're really going to hammer him this time, aren't you, Kazuo-no-kami?" Sadayori said. "First the women, and now . . . "

"If necessary," the kami said, rubbing his chin, as he studied the group of women.

"I kind of feel sorry for him," the old ghost said, sighing. "He was my best friend. But stubborn. Still, if he wasn't so hardheaded . . . you would think after what happened last winter. I was sure with the bandit attack . . . "

The old kami shrugged "He's got a good heart, if a thick head. You know what they say. You can get some people's attention just throwing a pebble. Hisako's like that, surprisingly. With some, you have to put their head on an anvil. Today, all these," he said, waving his hand, "are his anvil. Especially that one." He pointed to the newcomer.

Toshiro turned around to see Tameo, looking rather troubled, walk up and join him.

"Seiji?" Toshiro said, sighing deeply. "Has he done something else?"

"When hasn't he?" the headman replied.

"When hasn't he, indeed?" Benika said.

Yaya gave her a nudge, and a disapproving look.

"Well it's true. I thought for sure he was going to beat up my husband yesterday when he got so drunk." The younger woman crossed her arms, unashamed

"He got drunk?" Toshiro asked.

"More than that," Tameo said, moving next to the elder as if that would give Toshiro some protection from the women's glares. "He pushed Kagome-chan to the ground, too. And in front of InuYasha-sama."

The elder shook his head, and rubbed his hands over his face, then turned around to pick up his hoe. "What in the hells gets into that man? Is he ever going to learn?"

"I heard that InuYasha-sama pulled his punch," Teruko said. "Eiji said he could have easily crushed his skull as strong as he is."

"I bet."Yaya nodded knowingly. "I've seen him knock down a tree with a single punch."

Benika shuddered. "I'm glad he didn't. My children were down there and saw the whole thing."

"It was ugly enough for those who saw it," the ghost said. "That InuYasha . . . I was surprised he didn't take his head."

"He's a better man than some," Kazuo said, rubbing his hat back and forth across his head. "Now let's see how Toshiro handles this news. I've gone as far as a kami can to soften him up. Now we'll see if we've prepared the soil good enough."

"So what happened next?" Toshiro said, putting his hoe over his shoulder. It was obvious he had given up on the weeding.

"We put him in the lockup," Tameo said. He rubbed the back of his neck. "He's staying there, too, until at least after Shinjiro's wedding. I...I just wanted to make sure nothing happens until after the wedding. I could see him go hunting for InuYasha."

"He'd be a fool if he tried," Yaya said.

"So when did that ever stop him?" Hisako shook her head. "How many fool things has he done over the years?"

Tameo held his hand up, requesting silence from the women. "It's been quite a day at my place. He repaid us for the inconvenience of the lockup by serenading us with every dirty song he knows." The headman scowled. "Some I think he made up as he went along. I never knew a man could know so many raunchy songs."

This made Hisako snicker. "Bah," she said. "You should hear my otousan on a day he takes too much medicine and it loosens his tongue. But go on, Tameo-sama. You know that's not the whole story. Or haven't you heard the whole tale yet, either?"

The village headman nodded and looked at the ground for a moment. "Oh, I have, maybe more than you know." When he looked up, he rubbed the back of his neck again. "Today, Houshi-sama and InuYasha, they pulled Maeme-chan out of the river. She had tried to drown herself. I was told he had been beating on her pretty badly. Our little problem just got a good bit worse. The hanyou was over at my place ready to take his head."

Toshiro stood there, struggling for something to say. Hisako pointed her cane at him one more time. "It's time, Toshiro-sama. I know you've been protecting him. I don't care what promises you've made. He has to go!"


	241. Chapter 241

1_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 241**

For a moment, in the space in front of Toshiro's garden, time seemed to freeze.

Hisako stood there, caught in mid-sentence, her walking stick resting gently against Toshiro's chest. The lines on her face were twisted into a frightening grimace. Standing almost directly behind her, Benika was frozen in mid-stride. Teruko, looking more concerned than angry had her hand half-lifted to pull on the woman's sleeve. Yaya seemed locked up in a nervous giggle.

Sadayori turned to the kami. "You did that? You froze time?"

The kami started to rub his hat over his head once again, but caught himself. "Not exactly. I don't think any kami exists that can really freeze time itself for the whole world. What I did do was pull us both, you and me, out of time. It's a handy trick. Lets me get things done quicker and with fewer interruptions, but I can't hold it for long this far from my shrine. It's kind of draining."

"So why?" the ghost asked, confused.

Kazuo shook out his sleeves. "For you, friend. I made this chance for you."

Sadayori scratched his head. "To do what?"

"To tell Toshiro what you want," Kazuo said, nudging the ghostly farmer towards the village elder. "Now while he's confused. You'll never have a better chance of reaching him without making a full-fledged haunting. I don't know if that'd work any better. They'd just go get Kaede-chan and that monk and try to chase you away, and that wouldn't do anybody any good right now."

Shrugging, and feeling more than a little uncertain, Sadayori carefully walked in front of Toshiro, trying hard not to bump into Hisako's walking stick. He peered deeply into the elder's face, then turned back towards the kami. "He does look rather confused. Kind of like that day when he found out he was going to be a father the first time. He was so nervous about the whole thing."

"It did take him a while to get used to the idea," Kazuo said, nodding. "I remember. Haruyuki," he said, looking in the direction of Toshiro's family shrine, "who ought to be here with us instead of hiding in his little corner of the August Fields, couldn't understand it. Came over and complained how Toshiro didn't appreciate what the ancestors were doing for him."

"Never helped me much, even when I passed on," Sadayori said. "Now he won't even let me get near him. He blocked me out of the family shrine."

Kazuo gave him a sympathetic look. "Just like with regular humans, not all kami behave the same. Sorry, friend. So, let's get on with the job here."

The ghost nodded. "So what should I do?"

"Just touch him," Kazuo said. "Say what you want him to know."

Sadayori moved behind the village elder. He rested his fingers on the man's shoulder. "You were always my best friend, Toshiro-chan. I thank you for trying to help with that worthless son of mine, but his heart has become too black. Let Seiji go, Toshiro-chan. It's time. Forget what you promised me. If he's driving my family to seek death, what good is that promise? Instead of that snake, take care of my grandson! Listen to Tameo. That's what you need to do."

The ghost let go and stepped back, rubbing the tip of his nose, uncertain. He glanced at the kami. "I felt something. Do you think I reached him?"

"Oh, you reached him," Kazuo said, nodding. "The real question will be will his bullheadedness let him accept it. Let's see what happens."

The kami gave the ghost a wink, rubbed his hat over his head, and clapped his hands. Suddenly, the air which had seemed absolutely still to the two of them, began moving again with a breeze that stirred the leaves of the plants in the garden. A bird flew down from a nearby tree and began hopping through the mustard. Hisako, reanimated, lost her horrifying look and dropped her walking stick to the ground.

"It's time to do the right thing, old man," she said. "It's time."

As she spoke, Benika tried to take a step forward, but Teruko pulled her back by her sleeve. Yaya nervously giggled over Hisako's treatment of the elder.

Toshiro, though, didn't really notice any of this. Instead, his eyes grew wide and he shuddered, the color draining out of his face. "What . . . what?" He looked around, as if he suspected to find someone standing behind him, and scratched his head in confusion when he saw nothing.

"Don't turn away from me like that, Toshiro-sama!" Hisako said, irritated at his reaction. "I might just be an old woman, not very useful to anybody but Chichi-ue, but you know I'm telling you the truth."

"Of course, Hisako-obasan . . . " He tried to speak soothingly, but it was clear something else had caught his attention as he continued his scan of the area. He brought his eyes back to hers and scratched his head. "Did you see anybody behind me?" he asked. "I'd swear someone was whispering in my ear. It was such a soft voice."

"See?" Kazuo said to Sadayori. "I told you that you reached him."

The old ghost nodded. "But did it sink in?"

The women looked at the elder with varying degrees of disbelief. "Nobody's been behind you, Toshiro-sama," Benika said. "Have you been drinking sake already?"

"Benika!" Yaya said. "That's no way to talk to Toshiro-sama."

Tameo gave the younger woman an imperious look, and she stepped back. "Well, you have to admit that he's acting strange," she muttered, moving closer to Teruko.

Tameo gave the elder a thoughtful look. "There's only us. "Could . . . " The headman looked around, and closed his eyes a moment before turning his head towards the point where the kami and the ghost stood.

As he began looking their way, Kazuo quickly made an arching gesture with his hand. To the ghost, it looked like the air surrounding him and the kami glittered a moment. For a second, his sight seemed to dim, and the sounds around him faded, but as the glittering passed, everything snapped back the way it should be.

"Concealing magic," Kazuo said.

Tameo frowned, and shook his head. "I could have sworn . . . Eh, I must have been mistaken. It's been a crazy day," he muttered.

"That was close," Kazuo said. "I forget how much spiritual power Tameo has," he explained. "He's as strong at feeling the spirit world as Kaede. If he wasn't supposed to be headman, they could have sent him to the yamabushi, and he would have been a real mage."

"Sometimes that's a handy talent he has," Sadayori said. "I remember the time when . . . "

The kami waved a hand, interrupting the ghost. "But not this time," he said. "It'd spoil what I'm trying to get done here."

The ghost shrugged.

While the ghost and the kami talked, Teruko crossed her arms, looked around, obviously bothered by the elder's reaction. "All I hear is Asami chasing after that grandson of yours," she said.

"So loud and angry!" Yaya said, looking towards the house, glad to have something here and now to focus on. "He must have really done something this time."

"Bah," Hisako replied shaking her head, but not dropping Toshiro from her sights. "They act like that every day."

"Now for the last softening up before Tameo pulls him to the side," Kazuo said. He scratched his chin. "Shame the land kami isn't here to see it. I don't think she thought anybody could budge him. "

"I'm a bit confused," Toshiro said. "So let me get this clear. Seiji got into trouble yesterday evening, and is now in the lockup. This morning, Maeme tried to drown herself in the river. Because of how Seiji was treating her?" Toshiro asked, looking at Tameo rather than any of the women.

"We've been telling you that," Benika said, shaking off Teruko's hold.

Tameo nodded. "That's what the monk told InuYasha-sama." He took a deep sigh. "If that wasn't bad enough. Sukeo-kun overheard InuYasha telling me about it. We didn't even know the boy was there until after we frightened him to death. He obviously thought she had drowned at first."

"If anything happens to her . . . " Hisako said, taking a step forward. This time, she wagged her finger instead of her walking stick. There was dark promise in her voice. "We remember who's been protecting that ass."

The information about Sukeo was news to the ghost. "My poor grandson," he whispered. "He's been trying so hard to do right by everybody. Protect his brother. Keep an eye on his mother. Deal with the shame. And to have this happen . . . " He looked up at the kami. "It's hard to believe that I could have raised such a beast. He didn't start like. Hotheaded, but most of the men in my family have had a temper. He put so many ofuda and charms around the house that I could only watch from the outside. But even there I could tell it wasn't right." He straightened up, his face set hard. "It's not an easy thing to want to disown a son. But it's time. We have to get rid of him."

"We'll get things fixed right," Kazuo said, patting the ghost on the shoulder. He decided not mention the fact that he was the one to send Sukeo to the headman's place just in time to learn the news. "Sukeo-kun's already up the hill with Maeme at the monk's house. He's going to help her pull through. He's a good boy, and a worthy son for your family."

Toshiro looked down at his feet. "Protecting Seiji. I promised Sadayori that I would try to. What was I supposed to do? You've seen his brother. You want him to take over and kick those boys out? You know that's what he'd do."

"There's a point to find a new path," Yaya said.

"It's time to do something. Tameo-sama, I told you it was a mistake to just ignore what he tried to do when the bandits kidnapped Furume," Hisako said. "We almost lost Masu's children because of him. And now he pushes his wife to despair. That man is a blight on our village!"

The women murmured in agreement.

Benika took a step forward. "You should listen to her, Toshiro-sama. And you, too Tameo-sama. Do you want us to get a reputation as a village that lets the men kill off their women?"

"Please, Toshiro-sama," Yaya said, pulling Benika back. "Think about what will happen once Seiji is let out of the lockup. Who knows what he'll do next? I heard he had threatened Chiya-chan, even. And tried to pick a fight with Michio."

"That's enough," Tameo said, stepping between the elder and the women. "Go home, all of you. The elders will have a meeting and choose the right thing."

"You better," Hisako said, tapping her walking stick hard on the ground.

"I need to think," Toshiro said.

"And we should talk," Tameo said. He rested his hand on the other man's back. He pointed to a small grove of trees that marked the location of Toshiro's family's shrine. "Why don't we go over there?"

Toshiro nodded.

Tameo turned back and looked at the group of women. "Go home. We'll get all this figured out tomorrow. I'm not going to spoil Shinjiro-sama's day today with any more chaos. You can come by my house tomorrow if you want to see what we do. Go home!"

The women watched as the two men walked off.

Hisako frowned. "I'll be there. You can be sure, Tameo!" she yelled at the two men.

With that, she and the other women headed back to the main street.

Sadayori sighed. "So now what?"

Kazuo rubbed his hat back and forth across his head. "I think . . . You might want to head up to the monk's house. Sukeo's already there. Nakao will be showing up soon. They might be able to see you, but your presence might help."

"What about the monk? You think he'll let me be there?" Sadayori said. "He's got a lot of spiritual power. And most of these guys don't like ghosts hanging around."

"You're still gifted by my magic. Shouldn't wear off until tomorrow. I'll come by later and check on things. First, I have something else to do."

The ghost nodded, and with a sound that carried the music of a gust of summer wind, he disappeared.

"After today," Kazuo said, "I'm going to need a long break in the August fields. I wonder if that pretty little land kami up in the hills might like some company?" He rubbed his hat across his head, and whistling a tune, headed off to the next place on his list.


	242. Chapter 242

1_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 242**

While Tameo walked Toshiro away from the women who had confronted him, InuYasha stepped out of his house, then rounded the side of the building to spot Choujiro scrounging through the pile of trimmed off branches the hanyou had put aside for firewood. The hanyou watched for a moment as the woodworker found one to his satisfaction.

"Now what's he up to?" InuYasha said. While he watched, the woodworker began to strip the smaller branches off of it. It was the right size to use as a walking stick, or a lever, straight and stout, about twice the thickness of Miroku's staff. With a shrug, InuYasha walked up to where the other man was working.

"You have a problem, Choujiro?" the hanyou said. "You don't look like you're needing any help."

Choujiro, using his knife to smooth off the nub of a stick that had not broken cleanly, looked up and smiled at the silver haired man. With a small oomph, he cut the offending piece of wood off. "Ah, InuYasha-sama, you were home after all. I thought I was going to have to do this by myself. It's my lucky day." He looked back down and snapped off another twig.

InuYasha crossed his arms and frowned. "I think I'm getting tired of that word luck," he said as he watched the man work. "That's what everybody's been saying today. And if there's been extra luck, it's showing in strange ways."

Choujiro nodded. "More lucky for some than for others," he said, chuckling. "I must not be included in the good luck side. Look over there." He pointed with the wood he was working on to where the cut log sections were. The closest section had rolled off the cradle they had set it on earlier, and was laying on top of one of his wood splitting tools. "I guess you could say I was lucky that it didn't hit my cart and roll over everything. It stopped in time, thank goodness. Carts are much harder to make than levers. I was going to try to nudge it enough with this stick to grab the handle of my tool there, but it'll be much easier with a second pair of hands."

"Keh," the hanyou said. "That's easy enough. It won't even take the two of us." He walked over to the log, and without much trouble, lifted the heavy piece of wood, and shoved the supports back into place. The look of pleased amazement in Choujiro's face amused him, and felt much better than the look of fear that his using his strength often evoked. As Choujiro tossed the branch he had been working on back into the firewood pile, InuYasha dusted off his hands. "There you go." He looked around, looked surprised, and raised an eyebrow. "I know something seemed wrong. You're missing a helper."

"You noticed that, did you?" Choujiro said, rescuing his tools and walking back to his cart to get his splitting wedges. "Maybe today's not so lucky for Aki-kun, either," he said as he hefted one of the heavy pieces out of the cart. "I made the mistake of stopping by the headman's place. Kinjiro learned that Aki now wants to start chopping wood to build his strength. So he decided to put him to work this afternoon."

"I wonder if Kinjiro's decided to stay close to home this afternoon. He was pretty upset with what was going on when I left there earlier," InuYasha said. As Choujiro began walking back to the log he was ready to work on, the hanyou followed him. Stopping to see what the woodworker had accomplished already, he nudged the stack of boards already made with his foot. "Looks like you and Aki got a lot done this morning."

"We had a good start," the woodworker said. He leaned on the block of wood. "You might be right about Kinjiro wanting to stay close. When I saw him when I broke for lunch, he was . . . well rather agitated. You must have just left. He told me about Sukeo-kun."

"That ass Seiji," InuYasha said. "He's turned out to be more trouble than he's worth." He looked down at his fist. "I should have hit him harder yesterday."

"Maybe they'll have a better afternoon." He gave InuYasha a grin, then got ready to work, looking for the right place to put his wedge. "Koichi told me he finally shouted himself into out of his voice, and can now do little more than croak like a frog. He didn't say anything while I was there."

"They'll appreciate that. The stuff he was singing . . . " the hanyou said, shaking his head. "Anybody ever tell him what happened to Maeme?"

"To be honest, InuYasha-sama, I don't know," the woodworker said. "I wouldn't be surprised if they haven't. He's been such a . . . a . . . "

"A useless piece of meat?" the hanyou suggested, once again crossing his arms and stuffing them in his sleeves.

"You could say that. Nobody wanted to talk to him except to shut him up. I know both Koichi and Jun were ready to beat him into a pulp."

"I think if everybody who wanted to beat him up today showed up in one room, the place would be crowded," InuYasha said. His ear flicked, but his frown began to move into a smirk at the mental picture.

"I suspect you're correct," Choujiro said, tapping his splitting wedge with a mallet. "I even think there'd be a few women in that group. I told Hisako-sama about it, and she looked like she was ready to beat him up with her walking stick."

InuYasha chuckled. "That old woman can be scary when she's angry. They ought to let her go first."

"Well, the way these women talk, he might wish he had never come back here," Choujiro said. "The meeting they have tomorrow is going to be interesting. And noisy." He picked up his mallet, then looked over his shoulder towards the front of InuYasha's house. "Speaking of women, what is yours doing?"

InuYasha turned around to see Kagome, out of her miko clothes and dressed in her beige kosode and blue wrap skirt, carrying out the wash stand. She had already moved the washtub out, and carefully put the wash stand on the ground next to it. "That's a good question. I better go see."

And with a wave, he headed to see what his wife was up to.

As InuYasha and Choujiro talked, Koume and Fumio made it to the front of Seiji's house.

The rooster who guarded the grounds gave them a careful look as the couple headed to the front of the building. Ruffling its feathers, it decided they didn't have food or harm, and the bird headed around the back to continue its patrol.

They stopped for a moment. There was no movement around the grounds. The breeze ran through a wind chime, but that was the only noticeable sound.

"Mighty quiet here," Fumio said. "You think Nakao-kun's still home?"

"Let's hope so," Koume said. "Wonder where that good-for-nothing Yoshimi's at?"

"Laying low today, I suspect," Fumio said. "I heard he had Ryota mad at him," Fumio said. "Something about a gambling debt or something. With Seiji locked up, I suspect he decided the wood was safer."

"The village is safer when he's not around," Koume said. "He's been hiding behind Seiji since he was small. What will he do if the elders decide to send him away?"

"Run with him if he's smart." Fumio shook his head. "Well, let's get him."

"Poor boy," Koume said, and nodded.

They walked up to the door of the rather ramshackle house and knocked. For a moment, there was no sound. Fumio knocked again, louder. There was a faint groan from inside.

"Kaede-chan told me she had given him some medicine that would make him sleepy." Koume said. "I bet he's still sleeping it off."

"I'll knock again," Fumio said. "If that doesn't work, we'll go inside."

As he knocked this time, Koume walked up to the door mat. "Nakao-kun? Come to the door, please," she said.

There was a rustling sound, and some mumbled, drowsy words neither of the grownups could make out. Koume looked at her husband, who sighed.

"Nakao-kun," he said in a strong voice. "We need to talk to you."

Some more grumbling followed, but this time, they heard things shifting, followed by footsteps.

The doormat lifted, and Nakao, bruised of face and sleepy-eyed, peeked out. He may have been drowsy, but the look he gave them was wary, like he was being asked to break a rule.

"Fumio-sama? I'm sorry. Nobody's home. My otousan doesn't like people to come visit," he said, bowing. He straightened up, and rubbed his eyes, and covered his mouth, hiding a yawn.

"We're not here to see your otousan," Fumio said. "We both know where he's at."

The boy shrugged. "I'm still not supposed to let people in. I'd ask Haha-ue, but she's not home either. She went out to do her laundry, I guess," the boy said. He started to back up, looking very uneasy. "I should go back in before I get in trouble. I've been in enough trouble lately."

Koume stepped forward. "That's why we're here, Nakao-kun," she said, reaching out to touch the boy. He looked at her hand, surprised. "Your okaasan . . . "

Nakao looked up, frowning, as he studied the faces of both adults. Although they were looking at him kindly, the looks on their faces bothered him as much as their being there did. They were somber, but not angry, more sad than worried. "Is something wrong? What about my okaasan? I don't know where she does the laundry. It's some place down by the river."

"She was doing her laundry?" Koume asked. She looked at the boy, stepped back, and then into her husband's eyes.

"That's what she told me she was going to do," Nakao said, looking up at them both, growing more nervous at their reaction.

Koume tried to give him a reassuring smile, but it didn't quite reach her eyes. Fumio took a deep breath and rested a hand on the boy's shoulder. "She fell in the river, son."

The boy's face went pale. He said nothing for a moment, trying to wrap his mind around what they were saying. "Into the river? I don't think she knows how to swim. Is . . . is . . . she . . . where is she?"

"Houshi-sama has her at his house," Koume said. "He was the one who rescued her, with some help from InuYasha."

Nakao's eyes grew damp and he began to tremble. "Rescued? She's . . . she's alive?" His voice was as shaky as his body. He swallowed, looking at Koume, and the Fumio. Koume clasped his hand.

"Yes, yes, she's alive, son," Fumio said. "We thought you'd like to go see her."

Nakao nodded, wiping his eyes with the back of his hand. "Why didn't you bring her home? She'd want to be home. Okaa . . . "

"She's exhausted. Kaede-sama said she didn't get really hurt, but she's too tired to come back here tonight," Koume said. She pulled the boy close to her. "She's going to be all right, Nakao-kun. Your brother is with her already. Kaede-sama and Houshi-sama want her to stay there until she's better."

He looked up at her fearfully. "Chichi-ue's not going to like that," the boy said. His words sounded like a warning. "I bet he gets really mad."

Koume pursed her lips and shook her head. "Frankly, son, I don't think that anybody cares about what your otousan thinks about this right now." She brushed his bangs out of his face. "First thing is to get you okaasan better, right?"

This seemed like an amazing idea to the boy. He looked at Fumio and then at Koume, and their certainty dazed him. "We can do that?" he asked. "Not care what Chichi-ue thinks? You can keep him from coming to take her home?"

"Oh yes," Fumio said, nodding. He hefted the hammer he was still carrying over his shoulder. "And this time, it's your otousan who's going to have to listen."

Shaking his head at these strange ideas, the boy followed the two grownups up the hill.


	243. Chapter 243

_ I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 243**

Tameo and Toshiro left the crowd of women to walk towards the small shrine of the edge of Toshiro's property. It was marked off from the main house by a fence.

"You think they'll give us some peace here?" Toshiro asked, as they stopped outside the gate.

"Maybe," the headman said. He leaned on the fence. "I think we calmed them down enough not to mob you here."

Off in the distance they could hear children playing. One of the oxen on Toshiro's bit of pasture lowed out of sight. Someone, maybe Shigeru, let out a curse about the worthlessness of the cart he was using.

"These last few days," Toshiro said, joining him. "I've been rather . . . distracted. It's times like this that remind me how much I've come to rely on my daughter-in-law to keep the family together so I can even pay attention to what's going on."

"It's not just you having strange times," Tameo said, looking at his friend. "This whole week has been one thing after another." He turned around from where he had been studying the garden in front of the shrine, filled with evergreen shrubs, and a few early weeds poking slight flowers amid the green, and rested his back on the fence railing. "Since the day when the monk and InuYasha went off to take care of that youkai at Kagemura. Between figuring out what to do about that yamabushi, and Aki-kun, and then Chiya . . . this will be a ten day I'll be glad to see go." He looked at Toshiro. "At least you got a granddaughter instead of another grandson out of the mix."

Toshiro chuckled, faintly. It did not sound very amused. "There is that. The boys in our family . . . they tend to be a handful. The youngest looks like he's going to be as high spirited as Daiki."

"I think a lot of us have that trait," Tameo said. "Look at what a handful Susumu was to deal with when he was growing up. But he's turned out all right. So has your son."

"He has, hasn't he?" the elder said, nodding. He began to walk, not back toward the house, nor into the shrine grounds, but on a small graveled path that led beyond it. Tameo, knowing where it led, sighed, and began to follow him. "His mother would have been proud."

"I think so," Tameo said. "No, I know so. And of you, too."

"Bah," Toshiro said, turning towards his companion. He gave the headman a sad, wistful look, and took a deep breath, shaking his head. "You know how she would have been. She'd have been right there with the other women, shoulder to shoulder with Hisako." He began to walk again. "She never had much patience when I had trouble letting go."

"You have a good heart," Tameo said. "She knew that, too. You care about the people under your charge."

"I guess," Toshiro said. "I do care. I know it. I want to believe that they'll see the light, and do the right thing. Some do. Susumu did. Daitaro was just as bad when we were growing up, and look at him now. But some . . . "

The road turned at a large, spreading cypress tree. Toshiro stopped at it and rested his head against the bark. "But I don't know what to do about some."

Tameo patted the elder on the back. "For some, there's not much you really can do. You don't think you're ever going to get an honest day's work out of Shigeru, do you?"

Toshiro snorted and looked up. "Not as long as there's a shady tree or a pretty girl to watch or a way to look busy without doing it. I hope Emma-O notices that when I pass on. Maybe it'll make up for my other sins."

"Jizo will, even if the King of the Dead doesn't, I'm sure," Tameo replied. "He no doubt would have starved to death by now if he had tried that with anybody else."

They began walking down the path again. "Maybe," Toshiro said. "Although I seem to remember you have a weak spot for people, myself."

"Probably," Tameo said, nodding. "But I'm not quite as sure I have what it takes to be quite as loyal to people like him as you do. I'd have probably sent him to Edo or to Odawara by now."

They entered a clearing marked with stones - the graves of Toshiro's relatives. A memorial stupa arose in the middle, surrounded by a mix of slab and square markers. The place was quiet, and looked well cared for. At a few of the stones, there were offerings.

They walked to one marker, a squared post of finely grained granite. Unlike most of the rest, it showed fewer signs of attention.

"It looks like Seiji doesn't come here very often," Tameo noted.

Toshiro nodded. "He and his brother were off on a drunk the last memorial day. Maeme-chan and the boys came by and tidied it up a bit a couple of days later. Otherwise, there'd be more spring weeds. I'm surprised Sadayori doesn't haunt him for the neglect."

"Sadayori was a good man. His son doesn't live up to what he deserved. Neither of them," Tameo said.

"I remember when Seiji ran off," Toshiro said. "It broke him some. I don't think he ever really was the same after that."

Tameo nodded, and for a moment, said nothing. "Sukeo, though . . . he looks like he has the making of a good man. At least he's trying."

"I haven't paid enough attention to the boy," Toshiro said. "I see him once in a while, but . . . "

Tameo rested a hand on his friend's shoulder. "He slept next to the lockup last night, trying to be a good son. And he evidently searched high and low for his okaasan this morning. It's hard being torn between wanting to do the right thing and dealing with the problems a father like Seiji causes. He'll be fifteen soon. Ready for his coming of age."

Toshiro looked at Tameo thoughtfully. "You want me to let go of my promise to Sadayori, like the women do, don't you?"

Tameo took a deep breath. "I just can't see him wanting you to protect that . . . " He paused for a moment, swallowing whatever word he was going to use to describe the man. "Well, he wouldn't approve of what Seiji is doing to his grandsons, much less his daughter-in-law. I don't think there's anything left in Seiji worth trying to save. Or if there is, it's beyond the skill of you or me to do it."

Toshiro looked up at the sky, then back at the grave. "I just was hoping . . . " He looked at Tameo. "It's hard to admit defeat. I've been hearing talk about how he beats on his youngest."

"And Maeme-chan." Tameo scratched the back of his neck. " I hear that Kaede-chan and the others discovered he had been beating on her pretty badly. More than we would have imagined. If I had known . . . "

"Sukeo-kun, do you think he can handle it if we decide to send his father away?" Toshiro asked.

"He'll have help," Tameo said. "I hear Fumio has taken an interest in him."

Toshiro rested a hand on his friend's grave marker. "Fumio's a good man to have as a friend. Maybe . . . maybe it's time I transfer my promise to your grandsons, Sadayori. I wish . . . I wish . . . "

The wind picked up, and stirred a pile of leaves caught on the ground. One floated and landed on the marker, near Toshiro's hand. Unlike the others, it was fresh, and green, a new leaf, still not fully grown. He picked it up and looked at Tameo.

"I think," the headman said. "Maybe he likes the idea."

While the two men talked in the cemetery, InuYasha headed to the front of his house, just in time to see Kagome step back outside. This time, she didn't have any furniture in her hand. Instead, she had her miko robes draped over one arm.

She smiled when she spotted him. "How's Choujiro-sama?" she asked. Before he could say anything, she began walking around to the other side of the building, where her clothesline was stretched between two poles.

The hanyou, not sure of what was going on, followed her.

"Heh, a log had rolled off on and buried one of his tools. At least he wasn't hurt. I got it put back," he said. "He seemed happy enough to be getting back to work. But what are you doing?"

"Hanging up my clothes to air out," Kagome said, spreading the red cloth of her hakama over the line. She carefully smoothed the fabric to keep it from wrinkling. "I don't have time to wash and dry them, but I thought an airing would be good. If I'm going to be going there as an official miko, I thought I ought to try to look the part."

InuYasha watched as she spread the white cloth of her chihaya next to the hakama. "If you say so," he said. "I'm just surprised. I thought you were tired. I guess I figured you might take a nap before this evening. It was a hard morning."

"You're right. I thought about it." She stopped what she was doing for a moment, and shook her head. "I don't think I could sleep with Choujiro working so close, though," she said, ducking under the garments and heading back towards the house. "He gets a bit noisy."

"Yeah. I could send him home," he said, following her back. "It doesn't have to get done today. If you're tired, you ought to rest."

"No, no," Kagome said. "Anyway, I think I'm too tense to sleep. Sometimes when so much happens . . . "

He grabbed her wrist, gently, and pulled her to him. "You're sure you don't want me to help you to relax?" His voice was suggestive, and there was a hopeful look in his eyes, but he wasn't pushing. Still, just the tiniest bit of a smirk touched the corner of his mouth.

Kagome pushed away, and looked up at her husband, and shook her head. "I don't think that'll work this afternoon."

"We don't have to. If you want, I can heat some bath water or something," he said, letting her go. "I know that helps you sometimes."

She shook her head, and brushed her bangs out of her face. "Not today. I need to do something. Something that's not miko work, or magic healing, or anything special. Mama would do that when she got wound up. It really can work."

"If you say so," he said. They walked up to the door of the house. "Got anything in mind?" he asked as he held the door mat open for her.

"I need to mop the floor," she said, walking in.

This made his eyebrow shoot up. "Mop the floor? Didn't you just do that?" As he stepped in, a pungent smell hit his nose, a smell he found tasty but too strong.

She watched him scent the air, and smiled at the look he made. "I did. But I need to mop again. I knocked over a jar of pickles where I cook after you left, and they spilled all over the floor by the fire pit."

InuYasha sighed, a bit wistfully. "The pickles I didn't have for lunch? Those were good pickles, too."

She nodded. "If you don't want to smell it all day long, I need to do this. We can't spoil your appetite for them before the wedding. What would Chime-obaasan think?"

"I guess," he replied. He scratched the back of his head. "If I knew they were going to go to waste like that, I would have eaten them."

"Sometimes things work out that way." She handed him the water bucket. "If we get it done now, maybe," she said, wagging her eyebrows suggestively, "maybe there will still be time for other things."

Choujiro let out a curse at something going on with his woodwork. InuYasha took the bucket and headed out. He didn't really think he was going to be so lucky.


	244. Chapter 244

1_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 244**

Down the hill from InuYasha's house, the wedding preparations were continuing. Daitaro walked into his house, carrying two jugs of sake, which he added to the stack of the others already there, tucked away along one of the walls, in easy reach for when it was time to serve. The house was sparkling clean, and everything was ready for their company - except for the cooking. Chime was busy at the fire pit with her pots.

"You're not trying to get the whole village tipsy tonight, you know," she said, looking up as he walked in, giving him a contented smile as she checked the fire under one of her pots.

"Not the whole village," Daitaro said, chuckling. "Need enough for Tameo and Susumu. They take a lot of pouring to get there, you know. Kinjiro, too. Now if it was just Takeshi, one jug would do. He's a lightweight, and that son of his isn't much better." He looked around the room. "Where is everybody? Did Hisa-chan go home?"

Chime shook her head, then reached up to adjust her head scarf, tucking a piece of hair back into place. "Hisa-chan decided she needed to check on Emi and Fujime. I sent Shinjiro with her." Chime lifted the lid off the pot of beans she was fixing, and a puff of steam rose toward the ceiling. "Waiting's starting to get to him, I believe. I sort of suspect that's why Hisa decided to go, to give him something to do. Mariko's at home, making those cakes of hers. It's just us for a little bit."

"Don't talk about my sake, woman," he said, moving across the room. "I'm not the only one getting well prepared. You're going to try to make enough red rice to feed the whole village." He sat down next to her, wrapping one arm around her as she worked.

"Hardly." Chime playfully batted him away, and then stirred the pot. "It's not the whole village," she said, replacing the lid. "Maybe it'll be enough for Tameo and Susumu. You know how those two eat. Especially Tameo. Nobody in that family are lightweights."

The old farmer laughed."You're not trying to mock me, now are you, woman?" Daitaro asked. He pulled her a little closer.

"You're not trying to fuss at me, are you?" she said, leaning against his shoulder. "If you don't fuss at me, I won't mock you."

"Me? Never," he said, brushing her cheek with his fingers. His tone went from amused to gentle seriousness. "I just want you to feel good enough to enjoy this evening, wife. Weddings - so much work! I don't know why we drive ourselves crazy on wedding days. Even the bride and groom do. And look what the result is . . . I still remember what happened our first night."

"You mean, when they finally let us get away and you fell asleep almost soon as your head hit the pillow?" she asked, smiling. "I didn't quite know what to think, except maybe you drank too much."

"Me? Drink too much?" He gave her a saucy grin. "Since when have I ever drunk too much for me to handle?"

Having to have put up with him many nights over the course of their marriage with him in just that condition, Chime laughed.

"Anyway," he continued, not giving her a chance to voice her laughter into a comment, "I made it up to you later that night, now didn't I? You certainly didn't seem to have any complaints then." He lifted her face up to look into her eyes, and waggled his eyebrows at her.

"You did indeed, you old bull." She snuggled into his arms, a content smile touching her lips as she remembered. "It was better than I ever expected. I was so nervous, but somehow you managed to take it all away."

"You weren't the only one, old woman," he said, resting his cheek on the top of her head. "I was afraid that if I touched you wrong, you would break."

"You nervous?" she said, resting a hand on his chest. "Not my Daitaro. Never. You've never been afraid of kami or bull or man."

"That's just what I wanted you to think," he said, running his hand gently along her arm. "I must be a good actor. It seems to have worked."

"Still," she said, pulling out of his hold so she could look at him. "After all these years, I've never broken, so you were nervous for nothing." Her smile was big and bright, and full of a lifetime of shared experience.

"No, you never have. And I've surely given you enough rough moments that if you were going to break, you would have done it long before now." He took her hand and gave it a little squeeze. "Best decision ever was our parents deciding we should get married."

She squeezed back. "It was, it was. And now it's Shinjiro and Erime's turn to learn how to be nervous and not show it, and how to not break through all the things life will throw at them."

"They'll make it," Daitaro said, standing up and walking to his open sake jug. He looked at it, shook his head, and turned around. "They have a great example in us, woman. Just don't make me so nervous tonight that I forget to hide it!"

Chime laughed. "I will try, husband. I will try."

Things were not quite so cheerful at Miroku's place. Things seemed quiet, but there was an unspoken tension in the air of the main room.

"So," Sango said, putting her rice pot up on its shelf, "Tazu-chan thinks Rin-chan will keep her from having to stay with the children at Fujime-sama's house?" Naoya, strapped to her back, gurgled at something on the shelf that caught his attention.

"She hopes so, anyway," Miroku said. His lunch eaten, he sat watching his daughters. Noriko, beginning to get tired, but trying to fight it off, snuggled her stick doll in her arms, but leaned her head against her father's chest. Yusuko, not quite that far gone, was making stacks of her toys.

"Story, Otou," she said, putting her stick doll on top of the mound she had heaped up. "What next?"

"Impatient are we?" Miroku asked.

"Yes!" the girl said with a loud voice.

"Sssh." The monk brought his finger to his lips. "Not too loud. We don't want to bother Maeme-obasan. She needs her rest. Kaede-obaasan said quiet."

Yusuko frowned, but nodded. "Maeme-obasan sleeps," she said. "Sukeo and Kaede-obaasan watch."

"That's right. So where was I?" the monk said.

"Princess," Noriko prompted, sitting up for a moment, then slumping back into her comfortable nook in her father's arm. "Oni."

"Ah yes." Miroku nodded. "How could I forget? The oni found the princess in the mountains. All of her retainers ran away, and there was nobody to guard her . . . "

Sango watched her husband and daughters for a moment, then put the last of the dishes away. Placing the last bowl in her cupboard, she turned around and sighed loudly.

Miroku looked up at his wife, and stopped in mid-sentence, studying the look on her face. She, like her daughters, looked tired, but there was a wound up tension in her. He knew that look well, and knew she needed to say or do something. He started to speak, then swallowed it, waiting for her to put her words together.

"This is going to be more complicated than I thought," Sango said. Putting the dishtowel on its peg to dry, she stepped outside.

"And then the smallest samurai killed the oni and rescued the princess. Her father gave him a big estate, and then they all lived happily ever after," Miroku said, rushing the end of his story. "And no monsters ever came back to bother them."

"Yay!" said Noriko, who looked up at him with tired eyes, but not yet ready to nap. "No more monsters."

"Come, my beautiful girls," he said, standing up with Noriko in his arms. He bent over and scooped up her sister. "Let's go see if we can make your okaa smile."

Miroku stepped out of the house, trying to keep the craziness of the day from touching his expression, and walked up next to Sango who was standing on the edge of the verandah. Yusuko reached for her mother.

"Okaa?" the girl said. "Okaa should smile."

For some reason, this tickled Sango, and she chuckled a little as she took the girl in her in her arms. "Okaa's smiling, baby. How about you?"

Yusuko giggled. Turning a little in her mother's arms, she wiggled on her shoulder. Naoya, spotting his sister, stuck his fingers in his mouth. "Naoya," she said, and made a funny sound.

Naoya babbled something in return.

"At least those two seem happy," Sango said.

"Sometimes innocence has its reward," Miroku replied.

For once, Noriko was content to stay where she was, and snuggled deeper into her father's hold. Miroku, taking advantage of having a free hand, bounced his daughter once, then reached up and brushed Sango's cheek with the fingers of that hand.

"You said things were going to be more complicated than you thought. What's going to be more complicated?" he asked. "Today has been . . . more complicated than anything we've dealt with in a long time. But you need to talk to me. I need to know what's going on in your head. You have a right to have a say in what we do."

"This. Everything," she said, then shook her head. "People in our sleeping room. Men who would do . . . "

Her tone bothered the girl she was holding."Okaa sad?" Yusuko asked.

"No, baby," Sango replied. She shifted the girl where she would be less likely to bother her brother, and gave her a little hug. "Okaa's just thinking."

"Down?" the girl asked.

Sango nodded, and let her daughter down. For a moment, the girl looked around, and saw her stack of rocks and made a beeline to it.

"I really want to help Maeme," Sango said, watching her daughter push the stack of rocks flat before starting to rebuild it, "but where are we going to put her and her boys? Our house isn't big enough for two families." She leaned against Miroku. "And there won't be nearly enough privacy." She looked up at him. "For anything."

He brushed a wisp of hair out of her face. "Maybe . . . maybe we can get a small building built for her?" the monk said. He let Noriko down. The girl quickly ran to join her sister. "She can be a lay acolyte, maybe, if she wants to."

As the girls started rebuilding with the rocks, Sango nodded. "I've heard of women associated with a temple. They tend to do things like laundry and other work for the monks."

"Sometimes. For some women, it's the only refuge they have. Their families dump them or their marriages cause them too much pain, and their husbands refuse them a divorce." Miroku rubbed his chin, thoughtfully. "It's possible that Maeme will want to do that. I don't know. Not sure what I'd have her do, but I'm sure we can figure out something." He shook his head. "But it's possible all this may not happen at all. She may just want to go home. Although I don't know where home will be - not back to Seiji. I don't want her to go back to a situation like that."

"We'll find out when she's stronger," Sango said. "We'll do our best to keep her from doing that. No woman deserves to go through what she went through."

He leaned forward and kissed her forehead. "We'll find time for us. I promise you that, my beautiful wife."

They heard a gentle cough. Miroku let his wife go, to see Fumio and Koume walking up the pathway. Standing between them was Nakao, looking bruised and battered, and frightened.

"One last complication," Miroku said, softly.

"That poor boy," Sango said. "What did his otousan do to him?"

"Something I hope he never gets to do again," the monk said. And turning, he went to greet his guests.


	245. Chapter 245

1_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 245**

At Daitaro's house, there was a hesitant knock on the door.

"Now who would that be?" the old farmer said, getting up from his comfortable seat next to his wife.

She put her ladle down and wiped her hands on a towel. "Go see who it is, old bull," Chime said. "If it's one of the women, you can go help Genjo. This is woman's work, finishing the food."

"You mean woman's talk. You're not fooling me," he said, giving his wife a fond look.

"Well, people have been stopping by. I have to talk to them, don't I?" Her lips curled up into an amused grin, quite self assured. "You two can get the baths set up. Once Shinjiro gets back, we probably need to start getting cleaned up."

"Don't tell me people are still dropping off pickles?" the farmer asked. He began to head to the entrance. "Aren't you afraid you'll give that poor man a belly ache with all the pickles you're going to try to feed him tonight? I know how you keep talking about InuYasha and his pickles, but . . . "

The old woman laughed. "Not from what Kagome-chan says." She put her tea kettle over the heat. "Don't talk about me. You have enough sake for a village festival."

He chuckled. "Not for InuYasha, that's for sure. He's as lightweight as Takeshi. Maybe I'll send some over to the monk's."

Chime nodded. "He'd like that," she said. She pulled out her tea things. "It'd give you something to do this afternoon. I know you want to catch up and put your nose into whatever's going on there."

"My old woman thinks she knows me so well." Shaking his head, he went to the door.

"Well I do," Chime replied.

The old farmer lifted the doormat to see Amaya standing there, holding a basket. Her hands twisted around its handle nervously.

Daitaro gave her a curious look and a welcoming smile. "Ah, Amaya-chan, what brings you to this part of the village today?" he asked, letting her in the entryway. "You don't get over here very often. They let you get away this afternoon?"

"Sometimes they do," she replied. "And on a fortunate occasion, too. Haname-obasan asked me to bring this over." She held up the basket. "She heard that perhaps you might be wanting some of her rice cakes . . . something about a wedding, perhaps?"

"You heard about that, did you?" he asked. "Haname sent rice cakes? I'm impressed." He stepped aside, letting her in. "Rice cakes and not pickles."He glanced back at his wife. "And everybody knows how good Haname's rice cakes are."

Amaya looked confused, but once again, Chime let a small laugh as she walked towards the door. "Come in, Amaya-chan. It's a little joke he's making. That's enough of men's silliness. Tell me the news. How is Haname-chan doing? Better, I hope. I heard she hasn't been well . . . well since the other day."

"That's my news," Amaya said, handing Chime the basket. She gave her a big smile. "Haname-obasan is all better. It's amazing."

"All better?" Daitaro said, surprised, rubbing his hat over his head. "I heard from Tsuneo yesterday that she could barely get out of bed."

"All better," Amaya said. "Kaede-sama and Kagome-chan came over this morning, and they did something. I think there was a spell on her. Somehow, she had the right magic to be able to break it. I wasn't there to watch it, but they tell me it was rather spectacular. She must be a real miko, after all."

"I would say," Chime said. The two women headed over to the fire pit, with Daitaro close behind.

"Haname had a spell on her?" Daitaro asked.

Amaya nodded, sitting down where Chime invited her to. "That's what they told me. I'm not sure how or why - something to do with the magic that the yamabushi did to her right before he . . . well, whatever you want to say happened to him. But I hear you have news too. It didn't sound nearly as happy. I heard from Furume that Maeme-sama almost drowned."

"So our little cousin was able to help that old . . . er, woman," Datairo said, walking over to the wall where he had the sake jugs. "And now Masu's girl is going around telling tales, is she?" He bent over and picked up a jug. "Yes, we had some excitement today. Maybe our side of the village is going to get a little noisy once the word's everywhere."

"Bah, you old thing," Chime said. "First you complain that we don't really count, and now you complain about someone here getting some respect." She checked her kettle and began measuring out tea. "Yes, it's true about Maeme-chan, that poor dear. She's up at Houshi-sama's house."

"Furume was very impressed with him," Amaya said. "But what happened?"

"Her husband," Daitaro said, standing up. "She wanted to get away from him. In a permanent fashion." He looked at his wife. "You tell her. You've heard it all by now. I need something more pleasant to think about for a while, or I'll do something I shouldn't on our son's wedding day. I'm going up the hill."

And with that, he headed out of the house.

Up on the hill, InuYasha had returned with the water buckets, and his wife had quickly put him to work moving things out of the house so she could do her cleaning. The space in front of their house had filled up with their movable furniture - the wash stand, the low table, boxes and baskets, and everything else that could get in the way.

While she ran a dust cloth over the pieces already outside, the hanyou walked past the rolled up door mat, his arms full. "So where do you want me to put this?"he asked Kagome.

She glanced up at him. He was standing there, holding the big wooden chest, the one which used to be their clothes chest before InuYasha bought the big clothes cabinet that took up a good bit of one wall. Now it held their towels and her sewing projects.

"Just put it along side of the table," Kagome said. "I'll get to it next."

"Don't know why you couldn't just mop the area where you spilled the pickles," he said, moving to put the chest where she indicated. He put it down and dusted off his hands.

She laughed, making the bow on her head scarf, which she wore today tied in front like most of the other village women, bobble a little. It was a pleasant enough sound, but there was an edge to it, reflecting her tension, and InuYasha chose not to push it. He watched her move, Her sleeves were also tied back and she had that look of determination that told InuYasha that he had better not stand in one place too long or he would become part of her cleaning project.

"That's the last thing that's big enough to be moved," he said. She nodded, and went back to her dusting. For a moment he just stood there, then stuffed his hands in his sleeve, watching her.

Choujiro, in between boards to split, left his side of the house where he was working to get close enough to see what was happening. As Kagome finished cleaning the table and moved to the chest, the woodworker, obviously curious, adjusted his leather apron and wiped his hands on the sides of his hakama. InuYasha, hearing the slight movements, turned to look. Choujiro scratched his head as he watched, easy enough to be seen by the hanyou, but out of Kagome's line of sight. He gave the hanyou a questioning look, trying to figure out what was going on. InuYasha just shrugged.

Kagome gave the chest one last rub, then stood up and looked at her handiwork. "Good," she said. "So the furniture is clean. Now there's one more thing I need to do inside before I start mopping."

As she headed inside, the woodworker walked around to the front. "She's a busy thing, isn't she? I was thinking that with all the things that went on this morning, she'd want to take a rest or something. Between Haname and Maeme . . . "

"Keh," the hanyou said, nodding. "That's what I thought, too, but I think she's nervous about tonight."

"Why?" Choujiro asked. He scratched his head again. "It's not like she's the one getting married - or doing the wedding dinner. Aren't you two just going because Daitaro asked you?"

InuYasha shook his head. "That's what it started as, but Kaede's stuck with Maeme tonight," the hanyou said. "She asked Kagome to do whatever it is miko do at a wedding. First time to do it."

"Ah," the woodworker said knowingly. Nodding. "That explains it. Too much morning, more evening than she knows what to do about yet, and nothing to do this afternoon. My woman gets crazy when she's like that. She'll weed everything or spin up all the hemp fiber in the house or something when things like that happen."

"Yeah, that's what's happening, I guess," the hanyou said. He twisted his lips into a near scowl, but took a breath and let it out. "How do you deal with it?"

Choujiro rubbed the back of his neck. "Help her if she wants it. Stay out of the way if she doesn't. Pray to Kwannon to let the time pass fast so she stops thinking about what she's going to do. Sometimes, I can distract her, but if it doesn't work right away, my advice is to run like hell."

InuYasha's ear flicked. He knitted his brows together, not really hearing the joke in the woodworker's statement "Thought about the running, but I think maybe on a day this strange, I better stay nearby. Who knows what else might happen? Too much weird for one day." And with that, he headed back into the house.

When he got inside, Kagome was scooping hot coals out of the fire pit and put them in a metal fire pan. Next to it, the ashcan stood half filled.

.

"Cleaning the fire pit, too? Did you really need to do that today?" InuYasha asked. His voice was carefully curious, not complaining. "You're definitely going to want a bath before we go to Daitaro's this evening."

She carefully put a coal into the metal dish. "Probably. But even you were mentioning how deep the ash was getting."

He knelt down next to her. "I say a lot of things," he said, taking his wife's hand. "That didn't mean I meant today. You're sure you won't be too tired to go to the wedding?"

"I might be too tired if I don't have something to do until then," she said, standing up. She moved over to the beaten earth domo where she grabbed her bucket and poured water and vinegar into it. InuYasha wrinkled his nose when she added the vinegar, but didn't say anything. Instead, he picked up the fire pan. "Today has just been . . . "

"I hear you," he said, moving towards the front. "When I'm like that, that's when I start chopping wood . . . or I go for a run." His voice was vaguely hopeful she'd take the run comment for a suggestion.

Kagome stepped up on the wooden platform and walked over to the peg where she hung her cleaning cloths. "So that's why you're always working on your wood pile. I thought that you might be doing that." She gave him a little smile and walked to the back of the room.

"Well, we need it, too, and I chop enough for us and Daisuke and Kaede, so it needs to get done anyway," he said. "But yeah, sometimes I do it just because I need to just move."

"I'm glad you understand," she said, getting down on her knees. She dipped her mop rag in the water. "So now I'm going to mop, if you'll take care of the ash and coals"

He nodded. "Maybe I'll go chop some wood," he said. "That way, we both can burn off some steam."

She laughed a little, waved him off, and started to work. With a shrug he took the fire pan and ashes outside, put them in a safe place and headed for his wood pile.


	246. Chapter 246

_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 246**

Hisa walked down the main street of the village with Shinjiro in tow. Not many people were out and about. They passed a couple of boys carrying bundles of firewood, and Isamu, heading back to the fields after lunch, waved to them, but the village lay mostly quiet in the early afternoon sunlight.

Shinjiro walked silently at the headwoman's side, head down, lost in thought.

"Don't worry. It'll be over soon," she said.

He nodded, but didn't reply.

"I'm glad I made my rice cakes yesterday," Hisa said, trying again. "Today has not turned out exactly the way I expected it to."

Shinjiro nodded. "It seems so."

Hisa looked at the young man. "How are you doing? Holding up? I think having weddings in the evening is a hard thing on people sometimes."

He gave her a rueful smile. "Oh, I'm all right. I think I would have been better if Okaasan had let me work in the bean fields today. Somehow, being so close and so far away at the same time . . . "

"The time's dragging on, is it?" she asked.

He nodded. "They aren't letting me do anything. Maybe I can get someone who will play go with me."

"Jun's a good hand at shoji, I hear," Hisa said. "Maybe we can pry him away."

"I don't know," Shinjiro said, rubbing his chin. "I might not have the patience."

"Shinjiro! There you are!" The speaker was busy coming up on their right. "I've been looking for you."

Hisa and Shinjiro turned to see Eiji and Haruo walking towards them.

"You should have known where to find me," the bridegroom said, stopping.

"Well," Haruo said, grinning. "We thought it might be better to find you away from home for this. Didn't want to embarrass you in front of your okaasan on your wedding day."

Hisa laughed. "Why do I think that you might not want to embarrass him in front of me while you're at it?"

Eiji bowed. "Ah, Hisa-sama," he said, "We wouldn't dream of it."

Taking the man aside, they walked toward one of the rice paddy dyke paths. Hisa looked at the men, shook her head. "Maybe I should just go on."

"No, no, Hisa-obasan," Haruo said. "We just need a little of his time. We'll give him back in a couple of minutes."

"He might even come running," Eiji said. The two brothers began laughing.

"So, what are you two up to?" Shinjiro said as they dragged him down one of the side paths.

.

"It is your wedding night tonight," Eiji said, waggling his eyebrows.

"Yes, and I bet you'll be busy patrolling around the house to get my otousan's sake," Shinjiro said, shaking his arm free, but more curious than irritated.

"Not too much for that," Eiji said. "I'm on duty still. I'll be there more to hear the songs. Kinjiro's going to be there, right?"

"He's supposed to be," Shinjiro said, nodding.

Haruo laughed. "Don't believe it. It's your okaasan's rice cakes he'll be coming for, I bet. Music's fine and good, but we know what Eiji really likes." He scratched under his chin. "Or maybe the pickles. I hear your okaasan's been getting pickles from everybody."

"Not for me. For InuYasha-sama," the bridegroom said. "I think she's going to use him to decide who makes the best pickles."

"He can't be having them all," Eiji said. "Not even he can eat that many pickles. Surely there'll be some for the rest of us."

"I don't know," Shinjiro said, scratching his head. "I've been hearing stories. My okaasan thinks . . . "

"Bah," Haruo said, interrupting him with a tug on his sleeve. "Anyway, we're not here about food. Or even sake."

"Oh?" Shinjiro said. He freed his sleeve and crossed his arms.

"Well, it is your wedding night," Eiji said.

"And Erime is such a sweet young thing," Haruo said, nodding. "We wouldn't want her to be disappointed."

Eiji tapped his nose. "Can't have that."

Shinjiro cleared his throat. "You do remember I was married once before. I don't need any tutoring."

Haruo barked out a belly laugh. "You thought . . . " He laughed again. "No, no, man. We know that."

"No, we have something better than pillow books."Eiji held up a small bottle. "It's our wedding present to you."

"What?" Shinjiro said, taking the bottle. He rolled it back and forth in his hand then raised it to his nose. He could smell faint traces of a spicy scent. "What is this?"

"It's our family secret," Eiji said. "Passed solemnly down father to son, brother to brother."

"Our ojiisan learned it from his ojiisan," Haruo said, nodding solemnly.

"Put a little of it in her sake. Put a little of it in your sake. The gift of heat and staying power." Eiji wrapped his friend's hand closed.

"You can even put a dab or two of it . . . well, you've been married. You know where the good places are," Haruo said. Shinjiro reddened, which made the man laugh harder. "Have fun tonight. I won't expect to see you out of the house until late tomorrow afternoon."

The two men, highly pleased with themselves started to walk off. "But we expect to see you and your bride tomorrow afternoon with big smiles," Eiji said, over his shoulder. "Big smiles."

Shinjiro looked at the little bottle. For a moment, he thought about chasing after them, but before he could make up his mind, Hisa walked up.

"Save your revenge for later, Shinjiro," she advised. "Remind me after tomorrow to tell you a thing or two I know about those men. It might make good ammunition."

He looked at the headman's wife. A knowing, almost wicked smile touched her lips. He nodded. "They say that revenge is best done cold. I'll remember."

Together, they headed to Tameo's compound.

While Eiji and Haruo were teasing Shinjiro, Miroku waited outside as Sango led Nakao and Koume into the house. Noriko walked over to the monk and held her hands up to be picked up.

"Tired, my princess?" Miroku asked, picking up the little girl. She shook her head no, but her eyes said differently as she snuggled into her father's hold.

"You're good with your girls," the old smith said. "I approve. Raising a daughter is a special thing."

"With girls like these, how could I not?" the monk said, looking down at Noriko. "You're sure you don't want to play with your sister?" he asked her. She shook her head. Shrugging, he looked up at the smith. "You've had some experience that way yourself, I hear."

"Three daughters," Fumio said. He grinned. "Had a bit of experience."

"Ah," Miroku said. "You're still ahead of me on that one."

Fumio tugged on the hammer that was stuck in his belt and repositioned it. "Funny how men are about women. I know some men seem to think their daughters are just too much trouble and don't want much to do with them. Or their wives."

"That shows you how little they really know," Miroku said, brushing his daughter's bangs out of her face. "Women are a special gift."

"Ah, spoken like a well-married man," Fumio said. "Not all men are as wise."

The smith crossed his arms and scowled. The way his arms, built by years of working at his forge, bulged when he did this hinted at the strength he had in them, and gave him an aura of stern power. "And then there are monsters who do things like Seiji does. I knew he was the type of man who didn't think much of his family." His hand dropped to rest on the hammer's head. "I didn't realize how far he had gone. If I had known . . . " He sighed, and his look hovered between angry and guilty. "I...I..."

"Don't feel bad, Fumio-sama." Miroku began walking to the back side of the building where Yusuko was busy stacking rocks and sticks. "Men who do that type of thing, they tend to try to hide it from everybody else. For all their boasting and bullying, they don't really want their family to let out just how badly they get treated. Still, now that we've all learned what he's been doing . . . "

Fumio scratched his head. "I'm not sure what we're going to do next. Sukeo, he seems like a young man who could be someone decent with a little help. He'll be coming of age soon, too. If..."

He shook his head, and the sternness of his manner came back in full gallop, filled with determination. "No, make that when, the elders do something about his father, he's going to need some help. Man-child can't run a farm by himself. And his ojisan is a worthless piece of crap." He gave the monk a look. "We're going to have to keep an eye on that one. I've kind of taken a liking to him. My son, he's not very interested in the forge. I'm wondering if Sukeo might be interested in learning."

"I don't know," Miroku said. "I know he likes fishing. He's gotten into trouble once or twice running off with the boys to watch InuYasha fish."

Fumio chuckled. "Boys and fishing. I hear that friend of yours has impressed more than one with his fishing techniques. I see them down there, trying to tickle fish out of the water."

"Me, too," Miroku said. "He is good at it. I tried it a couple of times - not his way, but with a line." He shifted Noriko from one arm to the other. Half-asleep, the girl looked up at him and frowned. "I've decided that although the Buddha might not smite a monk who will eat a fish he doesn't seem to want to bless one who tries to catch one."

Fumio laughed. "That may go for smiths as well. They never seemed very interested in me, either, to be honest," the smith said. "Iron likes me better. Hoes and nails seem to be more my fate, instead of fish. Although," he said, rubbing the back of his neck, "I've been told I make a good fish hook."

"You do, indeed, old man," a voice said. "You do indeed. No doubt all your fishing luck has gone into them."

The two men turned around to see Daitaro walk up the path towards them.

"I take it you have first-hand knowledge of this?" Miroku asked. Noriko opened her eyes wide and began to wiggle as the old farmer joined them.

"Indeed," Daitaro said. "We used the last ones Fumio made for us today, and Shinjiro caught a big fish."

"Bridegroom luck," Fumio said. He looked pleased at the endorsement. "At least someone's getting to catch fish."

"Bridegroom luck? Maybe. It didn't rub off though. Me, I got a snag and lost my line." He sighed and moved next to the two men. "Here, Houshi-sama, I brought you a gift." He shoved a jug of sake at the monk.

Miroku stared at it a second, then putting his daughter down, he took it from the old man. "Why thank you, Daitaro-sama. This is an unexpected pleasure."

"Eh, enjoy it while you can. It'll be the last of the good stuff for a while. Warm weather's not the best time of the year for making it. I won't be doing any more until the autumn."

The monk nodded. "My old master would tell me that. He brews some of his own at the temple."

"Ah, an appreciator of the good stuff?" Daitaro asked. "Picky about how it's made?"

"Well, sake matters to him, anyway," Miroku said. "He drinks enough of it. I know that Mushin does prefer the better over the worst, but he'll drink it all. Better a full cup, he tells me, than an empty one."

The old farmer shook his head sadly. "Sounds like Tameo,"

Fumio snorted.


	247. Chapter 247

_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

Chapter 247

_**A/N If you looked at this chapter earlier, I totally messed up and posted an earlier version of the chapter that is quite different from this one. Big oops!**_

Sango looked at the back room of her house. She was rocking Naoya, who had just finished feeding, and although he watched the room with sleepy eyes, something, possibly his mother's tension, was keeping him still awake. Or perhaps it was the soft sobs coming through the back room wall, as Nakao talked with his mother. Kaede's gentle voice, the words too faint to be made out, nonetheless sounded reassuring.

Koume looked away from the back wall and down at her hands. She wiggled her fingers and sighed, as if their emptiness was distressing. "If I had thought," Koume said, "I'd have brought my sewing."

For some reason, this struck Sango as funny, and she laughed softly, a nervous, almost brittle sound, but one that was not meant to scoff. "It's funny you mentioned sewing. On a normal day, Rin-chan and Kagome usually come here this time of day, and we all sew together."

"Sewing together is good," Koume said. "I'm glad to hear you three are doing that. I think women stitch more than their clothes together when they do that. It might sound funny, but we sort of stitch all our lives together when we sit and work like that."

Sango put her son down in his basket cradle. He gurgled as she did, and waved a hand in front of his face, but made no real complaint. That done, she walked across the room to her storage cabinet, took out her sewing basket, and some length of cloth cut into towel lengths.

"I like how that sounds," Sango said. "I don't have anything fancy to work on, but if you'd like to keep your hands busy, I've got these towels cut out to hem."

"I'd like that," Koume said. "I'm not good at just sitting and waiting."

The taijiya shook her head. "Me either." She handed the older woman a piece of the cut cloth and pulled out her pincushion and thread winder. "So," she said, measuring out a length of thread, cutting it, and deftly threading a needle, which she passed to Koume, "How do you think all this will work out?"

"I'm not sure yet," Koume said. "But I wouldn't want to be in Seiji's shoes tomorrow."

"We might have to stitch him in place," Sango said.

This amused Koume. "We just might. And there'll be a lot of hands willing to thread those needles."

"I bet you're right." Sango threaded her own needle."We might just have to have a sewing party."

While Koume and Sango stitched, Kagome looked around the mostly vacant room that she shared with her husband, holding the bucket of mop water in one hand. True to his word, InuYasha had gone back to his wood pile, and she could hear the sound of a piece of wood getting the axe. It was sort of a dull sound, but had started to become a comforting sound to her - one of the sounds that she thought of as home.

"I'd rather hear that than traffic noise," she said, walking to the back of the room and kneeling down. She dipped her cloth into the bucket, and wrung it out, and started mopping, making round sweeps of her arm as she moved across the wood.

"Mama isn't as lucky as I am," she said, moving her bucket and her body to the right. "She doesn't get to move the furniture outside when she decides to clean. At least not most of the time."

She paused in her work, and thought of the kindly faced woman she had known all the days of her life. "I wonder what she's doing right now. Lunch is over. I wonder if she's gone to her lady's circle." Stopping for a moment, she counted the days. "When everybody uses a ten-day system, it gets hard to remember what day of the week it is," she murmured. "Nope, that must have been yesterday. I hope they did something interesting. No matter what, it wasn't as crazy as today has been for me."

She ran the cloth over another section of the floor. Small tendrils of homesickness started to wrap around her, and she worked harder. "No, I'm not going to do that one today." She moved the bucket again, "Mama gave me her blessing. Daughters always leave their home and move out. I chose this life." She sighed, and began scrubbing with more vigor.

Suddenly, InuYasha let out a small string of curses as something didn't go the way he wanted it to. She looked up in the direction she knew he was in, and smiled. "Besides, that place doesn't have something I would miss even more than seeing my family." Tipping her cloth back into the bucket, she began singing what had become her floor washing song, since the first time she mopped out this little house:

"Why does the crow caw  
>flying over the mountain,<br>kawaii, kawaii  
>hear her calling."<p>

"Noisy bird," InuYasha said from outside. She laughed and went on with her work.

As Kagome cleaned house, Hisa walked with the amused but slightly embarrassed Shinjiro into her family's compound.

"Where is everybody?" Shinjiro asked, looking into the grounds and seeing none of the usual activity.

"All the children went to Fujime-chan's for the day," Hisa said. "Our . . . guest . . . has been rather vocal this morning. Songs you wouldn't hear in a brothel. And loud."

As she passed the lockup building, she noticed that Koichi and Jun were no longer there. Kinjiro was sitting on the ground playing some game with Hougen, another of the farm workers. Aki, not far away, was busy stacking firewood.

But in spite of that, it was blissfully quiet.

Not willing to disturb the silence and tempt fate, she merely waved to her son as she passed by, bringing her finger to her lips and pointing at the lockup. Kinjiro nodded and sat back down.

"It's so much nicer than this morning," she whispered to Shinjiro. "I don't want to tempt fate with any loud sounds."

The two of them headed straight to the main house, which was also silent, and for the moment, empty - no children, no women, and no Tameo around.

"Tameo-sama's not here?" Shinjiro asked as Hisa busied herself, packing things she had fixed for the wedding in a large basket - things wrapped in bamboo leaves, two jars, and something that smelled strongly of spice that was put away in a wooden box.

"No, it doesn't sound like it," Hisa said. "Let me get these last things put in, and we'll go see if he's in the office."

Putting two more of the bamboo-wrapped tidbits in the basket, she covered it all with a bright red and blue cloth. "Do you still like my chimaki?" she asked Shinjiro, picking up the basket.

"You make the best, Hisa-obasan," Shinjiro said. "Hah-ue would always get irritated with me when she knew I had talked one out of you."

"You always were showing up around here," she said. "But I knew what you were doing. Still, I hope I made enough for you tonight." She flashed him a slightly naughty smile. "I hear they are good to eat after . . . well, strenuous activity. You might find them handy."

Shinjiro flushed. "Hisa-obasan . . . "

"I know, I know," she said, leading him to the door. "First Eiji and Haruo, and now me." She laughed. "But I know mine really work! I'm not so sure about whatever that was they handed you."

He grinned, still embarrassed as she opened the door and stepped outside. He pulled the little bottle out of his sleeve, and looked at it, and putting it up near to his ear, he gave it a shake. "I guess I'll find out later tonight." And grinning even larger at that thought, he hurried outside to catch up with her.

Like all houses in the village, Miroku's house was made of wall posts connecting to heavy roof beams that ran across the open space of the house. The ghost of Sadayori sat on one, looking down on his grandchildren and his daughter-in-law. Maeme seemed small and very fragile to him as she lay there on her side. Nakao held her hand, and was talking in soft tones as he stroked her hair. She tried to answer him, and forced a smile from time to time, but the smile never reached her eyes. They had that emptiness that those without hope get. Sukeo, his eyes almost as hopeless, sat at the head of the bed, looking at the far wall without really seeing, lost in his thoughts.

Kaede sat across from Nakao, adding something to a medicine cup.

"Are you sure she didn't get hurt in the river?" Nakao asked. "I heard too many stories about the big catfish who swims there. He scares me."

"He didn't get near me, son," Maeme said.

"Stupid," Sukeo said, breaking his trance, frowning at his brother. "Grandfather Catfish only eats bad people. Is Haha-ue bad?"

"I just wanted to know," the younger boy said.

"Your okaasan didn't get hurt by anything in the water," Kaede said. "Now we just let this cup sit a moment and the medicine get strong." She put her medicine cup on a small table Sango had brought in.

"My poor family," Sadayori said. "I...I...I...I wish . . . "

Suddenly, he was no longer alone on his perch on the roof beam. "You wish what?"

The ghost turned to see Kazuo's smiling face. "That I could take these last few years away from them. Look at poor Maeme-chan."

"I know, I know, friend," Kazuo said, nodding sympathetically. "Sometimes, though, the wheel of destiny has to turn to get people to the point they need to be. Your grandsons have been given lessons they'll carry on in life. Don't know what they'll do with it. The gods of destiny only let me see a little bit ahead. And we're all free to do what we want with these life lessons. Seiji fell in love and got rejected, and turning into a big mass of anger. He was just as free to learn sympathy for those in pain."  
>"Bah," Sadayori said. "I could have told them that he'd have reacted that way years before it happened."<p>

"We don't usually buck our destinies, and choose the other path," Kazuo said, "but while we're alive we have that option . . . at least at times."

Nakao began to sing a song:  
>"Sing, little sparrow,<br>sing because the snow is gone,  
>the breeze is now warm<br>the flowers are now blooming  
>yoiya sa."<p>

This made Maeme smile, and a little light touched her eyes. "Ah son, you remembered that one. I used to sing it to you when you were little. I always liked it. You were my little sparrow."

"I know, Okaa." He gave his mother a smile. "You told me your obaasan sang it to you. It was your gift to me to pass down. So I never forgot it." It made the bruises on his face stand out a bit, and she reached up a hand and gently brushed the injury.

"This one has a gentle heart, in spite of what his life has been," Kazuo said. "He has made different choices than his otousan."

The boy started the next verse.

"Sing, little sparrow,  
>sing because the summer comes,<br>first the gold barley,  
>then comes the rice planting<br>yoiya sa."

Sukeo watched the two of them and moved next to his brother, and wrapped an around him, joining in the next verse.

"Sing, little sparrow,  
>early in the morning time<br>I will sing with you  
>as I walk in the sunshine,<br>yoiya sa."

"Funny how people's choices affect so many around them," Kazuo said. "Even a boy like Nakao."

Sadayori nodded.

"Choices and destiny. By tomorrow, we'll know which path your son will choose: the dark or the light," Kazuo said. "The expected or the unusual turn."

"He's been predictable since he was seven," Sadayori said.

"I'm betting on that," the kami replied. "I'm betting on that."


	248. Chapter 248

1_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 248**

_**A/N: If you read the last chapter before I added the A/N to it, you read the wrong version of chapter 247. (It's a long story how that happened, but the proper chapter 247 is MUCH different than the one you read.) You need to go back and reread that one before reading this one, or you'll be asking why I have some of the same stuff in this chapter that I put in the last chapter. Plus, you'll be missing some good stuff.)**_

Kagome stepped out of her own house, carrying the bucket of mop water. Emptying it, she walked around to the side of the building where InuYasha was working. The hanyou was putting a piece of wood on his chopping block, but the way his ear flicked, she knew he heard her coming. He straightened up, gave her a quick smile, then split the piece of wood on his chopping block with one neat blow.

"Floor's done?" he asked, picking up the cut pieces.

She nodded, and wiped the back of her hand across her nose, brushing away a piece of hair that was tickling it. She tucked it back under her scarf. "Now we just have to wait for it to dry. Where's Choujiro?"

"He went back down the hill to see if he couldn't get Aki back. He needs another pair of hands," the hanyou said.

"But not yours?" she said, surprised.

"Don't know," InuYasha said, putting the cut wood on the stack. "He didn't even ask. Maybe he just needed a break."

"Maybe so," Kagome said, looking over at the stack of boards the woodworker had already made. "He's certainly been busy."

"So we've got some time before we start moving things back in." He leaned his axe against the side of the house.

Kagome nodded.

"Got anything in mind you want to do?" Picking up the red jacket he had slipped off to work, he put it back on.

Kagome shrugged. "Not really." She moved towards the front of the little house, then headed to a tree on the other side. The road and the front of the house were visible from it, but at the same time, the angle of it and the trees near it gave a feeling of isolation. "Maybe I just want to sit down and pretend the world away."

She sat down, and looked up at the light breaking through the tree branches. "Sometimes, it's really pleasant just to pretend."

InuYasha went to sit down next to her. "You need to pretend?" His ears lowered a little. "Are . . . Did I . . . Is something wrong?"

Kagome reached out and took his hand and gave it a squeeze. "There's nothing really wrong. It's just . . . today has been . . . "She took a deep breath.

He pulled her close. "Yeah. You kind of look like you used to when you had a test thing coming up, and we were too busy fighting youkai for you to study."

She laughed a little and snuggled into his hold. "Yeah. I guess it's been kind of like one of those days. At least I don't have to go to school and face one of those. Maybe it's knowing Kaede wanted me to do the wedding purification."

"You'll do fine." He rested his cheek on the top of her head. "You always do. And after everything that happened at Toshiro's today, nobody's going to say you do anything wrong when it comes to miko stuff."

"I guess you're right," she said, stretching out her legs. "I get silly about things sometimes."

He didn't answer that with words, but put a small kiss on the top of her head.

Neither spoke for a few moments. Kagome laced her fingers into his. "It's funny about weddings."

He lifted one knee and rested his free arm on it. "What's funny about them?"

"Oh," she said, turning enough to look at him. "How much they'll change over the years."

InuYasha nodded."You're right. They do. What people do now isn't what they did when I was young," he said.

"Yeah?" Kagome said, looking up at him, curious now. "It's a lot more involved where I come from."

"Nowadays, it's fancier than it used to be. When I was young, the man would come visiting the girl, and spend the night with her if she liked him. If he did it often enough, and the parents approved and knew this was what their daughter wanted, they'd bring a meal to show their approved. If the man accepted the food, and shared a cup with the woman, the parents would welcome him to the family and they were married. He moved into her house instead of her moving into his."

"He joined their family?" Kagome asked, "Instead of her joining his?"

The hanyou nodded.

"I knew men sometimes married into a woman's family when she had no brothers, but I didn't know it was normal." Kagome thought for a moment. "That's interesting. Rin told me how Sesshoumaru's mother has a crescent moon mark just like his. Is that a clan mark? Of her family?"

"Hells, I don't know. They didn't tell me anything growing up." He lifted his hand, staring at his claws. " My okaasan's people didn't approve of my old man. Sesshoumaru for sure never told me anything except I was a stain on the family honor."

Kagome sighed.

"My okaasan's father tolerated it some, but it was toleration, not acceptance or approval. I was too young to know the details. But I do know they never came by to welcome him as a son-in-law. People would gossip about it."

"I'm sorry," Kagome said, resting a hand on his chest. "I didn't mean to bring up bad memories."

"Keh." He put his hand over hers. "It was a long time ago." His eyes got a far away look, and he paused a moment before going on. "I figure you have a right to know about stuff other people don't. Once my old man died, and then her old man died, that was the end of what toleration me and Haha-ue had." He shook his head and scowled."I was living proof that Haha-ue preferred to be concubine to a youkai than let some petty noble court her. Her brother hated me for it."

Sitting up straighter, he turned around and faced her "Feh. I outlived those bastards, no matter what they tried to do to me, and nobody but me still even remembers who they were or what they looked like. How's that for a legacy?"

Kagome had no answer for that, and merely raised her hand to his cheek. Leaning forward, she brushed her lips against his.

He returned her kiss, a quick peck, and then shook his head. "I really didn't mean to talk about that. Ancient history. So, how do they do weddings in your old world?"

The young miko smiled at his use of old. "Oh, it's very complicated," she said. "There are several ways to do it. You go to a shrine, sometimes, or to a room set up for it. The bride gets dressed up in very fancy clothes, either traditional clothes or in fancy western-style clothes. Usually, the bride wears white."

"White?" That surprised the hanyou. He put another piece of wood on the fire. "I thought that was a death color."

"Sometimes. Other times, it's the color of purity," Kagome said. "That's supposed to be good luck when starting things. And then they make promises before the kami to each other, and drink together. It's usually not out of the same cup any more, and if they aren't having a wedding at a shrine, they probably won't do that, but they'll still make promises."

"Promises?" InuYasha said. "Like what?"

"To be true to each other, to care for each other, and things like that." Kagome leaned against InuYasha's shoulder. "And then the fun starts. The wedding is just close family. Then they go to a big hall, and have a party. As big a party as they can afford. And during the party, the bride's supposed to go and change clothes. She's supposed to wear three different outfits. And there's a lot of people making speeches, and eating, and then as people drink too much sake, people start singing songs."

"Sounds like a lot of trouble," InuYasha said. "But knowing Daitaro, I bet there'll be too much sake tonight. And some bad singing."

"It's a lot of work." She looked up at him. "Way more work than Chime put it. There's a lot of people who make their living put together weddings because of that. But even so, it's hard work."

InuYasha shook his head. "Maybe things were smarter in my mother's day. I don't know if Chime would have made it through a wedding like you're talking about. Why do people do that?"

Kagome leaned more into his hold. "I guess they're just trying to make it clear it's a special day because it marks the start of their new life." She took his free hand and laced her fingers into his.

They sat there a moment, then InuYasha had a sudden, troubling thought. He let go of her hand, and slipped a finger under her chin so he could see her eyes. "Did...did we do wrong? I mean, I didn't even give you a chance to have a wedding dinner."

Kagome smiled up at her husband, ran her hand into his shining hair until she reached the base of his ear. "I seem to remember that it was me who didn't give you a chance, InuYasha." She gave him a light kiss on the lips. "That day and night will stay special in my memory forever. I mean, how many people can mark the beginning of their new life together by traveling 500 years?"

"You're sure?" His amber eyes searched hers deeply.

"Absolutely," she said. Her smile was brilliant, and her eyes were filled with love. "I wouldn't change it for the world."

Down in the village, Eiji and Haruo, still feeling rather pleased with their wedding gift to Shinjiro went back to the property where Eiji and his parents had their houses.

"I see you still have company," Haruo said. They stood for a moment at the fence that separated the property from the main street, and looked at the people gathered in the open space between the main house and the little house Eiji lived in. Emi was sitting next to Fujime, watching the children. "I can see why Chichi-ue decided to stay out in the bean fields instead of coming home for lunch. Maybe we should have stayed longer."

"We'd have missed Shinjiro," Eiji said, observing the gathering. "And I still have to make the rounds. It's still my ten day on guard duty."

Two small boys were playing off by themselves. Rin and Tazu had gathered some of the girls together and were telling them a story. Emi's oldest daughter was sitting with the women, sewing.

"Let's see. All of Susumu's kids are here, and Jun's boy, too," Haruo said, counting. "Maybe I ought to go get Teruko to help out Haha-ue."

"We'll see what Haha-ue says. And what's Susumu doing here?" Eiji asked, seeing the headman's son talking to Emi.

"Well, his wife is here," Haruo said. He pointed. "But I'm more interested in what Michio's doing here."

Kimi stood up, and walked up to the two men, her arms crossed, and frowning. Susumu said something, and Kimi shook her head.

"Something's going on," Eiji said. "It takes a lot to get Kimi-chan that unhappy, although these last few days . . . "

"They have been a little hectic," Haruo said, nodding. "But I thought today would go more smoothly. With Shinjiro's wedding and all, and this being an auspicious day."

"Would have, if Seiji hadn't decided to show his ass yesterday," Eiji said. He spit. "We have two main trouble making centers in this village - the women in Tsuneo's family and that man. There are times I don't know who causes the worst problems - Chiya or Seiji."

"That's an easy one. Seiji, if you ask me." Haruo leaned against the fence rail. "Chiya may act like a spoiled brat, but she doesn't pull the same crap. Her tool is gossip and getting the women all agitated at one another. She didn't get Masu's kids almost sold to a teahouse. Or get Masaki beaten up at the marketplace. Or chase his son down the road as he tried to beat him. She didn't try to burn down the house of her rival in love, either. "

Eiji nodded, rubbing the back of his neck, then spit again. "And these last few years, he's been getting worse."

"I guess we're going to find out soon," Haruo said, as they walked up.

Fujime was the first to spot them, and then Kimi and the other women. Kimi got up, putting her sewing down, and hurried towards her husband.

"Did you hear the news?" Kimi said. Her eyes were rather troubled.

"What news?" Eiji asked as she stopped next to him.

"Such strange news today. First about Haname, and then about Maeme." She rubbed her forehead. "Good and bad."

Haruo looked at his brother. "A double dose?"

Kimi looked at her brother-in-law, confused. "Don't worry, Kimi-chan," Eiji said. "I'll explain later. It was part of a bad joke." He brushed a stray wisp of hair off of her face. "Tell me what happened."

Michio walked up to join them, with Susumu in tow. "The good news is that Kagome-sama was able to totally heal Haname-okaasan. It was the most amazing thing."

"Kwannon is merciful," Eiji said. He gave Michio a nod of his head. "That is good news, and a reason to celebrate."

"But," Haruo said, crossing his arms, "I take it that is not the whole story today."

"No, it's not," Susumu said. His eyes were stern, not nearly as cheerful as usual. Like Haruo, he crossed his arms. "If it was, all we'd have to do is be dealing with someone's being dog piss at my place. A nuisance, but something that cleans up easily. Instead . . . "

"She . . . she threw herself in the river today." Kimi pulled on her husband's sleeve. "She did it on purpose!"

"Who did?" Eiji said. "Someone drowned?"

"Almost drowned," Susumu said. "InuYasha-sama and Houshi-sama managed to fish her out before she died."

Haruo scratched his head. "It wasn't an accident? You're sure?"

"That's what she told the monk," Susumu said.

"But why?" Eiji wrapped his arm around his wife who was clinging to him.

"Only one reason," Michio said.

"Seiji?" Eiji asked.

"I told you he was more trouble than Chiya," Haruo said. "I hate being right."


	249. Chapter 249

1_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 249**

At Tameo's compound, Hisa slid the door open to her husband's office. The room was empty. There were papers scattered on the desk, Tameo's writing tools still out, and a jug and cups still sitting where their users had left them.

"Now where is that man?" she asked. Walking over to the table, she picked up the sake bottle and swirled it around.

Shinjiro followed her in. "Tameo was drinking already?"

"Well, they didn't drink much." Hisa put the bottle down. "I just refilled it yesterday, and there's barely any gone. They didn't even finish what was in the cups" She looked up at the young man, and shrugged. "But with all that noise going on, who could blame them for breaking it out? I wonder who was here with him - Kinjiro, I bet. Tameo almost never breaks out the sake this early when it's him and Susumu." She picked up the cups, walked to the door, and tossed the contents outside before putting them in her basket. "I'll wash these later. My youngest - well, sometimes he's in need of relaxing more than his brother. You know how serious he gets. He's going to grow old with a permanent frown."

"He needs to laugh more, my otousan says," Shinjiro said, nodding. "But you know how Chichi-ue is. Just the opposite of Kinjiro. So where do you think Tameo-sama went? Did he go out in the fields?"

"Probably not," Hisa said. "If I didn't need to ask him something, we'd just go back." She thought for a moment. "There's one other place to look. Let's head to the back."

Shinjiro nodded, moving out of the way so she could step through the doorway. With an easy motion, she closed the door behind her, and they began to walk to the back of the compound.

No children played. None of the farm workers that made the grounds a busy place were moving from the storehouses and animal pens in the back towards the fields. The only beings they passed were a chicken which ruffled its feathers at them and a sleeping cat.

But as they neared the back buildings, they caught drift of a man's voice.

"Is that Jun?" Shinjiro said, as they headed back.

"And the beautiful maidens turned into foxes and all ran off, kicking over the game board in their haste to get away from the old woodcutter." He paused and someone laughed.

"He must have looked really bad," replied another.

"And that sounds like Tameo-sama," Shinjiro noted.

"Jun's telling stories, it sounds like," Hisa replied. "Things are so much nicer here than they were this morning - even with everybody hiding back here. It's a shame we didn't make it here earlier. Jun's good at story telling. We're lucky we didn't miss it all."

"And then the women playing go were so startled, they jumped up and ran off, turning into foxes as they ran," the farm worker's voice said.

"The old woodcutter and the fox priest?" Shinjiro said.

"Sounds like it." Hisa shifted her basket to her other hand. "He puts a bit different twist on it, usually."

"What happened next?" said a young voice.

"Well, suddenly it was like he woke up from a dream," Jun said. "He looked around him, and even the clearing he had been sitting in was different than he remembered."

Hisa and Shinjiro reached the back alley and walked into the building they used as a kitchen during harvest times.

"Well, look who found us out," Tameo said, seeing his wife. "Welcome to our little refuge."

Jun was sitting near the cook's position, where Riki was tending the fire, shoving a small stick under a kettle holding hot water. She looked up as the two entered and nodded a greeting.

Isao sat not far away, looking at the farm worker with rapt eyes. He was bent over, resting one elbow on his leg and supporting his chin with his hand. Koichi, nursing a cup of tea, leaned against a wall. He idly rubbed his forehead with one hand as if his head hurt, and looked fatigued.

"Are you all right, Koichi?" Hisa asked. "Would you like me to make a pain potion?"

"No, no," the old farmhand said. "I just need some calm and quiet. Thank your son for me for taking over the guard duty."

"Well, well, look at our bridegroom," Jun said. "I'm surprised Chime-sama let you out."

"I think . . . " Shinjiro paused. "I think she was getting tired of me. I know there's been a lot going on in the village. For me, it's been a boring day."

"That's to make up for your exciting night," Jun said, leering just a little. "Karma."

Tameo and the other men laughed, Hisa smiled, and Riki just shook her head.

"Ah, wedding days do take their toll. I don't know who looks like they're having a rougher time of it, Koichi or Shinjiro," Tameo said. "So you've come to pass your boredom where the excitement's been?"

The bridegroom laughed. "You could say that."

"Sit down, sit down," the headman said, beckoning to the area next to him. Shinjiro went to take his seat.

"There's some fresh tea," Riki said. "Would you like a cup?"

"That would be lovely, Riki-chan," Hisa said, smiling appreciatively. "Has anybody talked with Toshiro about what's going on?"

"I did earlier," Tameo said. "But let's save that for later. Now is just to have a moment's peace."

"Peace is good," Koichi said, nodding.

While Riki got up to get more tea cups, Isao rested his hand on his chin. "But the story! What happened next?"

Jun scratched his head. "The story. Now where was I?"

"There was a big tree growing where he could have sworn there was only a sapling was when he sat down to watch the game," Hisa said.

Tameo reached over and patted his wife's hand. "Paid attention walking up, did you?"

Riki handed her a cup of tea, which she accepted graciously. "I always liked this one."

Shinjiro took his cup as well while Jun closed his eyes, and licked his lips. "The big tree where only the sapling had been before," he said, then open his eyes. "Exactly. The old woodcutter began to walk down the mountainside, but it was hard for him to recognize where he was going. The trail looked different, and all his landmarks had changed. When he got to where he thought his house was, there was only a heap of old rotted timbers. The garden that his wife was always working on was a weed-strewn field, and a young tree was growing in the middle of it. He went further down the road, and met an old villager that he didn't recognize.

"'Excuse me, Dono,' he asked politely. 'Do you know the house where the woodcutter lives, the one by the old willow tree? I was looking for it, but I can't find it. All I saw was an old ruin where I thought it was.'

"'That old place?' the old man said, scratching his head. 'Yes, a woodcutter used to live there. I used to play with his grandchildren when I was a boy. But his last grandson moved away a long time. I don't think anybody's lived there for fifty years.'"

"Fifty years?" Isao said. "The woodcutter had been gone that many years?"

"Longer, boy," Jun said. "That's when the last of his grandchildren had moved on. Must have been close to a hundred years. The reality of what had happened began to dawn on him. Having nowhere else to go, the woodcutter went back to the ruins and knelt down and cried. 'Why did this happen to me?'"

"Stupid man. He knew why," Koichi said. "Brought it on himself for being an ass. Ought to happen to Seiji."

Jun coughed into his hand, giving his co-worker an irritated look. Koichi, not looking at him, rubbed his forehead.

"Suddenly, after he had been there about an hour, he heard someone calling his name. Turning around, he saw the priest who had long ago told him that he needed to honor the gods instead of working all the time. He looked just the same as he did the first time he saw him."

"The same priest? He looked just the same?" Isao asked. He frowned, his brow knitting together.

"The very same. At first the woodcutter was frightened, and bowed down to the ground, but then, he grew angry and sat up.

"'You! 'said the wood cutter. ' It's your fault this happened to me! If you hadn't told me about honoring the gods, I would have lived out my life with my old wife. But now, they're all gone.' He stood up, and made a lunge for the priest, who blocked him with his staff. "

"'Woodcutter, when I told you to honor the gods, did I tell you to stop working? You brought this on yourself. You deserted your family long before you disappeared. And because you did it in the gods' name, they made sure you would learn your lesson.'

"'What?' the woodcutter said. 'I gave up everything for them.'

"I told you he was a stupid fool," Koichi said. "Too many of'em in the world who don't seem to know how to take care of business and their family." He got up and took his cup to Riki, who refilled it.

"I think," Hisa said, leaning close to her husband, "that Koichi's had too much Seiji-tea today."

Shinjiro, close enough to overhear, snorted.

Jun chose to ignore him, and went on with his story. "The gods didn't ask you to give up everything for them, now did they? They gave you a family to care for. They gave you work. All they asked is that you remembered them, who were looking out for your best interests. And what did you do? Throw away everything they had blessed you with!'"

"It's not smart to throw away what the gods give you, I guess," Isao said. "Even if it means responsibilities."

"Smart boy," Jun said. He took a sip from his own tea cup. "You already know this. Inari or any of the other kami won't have to come teach you a lesson like this poor man." He put down his cup. "Finally, it dawned on the old woodcutter what it was that he had done wrong. He fell back on his knees, and pulled on the mysterious priest's robes.

"'Forgive me!" the woodcutter said. 'I never meant to do it wrong. I'm just a stupid woodcutter. No one was ever around to teach me anything. Even my okaasan left me when I was small. How was I supposed to know better?'

"'Your good intentions and ignorance are noted,' the priest said. He looked up at the sky, turning his head like he was listening, shaking it a time or two, and finally, he sighed, then shrugged. 'If you say so, Dono.' The woodcutter quaked as he watched.

"Looking a bit reluctant, the priest clapped his hands twice and suddenly there was a blinding light. When the woodcutter opened his eyes, the rubble of the old house was gone, and it looked just the way he remembered it. The door opened, and his wife walked out. 'Drunk again, I suspect? Why didn't you come home last night?'

"Overjoyed, he ran to embrace the woman, much to her surprise. 'No wife, I'm very sober. I know just what I need to do.'

"And he spent the rest of his life being an excellent husband, giving the gods what was their due, but never forgetting to take care of his family, too."

"If only all men could learn that lesson so well," Tameo said, looking back towards the front of the compound, where the lockup was.

"Some people," Hisa said, "seem to need more teaching than one life can give."

"Alas," Jun said. "You may be right."

"So," Koichi said, looking at Shinjiro. "What type of husband are you going to be?"

"The right kind," the bridegroom said. "Otherwise, Haha-ue and Hisa-obasan would set that fox priest on me for sure. The first day after I acted up."

"Wise man," Tameo said, nodding. "Wise man."


	250. Chapter 250

_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 250**

Back at Miroku's house, Sango knocked on the door of the sleep room and Sukeo slid the door open. His face was sullen, but not with anger. It was, more numbness as the events of the day took their toll on the teen. Sango gave him what she hoped was a reassuring smile as she stepped in, carrying a tray with some soup bowls on it.

Inside Nakao still sat next to his mother, holding her hand, and humming some little tune. Sukeo moved back to his place near the head of the bed. He leaned against the wall, and drew his legs up close to his chest before resting his head on his knees.

"Kaede-obaasan will be back when she's through talking with Koume-sama. I thought you might be hungry," she said, sliding the door behind her. "Have you eaten anything since breakfast, Nakao-kun?"

The boy turned briefly to glance up at the taijiya, then looked down at his lap and shook his head. "I...I don't think I can eat anything."

To Sango's surprise, Maeme lifted herself up on one elbow. "You should try," the depressed woman said, squeezing her son's hand. "You'd feel better. You know how going hungry makes you feel."

"Okaa . . . " The boy looked at his mother, and shook his head. "I just . . . "

"It's all right," Sango said. "I know what it feels like. Sometimes, when things like this happen . . . anyway, I'll leave this here. If you, or your okaasan, or you, too, Sukeo-kun, want to eat, there's plenty."

Sukeo gave her an odd look. "Why?"

The question surprised Sango."Why what, Sukeo-kun?" Sango asked, putting the tray down. "Is it about the food?"

"Why?" He lifted his head off of his knees. "Why have you been so nice to us? You and Houshi-sama? My otou said . . . "

Maeme turned her face to glance at her son. Her face still was not reflecting much feeling, but there was a flash in her eyes, somewhere between defiance and anger."Your otousan has said a lot of foolish things."

Sukeo looked at his mother with wide eyes, as if words like that were shocking coming from her. "Okaa?"

She sat up, shaking her head. "Don't be shocked. Today happened because . . . "

Nakao pulled on her sleeve, and her hand covered the boys. "If I hadn't been so frightened, I . . ."

Sango, not wishing to embarrass the little family, turned and went back to the door. "I'll go see what Kaede-obaasan is doing," she said, without looking. She stepped out, and slid the door closed.

She could hear Maeme's voice continue to talk as she moved back to the fire pit.

Kaede looked up at Sango as she walked across the room, and lifted an eyebrow at the sound of the voices, and looked thoughtful for a moment. "Do not fret if they don't want to eat yet, Sango-chan," the old miko said. "Their bodies are still reacting from the shock of what's happened."

"I know," the young taijiya said. "It's not that. I just wish . . . "

"You have a good heart, Sango-chan," Koume said, looking up from her sewing. "I'm almost surprised you put up with any of us here in the village after finding out what Chiya-chan was playing at. And here you are, harboring the wife of one of the people who like you least."

"She's not everybody," Sango said. She went back to her place near Koume. "Just like Seiji is not all men."

"No, thank goodness," Koume said. "I can't even imagine what life must be like with a man like that. Fumio-chan, he's so much Seiji's opposite. Strong, fair, and usually minds his own business. But he has little tolerance for men who treat women wrong, especially after what happened to our daughter."

"I remember that day. That shocked many of the men in the village, to think one of our own would act that way," Kaede said. There was a sob from the back of the room, and Nakao's voice sounding soothing, although it was impossible to really make out the words. The old miko stood up. "Perhaps its time to give Maeme that next dose of medicine. I was trying to give the boys some time to visit because it will make her sleep, but she still is very fragile."

She went and let herself into the sleeping room.

"I wonder how long she'll be like this," Koume said, taking a stitch in the white cloth.

"It can take time," Sango said. "First you weep . . . and then you get angry. Maybe she's getting near the anger stage. I saw a flash of it, but . . . "

"I take it you have some first hand experience with the dark things life can throw at you," the older woman said.

Sango attacked her stitching with a vengeance. "More than I'd wish on anybody."

Down the hill at Fujime's house, Eiji digested the news that Susumu and the other gave him. He looked down at his wife, whose eyes were more than disturbed. "First Chime tries to do herself in, and now Maeme? Too much grief this week. Maybe we need Houshi-sama to bless the whole village."

"You don't think we're under a curse or something, do you?" Fujime said, walking up to the men. She crossed her arms, not quite believing what her son was suggesting, but open to being convinced. "The only person to bring any darkness here lately was that yamabushi, and it seems the kami took care of him."

Kimi nodded her head. "That's the truth, Fujime-okaasan. I'm afraid everything else has been just the usual darkness in people's hearts and bad judgment." She sighed. "We knew Seiji wasn't treating his wife right, but . . . and as for Chiya, well, we all know how she is." She sucked on her bottom lip. "I knew Maeme-chan was lonely, that Seiji was trying to keep people from being near her. If I had just tried harder . . . At least Haha-ue's up at the monk's house. And Chichi-ue, too. They'll help."

"Seiji would have found a way to cause trouble and drive you away anyway," Fujime said. She wrapped an arm around her daughter-in-law. "You may want to be our little Kwannon, but sometimes, even you can't make other people accept Kwannon's compassion, Kimi-chan. Sometimes people will just block it."

Kimi nodded. "I know. But still . . . "

"We'll talk to your okaasan when she gets home from Houshi-sama's," Fujime said, pulling Kimi away from the men. "Then we'll know what else we can do." She guided Kimi back to where Emi was still seated.

Eiji, watching his wife and mother walk away, shook his head and clenched his fists. "I don't like this," he said, looking at the headman's son. "We've put up with him a long time for what I think are stupid reasons, and now they're coming back to bite his family. And it's spilling over to all our families while they're at it. Does your otousan know what happened?"

Susumu nodded. "Oh, yes. InuYasha came by and told us the story. He's a scary one to see when he's mad. It's a lucky thing for Seiji that today's Shinjiro's wedding day; otherwise I don't know if Seiji would be a problem anymore."

"Unlucky for us, maybe," Haruo said. He rubbed the back of his neck, making sure his mother hadn't overheard him. If she had, she was ignoring him.

"You're not the only one who doesn't like what's going on. I don't like this," Michio said. "After what he said yesterday about Chiya . . . What's he going to do with his wife once he gets out? Push her back in the river and try to run off with my woman?"

"Your woman? Who's living at her father's old house because she shamed you in public?" Haruo reminded him. "He probably considers her fair game. You could solve that temptation by just taking her back home."

"Haruo. Be quiet." Eiji gave his brother a nasty look. "He's not doing anything wrong. You were there when she went off on him."

"Still," the younger brother said, crossing his arms. "Even an ass like Seiji would be able to read those signs."

"I wouldn't count on it," Susumu said. He spit.

Michio tensed, turning red as he listened, his scowl turning deep and ugly, like an actor's mask. His fists clenched and unclenched. "Not yet. Not yet. You all heard her. Would you take her back in yet?"

Haruo shrugged. "We were there. We know what she's like. You have to do what you have to do. It's just one way to keep her safe."

"I..." Michio took a deep breath. "If I took her back now, would I turn into another Seiji?" He shook his head. "She needs to stay where she's safe – from him and from me."

"You're a better man than he'll ever be," Eiji said, clapping his friend on the arm. "She'll be safe."

"Besides, Michio," Susumu said, "do you really think the elders will let him get anywhere near Chiya-chan?" He crossed his arms and shook his head. "Do you think I would? No matter what she's done in the past, she doesn't deserve him."

"Bah." Michio, said, still tensed up. "Do you think he's going to listen to what they tell him? What the elders tell him to do never has had much value to Seiji. Didn't stop him from almost getting in a fight with Chich-ue yesterday." He spit."And he threatened her. And me."

Susumu scratched his head, trying to think of how to calm the man. "We'll talk to my otousan. He's been ready to do something about Seiji for years now. I'm sure he'll agree that we should put a watch on the house. And you know Tsuneo will back him up on that one. I don't think he'll get a chance to do anything, but better safe . . . "

That was the type of thing Michio was wanting to hear, and he unclenched somewhat. "It would make me feel better. Tsuneo-otousan would appreciate it as well," he said and gave Susumu a small bow of thanks.

"Tsuneo-sama's had a lot on him these last few days. That's another reason. Chichi-ue will understand that. Well, let's go see him," Susumu said. "I know nothing's going to happen before the wedding's over, at least. Seiji's going to stay right where he is. Locked up tight." He took a deep breath. "Even if it drives all my family insane."

"He better stay there. Chime-sama will come tan all of our hides after everything she's been doing to make sure this wedding goes off without any bad luck," Eiji said. "And your okaasan, too."

Susumu nodded, and with a wave at the women, the group of men began to walk off.

Michio still frowning, looked at the village guard. "Everybody in your family going to the wedding?"

"Most of us. Jun and Koichi'll stay home, probably. Daitaro will skin me if I don't show up. I think he's plotting on seeing how much sake I can drink." He gave the upset man a small grin. "So Haha-ue can skin me the next day."

"Sounds like Daitaro," Haruo said, amused by the image.

Michio rubbed the back of his neck. "You better put a watch on his brother, too. Maybe a couple of the men at Tsuneo-otousan's could do it."

"Yoshimi?" Susumu said. That one surprised him. "I heard he was laying low because he owed Ryota money."

"Not the only one," Haruo said. "Why I ever . . . "

"I don't trust him not to go let Seiji out while the wedding's going on." Michio met Susumu's incredulous look with a knowing, determined glare of his own. "No telling what will happen if he does."

"You have a dark mind, Michio-sama," Haruo said.

Michio shook his head. "I've just been beaten up by that bastard too often. The younger is maybe worse, threatening people to get Seiji on them if they don't do what he says. I'll never trust them."


	251. Chapter 251

1_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 251**

Kaede, when she went back into the sleeping room at Miroku's house, gave Maeme the cup of medicine she had been preparing. It quickly made the troubled woman fall asleep, a deep solid rest, and the old miko ushered the boys outside, with directions not to come back until after dinner.

Reluctantly, Nakao and Sukeo left Miroku's house with Koume and Fumio.

"Can't I stay?" Nakao asked. "I haven't been here long."

"You heard Kaede. She gave her some medicine that should make her sleep awhile," Koume said. "She needs some rest."

"But what if she wakes up and she's all alone?" Sukeo asked.

"You can come back later," Sango said. She was working outside, folding the clothes she hung up to dry earlier. "It's all right."

"You're sure you don't mind?" Sukeo asked, hopeful. "Can I . . . can I stay here tonight to sit with her? One person shouldn't be too many."

Nakao looked crushed, and nudged his brother. "What about me?"

Sango picked up a towel and frowned. "I...let me talk to my husband and Kaede, first." She folded it in half, and folded it again.

Koume looked at her husband, who looked thoughtful, but shrugged, and then at Sango as she worked. "I'm not sure if that's a good idea," the older woman said. "Houshi-sama's house is getting crowded and they've already given up one room . . . "

Sango looked at the boys who reminded her of Kohaku, trying to act strong, but whose troubles leaked through his eyes. "We will see what Kaede-sama says," Sango said. This time she picked up a sheet, and stood, to fold it properly. "If she thinks it's too much for her, well, we want to do the best for Maeme-chan, don't we?"

"And what if she wakes up and we're not here?" Nakao said. The bruises on his face heightened the worried look that filled his eyes and the set of his mouth. "She'll be scared."

"That's why we'll let Kaede-obaasan decide," Sango said. She folded the sheet in half.

Fumio nodded, resting a hand on the shoulder of each boy. "Miko-sama has a lot more experience than any of us about how to treat someone like you okaasan. We'll come back in a little while. But first, let's go get your bedding and whatever you'll need to spend the night, all right? After than, and after you get something to eat . . . "

"But I'm not hungry," Nakao said. "When Sango-sama tried to get me to eat, it made me feel sick."

"Well," Koume said, strong-willed as usual, but at the same time, wanting to keep the boys as content as possible, "We'll just see how everything goes. But let's get ready, all right? That's what we can do while your okaasan is resting. Then we'll come back and see what Kaede-sama says."

With a bit more feet-dragging, the couple managed to get the boys moving down the hill.

At InuYasha's house, Kagome stepped back outside, shaking her head. "Floor's still too wet to move the things back in yet."

"Well," InuYasha said, shrugging. "If you still want to do something, we could go on a run."

She looked down at the clothes she was wearing. "I don't think so. I don't really like to ride on your back in these clothes."

"We could take a walk. You don't seem to mind walking in those clothes," he said. They began moving towards the front of the house.

"I'm not sure I want to do that either," Kagome said. "Where would we go?"

"I don't know," the hanyou said. "We can head that way," he said, pointing east, "and walk as far as you want to and then turn around and come back when you think it's been long enough."

She made a face, twisting her lips as she though about it. "Maybe. I don't know . . . "

Before he could make a comment, his ear flicked, hearing something too faint for Kagome's ears, and he turned around. "We're about to have company."

"Oh?" she said, breathing out as she looked down at herself. The knee area of her wrap skirt was a little dirty from her cleaning, and her sleeves were still tied back. "Of course, when I'm wearing the clothes I just cleaned the fire pit out in," she said, a bit unhappy. Both of them turned to look at the road.

Fumio and Koume walked up with the two sons of Maeme in tow.

"Ah, Kagome-chan," Koume said, spotting the two. She did not look surprised or upset to see the miko dressed the way she was. "You look like you're putting the afternoon to good use."

Kagome smiled, bowing back. "Maybe."

"After a morning like today's, it's those little things that help us get back to normal," the older woman said. "At least it does for me." Looking at the furniture in front of the house, she nodded approvingly. "Floor scrubbing, I take it. My favorite for the really irritating times."

The young miko nodded. "That's what my okaasan always said, too."

"A wise woman," Koume said.

Fumio stepped up, a hand on each of Maeme's sons, who looked at the young couple in front of them with a little uncertainty. Sukeo sucked on his bottom lip, like he was trying to think of something to say. The blacksmith, noticing, took the lead. "We won't bother you long. Our two young friends asked if they could stop by before we take them home."

"Oh?" Kagome asked. InuYasha stood next to her, his hands clasped in his sleeves, but his posture was easy and his look curious. She looked at the boys with what she hoped was an encouraging smile.

"Yes," Koume said, nodding. She looked at the older of the two boys kindly. "This was Sukeo's idea. He asked us to stop."

Sukeo took a deep breath, and swallowed hard, but stepped firmly forward, and bowed to the hanyou and miko. "My . . . I . . . " he swallowed. "My okaasan put you both through some troubles today."

"Not trouble," Kagome said. "It's what we do, you know. Don't blame her for this."

The boy stood up, and shook his head, surprised at her comment. "Blame my okaasan? No, no, I wouldn't do that. But still, you took the time."

"We did," the hanyou said. "We would do it again if she needed it."

"I..." the boy took another deep breath. "My otousan told me many things about you, InuYasha-sama. Most of them were not good. Some people have told me they weren't true. And I know you knew what he thought about you, especially after the raid last winter . . . " He paused a moment and met InuYasha's eyes. The amber eyes looked back at him, patient, alert, unthreatening. "I was told bad things, and repeated them sometimes. I know you heard me the day that Kaede-sama's ward was talking to my brother. And with all of this you saved my okaasan's life, even when you know my father hates you."

"Keh," InuYasha said, flicking his ear. "It was the right thing to do."

Sukeo took that information in, and gave a nod, then bowed again. "Thank you."

InuYasha shifted his weight, from one side to another and glanced at Kagome. Sukeo's display made him uncomfortable, and he really wasn't sure how to react, so he nodded in return.

Nakao moved forward, stepping in front of his brother so he could ask Kagome a question. "My okaasan. She's so sad. Do you think this will help? Everything that Houshi-sama and Kaede-sama are doing? The medicine Miko-sama gives her puts her right to sleep."

Kagome squatted forward a little, bringing herself closer to Nakao's line of sight, and rested a hand on his shoulder. "I think so. I trust Kaede-obaasan's thinking on this. Sometimes people do . . . what your okaasan did because it's the only way they have to let people know they need help. Kaede-obaasan, Houshi-sama and InuYasha and I will do all we can to help her."

"Yeah," the hanyou said.

After a few more words of small talk, Koume and Fumio made their farewells, and ushered the boys down the hill.

Untouched by the unrest that was going on in the rest of the village, Erime, Shinjiro's bride, was also finding the time hanging heavy on her hands. She and her sister Tama were sitting in the main room of their house, playing Go to make the time pass. Tama had made a move that was going to be hard for Erime to counter, and she stared fretfully at the board when the door to the room slid open. Ushimi, the girls' mother walked in, several robes in her hands, and a large square box. She knelt down near the two girls, opened the box, and began folding the robes.

"What are you doing, Okaasan?" Erime asked, surprised. "I didn't think there was anything left to do."

Her sister, who must have been in the know about what was going on, giggled. Erime gave her a sharp look.

"Just watch," the girl said. "You'll like this better than go."

"You're right," Ushimi said, glancing up at her daughter and smiling. "There's not much really left to do. But I saved this. I'm packing a few things for your bridal box." .

"But I thought we had sent most of my things over already," the young woman said. "I could put everything I have left here in a head scarf."

"We had. But a bride shouldn't go to her mother-in-law's house empty handed. It's bad luck." She began to skillfully fold the first robe - a kosode in soft shades of blue and peach.

"Where did you get that, Okaa?" Erime said, reaching out to touch the fabric. "I haven't seen it before. It's beautiful."

"Oh, I've been doing a little sewing when you were out working in the fields, girl." Ushimi looked up at her daughter, smiling. She slipped the robe into the box. "You don't know everything I do."

"You are sneaky, Okaa," Tama said. "I only found out by accident, and she made me swear not to mention it."

"And you were good at distracting your sister when I needed you to. Sneakiness must run in the family," Ushimi said. Tama sucked on her lip, not sure if she should be amused or was being chided, but Erime laughed. Next was a wrap skirt of the same fabric, which quickly followed into the box.

Erime turned and looked at her sister. "Maybe too sneaky. You didn't even give me a hint."

Tama hugged her. "Sometimes, it's worth it, you know."

"But who's going to do it for you, when it's Tama's turn?" Erime said.

"Oh, I'm sure we'll think of something. Maybe I'll just spend extra time visiting you and Chime-chan." Ushimi picked up the next piece, in brown and cream and red, a plaid pattern. "A good dress for housework days."

The young bride nodded. She reached out and touched the fabric. "I like it."

Last in the stack was something unexpected. It was made of red with white embroidered birds scattered across its surface. Erime looked up at it, surprised. "Where . . . where did you get this, Okaasan?"

"It's a special thing. I wore it at my wedding, and my mother wore it at hers. It was a gift to her mother. A noblewoman that she helped through a bad illness gave it to her. It's far too good to wear very often, but I would like you to wear it over your kosode when we walk to Shinjiro's house."

"You'll look like a hime," Tama said. Her eyes were wide and appreciative. "It's so beautiful."

"It is indeed." Erime reached out and gently touched the fabric. "I've never seen anything like it."

"I suspect Shinjiro hasn't either," Ushimi said. "But it will tell him what a wonderful woman he's getting to come to his house."

Suddenly, the woman's eyes glistened. Carefully taking it to the screen where Erime's wedding kosode was already draped, she rested it reverently across the top. Then quickly, overcome with emotion, Ushimi stepped out of the room.


	252. Chapter 252

1_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 252**

The area around Miroku's house was finally almost normal, except for the presence of Maeme and Kaede. All the other visitors had left for the moment. She looked around the main room, still holding a basket of clothes she had taken off the clothesline and needed to put away. Overcome by the contrast to how normal it looked, verses how not normal it really ways, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

"Just . . . just," she said sighing. "Maybe I feel like this because today's still not settled. I think I'll take my sewing outside. Maybe Miroku's right. Being in the sunshine will help."

She hurriedly put the clean clothes away in their proper drawers and chests, grabbed her sewing basket, and moved out of doors, leaving the sliding door open in case Kaede called for something.

The sight that greeted her was a pleasant one, and took a little of her tension away. Miroku sat under his favorite tree holding Yusuko. Noriko had finally fallen asleep, and was stretched out on a blanket next to him. Naoya lay in his basket cradle near his sister. Smiling in spite of the tension she felt, a real smile that reached her eyes, she walked across the yard and stood in front of her family.

"Do you have a place for me here?" she asked.

Miroku smiled back and lifted up a hand in welcome. "For you, Sango my dearest, there is always a place."

Sango took it, giving it a little squeeze, and then settled down. She picked up her sewing, part of an undershirt she was making, and began to stitch.

"How is our houseguest doing?" Miroku asked. "I know that at least Sukeo's going to try to come back tonight. He's trying so hard to be a good son. Did you hear that he spent all of last night sleeping next to the lockup, so he could be there for that no-good father of his?"

That made Sango's little bubble of peace break. "Kaede's sitting with her." She looked up at Miroku. "He did that? I..."

Running out of words, she shook her head and looked at her needlework. Almost if she could sense Sango's mood, Chika, the calico cat that had once upon a time been a wicked bakeneko, walked out of the house to join them. She moved next to Sango, mewed once as she looked at the woman, rubbed her head against her leg, then circling, settled down to sleep next to her. For a moment, Sango put down her sewing and let her hand rest on the cat's back briefly, then attacked her work with fresh vigor.

Miroku, holding a sleepy, but determined Yusuko, watched his wife. A thought came to mind; it seemed to both amuse and sadden the monk.

"I can tell," he said, his lips twisting into a sad smile at the irony of his thought.

"Tell what?" she asked, stabbing through the fabric.

"I can tell when you wish your sewing needle was your sword, Sango my love." He reached over and freed one of her hands.

She looked up at him, sucking on her lip, almost if she had been caught doing something naughty. "Is it that obvious?"

"It is when you stab the cloth that hard," Miroku said. Yusuko nuzzled his shoulder, but her eyes were solidly closed, and her grip on her father's robes had loosened. He stood up, then moved over to the blanket where Noriko slept, knelt down, and placed the girl next to her sister. Neither girl stirred.

"At least our girls can relax," he said. "Sometimes innocence is a real blessing." He sat back down in his place.

"I need to stab something," Sango said. She reached out and touched Miroku's arm. "It's seeing what he's done and how it's affected so many people in such a bad way. He's as bad as any youkai, worse than some. They at least are acting like what they are."

"Chiya's antics . . . they affect a lot of people, too," he said, tilting his head to get a better look. His hand, freed from holding small girls, found its way around her waist.

"Chiya might have been trying to chase me off, but she never tried to physically hurt me to get his way. Poor Maeme . . . what was she going through lately? And her boys, too. You saw Nakao's bruises. Sukeo has a scar on his forehead that I bet wasn't just from him doing the things most boys do."

"You're right, Sango," Miroku said. "And it's not just lately, I'm sure." He pulled her close. "Although, knowing that Michio had kicked Chiya out might have made Seiji even more harsh the last couple of days. You know he has something of an obsession over her."

She nodded. "I'd heard a little talk."

"A couple of times yesterday, he mentioned kicking out Maeme and taking Chiya off with him. Maybe she knew he was thinking of that if the opportunity happened." The monk looked up through the branches of the tree overhead and sighed. "To put up with everything he had done and then to be thrown away like a used chimaki wrapper - that's got to be a hard thing."

"Or maybe he would have done worse," Sango said. She fastened off the thread, cut it, and reached for her thread winder. "I wouldn't be surprised if he'd try to do more than just throw her out."

"That's possible." Miroku found himself making a fist, but then intentionally relaxed it. He took a deep breath, bringing his hands into a position he used when he meditated. "All I can say is that it is a good thing that today is Shinjiro's wedding and everybody is trying to avoid bloodshed," Miroku said.

Sango looked up. "Do you think InuYasha might have . . . ?"

"Him, Fumio, Koichi, Michio, even Koume. Tsuneo, maybe, after the way he acted yesterday." He gave his wife a knowing look. "And right now, you. It would be quite a line to see who wanted to strike the first blow. We'd have to have a lottery."

Sango unwound a long length of thread. "He's certainly making no friends right now."

"None." Miroku stood up. "But that will have to wait. It's time to think about what to do next. I may go to the temple and ask for a blessing that nothing else will disturb Shinjiro's wedding. That family doesn't deserve having this special day tarred with anything else." Walking carefully, he went back into his house.

At InuYasha's house, the hanyou and Kagome watched Fumio, his wife and Maeme's two boys walk down the path that would lead them back to the village.

"That was . . . interesting," Kagome said.

InuYasha crossed his arms. "I think Sukeo's going to be doing some serious thinking the next few days."

"Everything that's happened . . . it's got to be," Kagome paused to find the right word.

"Like he's in a storm and his world got turned upside down," the hanyou said.

"Yeah, I guess," Kagome said. She leaned against InuYasha's arm. "At least he's got people who will try to make sure he doesn't land upside down."

He put his arm around her. "Yeah. Nothing like having everything fall apart and then find yourself all alone."

Kagome looked up at her husband and saw the dark shadow pass across his face as he pulled up an old memory. Not wanting to let it come any further up to the surface, she changed the subject."So what shall we do while we wait for the floor?"

"We could go for that walk," he said.

"Sounds good to me. Way better than standing here wondering about things we can't do anything about," she said. She caught one of his hands. "So what are we waiting for?"

They began walking deeper into the woods along the ridge that surrounded the north side of the village. It was all new to Kagome. She may have raced past some of it on InuYasha's back, but this was the first time she really got to see it.

They stopped by a rock outcropping. Trees surrounded them, but she could just make out the top of the ridge. "I don't think I've ever been here," she said.

"You're right, I think. Never was much of any reason to come up here," the hanyou said. "Daitaro comes up here sometimes. I guess he's looking for mushrooms or something." He found a good place on the rock and sat down. "Not many other people go into the deep woods."

"I think they're afraid," Kagome said, joining InuYasha. "They don't have someone like you to keep them safe."

"It's pretty easy countryside, once you get to the top. Every now and then bandits find that out. Some of'em have tried to sneak over from the road north and get to the village that way. That's one of the reasons Tameo built my house where it is, so I can keep an eye on things."

"Has it worked?" Kagome asked.

"Maybe. Don't know." InuYasha shrugged. "Haven't been any raids from this direction in a while. Sometimes I find some small youkai." He pointed to the northwest. "There's an old tanuki that lives over that way. Most of the bad things that lived near here got called up by Naraku. It's pretty peaceful."

There was a noise that sounded like a loud snorting, followed by something crash through the brush not that far from them, and InuYasha went on alert for a moment as Kagome jumped, then leaned in closer to her husband. "What's that?"

InuYasha breathed deeply, and relaxed. "Deer. Must have heard us talking. We must have spooked it."

"Deer?" Kagome asked, relaxing, but not quite letting go of InuYasha.

"Yeah. There are animals up here, you know. Nothing much that's really bad. Haven't found much up here except chipmunks, deer, sometimes a pig. Rabbits. Sometimes a dog that's run off. Foxes. Otherwise, it's pretty safe. Most of'em don't want to run into people. No wolves. If it wasn't like that . . . Well, we both know Daitaro comes up here for mushrooms. The way that he sits and drinks, he might have gotten eaten a long time ago if it was really dangerous."

Kagome leaned into his shoulder. "Hard to believe what it's going to look like in a few hundred years. So many buildings up here. The store I used to take you to sometimes."

"People, people everywhere. I don't know how all those people can stand it," the hanyou said. "And the smells."

Kagome took his hand and shrugged. "I never thought much about it when I lived there. When you're raised around it, it just feels natural."

"Feh," InuYasha said, frowning. "Don't think they'd know what natural was if it went up and bit'em."

"Maybe not," Kagome agreed. "This is much nicer."

"Not perfect, but nicer," the hanyou said, putting his cheek on her head.

Kagome took his hand. "What would be perfect?"

InuYasha was silent for a moment. "Not having to put up with stupid people who like to hurt other people," he said at last.

"Like Seiji?" Kagome asked.

"Not just him," InuYasha said. He flicked his ear and got a silly grin. "Now what else would make it perfect? Hmmm . . . Not having to put up with Miroku's bad jokes."

Kagome laughed at that one. "They're not all bad," she said, lacing her fingers into his. "He makes me laugh sometimes."

"They are after you've heard them over and over for nearly four years," he said. "And he's careful about the ones he tells around you. You should hear some of the ones he tells when you and Sango aren't around."

"Oh, I can imagine," Kagome said, snickering. She looked up at him, and InuYasha was pleased at how much more happy and relaxed she looked. "Anything else?"

He gave her hand a squeeze. "Not having to go back, because we have to get ready to go to Daitaro's pretty soon." Pulling her close he rested his chin on top of her head. "I can think of other things I'd rather do." She pulled out of the hug, and the look in his eyes gave her no doubt to what he was thinking of. He sighed. "I don't think we have enough time for that this afternoon."

"There is that," Kagome said, also looking a little disappointed. "It'd be a better way to spend the time. But with everything happening, and Choujiro working around the house . . . "

InuYasha brushed her cheek with his hand. "I thought you wanted to go to the wedding."

"I did," she said, giving him a small, nervous smile. "I do. Just a little performance anxiety."

"I know you. You'll do fine," he said. "And even if you didn't, they wouldn't care. They like us."

"They do, don't they?" she said, smiling at him, a more honest smile this time.

"I don't know why, but they do. Like we're family," InuYasha said. "We better get back." He turned back the way they came.

"It's nice to have family," Kagome said as she followed.

"Never thought I'd have a reason to say that," the hanyou replied, nodding, "but yeah, it is."

Clasping hands, they headed home.


	253. Chapter 253

_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 253**

While InuYasha and Kagome walked through the woods to the east of the village, deep in the forest to the north, almost halfway to the next village, Yoshimi, Seiji's younger brother, was resting on the forest floor. The young man was enjoying the afternoon away from family and all the problems and work he knew he would be facing at home. His kosode was splayed open, his hakama crumpled on the ground not far from him. Sighing contentedly, he had his hands behind his head, a satisfied look on his face as he stared up at the branches of a tree overhead.

Evidence of why he officially was here in the forest existed. Leaned up against a tree nearby was his axe. Next to that was a small stand of deadwood he had been gathering for firewood. But the real reason why he had spent the morning out here was there at his right-hand side.

Smiling, he looked in that direction to see a woman who was closing up her own garments, smoothing the front of her under kosode even as she reached for her outer garment. His companion was older than he was, somewhere in her thirties. Once she would have been considered pretty, but life had taken its toll, and it had given her a worried, petulant look, a face more used to frowning than smiling. "One more ten day," she said, her voice distant, as she shrugged into her worn blue robe.

"One more ten day for what, Kiyoko-chan?" he said, watching her movements more than listening to her voice.

Kiyoko grabbed her wrap skirt, a dark blue skirt with white flowers worked into it. It had seen better days, and was patched in more than one place. She stood up and put the garment around her. "One more ten day and my mourning period is up."

"That soon, eh," he said, looking up at the woman. She smiled at him as she fastened the tie on the skirt, then began to pull her hair back so she could tuck a comb at its back before putting her head scarf back on.

Comb in place, she shook out the head scarf to free it of some dead leaves and grass. She closed her eyes a moment, took a deep breath as her mood changed. "My obasan, my otousan's sister, she's trying to talk me into hurrying up and getting remarried, so we'll have someone to take over the farming before rice planting."

He pushed himself up on his elbows. His eyebrows lifted up, and he looked distressed at the news "Is she, now? And are you going to listen to her?"

"I don't know, Yoshimi-chan." She put her scarf around her head, a piece of white cloth with blue flowers, and deftly tied the bow in front. "I may have to take whoever wants me in my village. My otousan is dead, my husband died of the cough, and our place is barely enough to live off of. I might be an heiress, but . . . " She looked at him, obviously not pleased. "They talk about me behind my back. I think they're placing bets on who I'll have to settle for."

He sat all the way up, and straightened his own kosode. "And what do you want, Kiyoko-chan?" His eyes seemed saddened. "Are you going to let them boss you around?"

"Don't you let your brother boss you around? Sometimes we don't have any real choice." She dropped her eyes, and for a moment, the petulance left her face, to be replaced by a coy hopefulness. "You know what my heart wants, Yoshimi-chan. If, if . . . if he'd only listen to reason."

He took a deep breath and stood, scooping up his hakama as he did. "Kiyoko-chan," he said, touching her cheek.

"I know . . . I know it's a hard thing to leave one's own village, especially for a man," she said, not yet daring to meet his eyes. "I know you owe your brother work, but still . . . doesn't he see how this would be good for you and even him?"

"My brother is a hard man," he said, with all the regret he could put into his voice.

She nodded, then turned away. "I..."

"Don't feel ashamed, Kiyoko. You . . . you make it worth dreaming about," he said, placing his hand under her chin and gently brushed his lips across her forehead. "If only . . . "

"If only what?" She stared into his eyes, not sure whether to hope or despair.

"If I could give him a gift . . . something to pay him off for the loss of my services," he said. "He's been hinting. Maybe then he would agree."

She sucked on her bottom lip. "A gift? How much would this gift be?"

"I'd need to raise at least the value of one bundle of rice," he said. He looked down at the ground, a combination of hopeless and embarrassed. "I just don't have any idea how I can do it."

"A bundle of rice?" She looked down at the ground, and frowned, and then wiggled her fingers as if counting, before looking back up at him, almost as embarrassed, but some of her own hopelessness dropped away. "What . . . what if I would bring you a bundle? Do . . . do you think he would agree?"

He turned away, as if he shouldn't even contemplate it. "I couldn't do that to you, Kiyoko-chan. What kind of man would I be, accepting that type of gift from a woman, even if I were to marry her?"

"A good man," she said, all the despair draining from her face to be replaced by determination. "A man who would be getting a small farm and all the rice it makes in the bargain. Then it would be yours to do with as you wanted anyway. What difference would a few days make?"

He shook his head. "I cannot . . . cannot let you do this thing, Kiyoko. It shouldn't be the woman's task to pay this type of thing."

As he looked, Kiyoko pulled herself up as tall as possible, and her eyes grew commanding. "You will," she said. "Yes you will. And in a ten day's time, you will come to my village, and no longer be just a second son. I am the heiress. If you marry me, then you will be in charge of the land, and nobody can treat you like a servant any longer."

Yoshimi ran a hand over his face. "You are sure you want to do this thing? You think I am worth that much?"

She nodded. "More than that much, Yoshimi-chan. I will do this thing. Meet me here in two days. Then see what your brother will tell you."

He pulled her into his arms. "I do not deserve you, you sweet woman. Why have the kami been so kind as to let us find each other?"

She smiled at him. "They took pity on our broken hearts, perhaps." She tiptoed up and kissed him gently on the lips. "I must go now. My obasan is probably already ready to scream at me."

"Soon, you won't have to put up with that anymore," he said, pulling her into a hug.

She smiled, gave his hand a squeeze, and took off.

It wasn't until she was out of sight that he realized he still had his hakama in his hand. "Thank you, whatever kami brought her into my life. Soon, soon, I'll be able to pay off that stupid Ryota. And tell my brother where he can go when he pulls that worthless younger brother stuff on me. Kiyoko may not be much to look at, but she owns land and has one eager little body. About time I get a break. Who needs to put up with him and his temper? One ten day from now, I'll tell Seiji to kiss my ass, and get out of this hell hole. No more 'I'm sorry, Ani-ue.' No more listening him to beat on that rag of a wife. No more brats crying after he's had one of his fits. And then, then I'll be the boss. I can't wait."

Back up on the hill, InuYasha and Kagome neared their home, but made a turn near the Goshinboku, where they stopped under the branches, filled with new green leaves. The scar where InuYasha had been held up by the tree for so many years was clearly visible. As usual, the grounds surrounding the ancient tree radiated peace, the knowledge that connected the past to the future.

"Remind me," Kagome said, looking up in its branches, "that I should come here more often to pay my respects to the tree. I owe it a lot. It had to listen to me cry a lot that first year when we were apart. Not as much in the two years after, but I still came here a lot."

"Keh," InuYasha said. "You weren't the only one."

"Oh?" Kagome said, resting her hand lightly on the bark as she looked at the hanyou.

He shrugged. "Sometimes . . . I don't know. It made me feel closer to you, somehow. There were times I felt like I could almost hear you."

A strange, almost surprised, almost awed look touched her face. "I...I was about to say the same thing. The Sacred Tree, well, it is a sacred thing. My grandfather would call it a kami. Maybe it was helping."

The hanyou, too, rested his hand on the tree's bark "Maybe so. Took good care of me all those years. Maybe it got in the habit of it."

This made Kagome giggle a little bit. "Maybe so. Well, we should come here more often to pay our respects." Clapping twice she bowed. "Thank you for all your help," she said, then clapped again.

She took InuYasha's hand. "It's not everybody who meets their special someone in a sacred place."

"Or sealed to a tree, either, for that matter. Or who needs that person to fight a youkai after that person's been out of it for fifty years." InuYasha wrapped his fingers through hers.

"You can definitely say we had an unusual beginning," she said, laughing a little. She looked back over her shoulder at the tree as they walked off. "Maybe we should hang the sacred ropes around it. I don't know how many people here know what a special tree it is."

"Maybe so. Talk to Kaede-babaa about it." He glanced back at the tree one more time himself and nodded towards it himself in thanks.

Together, the young couple left, but as they did, the wind blew through the leaves making a pleasant sound as they walked away, as if happy to be remembered.

A few minutes later, they reached their house.

"The floor ought to be dry by now," Kagome said. "I'll go check."

While she did, InuYasha took a deep breath, and flicked his ear, then walked around to the side of the building. But the only thing he found there were stacks of wood. There was no sign of the woodworker or Aki.

"Still not back? I wonder where Choujiro got off to," the hanyou said, grabbing an armful of chopped wood to bring into the house. The woodworker's hand cart and tools were still in place. "I guess he got caught up with something in the village. On a day like today, I wouldn't be surprised."

Kagome met him on his way in, holding the door flap open for him. "The floor's dry."

InuYasha dropped the wood in its cradle. "Well, something's going right." He dusted off his hands. "So it's time to move things back, right?"

"It is," Kagome said. "I guess once we get everything back in, we can get the fire going and heat up some bathwater. I feel all dusty still from cleaning out the fire pit."

"Should be plenty of time for it," he said as he began moving in the furniture, starting the wash stand.

"But not much else," she said regretfully, as she followed him back in.


	254. Chapter 254

_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 254**

Not far from the watch tower that stood guard over the village, there was a community well. There was a trough nearby for passers by to water their animals, and a covered area with a small bench, where people could wait for their turn to draw water.

It was not unusual to find someone or other sitting underneath the awning, watching the people come and go as they did their business. It was particularly a favorite place where some of the women in the village would gather in the afternoon to share the gossip.

Hisako and her little band of women, having made a circuit through the village, spreading the news about Maeme, headed that way.

"I think," Benika said, as they neared, "that we have probably asked everybody who's within easy reach to come to the meeting tomorrow."

Hisako nodded. "Everybody else must be out in the fields."

"At least it's too early for barley harvest. Then nobody would have had the time to come," Yaya said. "I bet Tameo-sama's going to be surprised at who shows up."

"Tameo-sama's a smart man," Teruko said. "I wouldn't be surprised if he's going to be sending people around this evening to come to the meeting tomorrow."

"Not this time," Hisako said. "Remember? The wedding?"

Teruko shrugged. "Well, we'll have to do it for him."

They walked under the covered shelter. Hisako took a seat on the bench.

"I'm getting too old for this," she said, sighing as she sat. "Running after Chichi-ue takes too much out of me anymore. I don't have the energy to chase across the village telling people what to do." She tapped her walking stick on the ground.

"Nonsense, Obaasan," Yaya said, taking a seat on the ground. "You've always been able to outdo all the rest of us combined."

Benika, sitting next to her, patted her on her arm. "Your otousan, well, we all know what he's like," she said, sitting down next to her. "Nobody but you has what it takes to keep him in line. If you weren't here, not telling what would happen."

The other women nodded. Yaya covered her mouth to hide a too bright smile.

"Do you really think everybody will come?" Benika asked.

"Maybe," Yaya said. "Maybe, after dinner, we can get one of the men to go around and ask."

Hisako sighed. "It'd be nice if Toshiro would do the asking. Or if his son would."

"With a new baby in the house? I don't see that. I am pretty sure I could get my man to agree," Teruko said. "I'll talk to Kimi. Maybe Eiji might say something when he makes his rounds tonight."

"Isamu-chan might help," Yaya said, standing. "I'll get some water." She patted the older woman's shoulder. "You look like you could use a drink, Hisako-obaasan. Talking to all those men is thirsty work."

"Maybe you need something stronger than water," Benika said, standing back to let Yaya through.

"Eh, sake's why they make the decisions that they do sometimes," Hisako said, shaking her head. She tapped her walking stick on the ground.

While Hisako drank the water that Yaya brought her, Choujiro was stepping out of the headman's compound. Kinjiro, finally getting some good work out of Aki was unwilling to let him go, so the woodworker stood there a moment, trying to decide what to do next.

"Well, this is Tsuneo's project. Maybe he'll let me have one of his men. Tadaki would be good. He's got a strong back," Choujiro said. "I hate to make InuYasha-sama do the work of a laboring man. He's a warrior. It just doesn't seem right. Anyway, it's being done for him. How can it be a payment to him if he's doing the work?"

He began walking towards Tsuneo's place musing on the concept of having someone do the work on something that was owed to them, when it finally dawned on him someone was calling his name.

"Hey, Choujiro. I called you three times. Dream-walking, are you?"

He turned to the speaker. Masu, the head farm worker at Tsuneo's place was walking towards him, along with Denjiro and Isamu.

"Ah, Masu. You just had to wait a little while. I was coming over to Tsuneo-sama's to see if I could borrow Tadaki," Choujiro. "How did you know I'd be looking for you?"

The older man laughed. "Now, that's the last thing I expected you to say, friend. The kami must be really busy today." He looked at his companions. "Maybe they shouldn't have called today auspicious. They should have called it a coincidence day."

Denjiro snorted.

"But that's what auspicious days are all about, Masu. It's the days where all the coincidences are lucky ones." Isamu said. "Kwannon is merciful. Otherwise, without days like this, we'd go crazy."

"Bah," Denjiro said. "Days like this drive us crazy."

Masu slapped him in a friendly way on his back. "You complain too much, Denjiro. The gods of luck could stand in front of you and hand you a lucky wishing stone, and you'd wonder why they wore red instead of black."

Denjiro crossed his arms, but he was amused. "So, Choujiro, tell me. Is the news true?"

"Furume told us some things, but she was there before it was over," Masu said, nodding.

"My woman heard about it from your wife," Isamu said.

"The thing that happened to Seiji's woman today?" Choujiro said, sighing. "A sad story."

"So," Denjiro asked. "Is it true that she went into the river on purpose?"

The woodworker nodded. "That's what I heard from Genjo. I was up at InuYasha-sama's working, and when I stopped for lunch they had just taken her up to the monk's house. He was there when they took her out of the river. Houshi-sama had jumped in the river when he saw her, and then InuYasha-sama helped get them both to shore down by the Willows."

"They were lucky. It's bad river after that place. The Courtesan Spider rocks are just past that. I lost a brother down there a long time ago. Fell in the river when he was fishing, we figured," Isamu said.

"I remember that," Masu. "All of our mothers tried to keep us upstream or out of the water all that summer." Sighing, he shook his head. "I wonder what got into her."

"Genjo told me that the women said she was really beat up bad. Old scars, new bruises." Choujiro shrugged. "Life must be bad for her."

"Seiji."The farm worker spit. "That's the second time InuYasha saved people that Seiji would have ruined."

"He's bad news, if you ask me," Choujiro said. "Yesterday, he beats up his son, bad enough that the boy needed Kaede-sama to protect him, and then he pushes the new miko down while he was railing about it in front of her house."

"He knocked down InuYasha-sama's wife?" Masu asked, his eyes growing wide.

Isamu nodded. "I heard about that. Damn fool's lucky he's still alive."

"That girl . . . she's a good one," Masu said. "Did you hear she was able to finally heal Haname-sama? Got out of her bed for the first time today after Miko-sama fixed what was wrong with her. And that after Haname slapping her over at Tameo-sama's place the day she went crazy."

"Healed her, huh?" Denjiro said, scratching his head. "Hadn't heard the news about that yet."

"Got up, got out of bed, took over the kitchen, and started ordering us all around," Masu said. "And we were afraid she wasn't going to make it yesterday."

"I'll take InuYasha and his woman over Seiji any day," Isamu said. The other men nodded. "So what if he's . . . well, not like normal men. He's worth keeping."

Choujiro rubbed the back of his neck. "I don't understand why Toshiro-sama's been protecting Seiji. He's a good man. It doesn't make sense."

"Old family story," Isamu said. "Come by my place when you get the time. Bring some sake. It's a long tale."

"You and your stories, Isamu." Masu shook his head, then turned to the woodworker. "The elders are going to be having a meeting tomorrow. You ought to show up and tell them what you know."

"You think they'll listen to the likes of me?" Choujiro looked surprised. "I'm not even related to any of them."

"Hah. People think more of you than you realize, woodworker," said an elderly woman's voice from behind them.

The men turned to look, and saw Hisako and Benika walking up to them.

"Ah, Hisako-sama," Choujiro said bowing. "How's your father? I've been meaning to stop by and check on him."

"Sleeping if he's smart," Hisako said. Her face was drawn in a scowl, and none of the usual humor that usually colored the way she dealt with people was there now. "Drinking sake if he's awake, knowing him, and with me not there to keep him from doing it. But I have more important matters to deal with than a hardheaded old man who won't listen to me." She tapped her walking stick on the ground. "There are younger ones just as stubborn we need to deal with. You should go to the meeting tomorrow. All of you."

"Nobody listened to us when we told them what happened after the bandit raid," Masu said. "Toshiro gave me some money and apologized, but that doesn't make it right. My children . . . "

"I don't think Tameo-sama would have a problem doing something about that man," Benika said.

"After putting up with . . . that man . . . at the lockup today, I think Tameo-sama will be on our side." Hisako said. "Even when we went to talk to Toshiro, he wasn't trying to protect him."

"True," Benika said. "I think Seiji caught Toshiro off-guard this time, anyway. He really looked surprised at the news about Maeme-chan."

"Did you hear Seiji?" Masu asked. "I've been hearing stories from anybody who's gone by the headman's office."

"No, I've been up at the hanyou's house cutting boards," Choujiro said. "Why?"

"He must have sung every dirty song invented in all of Musashi. Maybe all of the Kanto," Masu said, "from what people are saying. I hear tell that the headman's daughter-in-law took all the children over to Fujime's to get away from them."

"And he sung them loud, according to Koichi," Benika said, joining the group. "My man went over there earlier today, and everybody was hiding in the back so they could get away from the sound of it."

"Tameo-sama had a talk with Toshiro," Hisako said. "It better have done some good."

While Hisako was giving the men her opinion, Kagome was putting the last touches on returning everything back in place as InuYasha brought things in. After setting the wash stand back up and put their sitting mats back down by the fire pit, she went back outside to grab the fire pan to see if she had any coals left to start heating the bath water.

Frowning, as she stirred the ashes, she looked up to see InuYasha walk in with their table

"We may have to rebuild the fire," she said. "I'm evidently not very good at saving coals. I don't think there's enough fire here to get a twig burning."

"No big deal," the hanyou said. "It wouldn't be the first time I had to make a fire from scratch." He moved the low table to the spot where Kagome like to prepare their meals, then went to sit next to her. He took the fire pan and dumped it in the fire pit. Leaning forward, he blew on what was there, but nothing glowed.

He got up to go get his kindling basket, but gave her a small smirk before he moved. "I'm good at starting fires, you know." He waggled his eyebrows at her. "I could start another type of fire, though if you'd prefer. It takes longer. You might have to take a cold water bath if I do."

She laughed and pushed him away. "Maybe you're the one who should take a cold water bath."

Laughing back at her, he got his things, returned to his place and quickly struck flint to steel and started the fire. That done, he helped Kagome put water on to heat then went out to fetch the wash tub.

"Still no sign of Choujiro," he said as he returned and put the tub into place.

"I wonder what happened?" Kagome asked. She stuck another piece of wood under one of the pots.

The hanyou shrugged. "I hope it's not more strange luck on this weird day. It'd be nice if the rest of the day would just go smoothly."

"You said it. I better go get my clothes." She started to head out of the house, but InuYasha caught her in his arms.

"We're going to have to have a lucky day just for us." He pulled her close to him. "Real luck. A time when it's just us and no workmen, and no sick villagers. Some place quiet, like at that spring we went to."

"Is that a promise?" she asked.

"If you want it to be."

"Good." And stepping outside, she went to get her miko robes.


	255. Chapter 255

_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 255**

Yoshimi, feeling rather pleased by his meeting with Kiyoko, walked through the woods and headed back to the village. His good mood, though, began to change as he left the shelter of the trees and reached the first fields. Bent over a bit with the load of firewood he was carrying, his face grew steadily more somber has he neared his family's home.

"At least I didn't run into Haruo or his brother," he said, pausing a minute before walking up the path to the small cluster of houses. "'Pay me back, pay me back, or we'll get Tameo to make you.' He's been telling me that for weeks. I can hear him now." He rubbed the back of his neck where a stick had been brushing against it. Then he straightened up and smiled. "I can't wait until I dump his rice back on his lap. Maybe I'll just scatter it on his doorstep." He chuckled at the thought. "I can't wait. Oh, Kiyoko, don't be late."

He rebalanced his load of firewood on his back and moved into the compound. "Nakao-kun! Come help me!" he yelled, as he moved to the area where he kept the firewood.

Instead of the sound of his nephew bounding out of the main house with an irritated "Coming, Ojisan!" reply, the only answer he got was the old rooster squawking on the other side of the main building.

This surprised Yoshimi. "Nakao? Sukeo?"

Once again, there was no reply. "Wonder where the boys are? "

He slung off his burden dropped the load of deadwood he had gathered out in the forest near the wood pile. The stack to be cut into usable lengths was getting deep. "Probably ought to get to work chopping some. But why should I worry about that right now? Thank you, Tameo-sama for making sure that at least today I won't have to listen to Seiji moan about how I never bring enough wood back," he said. "Not that I care what he thinks. But he's loud."

Yoshimi turned and looked around. Something about the place felt wrong, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it. As he went to the shed to put his axe away, the rooster spotted him, ruffed its feathers at him and raised its wings.

"Not today, Akai-dono," he said, tossing a small stone in the general direction of the bird. "I know you hate me, but I don't have time for you today. Go squawk somewhere else."

It hit the animal's back. The bird made a sound, and decided it wasn't worth the time to challenge the young man, and went around to the other side of the building.

"You just stay over there, King of all the Roosters," Yoshimi said. "And keep away from my door unless you want Maeme to cook you for dinner."

Shrugging his shoulders to get the kinks out, he closed the shed and headed for the main house. "Where is everybody? Maeme had better left me some food if she decided to go to the bean field this afternoon."

The only thing that answered him was the sound of clothes flapping on the clothes line.

"Maybe they're all inside," he said walking up to the front door. "Huh. Usually that stupid mutt of Sukeo's would be at my ankles by now. Wonder if the brat snuck off fishing with his dad locked up? Ani-ue's not going to like that." He shook his head. "Got to admit, though, Sukeo-kun's got spunk. I'd have done the same thing."

Yoshimi stopped long enough to take a drink out of the water bucket they kept on the verandah, but he couldn't shake the feeling that something was out of kilter. Letting the ladle splash back into the bucket, he pushed through the door mat and stepped inside. But instead of a cheery fire and some fresh food waiting for him to come home to, the house was empty. Not only was there no food waiting for him, nor any food cooking in the pot, the fire pit looked like the fire was out.

"That stupid bitch. Seiji's not going to like that," he said, kneeling down by the fire pit. He ran his hands over the gray ash, and found very little warmth. "He expects his rice and soup no matter what that woman of his is up to. Why shouldn't she be doing the same for me?" He stood up, and looked around for anything ready to eat. Searching the cooking area, he found the last of the breakfast rice still in the rice tub, and not bothering to scoop it out into a bowl, he stuck his hands into the dish and ate the cold rice with his bare hands. "She could at least have made some onigiri. Some fish with it would have been nice." Picking the last grains of rice out, he popped them into his mouth, then left the tub where he had found it.

"Now I need something to wash that crap down," he said.

Yoshimi left the house, and went to the storeroom where his brother stored the sake. Finding a half-filled jug, he took a long pull, and wiped his mouth. "Sorry to get into your favorite jug, Ani-ue, but you're not here, and I needed something"

He stared at the jug a moment and took another pull. "It's all Maeme's fault anyway. She should have left me some lunch. I'll fix her," he said. "Where is she? Probably running around gossiping down by the well with all the other women. Just because that stupid youkai gave Ani-ue a punch yesterday, and Tameo thought he was man enough to put him in the lockup doesn't mean she can break the rules. I'll go find her and drag her home, and then go tell him. Oh, he'll take care of her when he gets out. I can just see it. That'll teach her not to leave me any lunch."

He took one last sip of the sake, then put what was left in the jug up on the shelf. With a slight swagger, he left the building and began to walk to the headman's house. "I'll teach you, woman."

Unseen by the young man, Kazuo the kami watched Yoshimi as he left the compound. The kami, looking rather displeased by what he had heard, frowned as Yoshimi passed. "You're not much better than that brother of yours, are you?" Before Yoshimi could get out of the compound, the kami nudged a rock into the young man's path, and with a loud cry, the man tripped and pitched forward.

Yoshimi landed flat on his face. "Kuso," he said, pushing his upper body up. "That hurt. How in the hells did I fall? I didn't drink that much."

"If you had the rock you fell over in your head instead of that brain of yours, you'd have more sense," the kami said, crossing his arms. "You're just lucky the other kami want to let Kiyoko have you. Otherwise, maybe you'd get to taste the same medicine your brother's going to get."

As Yoshimi sat up, he rubbed his right knee which took the brunt of his fall. The rooster, seeing his chance, came barreling for the young man, As Yoshimi let out a string of curses and flaying arms, trying to beat the bird away, the kami left.

"Time for my next stop," Kazuo said. "This may be more amusing. Don't be late, fool. You'll miss all the fun."

On the other side of the village, Chime was putting the last touches on things when Shinjiro returned from his walk with Hisa and his run-in with Eiji and Haruo.

The mats that normally surrounded the fire pit had been moved, except for the one in the mother's position at the fire pit. For this occasion, the mats had been moved further out, along, but not next to the walls. At the center part of the back of the room, facing the beaten-earth domo, a low table had been set up for the bride and groom.

Chime looked at the arrangement, and rand her fingers of the table gently, as if imagining the scene that would be taking place at sundown, when Shinjiro and Erime would be sitting there in full view of his family and hers. A smile touched her lips. "Soon, son. Very soon."

The air was fragrant with the smells of the food she had been preparing, and everything that could be fixed ahead of time was now ready.

For the fifth or sixth time, Chime counted the meal trays she had rounded up, the dishes she would be using, the cups she would be serving Daitaro's sake out of. Everything was as ready as possible. Now the last of the afternoon needed to pass.

Shinjiro stepped into the house, watching his mother at work. Slipping off his shoes, he walked over to her, knelt down, and took her hands. "It looks perfect, Okaasan."

"Do you think so?" she asked her son. "I keep thinking I've forgotten something, but for the life of me, I can't figure out what it could be." Her voice was a little tired. She started counting the mats again. " Did you have a good time with Hisa-chan?"

He nodded. Chime, although she seemed happy enough, got up and started counting dishes once more. He almost frowned as he watched his mother, but smoothed it off his face. "She sent this basket." He handed it to his mother, who pulled back the covers, and seeing the treats the basket contained, smiled.

"Oh, I know what these are for," she said. Her face got a silly little smile. "She told me she was going to send over a basket. I had strict instructions to put them in the back house for tonight."

For some reason, this made the young man color. "Did she?"

"Ah, I see she told you what they're for," his mother said, chuckling. "She means well, and you'll appreciate them before the night is over, and you know it."

Shinjiro coughed into his hand. "Okaa . . . "

"Now, we'll put them back there in a moment," Chime said, turning back to her work, "and I'll just get the last touches on the -"

"Okaa," Shinjiro said. He took her hands. "It's time to relax before our company starts coming. Even Hisa-obasan has gone for the moment. There's nothing left to do ahead."

"I..." Chime said, looking up at him, suddenly at a loss for words. Her hands fell to her sides. "I..."

"No, Okaa," Shinjiro said, giving her hands a little shake. "Everything is going to be perfect. Soon, Mariko will come over with all the food for the meal that she's been fixing, and you have everything here just right. Genjo is over checking the animals, and I suspect, composing embarrassing songs to sing tonight. I'm sure in a little bit Chichi-ue will show up, wanting to sample everything, just in time for him to go heat the bath water."

"I know," Chime said. She sucked on her bottom lip, and looked around the room. "But . . . "

Still holding her hands, Shinjiro lifted her up. "Now, Okaa. Rest." He began to lead her towards the edge of the wooden floor. "What joy will I have of my wedding if my Haha-ue works herself to death and can't share it with the rest of us?" He stepped off the platform, and tugged at her gently. "You've worked so hard, Okaa. But now we both have to wait. Come outside for a bit. We'll put the basket in the back house, and then we'll sit in the sun for a while and let a little time pass. You're going to need your energy tonight when Susumu starts telling his jokes."

"But," she started.

"No buts. This is going to be an evening to remember. All of the village will be gossiping about it for weeks. Time to take a break." He gave her a big smile, one reminiscent more of her looks than his father's. "Besides, I need someone to keep me company. Who else is here to keep me out of trouble?"

She frowned, sucked on her bottom lip, and looked around her one last time, sighed, and then nodded. "All right. I'll come outside with you. For a while."

"Good, good," Shinjiro said, holding her hand as she stepped off the wooden floor and onto the domo. "There is a nice breeze, the sun is shining, and now you have one last chance to walk with your son while he's still a single man."

"So I do," Chime said. "So I do."

And with one last glance at her arrangements, she followed her son outside.


	256. Chapter 256

_ I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 256**

Up on the hill, not far from the house where Kaede and Sango kept watch over the sleeping Maeme, the door to the small temple with the new roof slid open, and Miroku stepped outside into the afternoon light.

He had spent some time meditating over the day's events and what to do about the woman laying in his sleeping room, but his meditations had given him no real answers. As he began to walk away from the building his eyebrows were knit together, his head down, his problems not yet resolved.

"At least Sango-chan knows my intentions are pure," he said. "After what happened with Chiya . . . it seems unfair that she has to put up with this as well." He shook his head. "I hope Kwannon will be merciful and make sure nothing dark will touch the wedding this evening. There's been enough going on."

Before he could leave the grounds his little temple stood on, a ball rolled across the ground in front of him, a bright splash of red and blue and yellow. He looked up to see a small boy running his way.

The boy was dressed in better clothes than most of the villager's children wore, an outfit of red and yellow. He rushed past the monk chasing the ball.

"Akahito-chan, come back!" a woman called.

Miroku turned around to see a woman he didn't recognize walk up to the temple grounds. She was dressed in stunning green and yellow robes, silk instead of the usual hemp linen the village women dressed in. Her face was obscured by a veiled rush travel hat.

The boy picked up his ball and ran back to the woman, without speaking a word. "You didn't bother Houshi-sama, did you, Akahito-chan?" She rested a hand gently on the boy's head.

"No," Miroku said, bowing in the direction of the woman. "He just surprised me, Dono."

"I'm glad," the woman said. "I'm afraid he gets a little enthusiastic with his ball."

The boy, as if to demonstrate, began tossing the ball up and catching it.

"It's not often we see a lady like yourself here," Miroku said. "You're not from the village, are you?"

She shook her head. "I pass by here from time to time," she said. "I had heard there was a new temple, and an unusual monk who took care of it." She tilted her head to one side, looking at Miroku. "An unshaven monk. That is unusual."

"I have no brothers to keep my head bare, Dono," he said. Even though he couldn't make out her face clearly through her veil, he felt uncomfortable, as if her eyes could penetrate inside of him.

"No . . . you have no brothers here," she said, nodding. "But you are not . . . not without . . . without companions." Her voice was not judgmental, but grew amused as she talked. Miroku frowned, uneasy, and tapped his staff once. As he did, the brass rings on it jingled, and Akahito looked up at it, rather perplexed. Miroku tapped it once more, and the boy tossed up his ball, and this time, let it fall to the ground, where it promptly rolled away and down a small dip in the hill. The boy gave chase.

"Young ones," the woman said, watching him run after the ball. It rolled behind some trees, and the boy moved out of sight.

"They can be rather focused," Miroku said.

She turned back and nodded at the monk. "Indeed, Houshi-sama. But I believe you know how that is yourself. I have heard the monk who serves this temple has several young ones."

"Three," Miroku replied.

"And, most unusual, a woman who is their mother. A woman," the visitor said, tilting her head to one side, "almost as unusual as the monk himself. A warrior woman."

Miroku, feeling the hairs on the back of his neck rise, gripped the staff firmly in his hands, and leaned on it. "It sounds like word has spread of me."

"Of course," the woman said, nodding to him. "The famous exorcist? They know of you all the way to Edo, and to the north of here as well. Perhaps almost as far as Odawara."

"I do not think that the monks in Odawara talk of me in a flattering way," Miroku said. His lips curled up in a small wry smile. "I think they find me . . . a bit unusual."

"It is not necessarily a bad thing," the woman said. "I hear this unusual monk has a good heart, even if he charges the rich much for his services."

Miroku coughed into his hands. "They're saying that as well?"

"I think," the woman said, her voice definitely amused, "that makes them think you really know what you're doing, you and your partner. He, too, an unusual person."

"That is true," the monk said, nodding. "I am merely a servant of the Buddha. My friend, well . . . "

"He is what he is," the woman said. "But together, you two - there's that woman in your house."

This perplexed Miroku. "You . . . you heard about a woman in my house?"

"The one you and your partner rescued today," she said softly. "The one you could have let go when she asked."

A shiver went up Miroku's spine. "You know about Maeme-cha? How?"

"Sometimes, the gods, well, they - " The strange woman's words were interrupted by a very bright flash of light. It came from the direction of the village/

"Now what is that old fool up to now?" the woman asked. "Forgive me. I must go."

Miroku stared back towards the center of the community. "What? What's happening?"

He turned back to the woman, but there was nobody standing there. Above him, a large crane flew overhead, her wings beating gracefully in the sky, heading in the same direction they saw the light. A fox barked somewhere, and there was a rustle in the bushes, but then, that too was gone.

"Maybe I should go see what's happening," he said. And lifting his staff to take a step, he too began to head off the hill and towards the heart of the village.

While Miroku talked to the mysterious woman, Kazuo, the kami of Tameo's family was busy with his own plans.

Well before Yoshimi could pick himself up off of the ground, Kazuo reached the watch tower at the center of the village, and leaned down over the railing. "This will be a good place for the next event, I think. Let's see who I have to work with." Below, he could see Hisako and her companions talking to the men gathered there, and he smiled.

"Ah, Hisako-chan. How lucky for me that you're already here. Not quite enough yet to do what I really want," he said. "Hope the land kami will forgive me, but I'm going to pull a few strings." He rubbed his hat back and forth over the top of his head, and closed his eyes. Unseen by any mortal eyes, a light grew around the kami. Anybody with spiritual sight who had a glimpse of it would have had to shade their eyes from its intensity.

The light separated itself from the kami, spun around him seven times, splintered into five fragments. "Go," he said. "Bring me the right people. Bring them here, by the watch tower and the well. Let's put the fear of the heavens into that pair. Yoshimi, especially. He may not be worth a lot, but Kiyoko deserves a man who knows better." With a sound like a sigh, each of the segments streaked across the sky to a different part of the village.

"Now that's quite a light show. Let's see if that brings the land kami out of hiding," Kazuo said, chuckling. "This is going to be fun."

One of the persons in the village who had eyes that could have made out Kazuo's light flash across the sky of the village was inside her house, too busy at the moment to pay any attention.

"That feels good," Kagome said. She was sitting in her bathtub, and sighed as InuYasha poured a bucket of hot water down her back.

InuYasha put the empty bucket down. "If you want any more hot, I'll have to heat it. That was the last."

"That's all right," she said, letting her head drop forward.

He was behind her, leaning on the edge of the tub, admiring the curve of his wife's spine. It was easy to do; she had twisted her hair up into a bun so she wouldn't have to wash it. He brushed a stray lock of hair that had fallen out of the knot, and moved it towards the top of her shoulder. "So, you want me to wash your back?"

He dipped his hand into the water and let his fingers trace the curve of her waist, resting at last on her thigh.

She put her hand over his, and gently nudged his hand away."Not just yet. I just want to sit here a moment. It's like I've been on a run all day. This is the first time I've had a chance just to sit and rest."

"So how long does something like this last?" he asked, pulling his hand back out of the tub.

"I'm not sure." Kagome leaned back in the wooden tub, as far as she could. It wasn't big enough for her to stretch her legs out in, but she lifted one up and rested it on the edge in front of her. "I know there will be dinner, and time enough to drink and sing afterwards. Why?" She turned her head to try to get a glimpse of him.

"Just . . . " InuYasha leaned forward, and rested his chin on her shoulder. "I was just wondering how long it'll be before we can get home and have our own celebration," he said, waggling his eyebrows.

Kagome laughed and splashed her husband with a little water. "My hentai husband."

"After putting up with today, we deserve a celebration," he replied. He pulled back, but not before nuzzling her ear, which made her shoulder jerk up a little from the tickling.

"Stop," she said, pulling her leg back in. She leaned forward and rested her head on her knees. "Or maybe we'll be too tired for anything more than just a good night's sleep."

He sighed, sounding a little disappointed. "Yeah, even that would be all right if we don't have to rescue people or make rounds to visit everybody in the village. You think Kaede would mind if we just disappear for a day or two?"

"I don't think I can do that just yet," she said. She leaned forward in the tub. "You can wash my back now if you want." She held up her wash cloth. He dipped it in the warm water and ran it gently over the soft contours of her back.

"Why not?" he asked, dipping the cloth in the bathwater again.

"Well, she's going to be busy with Maeme for a little while," Kagome said. "Until she's sure that poor woman's not going to walk herself back into the river. I think she wants someone to stay with her until then."

"It doesn't have to be you," the hanyou said. "Besides, once the news gets out about Haname, people are going to come bug you. Even Kaede said so." Finishing with her back, he ran the cloth down one of her arms. She shivered lightly. He liked the effect, so he repeated the action on her other arm. She shivered again.

"I know," she said, turning her head to look at him. "I'd love to have time for you to tease me like that, but I'm really going to have to get dressed soon. That's why I didn't wash my hair."

He leaned close, and brushed his lips across the top of her shoulder. "I know. I'm just trying to give you some motivation to come home as early as possible."

She laughed, and splashed him again. "Hand me the towel?"

As he did, she slowly got up in the tub and turned to face him. He looked at her appreciatively, at how the water dripped down her skin. Reaching out, he caught one drop that was making its way between her breasts.

She caught his hand, gave him a sultry smile and brought his hand to catch the weight of one of her breasts. "And this is my motivation for you to come home when Chime offers you all those pickles."

He gently tugged at her nipple. "Don't need any motivation for that. You taste better." Leaning forward, he let his mouth gently drag across the skin where her neck met her shoulder.

She popped him lightly with the towel. "If you're a good boy. But not until after the wedding."


	257. Chapter 257

_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 257**

Kazuo sat on top of the watchtower in the center of the village, invisible to all else around him. Below him, Choujiro standing next to Masu, Denjiro and Isamu were talking to Hisako and Benika. A few other women were leaving the area by the well and heading their direction.

"Almost ready," the kami said.

A fragrant breeze blew up from the north, smelling richly of spices that did not grow in the area. Kazuo, recognizing the smell, looked up at the hill above the village, where the village shrine stood. A ball of light, not visible to the human eye, floated up, hovered over the shrine for a moment, then raced across the sky to towards the watch tower.

"Well, I'll be," the kami said. "I didn't think anything would draw her out."

The globe of light gently landed next to Kazuo, then dissipated, revealing a small, slender woman dressed in a shimmering array of silken robes. Her head was covered with a veiled travel hat. Pulling the veil back, she smiled at him gently, almost shyly.

Rubbing his hat back and forth across his head a moment, the old kami bowed, a deep bow of high respect. "Ah, Shimame-hime, you grace us with your presence. What draws our beautiful land kami out of her shrine today?"

She opened and closed her fan. "Kazuo-no-kami, you are a trickster," she said, her voice light and musical. "You know exactly how to catch my attention. What are you doing?"

"Merely putting some last touches on what needs to happen, Dono. Would you like to watch?"

Raising an eye brow, she gave a small nod and a flick of her fan to grant her assent.

As they watched, Seiji's brother Yoshimi, walked up the path towards the center of town.

The land kami pointed her fan in his direction. "That one . . . he plans something to decrease the harmony here, does he not? His spirit flashes such an ugly shade of red."

"Very perceptive, Dono," Kazuo said.

"I visited the monk today, the one you told me about," she said. "He has an unusual light about him. I'm not sure what to think of him. He has good spiritual eyes."

"Did you? Good for you. There's more to making a strong village that making sure the crops come in. Heh, that's putting what our monk is like in a nice way," Kazuo said, grinning. As he watched, Yaya and Teruko left the shelter by the well, and joined Hisako. Masu must have said something that irritated the old woman, because she tapped her walking stick in a way that showed her irritation.

"Hustler, women's man, maybe a bit greedy - all the things people say about bad monks. But kind and powerful, too. And that little woman of his . . . he met his match in her, it looks like." He laughed. "Wise, too. I've seen how she fights. I wouldn't want to cross her if I were her husband." He rubbed his hat back and forth over his head again, and took a breath. "No, I do believe he's a strength here. Think what might have happened if he didn't rescue that poor woman."

Shimame closed her eyes a moment. "I see darkness. Even perhaps a feud. It's still tricky, Kazuo-sama. I'm not very good at these things, you know. My sphere is the coolness of the earth, sunshine on rice growing in the summer. The birth of children. I try to keep the village whole."

"I know, Dono. I know," Kazuo said, nodding. "But look some more. Tell me what you see with these children of yours."

She closed her eyes again, and smoothed her face, looking inward. After a moment, she looked up at the other kami. "You have closed many gaps the last week. But they're freshly sealed and may not hold. Be sure you aren't making a dike for a rice field that will leak soon as it's filled with water. Are you sure you are going to get that last chasm bridged?"

"I think so. Toshiro is busy reevaluating his promise." Kazuo scratched his nose. "Sadayori was very persuasive."

"Very annoying, you mean. You're the only kami connected to the village who would put up with him."She shook her head.

"He was right, though." Kazuo looked at the crowd below him. "Look at the people there. They are here because of a mistake he made."

"Just his mistake? What about that hanyou?" she asked. "So much of it is swirling around him. His heart is good, but he is a lightning rod. All those years he was pinned to the Goshinboku, he stirred people's fears. I never understood why that kami held him so tenderly all that time."

As they talked, Amaya, carrying a basket joined the group at the base of the watch tower. Behind her was Masu's daughter, Furume.

"Even then, it wasn't his fault. You know what's behind that story," Kazuo said. "Better that he's here. Look at Masu's daughter. Your lightning rod is the reason she's still here in the village."

"He did make up for the damage that man caused," Shimame acknowledged. "I can't keep track of all these little feuds the villagers create. It's hard enough making sure the land stays well. When they go off like that . . . "

"We all have our jobs," Kazuo said. Another woman, carrying her buckets joined the small group. He pointed. "Look. There's Momoe. You're not to blame that Momoe's son decided to turn bandit. Any more than you're to blame that Seiji would have let him carry off Masu's daughter. There is no field without weeds."

"True, true," the land kami said.

"Still," Shimame said, resting her hands in her lap. She looked at her fan. "What will come of all this? One last chasm lays ahead. It could be a nasty one, pitting uncle and nephew against each other. Or worse - turning the brothers into outlaws who will just return after the rice harvest."

"I have a plan," the old farmer kami said. As he watched, Choujiro told a joke that made Masu double over. The women seemed less impressed "There's a woman . . . "

"A woman? Such a man's answer. Isn't there always?" the land kami said. Kazuo couldn't tell if she was irritated or amused.

"It's not for me. It's for that stupid young one. She wants him. The village kami where she lives want him. Problem solved." He rubbed his chin. "It's more than he deserves. But she has a reputation for telling her man what to do. He doesn't know it yet. He thinks he'll be getting a meek, soft thing. But Kiyoko-chan has a will of iron."

"So what is all of this?" the land kami asked. "The right woman can change the balance of things. Look what happened when that young miko returned. All this in less than a month."

"She does seem to have had an impact," Shimame acknowledged. "There's even light in Tsuneo's house, which is a new thing. So, if it's all planned, Kazuo-sama, what is this little show about?"

"It's time Yoshimi had a lesson in humility," Kazuo said. "He's going to need that once he goes off with Kiyoko. Might as well start today." He pointed to the south. "And there he comes, our man of the moment."

Yoshimi walked down the path towards the knot of people. Hisako was the first to spot him. Her cheerful face, still chuckling over of the joke Choujiro had told, but even more how Masu had reacted to it, fell, and her eyes hardened. Tapping her walking stick to the ground, she pushed Benika's arm away and began to walk towards the young man.

"I would say Hisako is rather unhappy with that man," Shimame said.

"You would say right," Kazuo said. "Glad it's him and not me."

Isolated from all the events in the center of the village, the bathing room at Takeshi's house was warm and steamy. Light streamed in through the small window, revealing one woman nearly neck deep in water, and another sitting on a bench, waiting for her.

"You can't put off getting out of the water forever," the dressed woman said.

"But it feels so good, Tama-chan. Haha-ue was right. This would help," said the woman in the water. "Have I been driving everybody crazy today?"

"No more than I expected, Ane-ue," Tama said. "I suspect I'll be even worse when it's my day. You know how nervous I get before something. I take after Chichi-ue that way. It's like I see everything that could go wrong in my head, until we're there. Funny how I dread all these things that never happen."

"You're not the only one who does that," Erime said. She began to sit up, and grabbed the sides of the tub. "I think I'll get out now."

Tama stood up and picked up a towel for her sister. "Haha-ue's had lots of practice with our father. That's why she always knows what to do to help."

"You're probably right," Erime said, standing up in the tub.

Tama helped her sister get out of her bath, handing her the white cloth.

"So, Ane-ue, are you ready to start turning into a bride?" the younger woman asked. There was a bit of laughter in her eyes, and perhaps envy as well.

Erime began drying off. "I think so. It feels so strange to realize this day is really here, and it's time to get ready."

The younger girl laughed. "It seemed to take forever. I still don't know why everybody waited this long for the wedding day."

"Because they told us this was the most auspicious day for a wedding this spring," Erime said, rubbing the towel over the top of her left shoulder. "And it's before the barley harvest, but after the worst of the cold weather. And because Chime-okaasan said it was the day she wanted, and Shinjiro and I both thought those were all good reasons."

"Shinjiro, maybe," Tama said. She held up a white under kosode for her sister to step into. Erime shrugged the garment on, and tied the simple white belt for it closed. "I remember the day you came home with Haha-ue and Chichi-ue after meeting with Shinjiro's family to set the date. I seem to remember a sister who complained and complained."

"Well, later he convinced me," Erime said, giving her sister a sheepish smile. Tama giggled, and picked up a soft blue kosode for her to wear over the white one.

"He seems to be good at that," Tama said. "Good at convincing you, good at convincing Otousan, good at convincing Okaasan, ever since the first day he showed up after the last rice harvest."

"And good at not convincing sisters?" Erime asked, laughing a little.

"Oh, I'm convinced. I'm convinced that you are going to be a bride today, and I will become one not long after the rice planting." Tama said, straightening her sister's obi. "I am convinced we are growing up. But it makes me nervous."

"Me too," Erime admitted. "I - "

She was interrupted by a knock on the door. "Are you still in there?" It was a male voice, adult, but not very old. "There are other people who want to take a bath."

"Yes, yes, we're coming out. We're through with the tub," Tama said. Erime slipped on her sandals, and Tama slid the bathing room door open.

The open door revealed a young man who looked very much like the two sisters standing there with his arms crossed. "I was wondering if you were going to drown in there, Erime-chan," the young man said.

"Did I complain on your wedding day, Ani-ue?" Erime said, smiling archly at her brother Masayo. He was still wearing his work clothes, and smelled of earth and barnyard. "I seem to remember you taking over an hour in the bath to get ready that day."

He watched the girls walk across the beaten earth domo, take off their sandals, and step up on the wooden floor that made up the rest of the house. He snorted. "Complain? Yes you did, Erime. I remember quite distinctly you telling me to get out of the tub and get dressed so that you could get ready."

"I didn't!" she said. "Anyway, Okaa told me to go bathe first today."

Tama laughed and went to a cabinet against one wall, and got out a comb. "I think you did, Ane-ue. But I joined you. He was going to make us all late with how he was primping for Sakami."

"I was, huh?" He opened the door to the bathing room. "Well, if you want me to go to the wedding smelling like manure and old mud, I could just skip getting clean."

"Only if you want Sakami to be mad at you," Tama said. "You know how your wife is about that." She sat behind her sister, and removed the scarf that had held her hair up while she was in the bath, and began to comb her long dark tresses.

"I'd just tell her it was all your fault for emptying out the tub. Think she'd believe me first, or you?"

"Me," Tama said as she picked up another tress of her sister's hair. "She knows how you are."

He shook his head. "Shows you what you know," and stepping into the bathing room, he closed the door.

The two girls giggled a little, while Tama finished combing her sister's hair.

"Too bossy," Tama said. "Be glad you're going to be free of him after this evening."

There was a splash of water from within the bathing room. "I can hear you, you know." There was another splash.

"Just keep pouring buckets of water over your head," Erime said. "That'll drown us out."

He mumbled something, but the girls couldn't make out what he was saying.


	258. Chapter 258

1_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 258**

"Well, look who's coming this way," Choujiro said, pointing toward the fields.

The group of people at the watch tower turned to look at the figure of Seiji's younger brother walking along one of the paths that separated rice paddy fields. The young man was scowling as he walked, not yet paying attention to any of the gathered people. He had dirt marks on his hakama, and there were a couple of small torn places on his shirt, about the size that large thorns could make - or an angry rooster. His hair was tumbling down out of its pony tail, and somehow, he had gotten a scratch across one cheek.

"Looks like he's had a run-in with something or other," Choujiro said.

"Doesn't look like it's put him in a good mood," Benika said. She glanced at Hisako, who also was beginning to scowl.

"Only time he's in a good mood is if he wins at gambling," Masu said. "Which isn't very often. Wonder what brought him out of hiding? The luck gods haven't been favoring him very well lately. I hear he owes money to more than one person. I didn't expect him to show anywhere near where people could pin him down."

Denjiro snickered. "Maybe it was whatever got hold of his shirt."

Hisako took a step forward. "It didn't take enough," she said, tapping her stick on the ground. "He owes more than that to his sister-in-law. Not letting anybody know how that worthless piece of trash his brother is was treating poor Maeme." She tapped her walking stick again.

Denjiro scratched the back of his neck. "Wonder if he's heard yet?"

"Doesn't matter," Hisako said. "He'll find out soon enough." With steps surprisingly quick for a woman her age, she moved towards the young man. The others there began to follow her.

"What brings you out of hiding, Yoshimi?" Hisako asked as the group blocked the young man's way.

He looked around at the crowd. Masu crossed his arms, obviously unhappy about something. Choujiro looked at him, more curious than irritated. Denjiro looked at Hisako instead of him. A few other women drew up behind him. He searched the crowd, looking for his sister-in-law, and chose to ignore the elderly woman. But as he tried to step forward, the group lock stepped behind her, blocking the path.

"What's it to you, old woman?" Yoshimi asked.

"Is that any way to behave, boy?" Masu said. "Your otousan . . . "

"Keep my otousan out of this." Yoshimi was both surprised and a bit confused by the way the group was behaving. His tone got defensive. "I don't have to answer to the likes of you."

Hisako smacked his shoulder with her walking stick. "You might not need to answer to him, stupid boy, but you didn't give me an answer yet, either."

Yoshimi clasped his hands into fists, but with the way the three men were hovering around her, he decided not to do more than that. He took a deep breath, then swallowed. "I don't owe you anything, Hisako-babaa. I don't know why you're mad at me."

Denjiro coughed into his hand at the rudeness of the title Yoshimi gave the elderly woman. "I know where Ryota is," he said. "I could go get him, if you need to talk to someone you owe, man."

"Bah," Yoshimi said. "I was looking for him. I'll be paying him off in a couple of days, so you can all get off my back. And for my sister-in-law. Have you seen that lazy woman?"

There was a silence that fell over the little group, and several of the faces there looked shocked.

Furume pushed through the group to stand next to Hisako. "You . . . you didn't know?"

"Hush, child," Hisako said.

"Know what?" Yoshimi looked from face to face. "All I know is that good for nothing wasn't home, and neither of the boys were, either. If my brother hears about it . . . "

"Your worthless brother won't be doing anything at all, if I have anything to say about it," Masu said, stepping up behind his daughter Furume. "If it was up to your brother, my daughter would have been sold to a teahouse. But instead, your family owes this girl a debt of thanks. If she hadn't been by the river and seen her . . . "

"I'm confused." Yoshimi frowned, and took a step towards Furume and Masa. He raised his clenched hand. "What can you and your trash of a family ever do to make us owe you anything, old man?"

Hisako popped Yoshimi another time with her walking stick. "Stupid fool. Maeme almost drowned. If Furume-chan hadn't been in the right place, she'd be dead now."

"Maeme . . . drowned?" The young man looked at his fist for a moment, then lowered it slowly. "Maeme? But she swims like a fish."

"She wasn't trying very hard to swim," Furume said. "If Houshi-sama hadn't been there to get her . . . "

The crowd began to circle around the young man. He took a step backwards, and bumped into Choujiro.

"Going somewhere?" the woodworker asked.

"I don't believe any of you," Yoshimi said, his voice shrill. He shoved at Choujiro's shoulder, and tried to get past him. Choujiro shoved him back, and the younger man stumbled and fell on his butt. Nobody offered to help him up, but Benika and Amaya snickered. "You are all lying. You have to be hiding her." His head turned to look at each of them. The circle they had made was growing smaller, giving him less room to move away. "What did she tell you to pull this stunt? Just because Seiji's in the lockup . . . "

"You are more stupid than my cow," Denjiro said, as the young man struggled to his feet. "Everybody knows she's the dumbest animal in the village." He shook his head at the younger man. "Why would we lie about this? Houshi-sama and the hanyou rescued her. Kaede's taking care of her over at the monk's place. Aren't you even worried if she's alive or not?" He spit. "What type of person are you?"

Hisako lifted her walking stick, and Yoshimi cringed, and hurried to his feet, but she merely tapped it on the ground. "What type of person is he? The type of person who knows his brother is battering his sister-in-law to the point she has scars, and doesn't tell anybody."

"Lies!" Yoshimi said. "That's a lie! Don't talk about Ani-ue like that!"

He shoved past Benika and almost got away, but this time, another staff blocked his way.

"I don't think so," Miroku said, giving him a shove back into the circle.

Nearby, at the headman's house, Tameo sat in his tub, stretched out, unaware of the activities at the watch tower. Hisa, his wife, watched him fondly as he soaked.

He closed his eyes and tried to let the water soothe him. "I think it's going to take more than hot water to work out all the kinks from today. I think I'll get out."

"Oh, I bet Daitaro's sake will help that one," Hisa said. She reached up to a shelf and picked up a towel.

"You may be right," the headman said, getting up slowly. "Don't ever tell him I said this, but his sake's better than mine."

Hisa laughed as Tameo stepped out of the water and onto the wooden floor of the bathing room. She handed him the cloth. "I wouldn't dream about it. We'd never hear the end of it. We don't hear the end of how good his is now, but that would be the last straw."

The headman made quick work of drying off, and let Hisa help him into a clean white inner kosode. "Has Susumu made it back yet?" he asked as he tightened his sash.

"Not yet," Hisa said, sighing. "I know he won't want to be late for the wedding, but . . . "

"Duty." Tameo nodded. "I know he won't miss the wedding. But what an afternoon it's been. I wonder why they called this an auspicious day?"

Hisa handed her husband his hakama, a soft dove-gray color. "Maybe they were wrong about auspicious after all. Maybe they just meant one where luck, all luck, ran high. I hope you don't mind the grey outfit. Your black . . . well, it's not . . . It's been so busy this week I haven't gotten it restitched. The panels washed up beautifully, but it takes time to get the outfits put back together and I - "

Tameo gave his wife a nod and a smile. "No, no, it's all right," he said, stepping into the garment. "This has been a week for the record book. I'm surprised we even got to eat some days."

"Oh husband, it'll be a really bad day when you don't get to eat on schedule," Hisa said, handing him his jacket. "All the women in our household would have to be sick. We all know how grumpy you get when you don't eat on schedule."

"What, me grumpy? Never. Don't even think it." He gave her a mock frown, and she laughed.

"Would you like a little snack, husband? I have some extra rice cakes." She turned to go.

Tameo grabbed her wrist and pulled her close. "Woman, you know what I'd rather have."

She rested her hands on his chest. "Get ready, old man. Let's see if you can keep from drinking too much sake tonight. Maybe then, you can have that for dessert."

"You drive a hard bargain, wife," he said, letting her loose.

"Tomorrow's going to be a busy day," Hisa said, resting her head on his chest. "I wouldn't be surprised if most of the village shows up to find out what the elders are going to do with Seiji." Looking up at him, her eyes had lost their laughter, and were serious. "If your head aches too much tomorrow . . . "

He sighed. "Don't remind me. Let's just get ready, go to the wedding, and enjoy the last of this auspicious day. I don't want to spoil Shinjiro's wedding thinking of him."

Hisa nodded. "Tonight is for him and Erime. Hopefully the kami will agree." She turned and left the bathing room.

Tameo turned and looked in the direction of the family shrine. "I hope you heard that, Kazuo-sama. We really could use a good evening."

Somewhere, out of human sight and hearing, a voice chuckled.

Up on the hill, far away from Yoshimi and his crowd or Tameo and Hisa, Kagome was combing her hair, looking at her mirror propped up on the clothing cabinet as she finished getting ready for the wedding.

InuYasha, returning from emptying out the bath tub, stood still for a moment and watched her carefully. Kagome had relaxed and began to enjoy her afternoon during her bath, but as she dressed in her robes for the evening events, she had begun to tense up again. This did not please him.

He walked up to where she was standing, and met her eyes in the mirror.

"How do I look?" she asked, running the comb through her bangs.

"You look beautiful," InuYasha said.

Kagome paused a moment in her hair combing, holding it in midair. "But do I look miko enough?" She frowned at her reflection. "Do . . . do you think I should tie my hair back?" she asked. "Maybe it would make me look more . . . more professional."

"Feh," the hanyou said. "You don't need to look more like a miko. You are a miko, and a good one." He grabbed the length of her hair in one hand, and pulled it into a pony tail. "It's not really long enough, anyway," he said, letting it go. "Besides, I don't think you'd feel comfortable. You always wear your hair down. Be yourself."

The answer didn't soothe her, and her lips curled into a small scowl as she ran the comb through the length again, tidying up what her husband had disturbed, but then she let go of the look and nodded. "You're right," she said. "I don't really like to wear it pulled back."

He leaned forward, and rested his chin on her head. "And I like it loose."

"Why?" she asked. "Is it so I don't . . . don't look like . . . "

"Where did that come from?" InuYasha asked, then planted a tiny kiss on the top of her head. "You know how I feel about you." He turned her to face him, and slipped a finger under her chin. "It's because it looks like Kagome. And I love how my Kagome looks." He gave her a brief, but tender, kiss. "So, I thought you had relaxed about going to the wedding. Why are you tensing up again? You know Chime and Daitaro will be happy even if you slipped and landed on the bride."

Kagome smiled at that, briefly. "It's not that I'm worried about what I'm supposed to do. Not anymore. It's just . . . just . . . I had this feeling. I could feel something while I was taking my bath. I'm not sure what it was."

"Feeling?" InuYasha asked. "About what?"

"I don't know." Kagome shook her head. "It's like I could sense something . . . almost. It's not a youkai thing. I can still feel it a little. It didn't totally go away . . . almost like spiritual power . . . but it's fuzzy."

"Fuzzy?" His ear flicked. "What do you mean?"

"Like . . . like it's too far to make out clear." She shook her head again. "Maybe I'm being silly. Maybe it was just something passing by. You and your brother aren't the only supernatural beings in this part of the world."

She opened a drawer in the cabinet and put her comb and mirror away.

"I hope so," the hanyou said. "Don't want anything to mess up tonight."

"Right." She closed the cabinet drawer and turned around. "Do you think Chime would mind if we showed up early?"

"I doubt it," InuYasha said. "You want to go now?"

"Yeah," she replied, nodding. "Maybe we can take a slow walk there. It might relax me."

He nodded. "Or maybe if someone's lurking, we can get a whiff."

She nodded. "We might just chase it away by just being there," Kagome said.

He held out his hand. "So what are we waiting for?" he asked. "Let's go chase whatever's bothering you away."

Smiling at her husband's willingness to indulge her on this, Kagome took InuYasha's hand. Together, they walked out of the house.


	259. Chapter 259

_ I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 259**

While InuYasha and Kagome made their way out of their house to take the long way to Daitaro's, Miroku stood solemnly in front of the gathered crowd that was surrounding Yoshimi.

There was no sign of the spiritual light that had drawn him off the mountain. He frowned, watching Yoshimi stumble back into the center of the ring the group had made around him, not exactly sure what was going on.

"Houshi-sama," Yoshimi said, nearly melting under the monk's glare. Not sure of what else to do, he bowed his respects, as did Furume and Masu.

Miroku nodded his greeting in return, then looked across the group, and up at the watch tower, which he looked at thoughtfully, twisting up the corners of his mouth, as if he saw something up there that amused him. Smoothing his face, he leaned against his staff. "I met a strange woman at the temple a little while ago," he said. "A highborn lady, by her looks, dressed in silk and wearing a veiled travel hat. She seemed to know a lot about our village. Did any of you see her?"

"A highborn lady, here? In our village?" Masu asked, looking surprised. He rested his hand on his daughter's shoulder. "That'd be a sight. It's been a long time since one has passed through. Men once in a while, but women? They don't like farming villages."

"I've never seen anybody like that," Furume said, shaking her head. "Ever."

"You haven't missed anything," Hisako said, taking a step towards Yoshimi who was once again looking for a way out.

Miroku rubbed his chin. "There was a bright light that looked like it came from here. I could see it all the way from the temple. Like sun on a mirror. She saw it and disappeared. I was wondering if she had gotten ahead of me."

"A light?" Choujiro asked. "I've been here for a while now, talking. I didn't see anything. I don't think anybody got past us to get on the watch tower."

"Me either." Denjiro scratched his head, then nodded in Yoshimi's direction. "Just this stupid person. Could it be a kami?"

"Bah," Hisako said. "Kami, ghosts, monsters. I know who's the monster here." She glared at Yoshimi.

"Strange lights, strange women. You can keep it. I need to go see my brother," Yoshimi said. He moved to push past Hisako. She lifted her staff, and he stopped, and sighed. "Craziness. I'm surrounded by crazy people, telling me tales about my sister-in-law. I need to find out what's really going on."

Benika bent down and picked up a pebble. "I'll crazy people you, you piece of trash," she said. "Crazy. Letting your sister-in-law get beat up and do all the work while you run off to the woods." She moved to throw the stone, but Amaya, who had pushed closer, grabbed her wrist. Benika nodded, but didn't let the stone go.

"Tell him, Houshi-sama," Choujiro said. "Tell him what happened down by the Willows. He doesn't want to believe us. Genjo told me what you and InuYasha did."

Teruko and Yaya pushed into the group. "Ask him why he never did anything to protect Maeme-chan or his nephews," Teruko said. She too, picked up a rock.

Yaya nodded. "And why he never does any of the work if he can get out of it. Her fields are near mine. I've never seen him doing any work unless his brother was there to put the fear of heaven in him."

"You better listen," Masu said, giving Yoshimi a shove. Yoshimi growled, and turned toward the farm worker, but before he could do anything, Miroku stepped forward and spun him around.

"I had heard you weren't too smart, Yoshimi-sama," the monk said. "But you might want to pay attention, instead of trying to bully your way out of a crowd for once."

"Seiji's not here to rescue you today," Masu said. Heads nodded in agreement.

"Peace, people," Miroku said. "Let us remember that anger is not the Buddha's way." He looked at Yoshimi, who he was still holding by the shoulder. There was a lot of anger in the man's eyes, but also a growing amount of uncertainty and some fear. Putting on his best monk face, Miroku let him go and took one step back.

"On this day, this auspicious day, when the luck gods seem to have gone a little crazy, I found Maeme-sama in the river," he said. Looking over at Furume, he gave her a small look of appreciation. "It was the sharp eyes of Masu-sama's daughter, who just happened to be there by luck, that spotted her. I, with the help of InuYasha, fished her out of the water. She had walked herself into the river. But some god decreed that today was not her time."

There was a murmuring in the crowd, and heads nodded. "See, I told you he was a brave man," Furume said to Amaya.

Masu bowed towards the monk. "You have impressed my daughter very much, Houshi-sama. She's been telling everybody."

Yoshimi spat. "I always knew she was a fool. Young foolish girls - what do they know?"

Denjiro looked at Amaya."You should have let Benika throw that rock."

The women snickered. Yoshimi raised a fist, but Miroku tugged it back down.

"That's enough foolishness," the monk said, letting the man's arm go. "Neither I nor InuYasha was supposed to have been there. But we were, which meant that Maeme-sama is supposed to live. She is up at my house, and she will stay there until all this is settled."

"What gives you the right - " Yoshimi said, stepping forward.

Miroku gave him a small shove back into his place. "I wasn't even supposed to be here." He looked up at the watch tower, and a small smile crossed his face, to be smoothed back into place, as he turned his gaze back to Yoshimi. "That woman . . . that light. Perhaps the village kami saw what your brother was doing and decided that they want all this settled. You would be a wise man to pay attention. Perhaps the luck gods are trying to rebalance something."

"But . . . but . . . "Yoshimi said. "What do you know, stupid monk?"

Hisako tapped his foot with her staff.

Yoshimi grabbed her staff. "Stop that, Babaa," he said. "You're going to tap me one time to many."

"And you'll do what?" she asked. "Hit me like your brother beats his wife?" she asked.

Yoshimi's nostrils flared, and he swallowed, as he thought of something to say, but he let Hisako's staff go. She pulled it back with a flourish, and made a mock lunge to the young man, who cringed. Some of the group laughed. Yoshimi's face grew red with anger, but for some reason, he just stood there. "Maeme's got you all fooled, doesn't she?" he growled, looking at his feet. "That clumsy cow . . . always tripping and running into things. You really think Ani-ue did that to her?"

This time it was Miroku's staff that did the tapping, and none too gently, either, hitting him solidly on his left arm. The rings jingled as the wood made contact.

"I've seen men who had accidents falling off of roofs," the monk said. "They have certain types of bruises and cuts."

"Like InuYasha-sama?" Choujiro said, grinning.

"Ah, my friend takes falls rather easily," Miroku said, looking at the woodworker. "But I have seen others not so fortunate. And I have seen men who have been attacked by bandits and left for dead. Men in combat. They all have certain types of injuries. If you have experience, it's easy to know the difference. But the worst are prisoners who are beaten regularly, day after day."

He grabbed Yoshimi's chin and looked into the man's eyes. "Poor Maeme-sama's body resembles the last."

For a moment, nobody spoke. Yoshimi pulled himself away from Miroku's hand, and there was more fear than anger in his face.

"That poor child," Hisako said at last, and her voice was very sad. "And I promised her mother I would keep an eye on her. I have failed her so much."

"She was my friend when we were young," Yaya said, covering her face. "Before that one's monster brother decided to keep her penned up like a beast."

"Beast. Why do we keep a beast like that in our village, I want to know?" Choujiro asked.

Miroku tapped his staff on the ground, making the rings jingle one more time. Yoshimi focused his eyes on it warily, as if worried it would meet his flesh again of its own will. The monk took a step forward. "What happened to her didn't happen because she tripped doing her work. It didn't happen all at once. You had to have known what was happening. I want you to explain to us why you never told Tameo-sama, or even Toshiro-sama what was going on."

Up on the watch tower, the two kami watched the events. Kazuo seemed rather pleased with how things were turning out, but the land kami hid her face behind her fan, uncomfortable with the confrontation.

"That monk. He can sense us," Shimame said. "He cannot see us, but he is aware."

"I told you he was good," Kazuo said. "He has confronted great evil in his time. He knows the difference between dark and light."

"Maybe he can," the land kami said. She put down her fan. "But I'm not as sure about you, Kazuo-no-kami. What are you trying to accomplish?"

"Planting seeds, Shimame-sama," he said. He gave her a large open grin. "Ah, that monk. He does know how to work a crowd."

"Planting seeds?" she asked, shaking her head. "Is that why you've been keeping Yoshimi penned in place? Three times now he would have run, but you made him stay."

"Sometimes, you have to force a child to take its medicine," the old kami said. "I had to do it with all my children."

"And so you're still doing it with these children of yours?" She shook her head. "It looks like you're trying to cause a riot. Or worse. Some of those women want to do to Yoshimi what they want to do to his brother."

"It won't get that far. Look," he said, pointing to the west. "Yoshimi will be rescued. Just in time to let the seed grow. Soon, soon, it will bloom."

"Be careful," the land kami said, thinking a moment. "The paths ahead are confused to me. It will take luck to not have a disaster."

"Why do you think I waited until today?" he asked.

"Humans tire me," Shimame said, standing up. "I rather deal with the earth." She lifted her fan once more and was gone.

"Toshiro seemed a little unnerved, wouldn't you say?" Eiji said as he, his brother, Susumu and Michio returned from the elder's house.

"This whole day's been unnerving," Susumu said. "I would really like to just have a quiet hour before the wedding. I'd like to play with my son and sit next to my wife and not think about tomorrow. Now besides Seiji, we have suicide attempts and women confronting elders." He shook his head. "They're going to tell stories about today."

"Enjoy Daitaro's sake," Eiji said. "Maybe it'll be worth it. What do you think, Michio?"

"Heh, enjoy it today before the headache tomorrow?" Michio said. "I don't know. Doesn't sound very fun to me. Hasn't been enough time since my last hangover. Glad I'm not going to be going."

Eiji patted the man on his back. "You were really sick," he said. "I was worried about you." He looked up at the village guard. "You don't want to end up like that, Susumu. Even if Daitaro does call you a lightweight."

"I suspect we're all going to disappoint the old man," Susumu said, shaking his head. "Especially if we have to have a meeting of the council tomorrow. Damn Seiji."

"Oh, that's not going to please him at all," Haruo said. "He's been planning – "

Whatever it was that Haruo knew about Daitaro's plans got interrupted by a loud yell. "It's not my fault! Get away from me, Babaa! What was I supposed to do? He's my brother!"

"The hells," Susumu said, turning around to face the direction of the voice.

"Don't let him get away!" a woman's voice said.

"Stop him, Denjiro!"

"Look at that," Susumu said, seeing the crowd gathered by the watch tower. "Are we going to have a riot on top of everything else today?"

Eiji pulled the club out of his belt, his badge of being on the watch, useful for knocking heads, but something that in their little village was almost never necessary. "What's going on there? Who do they have in the middle?"

"And why?" Haruo said. The men began to walk in that direction.

"It's not my fault!" someone within the knot of people shouted.

"It's mostly women," Michio noted.

"Those women do not look happy," Haruo said.

"Amaya, and Furume, and Benika and Sora," Eiji said, counting them out. "Chisuzu and Momoe."

"It's not just women, either," Susumu said. "There's Choujiro, and Masu, too. And Denjiro. "

"What's my wife doing there?" Haruo asked. "Teruko!"

One of the women turned around when she heard her name called. Seeing her husband, she merely stood her ground, unabashed, and crossed her arms.

Eiji nudged Michio and pointed at an older woman on the edge of the crowd. "Isn't that your aunt over there?"

"I didn't do anything," the voice from within the group said.

"You didn't tell anybody, either!" said another voice. "Why didn't you tell the elders about what was going on? Houshi-sama, explain to this fool why what he did was evil."

"That sounds like Hisako-sama. Let's go see what's up," Susumu said, sighing. "This is the worst good luck day I have ever seen."


	260. Chapter 260

_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 260**

The men of the village guard, with Michio in tow, pushed into the crowd near the watch tower. Miroku was standing next to Yoshimi, holding him by the arm, while Hisako, being held back by Amaya and Yaya, who were trying to keep her from hitting him with her walking stick. Denjiro had Yoshimi by the other arm. Seiji's brother was covered with scratches, and had a fresh hand print on his cheek.

"So what if I knew what Ane-ui was doing?" Yoshimi spat the words out at Hisako. "It's my family. He's the head of it. What do you think I was supposed to do?"

"And if he was robbing other people, would you have just taken your share and pretended he was an honest man?" Choujiro said.

"Let me loose!" Hisako said to the women who held her back. They let her free and she straightened her robes, then leaned forward, right into Yoshimi's face. "Your otousan would be so disappointed in you. You were too young when he left us to learn the right way. He was always such a proper man. It's a good thing he's dead. The shame would have taken his life."

"What's going on here?" Susumu asked. "Houshi-sama? Hisako-obaasan?"

"I was trying to find my sister-in-law," Yoshimi said. "This . . . this . . . monk," he said, spitting out the word like it was something foul, "told me some story about her being in the river and now she's at his house and he's not letting her go."

"You're right," Miroku said, pulling himself up tall. "I claim life-debt. No woman deserves to be treated like that."

Yoshimi spit. "To hell with your life-debt. You can't take another man's wife that way."

"I'm not taking her away. I'm saving her life," Miroku said. "Which, evidently, is more than you ever tried to do." He looked at Susumu and Eiji. "I'm glad you arrived. Now I won't be the one who has to take this piece of crap to Tameo-sama to make a complaint."

"What?" Yoshimi said, surprised by the monk's words.

Susumu shook his head and sighed. "Let him go, Houshi-sama. We'll take care of him."

Denjiro and Miroku reluctantly let go. Yoshimi, trying to decide what to say, began straightening his shirt. "I want to see my brother. I bet he doesn't know any of this. He's going to be mad as everything when he hears that Maeme isn't home."

"Why?" Benika asked. "You're going to try to get the headman to let him go so he can beat up on her some more?"

"Why weren't you in such a hurry to tell Tameo-sama how badly he was hurting her?" Hisako said.

Benika turned to the group of village guards. "So, Susumu-sama, when are the elders going to do something? It's not right that a man can push his wife into wanting to die."

"The kami will desert us for sure," Masu said.

Haruo pulled his wife aside. "I didn't expect to see you here."

"How could I not be? Maeme-chan That monster . . . he's . . . she's all battered and scarred up from what he's been doing to her. Houshi-sama told us all about it." Teruko looked at Susumu. "Your otousan is the headman. Why isn't he doing something about it?"

"He will, he will," Susumu said.

"Why didn't you at least tell the village guard?" Hisako's voice was loud and angry. "You let your brother batter Maeme. You know he beat your nephews. Why weren't you trying to protect your family's honor? No, you just ran off to the woods to drink sake and avoid lifting a finger. We know all about how you've been spending your time."

Yoshimi's nostrils flared. "You don't know anything, Babaa."

This was too much for Hisako. She slapped him hard.

"I didn't know Hisako-obaasan had that much strength," Michio said, impressed.

For a moment, Yoshimi just stood there. He brought his hand up to his cheek, touching the reddened skin. He started to lunge for the woman, but Eiji and Denjiro grabbed him before he could reach her.

"I'm going to kill you, you old witch," he said.

Eiji hit him with his club, not enough to knock him out, but enough to get his attention. "No, you're not. You want to make things even worse?"

"Get him out of here," Susumu said. "Tie him up and take him home. Make sure he stays there. I don't care if you have to tie him to the roof beam. Just keep him away from the women."

Eiji nodded. He took a length of rope, and with Denjiro's help and ignoring all the curses coming from Yoshimi's mouth, they managed to tie his hands.

"And all of you, you're coming with me," Susumu said.

"Where?" Hisako asked.

"To talk to my father," Susumu said. "This is beyond me. I'll let Chichi-ue figure it out."

Up on the hill, InuYasha and Kagome took a different route down to Daitaro's than the main path. The road they walked on wasn't much bigger than a deer trail, and it meandered close to the big rock outcropping to the east.

Kagome stopped a moment and looked up at the rock.

"What're you looking at?" InuYasha said, looking up himself. Even though they were walking to make sure there was nothing to whatever Kagome had sensed while she was bathing, neither of them had picked up anything, and their walk had become a relaxing amble, and there was no tension, only curiosity, in InuYasha's question. The only thing he saw was a lone bird, some sort of hawk soaring in the skies overhead. There was nothing unusual in the air scents - the normal trees and small creatures, a whiff of boar scent from where one had passed earlier.

"The future," Kagome replied, giving her husband a crooked little smile. "I was imagining the buildings I know that will be there in the future."

"This is nicer," he said, taking her hand. "Smells a lot better, too. I don't know how you stood the smell or the noise."

"I didn't know any better, I guess," she said. "That was home."

A small shadow crossed her face as she said the word home, and InuYasha wrapped his arms around her. "Home, eh?"

"Was home," Kagome said, resting her hands on his chest. She looked up at him, not really sad, but also curious about InuYasha's reaction. "Was home. This is my home now, InuYasha."

"It's just that every time you mention it, you get this look in your eyes," he said. "Sometimes your scent smells sad."

Kagome shook her head. "I don't miss the noise and things and smells." She reached up and touched InuYasha's cheek. "I do miss Mama, and Souta and Ji-chan."

InuYasha rested his hand over hers. "I'm sorry." His voice was very soft, his eyes looking deeply at hers, trying to decide what she meant.

"Every bride does this, especially when they move away from home," she said. "It's normal. Hisa-obaasan, Chime-obaasan, and all the other women who moved into the village from elsewhere went through the same thing. It's not that I don't want to be here most of all. I do."

She tiptoed up and gave him a small kiss on the lips. "No place I would rather be."

"I..." he really didn't have any reply so he pulled her into a hug. Just then, they heard the sound of a cow lowing.

Kagome pulled away. "We must be close to Daitaro's, if I can hear his cows."

"We are," InuYasha said. He pointed. "If you look past those trees, you can see his fence line."

"Ready to see what a wedding is like these days?" Kagome asked, smiling.

"If you are." He took her hand. "So, there are going to be pickles?"

"More maybe than even you can eat," Kagome said, lacing her fingers in with his.

"Feh," he said, as they started walking. "I like a good challenge."

Near the watch tower, the group of villagers watched Eiji and Haruo walk a very unhappy Yoshimi back towards the river and his home.

"Susumu-sama," Miroku said. He bowed slightly. "I am sorry to have troubled you this way." His face was solemn, but his eyes unrepentant.

"I know you didn't start this situation," the village guardian said, looking at Hisako, who stood there, standing tall and straight, the smallest smile on her lips as their eyes met. "I had a nice talk with Toshiro-sama right before I got here."

"You can ask Houshi-sama about what happened to Maeme-chan," Hisako said, not in the least intimidated by the younger man.

"I don't need to, Obaasan. I was with InuYasha-sama when he told Chichi-ue," Susumu said. "But that's no reason to have a riot in the center of the village."

"Bah. This wasn't a riot," she said, smirking. "The last real riot we had here was . . . oh, about sixty years ago, during one of the wars. Now that was something to see. Chased the stupid samurai out who were trying to raise our taxes. He thought he could cowl our men with just one soldier with him. We showed him a thing or two." The old woman chuckled.

Susumu just rolled his eyes. "Let's go. I don't know if I'm man enough to tell you what to do, Obaasan, if even your own otousan can't. Let's see what Chichi-ue can do."

Someone must have run ahead and told the headman the group was coming, because Tameo, now dressed in his wedding finery, Kinjiro, Jun and Koichi were standing in the courtyard as the motley group began filing in. Hisa and Riki, still the only women in the compound hovered back by the headman's house, whispering together.

Tameo, his arms crossed, glared at Hisako as she walked up to him, leading the crowd, flanked by Susumu and Miroku. He took a deep breath, and walked up to the elderly woman, who was not the least repentant.

"Hisako-obasan," he said, his voice solemn, but betraying no overt anger. "Are you still trying to cause trouble?"

"Trouble?" she asked, nodding her head towards the lockup. "That's where your trouble is, Tameo-sama. I just want to see justice done."

"You know we will be deciding that tomorrow," the headman said. "We will listen to everybody's say."

"That's what you said last time, after the bandit raid," Masu said, from the back. His hand was on his daughter's shoulder. "What changed since winter?"

"We've had enough," Hisako said. "You may be the headman, but you have to listen to us!" She tapped her stick. "Look what happened last time! And what's changed? The man runs through the street attacking his own son. And his wife . . . "

"We all know the details, Hisako-obasan," Tameo said, looking solemn. "I promise . . . "

Koichi, deciding that the headman was in no immediate danger of being swarmed, walked up to the lockup. "You better hope I don't open that door now," he said. He looked very pleased at the turn of events.

"Fuck you," Seiji croaked.

"All the men in that family are guilty," Hisako continued. "You know Yoshimi knew what was going on."

"I do believe Hisako-sama is correct on that point," Miroku said. "I was going to bring him here myself, but Susumu chanced upon us first."

"Yoshimi?" Tameo asked. "What's he got to do with this?"

"I've heard him talk about Maeme-sama," Masu said. "It wasn't very good. He has no respect for her. You should have heard some of the names he called her when he thought he was in friendly company." He frowned. "When that bastard that tried to kill Nahoi-chan got done in, I thought we all agreed we weren't going to put up with men who hurt their women."

There were murmurs in the crowd at this. "I remember what the elders said," Benika said. "You heard them, too, didn't you?"

Denjiro nodded. "I was one of the ones that took his body and buried it out of town. I still spit on his grave every time I go that way." He took a deep breath. "We don't need monsters here. How is he any better than the youkai that threw shouki bombs at the village? Or that monster that tried to wipe out Haname's family?"

Tameo took a deep breath. "I promise you. I have talked with the elders. After what happened to Maeme today, and what we discovered . . . " He looked up at Miroku. "You, Houshi-sama, and InuYasha. Your claims will be foremost on the list of things we're going to consider."

"What happened?" Seiji croaked. He stood up as much as he could in the lockup and grabbed the bars that closed off the window. "What happened to my woman?"

Hisako broke from the crowd, and headed over to the lockup. The women who were with her followed, much to Tameo's displeasure.

"Maybe I should unlock the door," Koichi said, gloating a little as he watched them walk towards the building. "I'd like to see you take on all of them at once."

"You're an asshole," Seiji said.

"Not as big a one as you," the farmhand replied.


	261. Chapter 261

_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 261**

Tameo sighed when he saw what Hisako was doing. "I did not need this today, to be honest."

Miroku tapped him on the back. "I don't think most of us did, for that matter. But I have reason to suspect a kami is involved with this. I saw a big burst of spiritual light, right in the center of the village."

Tameo rubbed his temples, the way one does when a headache is coming on. "I wouldn't be surprised. I just wish they'd ask before doing."

"Indeed," the monk replied.

Together, the headman and the monk followed the group towards the lockup.

"What do you think you're doing, Babaa?" Seiji croaked as he watched her draw close. "You think because you outlived most of your family, you're important or something? Bet your husband died just to get away from you. Stop putting ideas in my woman's head."

"You bastard," Hisako said. She slapped at the bars of the window with her walking stick. "You beat that woman to the point that she wants to die, and you have the audacity to call her your woman? She walked into the river to get away from you and you talk about my husband?"

Seiji's hands clenched the bars tighter. "She did what?" His voice dropped to something just above a whisper, coarse and disbelieving. "That worthless . . . she tried to kill herself?"

"Jumped in the river, she did." There was a triumphant look in the old woman's eyes as she gave him the news. "The monk rescued her, and InuYasha-sama. Everybody knows now. And Houshi-sama has claimed a life-debt."

"He has no right!" Seiji smashed something inside the cell. "That clumsy bitch. Always falling over things and getting hurt."

"Hurt in the shape of a hand print. Right." Benika said. "And not just one. Just like that son of yours is all purple because he fell over the wash tub."

Seiji kicked the door of the cell. "Let me out. She's my woman."

"Bah," Koichi said. He squatted down next to the building, looking down at the ground to hide his amusement. "She's the monk's now. He's claimed life debt. He rescued her."

"Damn it, Tameo," Seiji croaked. He tried his best to sound imposing, but his voice cracked. "She's mine. You can't do this."

The headman, followed by Miroku as well as his sons, reached the lockup. "Save your voice, Seiji. The elders are going to meet tomorrow, and then we will decide."

"Fuck that," the caged man said. "Let me out now."

"After they see what you have done to your wife, Seiji-sama, you might wish you could stay in the lockup," Miroku said.

"And fuck you, too, woman-stealing ass of a holy man," Seiji growled. He hit the door again. "You don't touch Maeme."

"I'd be surprised if she ever wants another man to touch her in her whole life," Miroku said.

Seiji slammed against the door one more time, but said nothing.

"Be glad I am so patient," Tameo said. "I could send for InuYasha-sama. He has the first claim. You attacked his wife. He helped rescue yours. I'm not so sure that he'd want to wait for the elders to convene. All these conflicting claims. Well, we'll sort it out tomorrow."

"Don't you let that freak near me," Seiji said. His voice was barely above a whisper.

"Then you'll be quiet and wait." Tameo turned to the rest of the crowd. "Go home. And that means you, Hisako-obasan." He nodded to Susumu, who walked up next to the elderly woman. "Today we will shed no blood. We will not spoil Shinjiro's wedding. Do you want to bring the kami's bad luck to us all?"

"Come on, Hisako-obaasan," Susumu said. "Your otousan's probably waiting for his supper, anyway."

"He can wait a few minutes more," she said, before turning to Tameo. "We will have justice tomorrow," Hisako said. "Real justice this time."

"Real justice. For Maeme, for her sons, and for all of you who have been misused by our . . . " Tameo turned back and looked at the lockup. "By our guest."

"There better be," Masu said. "My children still have nightmares."

"Justice. Tomorrow. Today, go say your prayers that we have the wisdom to do the right thing. And that Shinjiro's wedding will not be marked by this . . . "

"Piece of crap?" someone from the group called out.

"This person in our lockup. Go home. I have to get ready for a wedding. He'll wait until tomorrow."

"But not any longer," Hisako said, and tapping her cane three times against the lockup building, she straightened herself as tall as she could, she and Susumu walked out of the compound, the villagers who sided with her following.

"We'll be here in the morning," Benika said as she left.

"And we'll listen," the headman said.

"You'll need to do more than that," Denjiro said. "Not sure all the men in the village will able to stop that old woman if you don't."

And with that, he too left.

"I think," Tameo said. His posture collapsed a little as if a huge weight had just lifted off is back.

"What?" Kinjiro asked.

"I think I need a cup of sake," the headman said.

"It looks like Haha-ue agrees with you," the younger man said. "She's got a cup in her hand ready for you."

Tameo looked towards the front of his house, and his wife stood there, smiling.

"A wise woman," Miroku said.

"Wise women are a gift from the heavens," the headman said. He glanced towards the lockup. "Even if some men never learn that lesson." He patted Miroku on the back. "Come share a cup with me, Houshi-sama. Maybe in the time we have left before the wedding starts, we can figure out something about your houseguest."

Elsewhere, at the house of Takeshi, things were just as busy as they had been at Tameo's, but on a much more pleasant note. Takeshi and his son Masayo, having cleaned up, were now banished outside, while the women of the household prepared.

Takeshi was playing a drum and singing.

"For love I journey,  
>they tell me it's worth the pain,<br>even though you make me  
>walk over rocks and sharp thorns<br>Yoi yoi ya yoi.

"As the road winds on,  
>For love I will show no fear.<br>Hide the oni, please,  
>and keep the foxes at home.<br>Yoi yoi ya yoi."

"Listen to him, Okaasan," Tama said as she put on her wedding clothes. They were new; she and her mother, sister and sister-in-law had made new clothes for everybody to wear. "Is he going to do that until we get to Daitaro-ojiisan's house?"

"Probably," Ushimi, donning her own, properly sober kosode, dark blue with a swirl of flowers along the skirt. "I think it's in retaliation for songs sung at his own wedding."

Sakami, Masayo's wife, giggled. "Maybe it was a good thing he didn't hear some of the songs that my brother sang while we were still at my mother's house."

"Don't give him any ideas," Ushimi said. "He knows plenty of songs himself."

"I will not shed any tears  
>even in this dark forest<br>even in this dark,  
>I hear love makes its own lamp.<br>Yoi yoi ya yoi."

Erime was putting on her robe of white and blue, when she looked up. "You don't think he'll sing the rabbit song, do you?"

The women all giggled. It was a well-known fact that this was a song that Erime particularly hated. Tama gave her sister a smirk. "The rabbit is white . . . "

"Tama!" Ushimi said. "Don't tease your sister."

"I'll remember that," Erime said, tying her sash. "Your wedding day isn't that far off."

"Moon, you are so drunk  
>dancing with the midnight clouds,<br>you must be in love too,  
>but don't get me lost tonight.<br>Yoi yoi ya yoi."

The women, new clothes on, hair combed and hanging long instead of underneath their farm wives' head scarves, were nearly done. Ushimi walked over to the screen, and picked up the silken robe that was her family's wedding treasure. "It's time to put this on, daughter."

Erime swallowed and nodded once, and let her mother guide the robe over her arms, then fuss over her as she adjusted the sleeves.

"How beautiful," Sakami said, smiling at her sister-in-law.

"Like a princess," Tama said.

"Ah, love, I will climb  
>up this mountain path tonight,<br>stumbling on my way,  
>Beloved, do not forget –<br>light the stone lantern."

"I'd like to hit him with that lantern," Tama said. "What do you think, Okaasan?"

"That it is probably a good thing for you not to hit your brother, but Erime - just perfect." Ushimi held the box she had packed earlier in the day, now wrapped in a bright red and blue carry cloth. "This is the day where you really become a woman, daughter. You are leaving your mother's house and moving into the house where you will become Chime's daughter instead. May the kami brighten this day with every blessing." She handed the box to Erime, who looked at her mother with moist eyes.

"Now, let's join the rest of the family," Ushimi said. "It's time to go to your new home."

Kagome and InuYasha were the first guests to arrive at Daitaro's house. The family, all but Mariko were outside. Genjo was standing next to his brother, who looked very fine in a new suit of dark cloth. He seemed far calmer than when she saw him last.

Daitaro, too, looked stately, even, having taken off his everyday work clothes and wearing an equally good looking suit of clothes. There were no stains on his knees, and they were full hakama, not the half length farmers' pants he usually favored. He even had a new eboshi hat for the occasion, and instead of his almost always present jug strapped across his chest, he had an obi of red and black with a fan tucked into it. He could have passed for a merchant, or even, if someone gave him the swords, a lower-ranking samurai. His eyes glittered a little, a sign he had been sampling his wedding sake, but just enough to make him mirthful.

"Ah, our cousins from up the hill have made it down," he said, spotting the young couple. "Now we're ready for everybody else to show up!"

"We made it," InuYasha said.

"I was hoping you'd get here first," Chime said, coming up to the couple. "Such a long and strange day! Come with me, Kagome-chan. We'll leave your husband to keep an eye on Daitaro and Genjo. I keep thinking they're going to tease poor Shinjiro to the point he's going to run away and call it done."

"Would I do that to you, Okaasan? After all you've done today?" Shinjiro said, crossing his arms.

"Only if your otousan and brother drive you to it," she said, then she led Kagome into the house, leaving InuYasha with the men.

"Ah, women," the old farmer said, looking back at the door of the house fondly. "My old woman, she thinks she knows everything."

"That's because she does, Otou," Genjo said.  
>"Eh," Daitaro said. "Maybe."<p>

"You know Genjo's right, Otousan," Shinjiro said. "She knew when you got back from Miroku's that you'd head right for the rice cakes."

"Just wait, son." Daitaro said, patting the young bridegroom on the back. "In a few years, you'll swear your woman will know what you think before you think it."

"Mariko did it in a few months," Genjo said.

"Keh," InuYasha said. He grinned, a toothy look that his adoptive family didn't find unnerving at all. "Might not even take that long."

"You're learning about that magic women have, eh?" Daitaro said. "They look at our faces and somehow can see behind our eyes."

"Oh yeah," the hanyou said. "Oh yeah.


	262. Chapter 262

_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 262**

At Takeshi's house, Tama and Sakami stepped out of the house first, followed by Erime. The men, who had been egging Masayo on in his singing, fell quiet as the young bride stepped nervously over the threshold and into the sunlight.

"Ushimi-sama," old Natsuo, a farmhand who had been with the family since Takeshi was a boy looked up as she walked through the door and slid it closed. "You didn't tell me you had a tennyo in the house with you. Such a beautiful heavenly maiden she is, too."

Erime, blushed prettily and covered her face with her sleeve at the compliment. "Natsuo-ojiisan," she said, trying not to giggle.

Masayo tapped on his drum. "If not a tennyo, at least a hime. What did you do with my sister, Okaasan? Are you sending this lovely woman to Shinjiro instead?"

Takeshi waved the others quiet as he walked to the women. Tama and Sakami moved out of the way to let him stand next to Erime. He swallowed, trying to find the right words to say, and nervously began to scratch at his arm.

"Otousan," she said. "Are you getting itchy?" Her eyes shone with nervousness, herself, but with concern as well.

He realized what he was doing and dropped his hand.

"I have some - " Ushimi started, but he waved his wife off.

"Not today. No, I don't think I'm going to break out in hives." He smiled at Erime. "No, child. I was just remembering the first time I saw you. Your obaasan made me wait a whole day before she let me in the room you were in, to let your mother get some rest."

"I did ask her to let you in right away," Ushimi said.

"I know you did," Takeshi said, looking at his wife. He smiled at her. "But your okaasan, well she had opinions."

Ushimi laughed gently. "You could say that."

"But she had given me a beautiful wife, who gave me a beautiful daughter." He rested his hand on his daughter's shoulders. "You were so tiny. I was almost afraid to touch you. But you were so perfect." He swallowed. "You still are. I knew on that day that there would be this day, when I gave this beautiful gift of my wife to me to another man. And I made a promise to the heavens that day, that I would be sure that the man who was to be your husband would have the goodness and heart to be worthy of you."

"Otou," Erime said.

"I..." His voice choked, just a little bit, and his eyes were shining, "I think that Shinjiro will be that man."

"He will, Otousan," Erime said.

"Well then," Takeshi said, "I will have fulfilled my promise to the heavens. Are you ready?" he asked.

She nodded her head.

"Then let us go." He dropped his hands away, and turned towards his son. "You can sing, if you want to, Masayo. But no rude songs! Don't listen to those blackhearts."

Laughter went through the group. With Erime in the front, surrounded by her sister and sister-in-law, Masayo in the middle, and Ushimi and Takeshi coming up behind, the little group began their walk through the village, on a round about trip to Daitaro's house.

Nearer the river, Eiji and Haruo walked a surly Yoshimi into his own small house. It was even more bare than Seiji's house. A bedroll in one corner, a chest, a shelf with a few dishes, a pot, a fire pit. Nothing else. The house was dim in the late afternoon light, and somehow, even with the few furnishings, it gave the feeling of being dingy.

"You really need to stay here tonight," Eiji said.

"Up yours," the younger man said, collapsing to the floor.

"Do you want me to light a fire?" Haruo said. "Yours looks like it's gone out. It's going to be dark before you know it."

"Suit yourself." Yoshimi leaned forward, his hands still tied behind his back. He looked like he would have curled into a ball if he had the freedom of movement to do so.

Haruo got busy scrounging up what he needed to get the fire going. "You know we're not your enemies, man." He looked by the wood pile and found a little basket of kindling.

"He's right, you know," Eiji said, squatting next to Yoshimi. "We got you away from all those women."

"Bah." Yoshimi shook his head, and fell silent for a time, and the only real noise was Haruo blowing the little coal in found into ashes into a full flame. Yoshimi looked up and watched him, and for a moment, their eyes met. "I...I had no idea that . . . that Maeme had . . . had . . . tried to . . . "

"I'm sure you didn't," Eiji said.

"I wanted to find Ryota," Yoshimi said.

"Really?" Haruo tossed a stick onto the fire, looking surprised. "I thought after he threatened you last time, he'd be the last person you'd want to see."

"I...I think I'm going to be able to pay him off in a couple of days." Yoshimi looked up at Haruo. "And you, too." He dropped his eyes back into the fire.

"Huh," Haruo said. He stood up and dusted off his hands. "And how did you manage that feat? Not that I'd complain if you did, mind you . . . "

"Uh . . . " Yoshimi stared at the floor. "Well . . . "

"It's that woman over the hill, isn't it?" Eiji said. "Ki . . . Ki . . . "

"Kiyoko," the younger man said. He looked up at Eiji, wary, but curious. "How did you guess?"

"Not a lot that happens in the woods around here that word doesn't get back to me," Eiji said, rocking back on his heels. "Part of what the village guard does. You've been meeting her in the woods for a while now."

Yoshimi nodded. "We met collecting firewood." He looked up. "We're going to get married in a ten day."

"Are you?" Haruo said. "That's news."

"We . . . we just decided today. Her mourning period's up then." Yoshimi sighed. "Everything was going so well, and then . . . "

Eiji scratched the back of his neck. "That'll make old Jirou happy, I suspect. They were wondering who was going to work her lands come rice time." He stood up. "Treat her better than your brother treats his woman. It's her land. The elders there won't take to having an outsider doing like Seiji."

"Shut up!" Yoshimi said.

"Well, it's a word to the wise," Eiji said. He bent over and rested a hand on Yoshimi's shoulder. "And if I were you, I'd lay low for a few days. Especially tomorrow."

Yoshimi shrugged off Eiji's hand like it burned. "Tomorrow?"

"You might not want to see what happens to Seiji," Haruo said, crossing his arms. "There are a lot of people angry at him right now."

Eiji nodded. "And Sukeo's old enough to inherit."

Yoshimi looked at one man and then another. "You aren't taking that old woman seriously are you?"

"Hisako's not the only one," Eiji said. "My father-in-law's pretty angry, too."

"Remember what he did to the man who attacked his daughter," Haruo said, nodding.

"Bah," Yoshimi replied, but he bowed his head, thinking.

"If you want to marry that woman," Eiji said. "Lay low. Or you might go down with him."

"You don't think the elders would . . . " Yoshimi's eyes grew wide as what they were insinuating hit home. "You don't think they're going to . . . " He swallowed. "Execute him?"

"I don't know," Eiji said. "The hanyou has the right, because your stupid brother pushed his wife to the ground. Tameo-sama has a right, because he attacked one of the village miko. And a lot of the villagers are going to want something real this time. I just don't know."

"I...I..." Yoshimi started, but he collapsed into a ball, not sure of what to say next.

"Stay home," Eiji said once again. He grabbed Yoshimi's bound hands. "If I untie you, will you stay here?"

Yoshimi, still not looking at the village guard, nodded. Eiji made quick work of the rope binding him. "Don't make me regret doing this," he said.

"I won't," the younger man said. He covered his face with his now free hands and began rocking himself gently back and forth.

Eiji and Haruo left. For several minutes, Yoshimi stared into the fire. "Ani-ue," he said at last. "I always knew you were a stupid ass. Damn it. What am I supposed to do?"

He got up, and went in search of the last of his brother's sake.

In much better moods than Yoshimi's Chime and Kagome walked into Daitaro's house.

Inside the main room, everything was prepared. The mats were ready, the trays ready to be filled, and in the place of honor, a low table was ready in front of the area the young couple would be sitting.

"It's finally here," Chime said, sitting down by the fire pit. She had an assortment of dishes, cups, jugs, ready for her use.

"Yes it is," Kagome said, sitting down next to her. "I'm so glad the day calmed down. I was afraid with everything that went on this morning that we'd spoil your evening."

"I knew it'd all work out in the end," Chime said. "And here we are, ready for everybody to show up."

"Uh," Kagome said, interlacing her fingers. "I don't know if anybody told you, but Kaede is staying with Maeme tonight."

Chime gave a quick nod, and sighed. "I was afraid of that. I know she would have liked to been here."

"She asked me to do the blessing," Kagome said. "But I've never done it before. Where . . . where I come from, we do weddings differently."

"It's just a little ritual," Chime said. "It's all right if you don't want to do it."

"I want to. I'm just afraid I'll do it wrong," Kagome admitted. "I'm not even sure when to do it."

Chime picked up a bowl carved out of wood. It looked quite old. "This is the blessing bowl we use in my family." She handed it to Kagome who turned it around in her hand. It had a very pleasant feel to it. Closing her eyes, the young miko could feel the positive spiritual forces that wrapped around it. She handed it back to Chime.

"So that's what you want me to use?" Kagome asked.

"Oh yes. After Shinjiro and Erime-chan drink out of the same cup, that's when you should go and sprinkle them with the water. Not too much; it's just a symbol; a sign to the kami that they are going to start out their married days as pure before the gods. Kaede usually says some little blessing as she does it, to wish them well."

"That doesn't sound very hard," Kagome admitted. "It's just that it's . . . "

"New? We've given you so much new to learn in such a little time," Chime said, putting the cup down on the table. "A new home, a new family, a new husband, and all the things Kaede-chan is teaching you. And such a strange and wild ten-day to do it in."

"I hope . . . " Kagome said. "I hope I'm doing it well enough."

Chime laughed at that, not an unpleasant laugh. "My dear child. I can't imagine anybody having so much thrown at them doing half as well. You have nothing whatsoever to worry about. Absolutely nothing."


	263. Chapter 263

_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 263**

"Have you ever seen such a strange day?" Tameo asked Miroku as they sat on the verandah of his house. The headman looked at the sake cup in his hand. It was one of the best cups he owned, a blue cup, with a deft rendering of a sakura branch inside, to remind the drinker of how all things bright must come to an end. He sighed. "Such a mixup of good things and bad, all at the same time."

Miroku accepted the cup that Hisa offered him. "I cannot say that I have." He took a sip, and let the warmth of the liquid run over his tongue. "I have seen horrible days, and days of great good fortune, but the only thing that even comes close is when we beat Naraku, and Kagome-sama was sent home at the same time."

"That was a strange time," Hisa said, nodding. "We were so busy rebuilding after all the damage that monster caused. He's so quiet, anyway, and slips into the shadows so well, but I remember seeing InuYasha not long after that, down near the river. He looked so lost. For a while there, I was wondering if he was going to slip away, his work done."

"Lost. I believe that's a good word for it," Miroku said. "For a while there, I was wondering if he was going to slip away myself. I think he had more faith in Kagome-sama's return than I did." He took another sip of the sake. "I'm not sure that today is not going to leave Maeme-sama feeling nearly as lost."

Tameo sighed. "That poor woman. We will do our best tomorrow. That is all I can promise you, Houshi-sama." He took another sip of his own cup. "At least, I am fairly sure that Toshiro is thinking things over carefully. He was rather surprised when the women cornered him this afternoon. Our . . . guest . . . has burned many bridges behind him." He put the cup on the ground. "I suspect that every harsh thing he's done over the last decade will come back to bite him tomorrow."

"Karma sometimes does work out in visible ways," the monk said.

"Sometimes, not quickly enough," Hisa said. She stood up, holding the sake jug. "But tomorrow will be interesting." With a smile, almost as if she were anticipating what the next day would bring, she bowed slightly, and went inside.

The headman's eyes followed his wife's form as she disappeared inside. "You did a good thing today, Houshi-sama, taking care of Maeme-chan."

Miroku inclined his head. "It seemed to be the right thing to do. I will not let her go back to that man. You know that."

Tameo nodded."Well, you have my blessing," he said. "And the backing of my family on this. Something will work out. You let us know if we can help. I'm not sure what's going to happen next, but . . . "  
>"But be careful, Houshi-sama," Susumu, freshly returned from taking Hisako home, said as he walked up to join the men. "If anything goes . . . well, not the way we hope it will, he will be coming first in your direction."<p>

"I have no doubt," Miroku said, nodding. "Still, forewarned is forearmed."

"Let's not think about that just this moment," Tameo said. "He's safe enough where he is."

"For the moment," Susumu said. A chicken began to walk up towards Koichi. The farm worker threw a rock in its direction, and it backed off squawking.

"Our problems should be as easy to shoo away as that bird," the headman said. "Go inside, son, Your okaasan's been fretting about you going to the wedding in your work clothes."

Susumu shook his head, slowly, almost in amazement. "The world's going crazy, and she's worried about what I'm wearing?"

"It's how she deals with the world going crazy," Tameo said. "Go get ready."

Miroku finished his cup of sake, and putting down his cup, he picked up his staff and stood up. "I, too, should be going. My wife has her own ways of dealing with how the world goes crazy."

"I bet," Tameo said. "Well, if there is trouble, you know where we'll be."

"Indeed." Miroku smiled. It wasn't totally forced. "Ah, weddings. Don't give Shinjiro too hard a time."

"Just enough. Otherwise, he'd think we didn't approve."

That got an honest laugh out of Miroku and he headed home.

Not far from the headman's house, Sukeo, head bowed, stepped out of Koume's house and sat down on the verandah, resting his head in his hands. His dog, who had trailed behind the boys a good bit of the day, walked up and nuzzled the boy on the cheek. Sukeo wrapped an arm around the animal, until suddenly he pulled the animal close. The dog gave him an affectionate lick.

Fumio, Koume's husband and the village blacksmith, pushed a cart laden with charcoal towards his workshop. He paused for a moment, and watched the two of them.

"It's good to have a friend like your dog there, boy," he said.

Sukeo looked up and nodded. His eyes glistened, but he was managing to keep his face smooth and noncommital, a skill he had developed dealing with his father's temper.

"Where's your brother?" the smith asked.

"Your daughter Nahoi-obasan is trying to get him to eat something," Sukeo said. "She's different. It's almost like . . . well, she's kind of treating Nakao like . . . like . . . "

"Like he was a pet?" Fumio asked.

Sukeo sucked on his bottom lip. "I...I didn't want to sound rude."

"It's all right, son. Nahoi-chan is what she is, and I know my daughter." The smith gave the youth a reassuring smile. "Is she having any luck?"

Sukeo shrugged. "I guess. He drank some soup."

"Well that's something. It's been a rough couple of days for him." The smith began to push his cart. "And for you, too. I'm going to the forge. You're welcome to follow me."

Sukeo looked up at the smith, surprised. It was well known how he didn't like boys coming to his forge. He let go of his dog, and slowly stood up. "Really?"

"Really. I need to check on my fire there. With everything that happened this afternoon, I got out without properly shutting down."

The two walked over to the workshop. Sukeo watched respectfully as Fumio banked the fire he kept going there, then looked around. The building smelled of smoke and metal. Along the walls, there were shelves where the smith kept his tools - tongs and hammers, things Sukeo didn't know the names for, things with odd shapes he guessed the smith used to shape objects and pots, and a big tank of water. On one side of the room, there was a neat row of tools to finish metal items after they had been forged. Against another wall, there was a small collection of farm tools, like hoe blades the smith had recently made, and a new axe head.

"So, boy, what do you think?" Fumio asked, looking up at Sukeo as he walked around the workshop, curious, but careful not to touch anything.

"I think . . . " Sukeo looked at the smith. "Some of the boys say you do magic."

"It's fire and oil and water and muscle, not magic," Fumio said, shaking his head. "It might be easier if it was magic." He stood up and brushed off his hands. "So what do you think?"

"I think . . . " Sukeo scratched his head a moment. "I think . . . you must know a lot. It's a lot more to know than just when to plant barley and rice."

"Ha. I have to know that, too. I plant my own, and I have to have the tools ready for the people who need them when it's time. There is a good bit to know," the smith said, nodding. "Metal has its own ways, just like the soil does. It took me a few years before I really could make anything worthwhile."

Sukeo walked over to look closely at the smith's tools. "These are different than wood hammers, aren't they?"

"Yes they are. Iron behaves differently than wood." Fumio picked up the hammer he had been carrying earlier. "I think this one's my favorite. I use it a lot." He put it down. "My father had one like that. When he passed on, we buried it with him. It was such a part of him, it didn't seem right to leave it with anybody else."

"Did he teach you?" the boy asked.

"He did, indeed," the smith said. "And his father taught him before me."

Sukeo gently touched the hammer's handle. "My otousan . . . he's not good at teaching. My ojisan taught me more stuff. And Haha-ue." For a moment his voice grew rough, and he swallowed hard, then looked up at the smith. "Was it hard to learn?"

Fumio rubbed his chin, looking thoughtfully at the young man. "Counts what you mean by hard. I made mistakes. I got better. It took me a while before I was strong enough. But good things are worth learning to do right."

"I guess," Sukeo said.

Fumio reached over and picked up a smaller hammer, laying at the far end of the tools. "Here," he said, handing it to the boy. "This was the first hammer my otousan had me use."

Sukeo took it, and sagged a moment at the weight, as if surprised by how heavy it looked, but then he lifted it up, and swung it once in a short arc. "It has a nice feel to it. How old were you when your otousan did that?"

"Oh, about your age," Fumio said. "Think you can handle that much weight?"

Sukeo nodded. "It weighs less than the water I haul every day." He lifted it again and tapped it lightly in his hand.

"Do you think you might be interested in learning how to use it right?" the man asked.

"You're asking me?" Sukeo said, surprised. "Me?"

"If you'd want to," the smith said. "Could use an extra pair of hands around the workshop."

"But the other boys said you never let them get near here." Sukeo handed the hammer back to the smith.

"You're not the other boys." Fumio rested a hand on the youth's shoulder. "A good man needs good friends. I think you want to be a good man. Is that true?"

Sukeo, at a loss for words, nodded.

"Well, then. We'll talk about it some more later. Let's go see if my daughter has gotten through petting your brother. I suspect it's time to go visit your okaasan."

Still not sure what to say, Sukeo nodded, and followed the blacksmith out of the shop.

In a different part of the village, Masayo, Erime's brother gave his drum a loud thump.

"She's on the road to meet her lover,  
>Love, ah love,<br>Yoi, yoi, ya.

"Hear her heart beat,  
>Love, ah love,<br>Yoi, yoi, ya.

"It sounds like a waterfall thundering.  
>Love, ah love,<br>Yoi, yoi, ya.

"Underneath that waterfall there lives a dragon  
>Love, ah love,<br>Yoi, yoi, ya.

"Tonight, tonight, he'll see the dragon,  
>Love, ah love,<br>Yoi, yoi, ya."

"You're living dangerously, son," Takeshi said, looking at his son, noticing the look that Ushimi was giving them.

"That's nothing," the younger man said, unapologetically. "I seem to remember two sisters who serenaded Sakami and me with just that song."

"We did, we did," Erime said, hiding her giggle behind a fan.

They reached a fork in the road, and Takeshi turned left.

"We're not going by the temple?" Sakami asked. "I thought that was the closest way to Daitaro-ojisan's house."

"No, no, dear," Ushimi said, patting her younger daughter's hand. "Hisa-sama asked to join in the procession. She and Tameo are family, so . . . "

"You're sure it's not a plot to let everybody see how beautiful she is?" Sakami asked, smiling as Erime dropped her head a bit and blushed.

"Would I do that?" Ushimi asked.

"Yes," Takeshi said. "I do believe you would."


	264. Chapter 264

_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 264**

While the wedding party moved towards the main street of the village, Kinjiro stepped out of his house and began walking to the headman's house. He was dressed in something besides his usual farming outfit of short hakama and narrow sleeved kosode, and instead wore a crisp gray set of clothes. As he moved, he looked uncomfortable, treading carefully, as if wearing fuller and longer hakama was an oddity for him, which it was. His wife, Matsume, trying hard not to giggle as she watched him, followed behind. She was also dressed in better clothing, a fine kosode of pale blue and yellow, worked with embroidery. It favored her complexion, but did not quite hide the fact of her swelling pregnancy. Her long flowing black hair was set free from the usual head scarf, and with the lights of amusement shining in her eyes, she looked radiant.

Tameo, sitting alone for the moment on his verandah, watched the young couple as they neared him, and smiled, not the least because of the way his youngest son behaved about going to a social event. He decided, though, not to tease him. Instead, he nodded approvingly as they reached the verandah. "Someone, at least, is ready to go," he said, loud enough to be heard inside the house. "Maybe we'll be ready by the time Takeshi reaches Daitaro's house."

At this, Matsume did laugh, a soft pleasing sound.

Kinjiro gave his wife a stern look, but instead of being apologetic, she giggled again, hiding her face behind her sleeve. The young farmer crossed his arms, and his usual scowl when not working deepened.

"You are ready to go, aren't you, son?" Tameo asked.

"Are you sure I should be going?" Kinjiro asked. "The only men who're going to be here until we get back are Jun and Koichi. Riki-chan and Isao and Aki might make the equivalent of one more, maybe. I don't know what any of them would do if something went wrong. What if - "

"Yes, you should be going," Hisa said, stepping out of the house. "Chime-chan is expecting all of us. And she wants you to sing."

"Sing," Kinjiro said. He took a deep breath. "Sing."

For some reason, this made Matsume giggle. "You do have the best voice in the village, husband," she said. "Especially after a cup of sake." She took his hand and gave if a quick squeeze. "After today, you deserve a good evening."

He didn't say anything, but his scowl deepened a little, until his mother caught his eye. Sighing, he gave in, knowing there would be no arguing with her and he gave her a nod.

"Chime-chan adores your singing, son," Hisa said. "Enjoy tonight. Tomorrow's going to be rough enough as it is."  
>"Besides, Eiji and Haruo are making the patrols tonight," Tameo said. He nodded towards the lockup. "Nobody's broken out of there on their own yet. They'll keep an eye on things. I trust them."<p>

"Nobody's broken out yet," Kinjiro said.

"And, it's going to stay that way," Susumu said, stepping out on the verandah.

He, too, was wearing clothing different than his usual, dark blue in contrast with his brother's gray, and was sporting a new eboshi hat.

"You're sure Emi said she needed to stay with Fujime tonight?" Hisa asked. She shook out her sleeves, and adjusted the fan she carried in her obi.

"That's what she told me," Susumu said. "She didn't think it was quite right to leave all our crowd to let Fujime-obasan and Kimi-chan try to keep them in line. Mitsuo . . . "

"True, true," Hisa said. "Riki knows his ways pretty well, but we all know what a handful he can be. Rather takes after his father." Susumu coughed into his hand. "If they're going to stay with Fujime until after the meeting tomorrow, I guess I shouldn't begrudge her Emi's help."

"Let's head out of the gate," Tameo suggested. "The wedding procession should be passing by soon."

The small group headed for the street.

At Daitaro's house, there was nothing left to do but wait.

"I hate waiting," Chime said. "I think that's the hardest part about having a wedding, the waiting."

She had made tea for Kagome, and for her daughter-in-law who had come into the house with a basket of fresh rice cakes.

Mariko reached over and patted her mother-in-law's hand."You can hold your grandson if you need something to do, Okaasan," she said. The little boy stuck a finger in his mouth as she shifted him, then opened his arms to the older woman as she passed him to the older woman. "He's always a handful after his nap."

Chime smiled up at her daughter-in-law, then turned to her grandson. Waving her fingers at the child, she got him to make an interesting gurgling sound, and then he popped more fingers in his mouth. "Very much like his otousan was. Funny how that works out."

"That's what I've always heard," Kagome said. "Although my okaasan always said I was more like my otousan than her."

Mariko reached into the basket she brought and took out one of the cakes. She offered the basket to her companions, but both refused. "I wonder, Kagome-chan, what your son is going to be like when you have one. I' bet he'll be even more of a handful."

For some reason, this made Kagome blush. "I don't know," she said, taking a sip of her tea to hide her embarrassment "InuYasha hasn't told me a lot about his boyhood."

"He'll be a handsome little thing, I bet," Chime said. She picked up her grandson and leaned him on one shoulder, bouncing him a bit, which seemed to please the child. "Especially if he gets his father's hair color. And better, he'll be surrounded by people who will think well of him." She looked up towards the front door. "From what I have heard, I don't think your husband had the best time of it when he was young."

Kagome nodded. "After his mother passed on . . . "

"Still," Mariko said, "He turned out well. Once he stopped being so grumpy . . . "

The young miko giggled.

"Oh, we did hear some arguments when you were going towards that old well the taijiya used to use," Chime said. She grabbed her grandson's hand, which was starting to wrap around a handful of her hair. "Mustn't pull Obaasan's hair. It's not nice." Mariko handed her a rattling toy, which the boy took, and jingled with much satisfaction.

"I hear you gave as good as you got," Mariko said. "I sometimes wondered what it would be like if all the village wives could have a charm like the one Kaede-sama put around InuYasha-sama's neck."

"Oh dear," Chime said, laughing. "The village would no doubt be filled with husband-sized holes. Can you imagine Chiya-chan and Michio?"

Mariko covered her face and laughed, but then sobered. "It might have been nice if Maeme-chan had been given one though."

Kagome sighed. "It might have indeed. She certainly could have used it more that I need it now."

"Why is he still wearing it, if you don't mind me asking," Mariko said, taking some of her tea.

"I talked to Kaede-obaasan about it," Kagome said. "She says it was a permanent thing. Maybe after she passes on, the magic will lessen, but she can't remove it, and I can't either."

"Ah," Chime said. "Magic has its own ways. Still, it looks good on him."  
>"It does, doesn't it?" Kagome said.<p>

Singing came from outside, Genjo's clear voice obviously amused.

"If you tend the eggs,  
>you might get chickens,<br>lift it up,  
>lift it up."<p>

Chime put down her tea cup. "Oh dear, what is your husband up to now?" she asked Mariko. She handed her grandson back to his mother and stood up.

Someone outside imitated a rooster crowing, a very good imitation.

"He's not doing that one is he?" Mariko said. "He better not be playing with a bucket of water. If he spills anything on his clothes . . . "

"If you tend the chickens,  
>they'll crow in the morning,<br>lift it up,  
>lift it up."<p>

"Don't drop it!" Daitaro called out. "Your okaasan will have your hide if you do."

There was laughter coming from the men.

"What's going on?" Kagome asked.

"Oh, it's a game," Mariko said, putting her son on her hip and standing up. Chime was already heading for the door. "It can be a bit messy."

Kagome got up and followed.

"If you wake up from the chickens crowing  
>you can tend to your fields,<br>lift it up,  
>lift it up."<p>

"You almost lost it!" Shinjiro said as the women stepped through the door.

Daitaro was sitting down, almost doubled over. InuYasha was off to the side, looking perplexed and a little nervous. Shinjiro was standing up, close to his brother, but out of immediate range, holding a rice measure, filled with rice.

All eyes were on Genjo. He was standing there, turning in slow circles. He held a hoe balanced across his shoulders, his arms spread wide to keep it from falling. On his head, he had an empty rice tub, which he was wearing something like a hat. He spun around carefully, and tried to grab the rice measure from his brother Shinjiro, who joining in the spirit of things, was doing his best to keep it away from him.

"If you tend your fields,  
>you'll get rice in the autumn<br>lift it up,  
>lift it up."<p>

Genjo lunged towards his brother, but this time, the rice tub slid over his eyes, and he stumbled bumping into his brother, and the hoe went flying off his shoulders, almost hitting his father.

"Genjo," Chime said.

"Don't worry, Okaa," he said, smiling. "I didn't put any water in the rice tub. I won't get wet."

He grabbed the rice measure from his brother, and headed towards Daitaro, who handed him the hoe.

"Try not to hit any of our guests," the older man said.

"Would I do that?" Genjo said.

"You almost got InuYasha when you tried to balance the rice tub," Shinjiro said.

"Bah," Genjo said. He straightened the rice tub back up on his head, then deftly balanced the hoe back across his shoulders, his arms outstretched. The rice measure he gripped in his left hand. He looked at Shinjiro. "Get ready to hand me the shovel."

His brother picked it up.

Genjo, spinning slowly, started the next verse.

"If you harvest your rice,  
>you can afford to get married.<br>lift it up,  
>lift it up."<p>

Kagome walked over to her husband, being careful not to get too close to Genjo's dance of the farm tools. InuYasha looked at her with some relief.

"Why is he doing this?" he whispered to her. "He made a joke about showing Shinjiro all the things he would need to balance being married, and the next thing I knew, he was putting the rice tub on his head."

"For fun, I think," Kagome replied.  
>InuYasha stuck his hands in his sleeves, and his ear flicked. "Strange idea of fun, if you ask me."<p>

"I think, maybe the waiting's getting to everybody," Kagome said, placing a hand on her husband's arm. "Maybe this is his way of dealing with it. It's a balancing game?"

"I guess," the hanyou replied.

This time around, Genjo successfully managed to grab the shovel from his brother without dislodging the hoe. He looked funny as he slowly spun, arms outstretched, rice tub almost blocking his vision, measure in one hand, shovel in the other.

"My sons," Chime said, shaking her head. "Why?"

"Good husbands need good balance," Genjo said. "I was showing Ani-ue how it was done."

"Heh," Mariko said. "Is that why you dropped everything when we came out?"

"All that beauty," the young farmer said. "I got distracted."

"So now you are balancing everything a good farmer needs," Daitaro said, rather amused. "Are you learning anything, Shinjiro?"

"That my brother has a strange sense of humor," the bridegroom said. "Maybe he should have been a juggler."

"You might be onto something there," Daitaro said. "So now you're juggling everything a good farmer needs?"

"Almost, Otousan," Genjo said. He stopped his circling. "You want to do the honors?"

"You'd better not spill it," the old man said. "Don't make your okaasan unhappy."

"Please," Chime said.

"It'll be all right, Okaa," Genjo said. "You'll see." He began to turn again, and began the next verse. Daitaro got up and headed inside.

"If you can afford to get married,  
>you can tend to your wife,<br>lift it up,  
>lift it up."<p>

"So much advice," Mariko said. "Has he been like this all the time I was busy?"

"He's your husband," Shinjiro said. "What do you think?"

Genjo laughed. "How often do I get to tease you?"

"He's as bad as Souta," Kagome said. InuYasha looked down at her, but happily saw no homesick shadow there. Instead, she was watching Genjo, fairly amused.

"If you tend to your wife,  
>you'll want to sleep late,<br>lift it up,  
>lift it up."<p>

"I bet you won't want to come out and work early tomorrow morning," Genjo said to his brother. "I wouldn't be surprised if we don't see you until after lunch."

Shinjiro smiled. "Fewer jokes that way. Besides, I bet you'll be nursing an aching head and Mariko will be laughing at you," Shinjiro replied. He looked up at his sister-in-law, who was staring at her husband with a look between highly amused and irritated.

"Oh yes," she said. "Might even be a good time to bang the pots together."

"I could lend you one or two," Chime said.

The young farmer ignored all of that. "If you sleep late," he sang, circling around one more time,  
>your wife will sweep you out,<br>lift it up,  
>lift it up."<p>

Daitaro walked out, carrying a cup. "The last thing to balance, son."

"And the tastiest," Genjo said.

"If your wife sweeps you out,  
>then drink some sake,<br>lift it up,  
>lift it up."<p>

The old farmer held the cup to his son's mouth, tipping the liquid into the man's mouth. Genjo, arms outstretched and hands filled managed to get the entire drink down in one move, not spilling a drop or losing his hoe.

"Well, I can tell who's son he is," Chime said.

"Indeed," Daitaro said, smiling.

Genjo shrugged off his hoe, then dropped the shovel. "Now it's Shinjiro's turn. Let's see how well he can balance everything."

"You will not," Chime said, moving in to take the rice tub off of her son's head. "You're lucky you didn't put a bucket of water on your head like usual, or I would send you to Tameo's lockup to keep Seiji company."

"Okaa . . . " he said, smiling. "It's just for fun."

InuYasha looked at all of them, and shook his head. "This is supposed to be fun?" he asked Kagome.

"Well, it passes the time," she replied.

His ear swivelled, like he had heard something, then he turned and looked towards the village. "Just in time, too. I think we're about to have company."

"They're almost here?" Chime asked.

"Sounds like it," the hanyou replied, nodding. "I hear a drum and singing."

"Quick!" the older woman said. "Get all this put away. It's time!"

As Genjo reached down to pick up the farm tools, Shinjiro's lips curled into a strange little smile. "Time. I didn't think it would ever get here."


	265. Chapter 265

_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 265**

Miroku stepped through the door of his house. "I'm home."

"I'm glad," Sango replied. She had her back to the door. "Dinner won't be long."

He leaned his staff against the wall near the entry door and slipped off his sandals before looking up. His home was amazingly calm. Sango near the fire pit, keeping an eye on the pot that held their dinner while folding the clothes she had washed earlier. Naoya, their son lay in his basket cradle, wiggling his fingers and staring at them like they were the most amazing things. In one corner, his daughters were playing with their collection of interesting rocks and their stick dolls. Kaede was nowhere to be seen.

"It smells good in here," he said as he stepped up on the wooden platform of the floor and walked over towards Sango. "I didn't realize I was hungry."

Sango, still not turning, chuckled.

"Otou," Yusuko said, looking up. Noriko dropped the rock she was stacking, and stood. They both moved towards the monk, but stopped. She turned her head and stared at her father, frowning.

"Otou," Noriko said, pointing. "What?"

"That," Miroku said, pulling the large bone boomerang off of his back, "belongs to your Okaasan."

Sango spun around, clutching an unfolded towel in her hand. "Hiraikotsu? You brought it down from the shrine? But why?"

A voice from the back room began a deep and mournful keening, followed with Kaede's soft voice saying soothing words. Miroku looked in that direction, a combination of sympathy, worry and resolution.

"Just say it was a hunch," the monk said. "Just in case."

Sango got up and walked over to her husband, and took the weapon, running her hand lovingly across the bone surface. "You don't think something will really happen, do you?"

"I...I don't expect it to," he said, relinquishing it to his wife. "Let's just say, with everything going on, I'd just rather be prepared."

Sighing, she nodded.

In a much less somber mood, the wedding procession, after picking up the headman and his family, made their way past Kaede's small house and on towards the hill where Daitaro's home lay.

Some of the villagers, not attending the wedding proper, had joined in the journey, to offer congratulations, to give the bride and her family small gifts of flowers or sweets for luck, and to admire the beautiful girl in her splendid robe walking the path that would lead her out of being just one of the girls of the village into becoming a wife.

Benika, who had never gone home, even after the headman had tried to send her home, and Kimi, who had slipped away with her daughter Tazu, on a break from the crowd at her mother-in-law's house for a little, trailing behind, began to serenade the procession:

"See the green pine needles,  
>two by two<br>they hang from the bough  
>like husband and wife,<br>even when dying  
>they fall from the tree,<br>couple by couple."

Jiro, one of the young boys who trailed behind them, made a rude noise.

"What's your problem, son?" Choujiro said. He also hadn't made it home yet.

"Love, love, love," Jiro said. "Bleh."

"Oh, I can tell he's still too young." Masu, walking with Choujiro and his daughter, laughed. "Just wait. In a year or two he'll be mooning over some girl or the other."

There was a ripple of laughter.

Masayo used that as a cue to pick up the song.

"See, now, see  
>we bring one half<br>he has the other.  
>Two by two<br>husband and wife  
>like pine needles<br>together."

"Do you still remember when your parents brought you to our house?" the headman asked his wife.

"I was so nervous," she said. "I knew I was going to trip and fall the moment we entered the compound."

"I knew I was going to say something stupid," he said. "All I could hear was my heart beating in my ears."

Hisa laughed. "You? You always find something to say. But what I remember is your smile. You looked like a cross between being happy and ready to run at the first chance."

"I probably felt that way," he said. "I was so afraid you would think badly of me. You were so beautiful, and me, well you know what I look like."

"I'm glad you didn't run," Hisa said. "It would have made me very sad."

He reached out and took her hand and gave it a little squeeze. "Me too."

Takeshi and his wife exchanged glances, overhearing the older couple, giving away the fact they had been thinking about their own wedding day.

"I remember - " Ushimi started to say when there was a noise from the back, and they turned to look.

Akemi, one of the boys who was a fan of InuYasha's fishing style, was twisting Jiro's arm, and the boy was yelping.

Susumu began to move toward them, but Tameo pulled his sleeve. "They're just being boys," he said. "Like you."

The village guard gave them a hard look which the boys totally ignored.

"All right, all right," Jiro said. "I'll do it."

Akemi, and another boy began clapping an interesting rhythm.

"Don't tell me," Susumu said. "Not that one."

Hisa laughed. "Doesn't someone always sing it?"

Jiro started it, and others joined in, either singing or clapping out the rhythm

"Will the bride's tears,  
>will the bride's tears<br>pour down  
>pour down<br>as she leaves her mother,  
>leaves her mother<br>to enter her husband's house?  
>Yayoi sa, o so wet,"<p>

The boys started to making mocking crying noises behind him.

"She looks like a rather happy bride," Kimi said.

Benika nodded. "Just about as happy as you did on yours."

Tazu, walking next to her mother, nodded. "I hope I look that happy when I get married."

"Me too, child," Kimi said, patting her daughter on the back.

The song did not go unnoticed at the front of the procession.

"At least it's not the rabbit song," Tama, giggling a little, whispered to her sister. Erime who was already smiling, chuckled.

"Hey, Jiro," Masu said, pulling on the sleeve of the singer. "Shouldn't you be fishing or something?"

"We already did that," one of the weepers said. "He's just mad because his fish got away."

"Or because it's not his sister leaving home," another boy said.

Jiro gave his friend a small shove and went on with the next verse.

"Let her wipe her eyes  
>on her sleeve<br>on her sleeve  
>as she leaves her mother<br>leaves her mother  
>to enter her husband's house.<br>Yayoi sa, o so wet."

The boys wailed and mock-wept into their own sleeves.

"Maybe Akemi's father ought to apprentice him to the actors," Hisa noted, watching his antics.

"I hear that someone said that about Kinjiro-chan," Matsume said. Kinjiro snorted. She patted her husband's arm. "Maybe it's a good thing they didn't. He'd only be good for serious songs."

While Kinjiro rolled his eyes, his parents, and those around them snickered.

"What will her mother-in-law say  
>seeing such a wet sleeve,<br>such a wet sleeve  
>as she leaves her mother,<br>leaves her mother  
>to enter husband's house?<br>Yayoi sa, o so wet."

The song's tempo increased, and Jiro did the last verse in a mock woman's voice:

"Go do the laundry, bride,  
>and wash the clothes,<br>was the clothes,  
>for you have left your mother,<br>left your mother  
>to enter your husband's house.<br>Yayoi sa, o so wet."

One of the girls who had been walking with the group had a bucket. Benika walked over to her and whispered into her ear. The girl's face lit up and she nodded. Right as he finished the verse, she ran up behind him. With a small heave, she tossed some of her water onto the singing boy.

"Who's wet now?" she asked, watching him sputter.

A lot more laughter ran through the crowd.

"And I just got dry from going fishing!" Jiro said.

As the group started up the hill, most of the well-wishers took that as their cue to go. They were about to enter the fork in the road that would lead up to Daitaro's house when Takeshi stopped the procession.

"Wait a moment, daughter," he said, standing in front of the group.

"Is there something wrong?" Ushimi asked, joining her husband.

He looked at his wife and smiled. "No, I just wanted to look at my daughter one last time while she's my daughter and responsibility, and see how lovely she is. And to make sure she's ready to start her new life."

"I am," Erime said. Her eyes glistened. There was a little nervousness in them, but a lot of excitement and happiness. What he saw pleased him.

"Good, good." Takeshi looked over at his son. "You know the proper version of that song the boys were singing, don't you?"

"The one they sang when Sakami-chan walked up to our house?" the younger man asked.

"Ah," Sakami said. "I still remember how you watched when I came up. I was wondering if anybody could smile more."

"Oh, and you weren't?" Masayo said. "That and blushing. I didn't know cheeks could turn that pink."

Smiling, she gave him a playful nudge.

He turned back to his father. "I know it enough," he said, and began beating a rhythm on his drum. "If I miss a few words, well, I'll think of something."

"I'm sure you will," Tama said, a bit cheekily. "You're good at that."

As he laughed, the line began moving again, and as they spotted Daitaro's house, and the group of people outside waiting, he began to sing.

"Is the bride happy  
>leaving the house of her mother<br>to live in the home of another,  
>does she wet her sleeve<br>with hidden tears,  
>her eyes bright with excitement?"<p>

Seeing Shinjiro, Erime dropped her eyes a little, and did indeed begin to blush.

"Love, love,  
>how fast her heart beats."<p>

"Huh,"whispered Tama. "I don't remember those words."

"Hush," Erime replied.

"They say love beats in the heart  
>like a dragon,<br>a dragon that causes  
>the blood to boil<br>with a wonderful heat.  
>Look how she blushes<br>the happy bride."

"It's true," Erime said, her voice too soft to really be heard.

"And what will the groom say  
>when he sees her coming,<br>walking with her mother  
>walking with her father<br>will he open his hand  
>and sit her beside him?<br>Let the other men be jealous,  
>for her eyes are only for him."<p>

Chime and Daitaro moved towards the procession, leaving Shinjiro standing in front of the doorway, Genjo and Mariko to the right of it, InuYasha and Kagome to the left.

Just before the wedding procession reached them, Takeshi held up his hand and the group stopped.

"Come, daughter," he said.

She looked up at him, his own eyes filled with happiness, and a wistful something and she swallowed, then gave a quick nod. She took a step forward, flanked on each side by one of her parents.

The two groups of parents bowed their greeting.

"So," Daitaro said, jovially, smiling at his new daughter-in-law. "We didn't scare you off, did we?"

Erime laughed a little, covering her mouth with her sleeve and shook her head.

"I give you my daughter," Takeshi said. "Take good care of her, old man. That son of yours . . . well, she evidently thinks a lot of him."

"I do believe you're right," the old farmer said. "And he does for her as well. He has good taste."

"Welcome to your new home, daughter," Chime said. "We're so glad you're here."

Erime bowed "Thank you, Chime-okaasan, Daitaro-otousan." Her voice trembled only a little bit. Daitaro took her by the hand and led her to where Shinjiro, his face hard to read, but his look intense, stood.

"Takeshi has given us their daughter, son. Now she is yours to cherish." The old man put the girl's hand in the young man's. "Take good care of her."

"I will," Shinjiro said. His voice was firm, but his eyes glimmered.

Erime, not quite able to hold his gaze but smiling brightly, looked down as she moved next to her man.

"Well, everybody," Daitaro said. "Don't just stand out here. Let's go inside!"

_**A/N - I'm not sure but there is a chance that the next chapter may be late. I wanted to give everybody a head's up. On the road!**_


	266. Chapter 266

_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 266**

_A/N Back from vacation, so on with the story...we resume the usual Tuesday/Thursday schedule unless I mention it in an a/n_

As the sun began to set across the village, things were for the moment, rather quiet at Tameo's complex. A cat wandered between buildings, the walkways empty of the usual patter of people coming back from a day's work. Something though, caught her attention, and she pausing to listen for a moment as ear flickered, catching a sound. Suddenly, as if she disapproved of what she heard, the cat scampered away to hide behind the headman's house.

A rather pleased voice filled the air, moving towards the front of the farmstead.

"Happy is the house  
>when the master is away."<p>

Jun, Tameo's farmhand, full of dinner, and in a rather mellow mood, headed from the back kitchen, carrying a heavily loaded tray, moved to the front.

"Happy is the house  
>when the children are asleep."<p>

The tray he carried had rice balls heaped up on separate platters, and bowls of soup, and a fat little jug on it. He passed the headman's house, and walked toward the lockup building.

"Happy is the house  
>when the foreman is gone."<p>

Koichi, sitting before a small fire he had made against the approaching gloom, looked up at his coworker. "That's a funny song for you to be singing, man," he said, grinning as his friend approached. "Especially since you do the foreman's job around here."

Chuckling, Jun stopped in front of the lockup, bent down, and slipped a plate of food through a slot in the door. "Eat, if you're smart, Seiji."

"Eat shit," Seiji said. His voice was barely a croak.

"Ah, my woman serves better food than that," Jun said, and walked over to join Koichi. "Hisa-sama says she's the best cook in the household."

Putting the tray down with a flourish, he concluded his song:

"Bring out the food,  
>bring out the song,<br>cups, cups,  
>cups all around."<p>

"I don't see any cups on that tray," Koichi said.

"Ah," Jun said, sitting down. "I thought we might just use the jug. But you might want to eat something first. Better to do that before we get rid of its contents."

"I know what I'd really like to get rid of," Koichi said, looking at lockup building.

"Oh, I'm pretty sure that we'll take care of that by tomorrow." Jun picked up the jug. "We may not be able to go to the wedding, but there's no reason for us to just sit and be gloomy. So eat and celebrate." He took a swig from the jug. "Either to Shinjiro's good fortune on marrying that girl of Takeshi's, or what'll happen tomorrow. Tomorrow - I'm looking forward to it. It's got to be a damn sight better than today."

"For us, anyway," Koichi said. "Not so sure about our companion there." He reached for his soup bowl. "To the hells with him. He's earned it. Probably be just as noisy, though." .

"I bet," Jun said. "Especially if Hisako-obaasan shows back up with all her women. She can put up a real squawk when she's aggravated. Must take after her otousan."

The old farmhand smiled, and drank some of his soup. "She can indeed. Usually I run the other way when she's in one of her moods. For someone her age, she can sure swing that stick of hers." He rubbed his head, as if remembering a time or two when he had felt it himself. "For once, though, that's a noise I'm looking forward to, I think."

"Fuck it all," Seiji croaked from within the lockup. "Fuck that old bitch and you, too."

"Definitely looking forward to." Koichi picked up a rice ball. "Morning can't come quick enough."

While Koichi ate his supper, Sadayori, the ghost of Seiji's father, floated up to the branches of a tree by the river.

"So that's where you got off to, son," he said as he perched himself and stared down through the leaves. His voice was like a whisper of wind. Kagome might have heard it, or Miroku, but for the man he was talking to, it was just a touch of breeze running through the tree.

Below him, Sadayori's younger son, Yoshimi, unaware that he was being watched, sat on a rock at the river bank, and for the moment, dangled his feet in the water. Oddly, this was this same place where Maeme washed her clothes, although there was no sign of her work, just a few large rocks at the edge of the riverbank. The sun was very low, almost setting, and it touched him with a honey-colored light where it broke through the evening shadows. He showed the signs of a hard day, still bearing the scratches and dirt he had picked up after being roughly handled by both the family rooster and the mob earlier. None of this had helped his mood, his face frowning as he sat there, obviously in deep thought. He grabbed a pebble from the ground next to him, and tossed it into the water with a solid plunk.

The ghost looked at him with sorrow from his perch on the tree. "Ah, son. I wish, I wish . . . You were just too young when I passed on. Maybe if your mother had still been around," he said. "It's hard enough being a second son. I had hopes things would be different. But . . . but . . . "

Yoshimi picked up another pebble, a white stone. For a moment, he just looked at the rock in his hand. Closing his fingers over it, he began to hum, and then started to sing:

"The mountain snows are cold  
>the wind howls in the trees<br>and the Snow Woman dances  
>while I sit by the fire.<br>Will you travel that pass tonight?"

The ghost was joined by ball of light, unseeable to mere mortal eyes. With a quick pop, Kazuo leaned back against the tree trunk, steadying himself in his more solid body. The branch bent a little at the sudden input of his weight. Sadayori, having no weight, didn't stir as the tree limb rebalanced.

"Don't be too hard on yourself, man," the kami said. "Seiji was destined to be a handful. But the one thing you can say for him is he never turned on his younger brother, and he always made sure there was a place for him. He's got at least that much good karma. And Yoshimi is young. He still has possibilities."

"Bah," Sadayori said. "Look what he's turned out to be. A layabout, who hides behind his brother and uses him for a weapon."

Yoshimi tossed the rock into the water.

"Perhaps I should step outside,  
>light the lamps to show you the way,<br>but the snow is so cold  
>and the fire is so warm<br>Surely you can find your way."

"I suspect that's about to change," the kami said, rubbing his hat over the top of his head. "That woman he's going to marry . . . well, he'll work off some of that karma with her. He might even become an elder one day himself, if he makes the right choices."

"Choices," the ghost said, sighing. "That's the problem of being a ghost. You get to see all the mistakes your bad choices led to afterwards."

"You should try being a kami," Kazuo said. "You nudge and nudge, and get to see people make the same stupid choices over and over, generation after generation."

Yoshimi tossed another rock.

"You looked so sad when you left  
>to travel that distant road,<br>Bundled up in your straw cloak -  
>I hear the mountain wolf howl,<br>But I'm safe by the fire."

Shaking his head, the young man took a drink out of a sake jug, the same one he had put back earlier in the day. "Damn you, Eiji. Stay home, he tells me," he said. "Lay low. How am I supposed to lay low when Ani-ue is locked up like that? What am I supposed to do?"

Sadayori sighed again. It was a soft sound, like wind in the branches of a willow tree. "Yoshimi's made a lot of bad choices," the ghost said. " Are you sure he's going to make the one you're expecting? And his brother . . . has he ever made a good one?"

"A few," the kami said. "Seiji came home and fathered those grandsons of yours."

"Maybe the only thing he did right," Sadayori said, looking at his son. Yoshimi had stood up, and rested his hands on his head, looking woebegone at the water in front of him. "This one . . . I don't know what to make of him."

"He's worried," Kazuo said. "Maybe he takes after you that way. I'm hoping he'll learn something before it's all over. Choices will be made. I think he'll make the ones we talked about. But even if he doesn't, things will work out."

"How can you be sure?" Sadayori asked.

"It's an auspicious day," Kazuo said. He smiled a little, a wry smile, not really mirthful. Once again he rubbed his hat over his head. "Besides, one of the luck gods owed me a favor. Things will work out."

"Damn all of them," Yoshimi said, then kicked a rock into the river. It was too big, and he stubbed his toe, and hopping, grabbed his foot from the pain.

The kami sighed. "Some way or the other."

At Daitaro's house, where nobody was contemplating the fate of Seiji or any of the dark moments of this strange day, the wedding party filtered into the main house following behind Shinjiro and Erime. Kagome and InuYasha, standing near the door, watched as Takeshi and his wife and family funneled themselves to the left side of the room, Masayo cracking a joke that made both of his sisters blush and his wife give him a playful nudge as they did so. Takeshi sat down next to his daughter, patting her hand encouragingly, while Daitaro sat himself next to his son. Tameo settled down next to his cousin. Just before she took her seat, Hisa called her sons to her, and surprisingly, Kinjiro and Susumu joined the bride's side.

Kagome, watching all this as they stood at the entryway, grabbed InuYasha's hand, her hand hidden by the draping fabric of his sleeve. He turned and looked at her. She sucked on her bottom lip as she watched the group settle down, and made no move to step into the room.

"What's wrong?" the hanyou asked.

She leaned into him a little. "I don't know where to go," she said, in a voice just barely above a whisper, but loud enough for her husband to hear. "In my time, the bride's family sits on one side, and the groom's family on the other, but we don't belong to either. And why did Susumu go sit with Takeshi's family?"

"Don't ask me what to do," InuYasha said, giving her hand a little squeeze. "Nobody ever wanted me at social things. But I bet Chime knows where she wants us."

Almost as if she had been eavesdropping on the young couple, Chime stepped down onto the domo, walking to the doorway, and pulled gently on Kagome's sleeve. "Still out here? Come in, children. We can't get started until everybody's seated. I have a place just for you two."

InuYasha and Kagome followed the older woman in. There was a gap in the seating between Hisa, who was sitting next to her husband, and Mariko, who was sitting next to Genjo. "Hisa wanted to be able to watch when I bring out the pickles. She's going to be the witness, you know," Chime said, smiling at InuYasha. "All the women will want to know whose pickles you like best."

"There's some for everybody," Mariko said, "But especially for you. I'm betting on Amaya's pickles, myself. They're very good."

"I hope you're hungry," Genjo said as InuYasha settled down. "Okaasan's been working on that pickle tray all afternoon."

InuYasha looked up at his hostess, who was all smiles as she walked around the room one last time to make sure everything was ready to start. Her eyes met his, a touch of anticipatory triumph in them that made his ear flick. "Me too," he replied. "Me too."


	267. Chapter 267

_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 267**

While the wedding crowd moved into Daitaro's house, Fumio the blacksmith guided another group of people towards the hill on the east side of town. Instead of walking the usual way up, past the home where the wedding was taking place, he chose the back way, a route which took them past the village shrine and would lead them to Miroku's temple and home.

They had paused for a moment at the shrine, saying a brief prayer, but then Koume, Fumio's wife, rested her hands on the shoulders of Sukeo and Nakao.

"Come on, boys," she said. "I am sure the kami heard our prayers. Now it's time to go visit your okaasan."

The group filed off quietly, both boys caught up in their personal sorrows.

Twice Fumio started to say something as they walked, but hesitated. He scratched his head, and decided on words to break the quiet."So, Nahoi-chan got you to eat something?" Fumio asked Nakao. "It's not good to go too long without eating."

His voice sounded oddly out of place in this stretch of the path, a tree-lined stretch of road that rose up at a gentle pace that would take them to the temple. It sounded loud, and although spoken in a friendly tone, almost harsh.

The boy looked up, surprised at the sound, then nodded his head, not meeting the smith's eyes, almost as if he felt embarrassed by having given in and eaten. His face was still quite bruised; the dark patches and the evening shadow made him look even more withdrawn.

"She's good at that type of thing," Koume said, gently. Her voice was softer than her husband's as if she too found the sound of speech a bit jarring."And it's a good thing. The medicine Kaede gave you can be hard on an empty tummy."

"I guess," the boy said. He rubbed his hand across his stomach at her words as if it were already bothering him.

Koume sighed at how withdrawn the boy was behaving. "I know it's been a hard day, son, but your mother's safe, and now it's time for you to get better. Does your head still hurt?"

He shook his head no, but even as he did it, he winced.

"Don't be a baka," Sukeo said, giving his brother a little nudge on the shoulder. "If you hurt, you need to tell someone. How are you going to help Okaa-san if you're hurting too much to do anything?"

Fumio rested a hand on the older boy's shoulder. "He's just trying to be strong, son." The smith looked at Nakao. "Isn't that right?"

"I...I don't want to be a baby. I can handle it," Nakao said. He looked up at his brother, irritated by his brother's reaction. "What's a little headache? I'm not a baby anymore."

"No, you're not," Koume said, giving the boy a gentle smile. "But I'm sure your brother is just concerned. It's been . . . well, I've said that already. But on days like today, sometimes, it's easy to be too worried sometimes to be as nice as we need to be. Kaede-sama will still be at Houshi-sama's. If your head really starts to hurt, you should tell her. Your brother is right. It won't be . . . helpful . . . if you hurt too badly. Seeing you in pain may make your okaasan feel worse."

Nakao's eyes widened at that. "I...I didn't think . . . "

"Our job on this visit is to bring your mother some comfort," Fumio said. "I'm sure I can count on both of you two to try your best to make her feel as good as possible. She'll need you to help her feel more . . . hopeful. Right?"

Sukeo looked at his brother, then up at Fumio, who looked at him expectantly. He took a long breath, and nodded. "It's hard. Today . . . I . . . I will try to do my best."

"Good boy," Fumio said.

They passed the little temple, and all took a moment to bow respectfully, even Nakao, who found the motion uncomfortable.

"Do . . . do you think Miko-sama has some medicine that won't make me sleepy?" Nakao asked.

"I don't know," Koume said. "But we can ask."

As they made the last turn that would lead to Miroku's house, they heard a loud swooshing sound. They weren't the only ones surprised. A flock of birds flushed out of one of the trees nearby as the sound made its track, rushing away with irritated squawking.

"What was that?" Fumio asked. "That's an odd sound."

"I told you so. I knew you couldn't have forgotten," a man's voice said, just beyond the trees. It sounded like Miroku's voice. It was followed by the sounds of small children making noises of appreciation.

As they stepped into the clearing that surrounded the monk's house, they spotted a rather pleased-looking Sango standing in the area not too close to the house, and well away from the family garden. In the twilight, she was holding a large bone boomerang. Miroku, holding his daughters, looked even more pleased than his wife.

"I guess some things you just don't forget," Sango said. She gave the strange weapon a fond caress.

"Indeed, my lovely Sango," the monk said, trying to keep a squirming Noriko in his arms. Giving up, he let her down, and her sister quickly followed. As he watched them gather around their mother, he gave her a smile, but his eyes were serious. " I feel better knowing you have Hiraikotsu at hand. I'm not expecting any trouble, not really, but . . . "

"But it never hurts to be prepared," the smith said, walking up to the little family.

Miroku turned towards the group walking his way. "Ah, Fumio-sama. You've brought the boys. I'm glad. Their okaasan has been asking for them. And yes, I believe you are correct."

Nakao walked up to Sango. "What is that?" he asked, lifting a hand up, and reaching out just a little, but not feeling daring enough to touch the boomerang. "It's so big."

"It's called Hiraikotsu," Sango replied. "My father gave it to me when I was just a little older than you. It's a weapon to fight youkai with."

"You fight youkai?" the boy asked, honestly surprised.

"You don't remember?" Sukeo said, his tone once again a bit sharp. "She helped fight that big youkai that sent those shouki bombs all over the village."

Nakao shook his head. "I thought it was just InuYasha-sama."

"Oh no, son," Fumio said. "Sango-sama and Houshi-sama both helped defeat the monster. And Kagome-sama as well."

"I just remember hiding," Nakao said. "I was afraid the monster would eat us."

"A wise boy," Miroku replied, patting Nakao on the shoulder. "Hiding was probably a good thing. Are you ready to see your okaasan? I think she's been hoping you would come back."

Nakao nodded.

"Well, let's go then," Sango said. "Besides, I need to get the girls in before it's too dark."  
>Draping her boomerang over her back like old times, she reached for Yusuko, who was playing with an interesting rock.<p>

"At least this awful day is nearly over," Koume said.

"But we're going to have another interesting day tomorrow, I suspect," Miroku said, grabbing Noriko.

Fumio nodded. "I suspect you're right."

"What . . . what is going to happen tomorrow?" Sukeo asked.

"The elders . . . will try to make sense of today," Koume replied.

The young man's face grew pale. "It's . . . it's not going to go well for my otousan, is it?"

"We'll have to wait and see," the monk replied. "We'll have to wait and see."

While Sukeo let the reality of what the next day might mean for his father sink in, at Daitaro's house, thoughts were far away from what might or might not happen to Seiji.

Daitaro stood up at his place before the assembled group, who were just getting well settled. "Well cousins, we have finally managed to make it here to this special day. I was beginning to wonder if Shinjiro would make it here in one piece -"

"He didn't dare not," Genjo interrupted. "Okaasan would have hunted him down and made him eat all the food she cooked if he didn't. At one sitting, too. Even if he were a ghost."

There was a ripple of laughter across the room, but Chime, who was readying the sake cups, merely shook her head fondly.

The old farmer snorted. "As I was saying, if he would make it here in one piece or run away screaming because his younger brother was enjoying teasing him too much."

"Maybe she would have made you eat all the food, instead," Mariko said, nudging her husband. "Even you couldn't handle that much. You would have burst."

Genjo rubbed his stomach and smiled. "But what a way to go!"  
>"Maybe I should have," Shinjiro said, smiling at his brother. "But I'd would have wanted to watch, so that wouldn't work out very well. You are saved, little brother."<p>

Daitaro coughed into his hand. "But nonetheless, the day is finally here. Erime-chan, welcome to our family."

The old farmer sat down.

Tameo stood up next. "When Daitaro came and talked to me about what he and Takeshi had cooked up for these to people, I admit I was surprised. I think it hadn't donned on me how that little Erime-chan, who would come to our house with the other girls for sewing lessons and sometimes beg me for sweets had grown into a woman. When did that happen?"

"They have a habit of doing that," Takeshi said. "I tried putting weights on my girls' heads to keep them young, but it didn't work." He looked at Erime, and smiled. She blushed prettily, but her sister laughed. "It won't be long before your oldest granddaughter will be pulling the same stunt on you."

"Ssssh," Hisa said. "I'm not ready to think of that one."

"But now, here they are," Tameo continued. "Ready to start their lives together. Shinjiro, once again, we welcome you into the role of husband."

"For better or worse," Susumu said. Hisa gave him a look, and he swallowed. "Although, with Erime-chan, I'm sure it's going to be for the better."

"There is a song my otousan sang at my wedding," Tameo continued. "I have sung it at the weddings of my sons. If you'll put up with an old man whose voice isn't what it used to be, then as leader of our ko, and priest to the family kami, I would like to sing it to you. And may the kami bring it to be."

He cleared his throat, and in a much better voice than he would admit he had, began singing.

"Happy is the day  
>when a man brings home his bride,<br>then the sun shines on him,  
>and the gods give him a blessing.<p>

"Happy is the day  
>when the man first holds his child,<br>then the sun shines down on him,  
>and the gods give him a blessing.<p>

"Happy is the day  
>when the man sees his son wed,<br>then the sun shines down on him,  
>and the gods give him a blessing.<p>

"May you walk in the sunshine,  
>with the gods' blessing<br>surrounded by the faces  
>of your grandchildren to come."<p>

"Thank you, Tameo-ojisan," Shinjiro said, nodding his head in appreciation. "Today I do feel blessed."

"Well you have received the first blessing, Shinjiro," Chime said, as she looked at the young couple. "And you too, Erime-chan. Myself, I'm looking forward to the second one."

Once again, Erime blushed.

"Sometime soon for you, too," Mariko whispered to Kagome. "Then you'll really begin life as a family."

Kagome looked down at her hands, and InuYasha's right ear flicked. He leaned towards the young miko and whispered to his wife. "Are they going to talk to us about children like this until we have one?"

"Probably," she said.

He raised an eyebrow thoughtfully for a moment, then shook his head. "Feh. They're all like Miroku." He reached over and patted Kagome's hand. "Everybody wants to tease."


	268. Chapter 268

_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 268**

The sunset was fast sinking below the horizon, casting long shadows in Tameo's courtyard. In the area near the lockup, the little fire Koichi had made was beginning to throw warm highlights on the faces of the two men sitting next to it.

A cat came wandering by and rubbed up against Koichi's leg. He brushed a hand against the animal's back nearly without thinking. Pleased, the cat curled up into a ball and closed her eyes.

"Cat has a good idea," the farm worker said. "I'll be glad when I can curl up in my own bed."

"I'm afraid we have a while to wait," Jun said, looking at his companion. "Tameo-sama wants us to keep watch until they get back."

"Doesn't seem fair. All that food . . . " Koichi sighed.

"Oh, there'll be some for us when they get back," Jun said, reaching over to the small stack of wood Koichi had brought out for their use. "Knowing Chime-sama, it'll be good. And if they run out, you know Hisa-sama will make it up to us." He grabbed a good-sized piece out of the stack.

"I guess," his companion said. "Still rather be doing other things."

"You and me both." Jun threw the piece of wood on the small fire, and a cascade of sparks flew up. He stared at the fire a few minutes, watching the flames lap it and it start to catch. "So I wonder what they're doing right now?"

Koichi scratched the back of his head, thinking."Oh, if I know Daitaro's bunch, someone, Genjo maybe, is saying something to make Erime-sama blush," he said. "Easy to make a bride blush. Your Riki sure blushed easy when you brought her home."

Jun laughed. "And I remember you didn't miss a chance our first week to tease her. I laughed when she threw that bucket of water on your head."

Taking his very last bite of food, Koichi smiled at the memory. "She's a strong thing, your woman. Puts up with you well enough." Having finished his soup and rice, he leaned back on his elbows. The cat, unpleased by Koichi's change of posture, wacked its tail on the ground three times, then moved into a position where it could sleep undisturbed.

"So what else do you think they'll be doing?" Jun said.

"What else will happen at the wedding?" Koichi reached for the sake bottle, and took a sip. "After Genjo thinks he's embarrassed Erime-chan enough, Daitaro-sama will make a joke about the quality of Tameo's sake and how everybody but him is a lightweight, Kinjiro will pout, but Hisa-sama will probably persuade him to sing something that's clean, and Masayo will probably try to sing something rude. After the women get him to stop, Takeshi-sama will laugh at all of it."

"That sounds about right to me. Especially the part about the sake. Old man Daitaro is mighty proud of his sake. Although," Jun said, grabbing the sake jug they had from Koichi's hand and taking swig for himself. "Tameo-sama's sake isn't half bad, if you ask me." He gave the jug an affectionate pat.

"Ha," Koichi said, obviously amused by his coworker. "That's because you and me and Tameo-sama are the one who make it."

"Has nothing to do with it," Jun replied, putting the jug down. "I know what tastes good."

"I wish I could hear the singing," Koichi said, looking up at the sky. "I want to know if Masayo sings the rabbit song. Everybody knows how his sister reacts"

"He wouldn't dare," Jun replied. He too looked up. Venus was shining very brightly, and a couple of other bright stars, but it was still too light to see most of them. "Wonder if they'll get home before moonrise?"

"Heh," Koichi said. "I bet Shinjiro's wondering if he and Erime-chan can get away before moonrise. Last quarter moon. It'll be midnight before it's up."

"He'd better be careful," Jun replied. "He'll be too drunk by that time if he doesn't watch out. I remember when Genjo got married. Getting sick on your wedding night . . . " He looked back down and shook his head.

Koichi began humming. Jun picked up the tune and began singing.

"Girl with the flower in your hair,  
>Be careful to lift your skirts.<br>Your husband is a mighty man  
>and he might tell you a thing or two<br>if you come home with hems  
>wet with the midnight dew.<p>

"Girl with the flower in your hair,  
>brush off that grass on your back.<br>Your husband is a mighty man  
>and he might tell you a thing or two<br>if you come home with a back  
>covered with bits of grass."<p>

"Sing that around Hisa-sama, and you'd get that look she gives people," Koichi said, grabbing the sake jug from his companion. "I don't like that look. Somehow, it makes me feel like a little boy getting caught trying to steal a rice cake from my mama's kitchen."

"You noticed that, have you?" Jun said, laughing. "It works even better on Susumu-sama."

Koichi took a drink from the jug. "And sing it at a wedding, and I bet she'd do more than look at you."

Jun chuckled. "But she's there, and I'm here now."

"She always finds out," an amused voice said.

They turned to see Eiji walking up. He was carrying his club, the sign he was doing his official village guard patrol, but it was tucked into his obi, and instead, his arms were crossed in mock disapproval.

"Checking up on us, are you?" Jun said.

"Someone has to," the village guardsman said. He sat down next to the two farm workers. "Just ask Tameo-sama about Hisa-obasan. He'll tell you. She always finds out. It's like she has some spiritual power about things like that."

"Bah," Jun said, taking back the sake jug and taking another swig. "Rumors, rumors. I know a thing or two about Tameo-sama that she's never found out." He offered the jug to Eiji. "Can't tell you what happened. Old man swore me to secrecy."

Eiji accepted the jug and took a short pull on it. Wiping his mouth with the back of his hand, he grinned. "Oh, I wouldn't be so sure," the village guardsman said. "More likely she just didn't decide to make an issue of it. She's a clever general, choosing her battles wisely."

"You're all a bunch of fools," Seiji croaked from the lockup. "No woman pushes me around like that."

All three men turned their heads to the little building, none pleased by the sound.

"Did you hear a frog?" Eiji asked, looking at his companions, but speaking loud enough for Seiji to hear.

Koichi was far less amused. "You don't know shit," he said. "Shut up."

"I know better than to worry about whether my woman knows if I did something she didn't like," Seiji said. "She wouldn't dare tell me I couldn't." His voice, even though strained, dripped with scorn.

"Fat lot of good it does you," Jun said, spitting.

"I wouldn't talk if I were you," Eiji said. "Our women are safe at home. Where's your woman?" He passed the jug back to Jun. "Our women didn't try to walk into the river, and will be home when we get back. Our women want us to come home. What about you?"

Something, maybe his food platter, flew against the side of the lockup, and it was followed by the sound of breaking pottery.

"I'm not going to clean that up," Jun muttered. "I don't care if he cuts himself and bleeds to death."

"That bitch Maeme," Seiji said. He would have yelled if his voice could have handled it. "She's got something coming to her, pulling a stunt like that. Wait until I get out of here."

"You're going to go through the elders and Houshi-sama to go beat her up some more?" Koichi said. He grabbed the jug from Jun's hand, and took a long deep swallow. "That'll really make her want to come home."

"Shut up," Seiji said. "That damn monk. She's mine. He can't take my woman away from me like that. Once I get out of here . . . "

"Once you get out of there, you'll be lucky if you get to keep your head," Eiji said, standing up. "Going to go finish my rounds." He looked down at the two farm hands. "Send for me if you need some help keeping him quiet tonight."

Jun nodded.

"No man takes what's mine," Seiji muttered. "Monk's going to find out what that means tomorrow."

"Nobody took anything, you stupid fool," Eiji said. "You threw her away." And with that, he headed out.

At Miroku's house up on the hill, the monk led his wife and the others inside. Sango reverently placed Hiraikotsu next to the stand where she kept her sword, and then threw some pine wood on the fire pit to increase the light in the house. "It's getting dark," she said.

"It is indeed, lovely Sango," the monk said as he let his daughters down. "That back room gets too dark for a visit." Miroku walked over to a storage shelf in the domo. "I'll put the lamp back there for now."

"A good idea," Koume said. "I have heard that troubled people do better when there's a light available."

"Kaede must still be with her," Fumio said. "If she's sleeping . . . "

"We're awake," a voice called from the back.

"Well then," Fumio said, looking at the boys, "let's go see here." He led his wife and the boys to the sleeping room door.

"Are you ready?" Koume asked in a low voice. "Remember, you're here to make your okaasan feel better. Be soft-voiced, and smile if you can. And don't argue. She'll like that."

Nakao nodded, although it made him wince a little bit. Sukeo rested his hand on his brother's shoulder. "We will do our best," he said, just as softly.

"Good boys," Fumio said, and knocked on the door.

"You can come in, " Kaede said. They could hear the old miko moving as Fumio slid the door open.

As the door slid to the side, the boys peered in. In the dim light, they could see their mother, still wearing Sango's borrowed kosode, sitting up in her bed. Her face revealed nothing, looking emotionlessly at the far wall. As she turned her head slowly to look at the newcomers, for a moment, real feeling flickered in her eyes, a deep sadness almost painful to look at. Nakao made a small, wavering smile in her direction, and her mask snapped back into place, replaced by a smile that was merely made by turning up her lips, with no feeling behind it.

"Nakao-kun," she whispered. "Sukeo-kun. You came back. I..."

The boys looked up at Fumio. "Is... is she fox-possessed?" Sukeo's hand tightened on his brother's shoulder as he asked it. "Otousan used to ask that about her. I never believed him . . . " His voice was soft, and he was looking at Koume, but it was loud enough for the woman to hear, and she hung her head. "I...I..."

"No, child," Koume said. "Your otousan has said many wrong things. She's merely very sad."

"It's been a very hard day for her." Kaede walked to the entrance, carrying a half-filled soup bowl. "Her soul is tired, more than her body. Come sit down, sons. Spend some time with your okaasan. You two can be the best medicine for her." She looked back at the woman, her usual calm troubled as she looked at her patient. "It should do her some good."

Nakao nodded, and stepped inside. Sukeo chewed on his lip a moment.

"I'll sit with you if you'd prefer, son," Koume said. "I know when Naohi-chan was sad after . . . it was a hard thing to just be there. Other people can help."

He looked up at her for a moment. "I...I..." He shook his head and squared his shoulders. "No. My okaasan needs me." He stepped across the threshold.

"You're sure this is what she needs?" Miroku said, returning with the lamp.

"As sure as I can be," Kaede said. "In affairs of the soul . . . being surrounded by love helps."

Miroku nodded. "Let's hope."


	269. Chapter 269

_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 269**

There are many dwellings in the August Fields to house the myriad beings who have a right to live in that realm; all the minor kami who aid their families and their lands, their sacred trees and wells and mountains, all the major kami who care for the land and sea and air. Sometimes, the deities live there year round as long as time flies, sometimes, they spend most of their time on earth and only attend matters of the kami court; others seem to be both places constantly.

The dwelling Kazuo was ushered into by a pretty maiden in a flowing silk robe housed one of that last type.

It was a pleasant enough place. Kazuo found himself standing in a room of rich polished wood, dark with age. Light cascaded through well-made shoji windows. It didn't have that royal polish of one of the highest of the high, Spartan except for a few beautiful things of the best quality that made them feel spun out of light and shadow, but it was far larger than Kazuo's own little corner of the August Fields. It looked nothing like one would expect the home of an important spirit to live; in many ways, it looked like the dream home of a prosperous peasant. Food stores filled cabinets, barrels and vats filling the domo and shoved against one of the walls. Piles of fabric in brilliant colors of silk took up one corner, enough to be stock for a fabric vendor. Tools and toys decorated walls. There were well-made mats on the floor and good arm rests for those who sat on them. Fine chests lined one wall, filled with all manner of goods, overflowing their drawers and piled on the tops. Giggling maidens dressed in bright blues and red sat around the fire, cooking out of multiple pots. Others worked near the window at the loom and spinning wheel. The air smelled of food and spice and happiness.

"I have brought him as you asked, Dono," the maiden said, bowing.

Kazuo, following the maiden's lead, bowed very low.

"Very good, Kiku-chan," a warm voice said.

Leaving the two alone, she hurried back to her loom.

"I was wondering if you were going to show up," the figure in front of Kazuo said. They could have been brothers, these two deities; pleasant looking men, men of the people who understand sweat and work, although instead of a hoe, the speaker had a hammer in hand, and looked more like a merchant than a farmer. "You've been busy, I see, with your charges. Quite a web you have woven. And taking such good advantage of this rare day the Heavens have sent you."

Kazuo, relaxing a bit, straightened up and nodded. "A web? I'm not sure if I would call it that, not really. I prefer to think of it as baiting a trap. I had to do that a lot when I was a farmer. Rabbits, rabbits. They could do so much damage."

"I have heard that," said the kami. He smiled, and bid his visitor to sit down on one of the mats while he took another.

Kazuo settled down where he was directed, and put his hoe down politely alongside of him. "The thing about traps, even if they are for rabbits, is everybody is free to choose another route, but if they go the way I think they will . . . Well, they made the choice. I can't make them go that way."

"But you suspect . . . " the kami said. He placed his hammer carefully down, then rested his chin in his hand.

"I often caught the rabbits that were troubling me," Kazuo said.

The other kami waved his hand, and like a map, the village was laid out in front of them. At different places in the map, colored lights burned.

"Let's see," said the kami, pointing to the location of the monk's house. "This is where that woman who you want to rescue is?" The light there pulsated dark purple, like an old wound as he pointed to it. "She has had a sad fate to this point. Very little luck at all for a long time."

"That's right," Kazuo said. He pointed to a place right next to Tameo's house, and a dark, ugly cone of light grew, shifting from green to bright red, all the colors of hate and envy and anger mixing into it. "This is where her husband is for the moment."

The kami rubbed his chin, tugging at a well-groomed beard. "Your trap has things that can go wrong."

Kazuo sighed. "It was the best I could do, O Father of Luck. I had been working on this for a while; it wasn't until these two came together that I was able to complete even this much. " He pointed at Daitaro's house, where two lights glowed, one pink, one red. Their light seemed to blend together as it lifted above the map, turning at last into a point of rose light.

The luck kami scratched the back of his neck, then tugged on his beard again. "They are an unusual source, friend. Such a strange destiny. Yes, yes, I think . . . " His voice dropped off for a moment as he studied the map, and he looked up at Kazuo. "You've been quite busy, I see. Clever how you have your trap spread. The woman there with the hanyou - she arrived and suddenly, you're trying to resolve all the problems in the village in one month?"

"Well," Kazuo said, with a grin on his face. "So much power in such a little body. And she has such a good heart and attracts so many things to her. I thought it was a stroke of luck."

The luck kami burst out laughing at that. "Well, friend, let's see if we can make the rest of your trap work just as well. First, let's see about that wedding."

Grabbing Kazuo by the sleeve, the kami tapped his hammer on the ground, and the two of them disappeared.

For a while, the map continued to reflect the village back in the human realm. A bright golden light surrounded the spot that represented Daitaro's house.

One of the women cooking looked up. "The master doesn't take long to get busy, does he?"

"I suspect the bridegroom there is going to have a very good night," said her companion. "Master is good at blessing staffs, you know."

"Especially his own," said one of the weavers.

As they twittered their laughter, the map winked out of sight.

At Daitaro's house, nobody noticed the comings and goings of the kami, not even Tameo who was familiar with the touch of Kazuo's reiki, and not even Kagome, who was paying more attention to Chime, who was pouring sake into cups and placing them on a tray, but as the kami's unseen blessing touched the gathered families, a feeling of contentment settled across the room.

After pouring enough for everybody else, she took a very old cup, black, and larger than any of the others, and poured the wine into it. Daitaro, watching her, got up and walked to the fire pit, as did his daughter-in-law Mariko. Chime handed the tray of cups to Mariko, and the large cup to her husband.

As the woman passed around cups of wine to everybody there except to the young couple, Daitaro stood there, looking a long time into the wine cup.

"They say my otousan's ojiisan married a girl from far away, a village near Kyoto."

"So it's going to be that story," Chime said, smiling at her husband.

"You've heard this before?" Kagome asked Genjo.

The young man nodded. "Although he never tells it quite the same way twice."

InuYasha leaned towards Kagome. "That's the way he is with all of his stories."

Genjo snorted. "You've noticed that, have you?"

Daitaro glanced at his youngest son and guests, and they quieted, but not before Kagome stifled a giggle. He turned back and looked at the bride and groom.

"Yes, my ojiisan's otousan married from far away. They forgot to tell me why he took a bride from so far away," the old farmer said, looking up, "but she brought two things with her when she moved to our village." He swirled the wine around in the cup he was holding. "She brought this cup, and a secret recipe for sake." Daitaro grinned. "My great-grandfather must have been a wise man." He held the wine up. "Look how big the cup is! Her people knew how to appreciate good sake."

Laughter went around the room.

"So," Susumu asked, grinning. "Is that why you think your sake is so special? The recipe comes from Kyoto?"

Daitaro shook his head. "My ojiisan hated that recipe. So instead, my otousan said he went to the little people and made a trade. You know nobody makes sake like the little people - or like to drink it better. Chichi-ue said Ojiisan traded them a barrel of his otousan's sake if they'd take the recipe out of his head, and make him forget it forever."

"Forget it forever?" Tameo asked. "How come I never heard that version? I just heard he had the best formula in the village. Although I've been told my otousan had the real recipe, and yours . . . well . . . "

"That's just what Ojiisan wanted your otousan to think," Daitaro said, grinning. "But Chichi-ue learned the real secrets."

This made Hisa-sama chuckle. "Don't worry, husband," she said, patting Tameo's hand. "You make excellent sake."

"It must have been a really bad way to make sake," Masayo commented.

Daitaro nodded. As he watched, Mariko finished distributing the last of the cups. "Funny, though. As much as Ojiisan hated that recipe, the little people loved it. They gave him a cup of their own sake, a very potent brew, and, although he was in no way a lightweight when it came to handling his sake . . . "

"Like someone else we know?" Ushimi asked.

"Only Daisuke-sama handles his sake better," Daitaro said, "Or so Hisako-obasan tells me."

"I bet that old woman could give you a run for champion," Mariko said. "I've seen how much she can handle at festival time."

The women laughed at this, but Daitaro merely sighed. "Some people have the gift," he acknowledged. "But as I was saying, Ojiisan, even though he was no lightweight, fell asleep after merely one cup. When he woke up, his head pounding, he stumbled home, and immediately brewed a new batch of wine. It wasn't the way his otousan taught him to do it, but the results were good enough to serve to anyone, even if he came from the daimyo's castle. He always said the little people gave it to him."

"I thought you said it was good enough for the imperial court," Kinjiro said.

"We did serve it to a courier from Kyoto once," Daitaro said, nodding. "He told Chichi-ue it was the best sake he had tasted in a long, long time."

"Maybe from the road from Edo to here," Kinjiro said, not impressed.

There were snickers and dark looks for that remark.

"Anyway," Daitaro said, holding up the cup in his hand, "this batch I made with special care." He walked across the room to stand in front of Shinjiro and Erime. "Every step of the way, I had you two in mind," he said, handing the cup first to Shinjiro. "With the cup that my ojiisan's okaasan brought from far Kyoto, drink it together, your first sharing as husband and wife."

Shinjiro took a sip, closed his eyes, and swallowed, handing it back to Daitaro, who handed it on to Erime. Her hand shook a little as she closed around the cup, but she took it, and took a big swallow.

"That's my girl," the old farmer said. "You're not a lightweight like some others in this room."

There was a little ripple of laughter, and Takeshi laughed loudest. "Lightweight, am I?"

"Yes," Daitaro said.

"Too true, old man," Takeshi said, and then raised his cup. "Here's to Shinjiro and Erime. May you always be happy, even in a household where the sake maker makes a brew strong enough to stun his bull."

And then, to the surprise of his host, he downed the entire cup.


	270. Chapter 270

_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 270**

Daitaro wasn't the only person surprised by Takeshi's draining his cup. Up on the rafters, two unseen visitors were watching the action as well.

"That blessing of yours seemed to have some interesting effects there, Daikoku-sama," Kazuo said. "Daitaro is right. Takeshi's always been a bit of a light weight when it comes to sake."

The luck god laughed. "Weddings should be merry moments. Just say I like the look of the bride and groom."

"Considering what an odd day it's been," Kazuo said, nodding, "I'm sure everybody will appreciate it."

"Why don't we go down?" the luck god asked.

Kazuo nodded. "Let's do it this way," he said. And with a wave of his hand, all the movement in the crowd below froze as he pulled himself and his companion outside of the flow of time.

"Huh," Daikoku said. "You seem to do that a lot."

"Forgive an old family kami," Kazuo said. "I'm not so swift in my considerations as some. Even when I was just a farmer, people complained it took me too long to come to any decision. This way, I get the time I need to really look at what's going on."

"You can get a good look this way, it's true," the elder kami said. Everything below them was frozen. In some ways, it was an odd picture. Daitaro, his eyebrows raised in surprised approval, was looking in Takeshi's direction. Takeshi had just taken the cup away from his lips. Ushimi, Takeshi's wife, was looking at her husband with wide eyes, knowing her husband's circumspect ways when it came to drinking, while his son, grinning, had his hand ready to strike a note on his drum. The oddest thing about the moment, though, was the fire pit, where a log had just let go a small cascade of sparks. They hovered like motionless fireflies, glowing in the evening light, just popped out of their wood.

Ignoring the fire pit, Daikoku looked at the bride and groom.

"She's a pretty little thing, that bride," the kami said, nodding his approval. Erime, her face radiant, was not looking at her father's unexpected behavior. Instead, she was looking up at her husband, smiling shyly, but with a pleased delight in her eyes. In return, Shinjiro was meeting her gaze with an intensity that spoke of his own feelings. "And the groom, he acts like a man quite pleased with his family's choice."

"I would say so," Kazuo said. "It is a love match, after all. She's the first woman he's looked at that way in a long, long time. It made me happy when their fates began to knit together."

"He has a good heart, that one," Daikoku said. "It's about time for him to have some luck."

Kazuo rubbed his hat over his head, looking down approvingly. "He had a rough time of it for a while. Reminds me of my youngest, in a lot of ways. Neither of them had luck with their first wives."

Daikoku closed his eyes for a moment, concentrating. "I believe they have no such destiny, these two, at least not for a while. It's tiring to look too far ahead."

"And not always very satisfying," Kazuo said, nodding. " It was a sad day when Shinjiro here lost his first wife, and his firstborn at the same time. Wasn't anything I could do to save them, either. I tried a nudge here and there, hoping to change their fate, but the powers in charge of destiny don't listen much to an old family kami when they are working those destinies out. Karma can be a strong thing."

"All the great wheel usually lets us do is smooth the way a little," the luck kami said, nodding. "There are things they have to do, choices they have to make . . . and sometimes destiny is like the tide washing in. Luck can only go so are." He frowned. "The best we can do sometimes is to help them make the right choices. If there's something else demanded, well, you know how that goes. Especially in big things." He looked at the mallet he held in his hand. "Funny how even we sometimes have to deal with karma ourselves when the really big strings get pulled."

Kazuo sighed. "True, true. Look at that woman sitting next to the hanyou."

The luck god looked at Kagome, her face caught in a small laugh, leaning close to InuYasha to whisper something. His nearest ear twisted towards her to catch what she was saying.

"Now she's an interesting one," Kazuo said. "And she has had such an odd destiny about her, both she and her husband."

The hanyou was looking at the group with curious eyes. In some ways he seemed fey and otherworldly, with his odd eyes and silver hair, but he was solid enough, and of the earth at the same time, belonging as much as his wife. Even so, it was clear that he seemed a little unsettled by all the goings on.

"She bears the soul of my saddest moment at being unable to fight against destiny," Kazuo said. "But at the same time, Karma must know what it's doing. Look at how much light runs through her."

"They are an interesting couple," the luck god said, nodding. "Such a twisted fate."

"You've dealt with them before?" Kazuo asked. "I know you knew about them . . . "

Daikoku nodded. "I ran across their tracks a few times three or four years ago. I thought the high gods must be crazy for letting this one happen the first time I saw her - all that game with time. I've known about the hanyou though for a long time."

"I didn't," Kazuo said. "Not until he showed up trailing along with my dear Kikyou-chan."

The luck kami rubbed his chin. "His father and I crossed paths a few times over the centuries - not often. His father, now that was a man who used to laugh about luck. Didn't think he needed it until he did," he said, tapping his hammer ever so lightly on his knee.

As he did, little golden sparks scattered, landing on the gathering below, bestowing a little extra good luck on the wedding guests - Chime would find a hair comb she had thought lost forever, Masayo would win a lucky turn at a game of chance, Genjo would stop teasing just in time not to get hit by Eiji one day in the near future - but these were inconsequential things that didn't mean much to Daikoku - he tended to shed small amounts of good luck at the least notice.

"I offered to give him a boon right before he took the hanyou's mother. I create my own luck, he said." The luck kami drifted down to stand in front of InuYasha. "And he did too, most of the time. But after he met this one's mother, his luck began to run out. Someone, I'm not sure who, threw something dark at him. I tried to help, but there was that smallpox outbreak. Unlucky timing, that was. By the time I got back, he was tainted" He shook his head. "Rubbed off on his young one here, too."

"Not so much anymore," Kazuo said, joining the elder kami. "Ever since this girl released him from the tree he was sealed on, his luck has seemed to improve."

"No, not so much." He smiled a little. "I was able to help a little there. First time I caught up with them, he was having a nasty turn. Got poisoned by spiderheads, and he almost died. Might have, too, but I got curious about his woman. Not that she was his yet. Or he hers. What a strange couple they were. But I was able to give him enough luck to last through the night. Then I found out what their destinies were, and I kept a little eye on them."

"A strange couple? Some might say they still are," Kazuo said, looking down at Kagome. "She shines so brightly. More than poor Kikyou-chan ever did."

"Ah, that girl of yours," the luck god said. "Karma tied my hands when it came to her. That jewel . . . that evil monster . . . "

"My hands, too," Kazuo replied, rubbing his hat across his head again. "Big fates are hard to bear."

"And mine as well." The two kami turned around to see a ball of light come join them. It only took a moment, then Shimame-no-kami, the land kami of the village materialized and stood next to them. She was dressed in brilliant silk the color of spring flowers and fresh leaves. Daikoku looked at her appreciatively.

She noticed, and smiling, bowed low. "Ah, you grace us with your presence, Dono. I did not expect such an August person to be here at any wedding here in our village. You do us much honor."

He returned her bow. "How could I not, lovely Shimame-sama? With such a winning fellow come to ask a favor, and such a lovely land kami to join us?"

Shimame, straightening up, smiled at the kami appreciatively. Something passed between the land kami and the luck kami as their eyes met.

"Kazuo-sama . . . has he explained what he's trying to accomplish?" she asked. The family kami made a face at her tone, pursing his lips, but he said nothing. "I would help, but . . . "

"Some things are best done by those who are meant to do the work," the luck god said. "You do excellent work with the land. Kazuo works with the humans on the land. Do not fret, Dono. He's set everything up quite nicely."

Shimame raised her fan, looking coyly from behind it. "If the August Fields add their blessing, who can stand before it?"

"Did you come to bless the wedding, Dono?" Kazuo asked.

"I bless each and every wedding," the land kami said. She moved over behind Shinjiro and Erime, touched each of them with her fan. "As far as Destiny allows it, be fruitful and multiply," she said, her voice chanting with a soft lilt. "You belong to the land, and the land belongs to you. You are seeds planted this day. Bring forth an abundance, to scatter the abundance of the land on the future. Never forget it was the land that brought you forth; to the land you will return. Grow brightly, children."

A soft rosy glow, nearly the color of her robes touched the couple. For a moment, that rosy glow touched all the couples there, Chime and Daitaro, Takeshi and Ushimi, and their married children. It even graced the hanyou and miko.

"A good blessing," the luck god said.

"Please, Dono. If it would please you, come and stop by my shrine before you leave," she said, dropping her eyes in a way that promised something just between the two of them.

"How could I not, lovely Shimame?" Daikoku said.

Coloring prettily, she bowed once again. "I shall be waiting for you, Daikoku-sama." And then, as swiftly as she came, she was gone.

Kazuo, his face curling up into a rather amused grin, shook slightly as he suppressed a chuckle. "My, my, Dono," he said, staring at the space where the land kami had been. "You must have made quite an impression on Shimame-sama. She may bless most of the weddings in our village, but this time, she outdid herself."

"Maybe," the luck kami said. "A lovely woman she is. Maybe for the people here, it was lucky that I showed up." Chuckling a little at his own joke, he floated back up to his seat on one of the rafters.

"Maybe she's hoping to be lucky as well," Kazuo said, and joined him.

"She might get that chance," the luck kami said, nodding appreciatively. "I had forgotten what a fine thing she is."

"Being the father of luck must have its advantages," Kazuo said, chuckling. "But now, let time have its place so we can do the final blessing." He waved his hand.

Suddenly, it was like the room took a breath at once. The fire popped. Chime looked at it a moment, and decided all was well.


	271. Chapter 271

_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 271**

Unaware of the spiritual visitors watching them in the rafters, the wedding party watched with varying degrees of surprise and amusement as Takeshi downed his cup of sake.

Daitaro broke into a broad smile. "Strong enough to stun a bull," he said. "I wish. Maybe I should try that on Okuro the next time he gets out."

"Don't ask me to help if you do, old man," Kinjiro said, shaking his head. "That bull of yours is a handful enough."

"Maybe a long drink and a willing cow," Genjo replied, looking like he was actually considering it, having chased after his father's bull many times. "A willing cow always works best." He scratched the back of his neck. "He particularly seems to like that cow of yours, Kinjiro. Wonder what would happen if we doused her back with a jug or two?"

"A wet cow and a waste of something we ought to be drinking," Daitaro said, laughing. "But here's to our new family tie to you, Takeshi, and our new daughter." He picked up the ceremonial cup off of the low table where Erime had placed it, saw there was a little sake left in the cup, swirled it a couple of times, and downed it.

From her seat next to her husband's place, Ushimi looked at Takeshi. "Are you all right? You almost never drink like that."

"Never better," he said, grinning at her, then he returned to his seat and sat down. "Some challenges, even I can't pass up."

Masayo hit his drum and laughed.

"I don't think Takeshi-sama likes to be called a lightweight," Kagome whispered to InuYasha, but she couldn't quite stifle her giggle.

"Keh," the hanyou replied. "I think Daitaro-jiiji thinks we all are."

"I know I am," she replied. "I wasn't even old enough to drink back home. It all goes to my head."

"Not allowed to drink?" Daitaro said, turning toward the hanyou and miko. He shook his head. "What a strange place you come from."

"Not for another year and a little longer," she said, giving him a small, nervous smile.

Daitaro shook his head. "Well, lucky for you, we have no such foolish rules here. And especially at a wedding. We'll have to see if you're as lightweight as that husband of yours."

"Enough, husband," Chime said. "After we're finished with the miko's purification, we can talk about sake and drinking all you want. But let's finish the blessings first."

"Good idea, Chime-chan," Hisa said, giving Daitaro a glance that wasn't quite her notorious look, but leaned in that direction. "I'm excited, Kagome-chan. I know you've proven yourself to be a miko more than once, but this is your official act as a miko for our village. I'm just happy to be here to say I was here to see it."

"That's right," Tameo said. "Your first official act. I'll need to write that down in the village register when I get home." He lifted up his own sake cup. "That by itself is worth its own celebration."

"I forgot about that," the old farmer said. He returned to his place. "That's definitely worth a drink."

Sitting down, he smiled, and joined Tameo in toasting the young woman.

"I...I..." Kagome took a deep breath, looked at her husband, who smiled encouragingly at her, and lightly gave her hand a small squeeze. "Thank you, I think."

Even though Miroku's house wasn't that far from Daitaro's, the atmosphere at the monk's house was miles away in tone, where a quiet soberness overlay the voices of the people within, and there was no lightheartedness at all at the moment.

"I think the girls are about gone," Sango said. She had laid a blanket out in one corner for the girls to sleep on, and although Noriko was still trying to fight it, Yusuko was fast asleep.

"Should we leave?" Koume asked.

Miroku stood up and fetched a lamp. "I don't think so, not yet. Let's give the boys a little more time with their okaasan. It's a fair evening. Why don't we go sit on the verandah?"

"That's a good idea," Fumio said. "I bet those girls of yours get to be a handful when they haven't had enough sleep."

Miroku smiled at the blacksmith as he lit the lamp. "You sound like a man who's had some experience with that type of situation."

"You can say that," the blacksmith said, standing up. "Kimi, now when she was this age - I know she seems to want to be the goddess of mercy herself most days now, but I could tell you tales about how un-Kwannon-like she was when she was a small thing."

Koume stood up. "I can't imagine where she got that from," she said, shaking out her sleeves. "Although I know a certain blacksmith who needs a good night's rest himself."

Kaede, sipping a cup of tea as she sat by the fire pit, chuckled. "They should enjoy it while they're young. When they get older, sleep is not such a good friend."

Sango, checking Naoya, who was sleeping in his basket bed, smoothed the coverlet over the sleeping boy, looked up at the old miko. "You don't sleep well, Kaede-obaasan?" she asked, standing up.

"Oh, I sleep well enough most nights. Sometimes, though, life has other plans." She sighed a little, and shrugged. "It's the lot of my work, child."

"I can lay out a bed for you if you'd like," Sango said, moving towards her storage cabinets. "You look like you could use a rest."

"Perhaps later." Kaede looked in the direction of the back room. One of the boys, Nakao from the sound of it, was singing some bright children's song, not loud enough to make out the words.  
>"Please, Okaasan," Sukeo said, in a louder voice.<p>

The miko took a sip of her tea. "I'm not so sure how much sleep this old woman will get tonight."

"Nor I," Miroku said, sliding the door open. "But for the moment, while the birds hurry home to their roosts and the crickets are singing, let us enjoy the evening."

He stepped outside. The other adults, all but Kaede, who was unwilling to leave the house in case she was needed in the back room, followed.

At Daitaro's house, Chime picked up the water bowl she had reserved for the miko's blessing."It's time, Kagome-chan," she said.

"So," said Daikoku the luck god, "the hanyou's wife is learning to be a village miko? I'm surprised nobody has tried to get her into one of the big shrines. She's got a lot of power."

"She does indeed. I've had to use extra power to keep her from noticing us here. But I feel sad for anybody that tries to come between her and her hanyou," Kazuo said. "It will require luck for such a one to get away from this couple with his head still on his shoulders."

"They are tightly bonded," the luck kami said. "By more than just affection."

"You've felt that, too?" Kazuo said.

"It's rather hard to miss," the luck kami said. "Perhaps it will be enough to keep any of the August Court from doing something rash, like trying to put her in a major shrine." He grinned. "With luck."

"Perhaps," Kazuo said. "Let's see how well she handles this situation."

Kagome let go of InuYasha's hand and she stood up. For some reason, her cheeks blushed a little as she walked across the room to the fire pit. "This is the final part of the ceremony," Chime said as she handed the bowl to the young miko. "Just a little sprinkle, Kagome-chan. And whatever words come to mind."

"After that, we can eat," Susumu said. "And after Daitaro-ojisan's sake, I need something in my stomach."

Kinjiro elbowed his brother, but most people in the room laughed, especially Daitaro.

"Soon enough, son," the old farmer said. " My wife, she's cooked enough that even you will go away with a full stomach."

In spite of being a little nervous, that made Kagome chuckle. She took the bowl from Chime with a small bow, and then, a little sheepishly, she looked around the room. Masayo began playing his drum once again, and sang a verse from Tameo's song:

"Happy is the day  
>when a man brings home his bride,<br>then the sun shines on him,  
>and the gods give him a blessing."<p>

All eyes were on her, but in a friendly way that helped her relax. Hisa nodded at her, and Ushimi gave her a broad smile as she looked. InuYasha nodded his head, encouraging her. Taking a deep breath, she straightened up, and gracefully walked to where the young couple were sitting, and bowed.

"This is a happy day, just like Tameo and Masayo sang about. I hope I can keep it happy for you. Kaede-sama was the one supposed to do this," she said, looking first at Shinjiro, and then at Erime. "But if you think I'm a good person for the task, I'll do the purification in her place."

"Of course, cousin," Shinjiro said, with a firm nod of his head. "We're honored. We're happy to be the reason for your first official act as our village miko."

"It's good, good," Erime said. "You've been so happy since you've come back to us; that it has to make the blessing special."

Up on the rafters, Kazuo's face lit up as he thought of something. "Watch this," he told his companion.

Kagome, unaware of the kami's conversation, smiled back at the couple and dipped her fingers in the bowl.

"I was thinking about what my ojiisan, who is a priest told me about water," she said. "Water is how we wash away the impurities of life," she said, looking into the bowl. "On one hand, it cleans the body. He told me that's why we use it as a symbol of cleansing the soul." She dipped the fingers of her right hand into the water. "I offer you this water as the sign of your starting your life together pure and clean. May the kami offer you a pure road ahead." She lifted her fingers out of the bowl and sprinkled them both three times. "May you be blessed all the days of your life together," she said with the first sprinkle. The second time, she said, "May you always prosper."

Kagome took a quick glance at Mariko, who was preparing the food trays, and who had teased her earlier about having children before she sprinkled the couple the third time. "May you be fruitful and have many young ones to bring up and make your life as a family complete."

Mariko, catching the reference to what she had told Kagome earlier, stopped filling a bowl with rice and snickered.

"Thank you," Erime said, then looked at her husband, who rested his hand on hers.

"I am now a married man," he said.

There were cheers than ran around the room.

Kagome bowed, and was about to turn when suddenly, a golden light surrounded the couple, and the air was rich with the smell of fine incense. The gathered group grew quiet for a moment, except for Tama, who ooohed loudly. InuYasha, his nose suddenly assaulted, sneezed.

"What . . . " Kagome said, perplexed, as the golden light began to fade.

"I told you she was a powerful miko," Daitaro said.

"Indeed, our little cousin is something special," Susumu replied.

"But . . . but . . . " Kagome said, knitting her brows together. "I didn't use my spiritual powers. I..."

Tameo looked around the room and up towards the rafters. "Well then," he said, loudly. "That must mean the kami really do approve. Even better." He turned to the newly married couple. "Welcome to married life."

Unheard by human or hanyou's ears, Kazuo chuckled as Kagome, somewhat unnerved, handed the bowl back to Chime, who was beaming at the turn of events.

"Such a beautiful blessing, Kagome-chan," the older woman said. "Everybody's going to want you to bless their weddings now."

As a slightly confused Kagome went back to her seat, Daikoku turned to his companion. "Do you always pull stunts like this?" the luck god asked.

"Whenever I can," Kazuo replied, his smile beaming brightly. "Whenever I can. Now, let's go to our next stop."

And with an unseen shimmer that nonetheless made the room feel a tiny bit darker, the two kami disappeared.


	272. Chapter 272

_ I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 272**

The sky was darkening as the group at Miroku's house filtered out onto the verandah. On the tree that Miroku was fond of meditating under, there were bird calls and the whirring of wings as a small group of birds, slightly disturbed by the exit of humans into their visual space, settled down for the night. It would be hours before the moon would rise, but as the last bit of light faded, the first stars began to come out.

The monk hung his lantern on a hook on the porch. It was already able to cast a warm pool of light on Miroku's face, although in the late twilight, there was still enough light for the adults coming out to find places to sit.

"It's a lovely evening," Koume said, pausing a moment as she came outside "And you have such a lovely view. Remind me to come visit you on better days, Sango-chan."

"I'd like that," Sango replied. "You should see it on a full-moon night, right after they flood the rice paddies."

"If you can get a night between the rain showers," Miroku said, smiling at his wife.

"There is that," she said, nodding.

The two women took seats to the left of the door, Sango closest, in case she needed to get up to take care of her children. Fumio joined the monk next to the lantern and sat down, looking at the path down the hill.

"At least some people are having a good time tonight," the blacksmith said.

"Let's hope they are." Koume shook her head, and made a gesture meant to chase away bad luck. "Chime's worked hard to make tonight special for her son."

"Funny how that works," Fumio said. "Some people work so hard to make life a blessing for their children, and some people . . . "

"Some people seem to want to make their children's life hell," Miroku replied, sighing. "I'll never quite understand that."

"It happens often enough," Sango said. Her hands twitched in her lap, as if they were uneasy with no sewing or cooking to do as she sat in the gathering dark.

"I know," Miroku said, turning to look at his wife. "I've seen if often enough." He shook his head. "But the why . . . why Seiji would treat his family like he does . . . I'll never really understand how a soul gets that twisted. Was his father like that, too?"

Fumio shook his head. "No, no. Sadayori was a good man. He dealt fairly with people, and I never saw him even raise a hand to his boys."

"It was losing his wife, I think," Koume said.

"You might be right," Fumio said nodding. He took his hammer out of his belt and lay it next to him. "When he lost her, the light went out of his life. Yoshimi was just a small thing, too, when it happened. She had gone to her father's village, and never managed to come back."

"Not the usual visit, either. She went off to spite him, if the gossip's right." Koume adjusted the knot on her head scarf just slightly, and looked off into the distance. "If Seiji gets his temper from anybody, it was his okaasan. She would get into these dark moods . . . but he loved her, and put up with it."

"That sounds like Chiya and Michio," Sango said. She stopped for a moment, as if she heard something, and then twisted around, and looked into the house. Seeing nothing that needed her attention, she turned back to her guests.

"Problems?" Koume asked.

"No, nothing. I just thought I heard one of the girls. They can be so hard to get to sleep some nights." She settled back down, and rested her hands on her thighs. "Do you know a lot of people who do things like that, like Chiya and Michio, who have such big fights? I sometimes wonder about those two."

Fumio chuckled a little. "I think we all do. But no," he said, shaking his head. "I haven't met many quite like that. I don't think Seiji's okaasan was quite like Chiya, either. She tried to keep more quiet about it, but maybe she got even more angry."

"I just hope their story ends better than Sadayori's did," Koume said. "Even if they did try to keep it quiet, everybody gossiped about them. Sadayori and his wife had been arguing a lot before it happened." She shook her head. "I think Chiya and Michio have gotten past the point of even caring about the gossip."

"It seems like that," Miroku said. He rested his chin in his hand. "But that were Sadayori and his wife arguing for?"

"The usual," Koume said. "Something about Seiji. He was already starting to get into trouble."

The blacksmith nodded. "He always was a handful, almost since he could walk. His okaasan wanted to send him to her ojisan's, I heard. The man was a craftsman. He made wagons, and had raised three wild sons of his own who turned out all right. He had a reputation of knowing how to handle hot-headed young men, and he was willing, too, but Sadayori wouldn't budge. He was the firstborn, so he needed to stay and help with the farm work. This went back and forth for a while, her mood getting darker and darker as he stood in her way about it. One day, he came home from working the barley planting, and although her boys were home, she was gone."

Miroku tilted his head. "She ran off?"

"Indeed she had," Koume said. "Maybe it would have been better if he had been angry enough to just let her go."

"Maybe so, but that's not how their destiny worked out," Fumio said.

"What happened?" the monk asked.

"The smallpox," Fumio said. "She came down with a very bad case. He went after her, but by the time he arrived, she had passed on. He even got sick. It was weeks before he got home, and when he did, his face was scarred and his eyes . . . " The blacksmith yawned. "Took the uncle she wanted to send Seiji to, as well. Sadayori always blamed himself for her running off. When he came back, he didn't have what it took to control a boy like that. It looked to me that he spent most of the energy he had on repairing the damage his sons caused. He should have remarried, and found a tough woman, like my Koume here."

"Bah, don't try to saddle me with that man," Koume said. "I'd have probably drowned him before he got too strong to fight back."

"Today would have been a different day if you had," the blacksmith said, smiling sadly at his wife.

"Truth," the monk replied.

At Tameo's household, things had grown rather quiet. Koichi had curled up into a little ball, lying on his side. The fire was burning low, mostly coals. Jun, cradling the empty sake jug between his legs, reached a bit wobbly towards the wood stack and snatched a stick which he tossed on the glowing coals.

"Need more light," he mumbled, and reached for another stick. "Hey, Koichi, when's the moon supposed to rise?"

Koichi didn't answer. Jun poked him with the stick. The farmhand slapped at the annoyance, but didn't look up. Jun poked again.

"Go away," Koichi muttered. "Big damn mosquito. Go bite someone else."

Jun poked him again. "You think that's a mosquito?"

Koichi cracked an eye open. "You go away, too. Done celebrating."

"Don't think I'll do it," the other man said, tossing the stick in the fire as well. "Sit up. What type of watch are you keeping like that?"

"Watching that pretty dancer who works at the market," Koichi said, slowly sitting up. He shook his head. "You chased her away with that stick of yours. And she was dancing just for me." He rested his head in his hands. "She was smiling at me. And the old lady who holds her contract - she was nowhere around."

"Ah, lovely woman,  
>dancing by the firelight,<br>you set this old man's blood  
>racing as you smile,<br>I will give you a flower  
>to remember the power of love."<p>

"You should be so lucky, man. Never happen." Jun moved the sake bottle to the side and stretched out his legs towards the fire. "Not unless you bring some good silver with you."

"She does it for free in my dreams," Koichi said, scowling at his companion. "Eager, too."

A mocking laugh came from the lockup. "Only way a piece of trash like you can get a piece," Seiji croaked.

Koichi started to wobble to his feet, but found the effort too hard. "Give me the jug," he said.

"It's empty," Jun said. "Why?"

"I want to throw it at him," the farmhand replied, reaching for it.

Jun grabbed it and moved it further away. "This poor jug doesn't deserve that fate," he said. "To get smashed on the wall or get contaminated by touching that piece of crap. You want to throw something, pick a rock."

Koichi looked at the ground around him. "Can't. I've already thrown them all."

"Didn't do you much good, did it?" Seiji said. "You're just a lazy fat-assed farmhand."

The night was darkening around them, and wove shadows around Koichi's face that made him look feral in the small pool of firelight. He managed to get to his feet as he grew madder at the jibes. "I'll show you - "

"You'll show him nothing," an unseen and unheard voice said. A firm but gentle hand pushed Koichi down. The farmhand landed with an audible oof.

"Stupid feet," Koichi said. "Must have tripped on them."

"Don't let anybody say Tameo doesn't brew good sake," Jun said. "It's doing the job."

Seiji started to laugh.

"And that's enough out of you for now," the voice said, and pointed a finger at the lockup. To Jun and Koichi, it looked like the fire had flared up for a moment.

"Bugs," Koichi said. "Always burrowing into the firewood and sparking when you get burned up."

But for those with spiritual eyes, a golden light had surrounded the lockup building briefly before pouring in through the barred window to wrap around the person inside. Seiji's laughter died almost immediately as he began first to cough, and then to wheeze.

"Not too much," said another unseen, unheard voice. "I know you're not planning to choke him to death."

Kazuo, the bearer of the first voice, turned to his companion. "Oh, it's tempting, but that's not, I think, his destiny. Maybe if we could have convinced his family kami to intervene . . . " Kazuo sighed. "Well, at least the land kami's not fighting me on this one."

Seiji's breathing evened out.

"That's better," Daikoku said.

"It's always better when he's got his mouth closed," the old kami said. "I guess we'll have to continue on with the plan."

"You'll need luck to get it to all come together," Daikoku said. " Especially with players like these."

"That's why I asked you," Kazuo said. "I'm a farmer. All I can do is plant the seed."

"And pray for rain," Daikoku said.

"Ah lovely woman," Koichi said, staring at the fire.  
>"I will give you a flower<br>to remember the power of love."

His voice trailed off, and his head dropped.

"Something like that," the family kami said, rubbing his cap back and forth over his head.

Daikoku walked up to Koichi, touched him lightly with his mallet. An unseen cascade of sparks fell around the farmer. He couldn't see anything, but he must have sensed something, because he jerked up the moment it happened.

"Sometimes, we can arrange that," the luck god said, and walked over to Jun and did the same thing.

"One more place," Kazuo said. "And then . . . "

"And then we'll see who gets lucky," Daikoku said, smiling.

Together, the two kami disappeared into the night. 


	273. Chapter 273

_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 273**

Eiji, the villager with guard duty for the night, was sitting for the moment in his own house, but he knew that he had duties to attend to. First, he stretched.

"Time to make your rounds?" his wife asked.

He nodded. "It's a little early, but the house seems too quiet," he said, standing up. "I think it's made me restless.

Kimi was sitting in her corner, spinning. She wound the length of thread she had pulled out back on the spinning wheel's spindle, then looked up at her husband. "It is quiet, although I don't know how quiet it is at Fujime-okaasan's house. All those children. I tried to get her to send our children home, because of all of Emi-chan's young ones staying the night with her, but she wouldn't hear it."

"That sounds like Haha-ue." Eiji went over to the cabinet, and picked up the lamp that was standing there, waiting for him, and the club that was the tool of the village guard on duty - the sign of his job, and useful for separating rowdy young men or hammering the gong on the watch tower in case of bandit raids. He had used it for both purposes, more than once, but this time he merely tucked it into his waistband. "There's no way she'd want to turn away her own grandchildren when she has a houseful of their friends."

"Well," Kimi said, as she started pulling out another length of thread, "Don't be surprised if she cooks up some scheme or other with Emi-chan."

Eiji picked up a splint of wood and knelt next to the fire pit to set it alight. "Oh? You have any idea what they might be up to?"

Kimi shook her head. "No, not at all. But after I came back from the wedding procession, I saw Hisako-obaasan stop by for a visit. She didn't look very happy."

Sighing, Eiji lit his lamp. "Hisako-obaasan really got upset with the news about Seiji's wife. I know they're relatives, and she's been unhappy about how Seiji keeps her from checking on Maeme, but this surprised me. I thought she was going to really pummel Yoshimi when she cornered him this afternoon. We almost had a real riot."

The corner of Kimi's lips turned up at the image of the elderly woman attacking a strong, young man like Seiji's brother, but a look at her husband, his seriousness intensified by how the lamp cast highlights on his face, made her let it go, and she nodded. "It's probably more than just Maeme," she said. "Seiji's been pushing more and more lately. After the last bandit attack . . . "

"I know," Eiji said. "I'm not sure what the elders are going to do. Maybe InuYasha-sama or Houshi-sama can help there. The monk seems serious about not letting Seiji near his woman."

"Maybe." Kimi wrapped her thread around the spindle and stood up as Eiji headed for the door. "She deserves someone who can help her. None of the rest of us seemed to be able to do anything." She sighed. "I wish I had known just how bad it had gotten."

Eiji turned around and looked at Kim, then moved towards her, wrapping his arms around the woman. "My beautiful Kimi, sometimes even Kwannon has to let destiny take its course."

"I know," she said. "But that doesn't mean to stop trying. Or even to wish it was different."

He pulled her closer. "One step at a time, wife. She's in good hands."

For a moment, Kimi rested her head against her husband's shoulder, then she looked up. "So, are you going to stop by Daitaro-ojisan's while you're doing your rounds?"

"Oh, probably," Eiji said, moving to the door. "I suspect Shinjiro and Erime-chan will already have gotten away before I get there." He grinned. "It's too bad. I won't get to remind him about the potion we gave him this afternoon."

"You didn't." Kimi laughed, and pulled out of her husband's arms.

"We did." He gave her a saucy grin. "What are bridegrooms for, if not to tease?"

"Well, at least he will have gotten away from you before you embarrass him even more." Kimi shook her head. "You and your brother."

"Oh, there's always tomorrow," the village guard said, walking to the door. "Yes, there's definitely tomorrow."

"If I were him," Kimi said, going back to her spinning, "I'd just stay put for at least three days."

"We'd just tease him even more," he said, stepping out into the night.

Sadayori hovered on a tree overlooking the house he had lived in while alive. It was cold and dark, and no smoke streamed out from the roof vent.

He moaned, a sad sound that resembled wind blowing through a crack in the boards of a house, but there was no response. "What have you done, son? I worked so hard trying to make things right, to give you a chance, and look at what you've done. Everybody talks about you with fear or anger, your house is falling apart because you'd rather brood and strike out instead of do the right thing. Your sons . . . sons shouldn't cower at the slightest noise. I've seen how they behave . . . "

There was no one around who could hear him, and he hung his head down, covering it with his hands. "How can I rest, where can I go with so much in such sad shape?"

The only answer he got was the sound of wind blowing a wooden amulet against the door frame in an irregular tap, tap, tap. This went on for many minutes, as the ghost merely sat there and pondered the fate of his family.

Suddenly, the tapping stopped, although the wind was still blowing.

Sadayori looked up, to see Kazuo holding the amulet in his hand. The kami lifted it off its nail, examining it.

"That son of yours," the kami said "Why does he think he needs things like this. If the man who painted this was here, I'd break all his ink stones into a thousand pieces, and throw his brushes into the sea. A nasty bit of magic."

He clasped his hands over it, and for a moment there was a flash of purifying light that seeped through the kami's fingers. When he opened his hands, a small pile of dust drifted away into the wind.

"He's been doing his best to keep the luck away," the kami's companion said. "Although, I doubt if he realizes it."

Sadayori drifted down from his perch and bowed before the two kami.

"He complains about his luck often," the ghost said. "But he was always dense about cause and effect. He prefers to think others are wishing him harm instead of considering he might be the ass."

"A common human failing," Kazuo said, nodding. "How often do you get the blame, Daikoku-sama?"

The luck kami laughed, but it was a sad laugh. "Oh, they're always saying I'm ignoring them. What they don't want to believe is how often they push me away." He looked around the buildings. "How can I bring them any luck when they push me away with that darkness? This whole place reeks of it."

"Why does this happen?" Sadayori asked. "My poor grandsons . . . "

"Choices," Kazuo said. He rested his hand on the ghost's shoulder, and because he was a kami, his hand did not pass through, nor did it harm him. "Everything's set up, as much as we can set it up, friend. Now it's your choice. You're the one who asked me to do what I can."

Sadayori sighed. "So much of this is my fault. If I hadn't asked Tsuneo to protect Seiji. If I had only listened to my wife . . . "

"That was then. This is where we are now," Daikoku said, firmly, but not unkindly. "Luck is in part the art of making the good choice."

"And now it's time for you to choose, old man," Kazuo said. "Do I do this thing or not? He won't get off free; he's done too much for that. But . . . "

"Will it really save my grandsons?" the ghost asked, looking each kami as if they would give him the answer he needed.

"For a time," Kazuo said. "After that, it's their choices. We can just buy them a little time, time to grow up."

"I can smooth their way with a little extra luck for a time," Daikoku said. "But even then, they can choose poorly. Karma requires the freedom to choose rightly or wrongly. That's how destinies are shaped."

"My life has been beset by bad choices," the ghost said, shaking his head.

"Not nearly as many as Seiji has made," Kazuo said. He tapped his hoe on the ground, not in magic, but in a little irritation.

"I'm . . . I'm afraid." Sadayori looked at the ground, knelt down, and picked up a dirt clod. "I've always been afraid. My fear caused so much trouble. Everything," he said, crushing the dirt clod into dust, "everything I hoped for fell apart because of that fear." He looked at Kazuo and straightened up. "I do not know if this will give me peace, or if I'm doomed to haunt this same place forever, but for once, I will stand up to my fear."

He reached out, and rested his hand on Kazuo's arm. "Do it."

The kami nodded. "Consider it done."

At Daitaro's house, dinner had been eaten, and Shinjiro and Erime had been led to the little house in the back with great fanfare, and many jokes, some of which made Kagome blush nearly as red as the bride.

"How long do we need to stay?" she whispered, taking her husband's hand.

InuYasha gave the hand a little squeeze as the door to the little house closed and the mothers of both the bride and groom exited together. "I don't know," he said. "Maybe - "

He was interrupted by Chime. "Rejoice, rejoice," she started to sing.

The song was picked up by several of the gathered family members.

"We rejoice, we rejoice,  
>It's time to be happy,<br>time to celebrate.  
>The bride and groom,<br>like a young pine tree,  
>see how their branches thrive,<br>their needles grow thick tonight,  
>and our house will prosper,<br>Soon, soon come the children!"

Laughter broke out. Daitaro, seeing his young guests looking about nervously, walked up to them, and grabbed InuYasha's sleeve in a friendly way. "Now that we got them to ground, now comes the fun part."

"Indeed," Chime said, joining her husband. "Did you forget the pickles?"

This is how the hanyou found himself dragged back into the house and seated down near the fire. The table that had been used by the bride and groom was pulled around and placed in front of him.

Chime, trying to look serious and official, but failing miserably as she looked up at the young couple, knelt in front of them. "I promised you as many pickles as you could eat, InuYasha-sama," she said.

"But . . . " he tried to think of something to say, but even as he tried to think of a coherent reply, Mariko began to hand her mother-in-law dishes of pickles, which the older woman placed in front of InuYasha with great ceremony.

Soon there were six dishes of pickles of different types: daikon, cabbage and other vegetables, all smelling delicious. In spite of having a full tummy from the wedding dinner, InuYasha found his mouth watering.

"Ooh, look at that one," Kagome said. "That looks like the type Mama would make for special days."

"It is a good one," Mariko said. "Amaya makes them. Her pickled turnip is famous for miles around."

"She does do a good job with it," Chime said, nodding.

Mariko picked the last dish up off of her tray. "And this one is from Sayo-chan, although I suspect Nanami-obasan actually made That's the lot of them. Now, InuYasha-sama, you tell us who you think made the best pickles."

A titter of laughter ran across the room, especially from the women. InuYasha looked up, and noticed that the wedding guests were drawing close, waiting for him to start eating.

His ears drooped a little at the attention, and Kagome giggled. "Come on, InuYasha. You know you want to try them."

He picked up his chopsticks and looked at Chime, then the other women, feeling more nervous by the minute.

"You can do it," Kagome whispered encouragingly.

"Choose, InuYasha," Chime said. "Tell us which one you like the best."

The hanyou gulped.

Daitaro handed him a cup of sake. "Try this first. It might make it all feel better."

Nodding, InuYasha grabbed the cup and swallowed it down obediently, then, as the sake hit his tummy, he picked up a dish and began to taste.


	274. Chapter 274

_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 274**

The stars were beginning to brighten the sky as Kazuo-no-kami looked up. "Well, then, if we're all agreed to let the play begin, let's see what our actors will do with their choices. Wish us all luck, old man," he said, looking at Sadayori.

The ghost didn't say anything, thinking about what he had given the kami permission to accomplish. For a moment, the growing night seemed a heavy cloak. The only sound was the breeze, sighing softly. A dog barked in the distance.

"Well, sooner done is sooner accomplished," Kazuo said.

The two kami looked at each other, and Kazuo nodded. Daikoku knelt down and tapped his mallet on the ground, and a very brief flash of light radiated out from the kami and over the houses in Seiji's family compound and to the woods and fields beyond.

"A bit of luck to smooth the waters," he said. "It feels like the auspiciousness of the day is winding down."

"It is supposed to," Kazuo said. "All gone by moonrise."

Almost as if the mallet's strike had caused it, off towards the river, and heading in the direction of the house, there was a crash in the woods, followed by a slightly drunken-sounding string of curses.

"Our first actor is getting close," Kazuo said, rubbing his hat back and forth across his head. "Let's see if we've been lucky and he'll make the right decisions."

"We're not puppet masters," Daikoku said. "All we can do is smooth the path."

"Sometimes," Sadayori said, "a smooth way is all it takes. And my son . . . he loves the easy paths."

A sad voice began to sing:

"What does a man do  
>who has no brother,<br>who has no brother  
>to stand beside him<br>when there's trouble on the way?

"The scoundrels mock him  
>that's what they do,<br>that's what they do  
>when a man stands there alone<br>with nobody to watch his back."

Some animal they couldn't see, a deer perhaps, bolted through the overgrowth as the voice grew closer. The voice halted a minute, as if startled, but then began again, and grew closer.

"What does a man do  
>when his brother is in danger,<br>when his brother is in danger  
>and needs someone to stand beside him<br>when there's trouble on the way.

"He stands beside him  
>and does not run away,<br>and does not run away  
>back to back against the world<br>because that's what brothers do."

Kazuo looked down the path. "It seems that your son, Sadayori, is unhappy with what's going on with his brother."

"But not necessarily in the right way," the ghost replied.

As if to prove the ghost's point, Yoshimi moved out of the shadows of the trees, then walked past a field that separated him from the houses. He looked up at the sky. "Damn the elders," Yoshimi said, shaking his fist. His words slurred together. "Damn all the busybodies in the village who don't mind their own business. Damn that stupid woman for pulling her stunt." He looked at the sake jug he was carrying in his hand, lifted it up to take a drink, but it was empty. He threw it away. It landed on a bit of grass, and amazingly, didn't shatter, but the motion destabilized him and he collapsed on the ground. "Damn my brother's rotgut sake," he said, shaking his head as he pulled himself up. "Damn everything."

"Are you sure he's capable of doing anything?" Sadayori asked.

Kazuo sighed. "We might have to do something about that."

Daikoku slapped the family kami on the back in a companionable way. "You're lucky, man. I have just the solution."

While Kazuo was considering the intoxicated Yoshimi, Eiji walked through the village, his lamp a pool of light bobbing along as he moved. The village, for the most part, was a dark place as he walked. The soft glow that came from people's fire pits glowed through the windows, soft and low, and in a few places, lamps brightened the dark.

He could hear soft laughter coming from some places, or children being corrected. Mostly it was calm, but Benika and her husband were having an argument about her actions at the near riot earlier in the day with Yoshimi.

"I don't know who would be harder to be married to," the village guardsman said as he walked away from their house. "Benika or Chiya. They both give their husbands a run for the money in frustration sometimes."

"Oh, Chiya-chan, I'm sure," said a voice to his left. It was an old voice, and fully amused. "Benika doesn't stir the cesspool as much. She'd rather pass that stick to someone else."

Eiji swung in the direction of the speaker, holding his lamp high and a bit behind him so he could see who it was. "Daisuke-ojiisan?"

"Surprised?" The old man, probably the oldest man in the entire village cracked a toothless smile. "If you're going to ask questions, man, expect someone to answer."

Eiji bowed just a little. "Surprised? I am," he said. "I didn't think Hisako-obaasan would have let you out after dark. She tells my wife that the night air makes you . . . well, your back . . . " He shrugged. "It's always something. You know how these women can be."

"Bah," the old man said, then snorted. He was leaning on a stick that looked very much like his daughter's. "Neither of my wives fussed over me like that daughter of mine does. I don't know what I did wrong when I raised her. Treats me like I'm her child, not her otousan."

The village guardsman snickered a bit over that. "Hisako-obaasan is a formidable woman. I think, Daisuke-ojiisan, your respected daughter treats everybody like they're her child. Or maybe grandchild."

"Well," Daisuke said, shaking his head."She needs to leave well enough alone sometimes. Came home after causing all that stink with Tsuneo-sama and Tameo-sama, and that worthless brother of Seiji's, fixed dinner, and fell asleep." He frowned. "She didn't tell me where she hid the sake, either."

"Did she?" Eiji said.

"Why else do you think I'm out of my cage tonight?" the old man said. He grinned, like a small boy doing something he knows is wrong. "Maybe, if I'm lucky, I can find someone who'll give an old man a drink. You have any suggestions?"

Eiji scratched his head, thinking. "That's a hard one, Ojiisan. Your reputation goes ahead of you. Denjiro might, if he has any," he said. "If you can keep from teasing Sora-chan."

"That witch?" Daisuke said, shaking his head. "Last time I went over there, she started throwing things at me. She'd just run off to wake up Hisako-chan, anyway."

"My Kimi would probably do the same thing," Eiji said. "And Tameo's people are all over at Daitaro's."

They walked together for a little bit, heading towards the watch tower.

"The wedding, huh?" The old man cracked a knowing grin. "That lucky dog, Shinjiro. Takeshi's girls, they all are lookers, they are. I bet the oldest one's like a cat. She has that look about her. She'll be curled up in his lap before the night's over, letting him pet her until she purrs. Bet he's having a good time tonight."

Eiji, although not particularly shocked by the old man's comments, since everybody in the village knew how Daisuke liked to make sex jokes, still sighed. "And that's another reason I can't take you home," he muttered, far too soft for the old man's ears.

"What's that?" Daisuke asked.

"I was just thinking it was about time Shinjiro got remarried," Eiji said. "I'm just happy for him."

The old man nodded approvingly."If I could find someone to keep my bed warm, I'd do it still." He leaned against the fence he was standing near. "He's lucky he's still young enough to appreciate it. Those days are long gone for me." He dropped his head and clung tightly to the railing. "I need to walk more. Get winded if I walk more than a few steps anymore." He coughed. "Sometimes that girl of mine is right. Always nagging me to walk more." He looked up. "Is it true?"

"Is what true?" Eiji asked.

"That Seiji pushed the new little miko to the ground yesterday?" the old man said. He let go of the fence rail, but didn't stop leaning against the wood "She's another looker. That silver-haired guy who's her husband, the man who cuts my firewood. Someone told me he cold-cocked the bastard."

"That's right, Ojiisan," the village guardsman said, nodding. "InuYasha knocked him out with one punch." He lifted his lamp. "You're sure you don't want me to walk you home? I have a light. It'll be easier."

"Maybe," the old man said. "And that Seiji's woman walked herself into the river?"

Eiji nodded. "I hear she was beat up pretty bad."

Daisuke coughed again, and spit. "Cursed be men who don't appreciate a woman's flesh," he said. "They only bring bad luck on a village. Maybe InuYasha should have used his sword." He looked up at the guardsman. "Anybody who would push down a pretty thing like the little miko, he's a fool."

"You're not the only one who thinks that way, Ojiisan," Eiji said. "Although maybe not for the same reasons. I sort of think that's not the same reason Hisako-obaasan is so angry."

This, for some reason made the old man cackle. "I'm pretty sure it's not. Tomorrow's going to be an interesting day. Wonder if that old hen will let me go to the meeting?"

"Maybe," Eiji said. "Better be sure to take your medicine."

"Not you, too?" the old man said. He moved a step away from the fence. "Walk me home, man. I want to see what happens when the fat hits the fire."

"I suspect there'll be lots of sparks," Eiji said. And leading the way, the two men headed back to Daisuke's house.

Hidden in the shadows, a figure moved. Not visible to human eyes because of more than the darkness, he stepped over to the place where the two men had been standing. Gently he brushed his hand against the place where Daisuke had been leaning. The area glowed as he touched it, an easy trick for even low level family kami. Briefly the air filled with the sound of their conversation once more.

This kami, like Kazuo, was dressed in the simple peasant clothes of a bygone era, but where Kazuo was stout and jovial, this man looked thin, withdrawn, and somber, and as he listened to their conversation, his face grew even more somber and uncertain. "Perhaps, perhaps I have been amiss, thinking it would all work out. I wonder . . . " he said. "But Sadayori . . . he's been pushing, pushing, pushing for so long. Was I wrong to let destiny take its own course? Or was what Sadayori has been trying to do what destiny wanted, after all?" He shook his head. "Should I go see what he really has up his sleeve?"

A light shimmered behind him, and he turned.

"Maybe we both have misjudged," Shimame-no-kami, the land kami of the village said. She was dressed in resplendent robes of red and yellow. As she looked at him, she flicked her fan thoughtfully. "Daikoku himself has shown up. I do not understand these human things so well. Perhaps . . . "

Tsuneo's family kami, Yoshio, bowed low. "Dono, you honor me."

"Why," she asked. "Why did you allow this to go on so long? Seiji and Toshiro both and Sadayori are under your jurisdiction."

"I...I..." The kami frowned, trying to figure out the right words, but then he hung his head. "I do not really know, Dono. It's just that these squabbles . . . well, they tend to pass with time. I thought that the Wheel would work its way as it usually does."

"Destiny?" she asked.

He nodded, but didn't speak.

"Even those of the August Fields can be destiny's tools, sometimes," she said. "Perhaps . . . "

"Perhaps this was Kazuo's destiny?" Yoshio suggested.

"Perhaps we should go see what they're up to," she replied. "Coming?" She closed her fan, and was gone.

"Do I have a choice?" Yoshio asked. And as silently, he followed the land kami.


	275. Chapter 275

_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 275**

A light bobbed on the path to Seiji's house, and a young man's voice seemed to move in time with it.

"The farmer, he came courting -  
>he brought some pickled plum,<br>he brought a rush hat,  
>he brought an eggplant.<br>When the moon rises over the mountain,  
>it's something to see."<p>

"He's here already?" Kazuo asked, rubbing his hat over his head. "Must have lost track of the time."

"Time is a tricky thing, sometimes," Daikoku said, nodding agreeably. He pulled a small vial out of his sleeve. "Time to work on our friend here."

"What's that?" Kazuo asked.

"The solution to some of our friend's problems," the luck kami said. "At least, it'll clear his head some. Poor boy needs some luck to stop tripping over things."

Sadayori looked at his son, and at the kami bending over Yoshimi. Daikoku unstoppered the vial and carefully poured it into the drunken man's mouth. At first Yoshimi swallowed, then sputtered, and then sat up, looking surprised at where he was sitting. "What the hells? My mouth tastes like a manure pile."

Unseen and unheard by the young man, Daikoku chuckled. "Clearing the mind of the stupid things we use to cloud our sight leaves a nasty taste behind, young man. It's not just sake we use to deceive ourselves. But I wish you luck." He turned to his companions. "For a while, it will help him to see reality a little more the way he ought to. Alas, for humans, they are so good at twisting their sight, I fear it won't last."

"Maybe it'll be enough. He isn't a stupid boy," Sadayori said. "Foolish and lazy, maybe, but not stupid."

"Tonight will be good enough for what I need," Kazuo said, nodding. "And then . . . well, there's that woman who wants to marry him. She'll do the rest."

As Yoshimi shook his thoughts cleared, the young man approaching them drew closer, still singing.

"The mother served him pickled radish,  
>and poured the sake.<br>The father looked at the rush hat,  
>then drank until he cried.<br>When the moon rises over the mountain,  
>it's something to see."<p>

Sadayori looked at the man walking up the road. "Is this your doing, Kazuo-sama? Bringing that farmhand of Tsuneo's here - is it part of your plan? What were you going to do if I said no?"

"Eh, I'd have thought of something," the kami replied. "But it took days to get this all set up. I had to have everything in motion. And don't forget, we're not making anybody do anything. Just setting up a situation."

"And easing the way." Daikoku nodded, and tapped his mallet in his hands. Little sparks flew off it, some landing on Yoshimi, who, although he couldn't see them, flinched slightly as they touched.

The singer drew close enough for Yoshimi to actually notice.

"The daughter took a glance  
>at the farmer who came courting<br>and her father who was crying  
>and ran outside.<br>When the moon rises over the mountain,  
>it's something to see."<p>

"Tadaki, what the hells are you singing about?" Yoshimi said, rolling to his feet. "That's song's a piece of crap." He stood up a little shakily, and shook his head. "Today's been bad enough without having to listen to your stupid songs."

The young man lifted his lantern high, so he could get a good look at Yoshimi.

"Talk about hell," Tadakii said. "What's happened to you today?"

"Too much," Yoshimi replied. "Why are you even here?"

"Ah." Tadaki lowered his lamp and lifted up his other hand, which held a basket. "For some reason, Kohoru-obasan decided nobody would remember to feed you. I was surprised at that, because we know how she feels about your brother."

Yoshimi scratched his head. "You're sure she didn't poison it? She doesn't like me much better than him."

"If she did, she poisoned everybody tonight. It came out of the same pots that everybody else ate out of." Tadaki lowered his arm. "Even me. Maybe, she's just trying to get back at Seiji-sama, trying to make him feel small."

"Fat chance for that to work," Yoshimi said. He spit. "Damn my mouth tastes bad. Stupid rotgut sake my brother makes."

Tadaki chuckled. "You have to watch that cheap stuff. Or maybe, it's because she feels sorry for Maeme-obasan after what happened today. After all, it was Furume-chan who was there when they discovered her."

Yoshimi frowned, and took a step, slightly shaky, towards his house."One stupid woman doing something for another. I don't want to hear any more about Maeme."

Sadayori, unseen by the humans, turned to Kazuo. "And this is supposed to be the next step in your plan?"

"It is," the family kami said, nodding solemnly. "Let's go check on your grandchildren."

The ghost shrugged, but nodded. With a silent clap, the three disappeared into the night.

Tadaki hefted the basket down his arm and grabbed the other man's sleeve. "But it may have been she just felt sorry for you, too."

"Bah," Yoshimi said. "Nobody feels sorry for me. The whole damn village would be happier if I just disappeared. Did you hear what happened this afternoon? Her man was right there when they tried to jump me today. I thought old Hisako-babaa was going to do me in with that walking stick of hers, and that the village guard was going to let them. Damn that Susumu."

Tadaki tried not to smile at that image, but didn't quite make it, although he did manage to swallow a chuckle back down. He took a deep breath."You'll have to tell me all about it from your point of view. I just know what Masu-sama and Furume said."

"I'm sure they made me look like a big hero," Yoshimi said. He spit again. "I really need to get this taste out of my mouth."

There was a sudden burst of light that neither of them could see, although Yoshimi suddenly shivered. "Where'd that cold breeze come from?"

Shimame the land kami standing not far from the two young men also was looking. "I was sure that this is where they were. They had to have been here. Can't you feel the luck swirling around?"

Yoshio looked around, his eyes taking in the compound. "What have they done here? There's so much dark mixed into the light."

"You didn't know?" Shimame asked.

"I...I knew Seiji was . . . troubled. But what has he done?" Yoshio looked at the two young men. "There's a lot here I didn't realize . . . "

"Sometimes," Shimame said, "this is what can happen when you let destiny take its own course. Let's go check out the monk's house. Seiji's sons are there, I believe." She concentrated a moment. "Yes, and I think Kazuo's headed that way. Perhaps, it's time for you to take . . . a more active role. Or not. " The two winked out.

As they left, Yoshimi shivered again. Unaware of anything out of the ordinary, Tadaki looked at him, surprised. "I didn't feel anything. Are you sure you're not getting sick?"

"Getting sick of this life I'm living." Yoshimi looked around and shrugged.

"Fire and food make even a bad day better. Let's go inside. That too may be why Kohoru-sama sent the basket, knowing what type of day you've hand and that her husband was involved. She's nice that way. It smells too good, and she sent extra for me, too." He clapped the troubled man on the back. "Let's go eat. I'm hungry."

"I thought you already ate?" Yoshimi said.

"I did. But singing and talking to hardheads like you give me an appetite." He tugged on the other man's sleeve, and together the two of them headed into Yoshimi's little house.

Up the hill, at the monk's house, Sukeo's voice rang out. "No, Okaasan, you need to stay here and rest!"

Sango and Miroku exchanged glances.

"I do believe our house guest is stirring," the monk said.

"Please, Maeme-chan," Kaede's voice was soothing, but firm. "It's time to take more medicine. And lay back down. It's what your body needs."

"I...I...I..." a soft voice said. "Please, Miko-sama. Let me go."

"Now what?" Fumio asked.

"I think," Miroku said, standing up, "we need to see what's happening."

The group headed into the monk's house just as Kazuo popped up on the rafters along with Sadayori and Daikoku.

The kami sighed at the sight in front of him. A shaky Maeme was grasping the doorframe to the sleeping room, swaying as she stood there. Her lean face was touched with shadow, except where the fire pit highlighted her cheeks and forehead, and catching in her eyes. Although her face was almost a mask, revealing little, her eyes were frightened, almost panicked, something the lighting intensified.

"Everything seemed to be going well when I left," Sadayori said. "What happened?"

"Time," Kazuo replied.

Nakao, standing behind her, and still in the sleeping room, pulled on her sleeve. "Come back to bed, Okaasan."

Maeme looked around the room, at Kaede, at the monk and Sango who had entered the house and stepped up on the wooden platform, but paused, not sure of what to do. For a brief moment, her eyes locked with Miroku's, took in their concern, but then she dropped her eyes towards the bed where the twins were asleep.

"Maeme-sama?" Miroku said. "May I help you? Is there something you need?"

"Need? Need?" the trouble woman said, at first merely a whisper, but she repeated the word over and over, getting louder.

Sukeo pushed past her. "Okaasan, lay back down. You don't need to go anywhere."

For some reason, Maeme started laughing. "I don't. He'll come for me, anyway. Nothing I can do, no place to go. I just have to wait."

Koume, from where she stood in the beaten earth entryway, frowned at that. She stepped up, went past the monk, and grabbed the troubled woman's arm. "You think we'll let that man come and get you?"

Maeme met Koume's eyes. Her face unfroze, and as the emotionless mask dropped, the terror that she had been concealing was revealed. "Nobody stops Seiji. Nobody keeps him from doing what he wants to do. He hurts people, but nobody ever fights back. Seiji always gets to do what he wants." Her voice was laced with despair.

Koume, taken back with what she saw in the troubled woman's eyes, took a step back, and Nakao pushed in to take her place.

"Okaa," Nakao said, wrapping his arms around her. "Okaa, don't talk like that."

Maeme looked down on him, and rested a hand on his head. "My poor baby. He'll come here and kill me. He'll kill you, too, and maybe Sukeo, just for being here. He's always hated us the most." She looked up at Miroku. "He'll come for you, too, Houshi-sama. Let me go. Maybe if I go to him, I can save you."

"Nobody's going to hurt you, Maeme-sama. I give you my word," Miroku said, pulling himself up and giving her his best serious-monk look. "I promised you that when I pulled you out of the river, didn't I? I meant it."

"And I will be next to him," Sango said.

"And I will be, also," Fumio said, hefting his hammer.

It was too much for the troubled woman, and she sank to her knees, sobbing. "The gods forgive me. All I asked for was to die. What will I do with all this blood on my hands?"

"She's in a bad way," Daikoku said, pulling on his beard.

"If you had lived her life, you would be, too," Kazuo said, nodding.

"Well, she's lucky we're here," Daikoku replied.

"It would have been better about five years ago," Sadayori said. As he watched, the women gathered around Maeme and helped her into bed. "But better late than never."

"You'll find your rest yet, old man," Kazuo said.

"But will poor Maeme-chan?" Sadayori said. "I think she needs it more than I do."


	276. Chapter 276

_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 276**

Eiji, his lamp bobbing as he walked, moved up the path to Daitaro's house.

He could hear laughter through the windows as he approached.

"I thought you liked pickles, cousin," said a young man's voice. It sounded to the village guard like Genjo.

"One day," Eiji murmured, "he's going to tease one step too many."

Tonight wasn't yet that time.

"You're just jealous," Susumu said. "You like pickles almost as much as InuYasha does."

"Is that possible?" a young woman said. Eiji wasn't sure, but he thought it was Kagome.

"Oh, you haven't seen him eat like I have," Chime replied. "You may be right, Susumu. We have plenty. Here, Mariko-chan," she said. There was the sound of rattling dishes and some laughter. "Go give your husband his share, too. Would anybody else like some?"

Eiji knocked on the door, but slipped in without waiting for someone to answer. "Ah, Chime-obasan, don't give all the pickles to Genjo. There are other mouths to feed, too."

He looked around. InuYasha was sitting next to his wife. His forehead creased in concentration, he had a pickle caught up in his chopsticks. To Eiji, it seemed he was pondering it more than was getting ready to eat it. Kagome was leaning in, whispering something to him, which was amusing to her, but the hanyou just shrugged, then popped the pickle slice into his mouth. A smile did cross his lips as he ate it, though.

Nearby, Genjo looked up from his own food bowl. He looked up at the newcomer, and gave him a big grin. "Other mouths," he said, dipping his own chopsticks into the bowl. "Not as big as yours," he told Eiji just before he a bite of pickled cabbage.

Across the room, Takeshi's son Masayo laughed. "Speak for yourself," he said. "I know who I'd put money on in an eating contest." His own wife rolled her eyes at her husband and then glanced at Ushimi, Erime's mother.

"I know, I know," she said. "I know who I'd bet on myself." Ushimi's eyes glanced knowingly at her son.

Takeshi rolled his eyes and took a sip of his sake. "Did we raise these men?" he asked Daitaro.

Daitaro drained his own cup. "Yes, I guess we did. Maybe that explains why they turned out the way they did."

"So now we know who to blame," Hisa said. She bent over towards Tameo, and refilled his sake cup with just a little more.

"I guess we do," Chime said, smiling, then she turned back to Eiji. It was more than a smile. She glowed with a satisfied contentment. She picked up her serving ladle, and motioned to the village guard. "Come in and sit down. Are you hungry? We have plenty to eat."

"There's nothing wrong, is there?" Tameo asked.

Eiji extinguished his lamp and put it down near the doorway. "No, nothing. I was just making my rounds and was walking by, and heard this one," he said, pointing to Genjo, making jokes about pickles. "Curiosity got the better of me. I figured since he was picking on InuYasha and not Shinjiro, that it was too late for me to tease . . . er . . . congratulate the bridegroom."

"Too late for that," Takeshi said. "They are both safe away from the likes of you."

"Busy though, I'll bet," Eiji said. There was a little ripple of laughter. Tama, Erime's sister, being young and soon to wed herself, blushed, as did Kagome.

Hisa reached over and patted her hand. "You know, all these men here like to tease. Except," she said, looking at InuYasha, who was studying the pickles in front of him, "except perhaps your husband, and usually, Kinjiro. You're lucky."

Kagome looked up at InuYasha. "I know," she said, smiling.

Genjo ignored the women, and kept his attention on Eiji. "Come sit over here, and see what's so funny."

"Just for a little bit," Eiji said. "I probably need to go check to make sure Yoshimi's not up to anything."

"You don't think . . . " Hisa asked.

"No," the guard said, sitting down between InuYasha and Genjo. "I don't think anything bad will happen. It's just my sense of tidy." As he settled, he looked at the tray in front of InuYasha and the similar tray in front of Genjo. "Are you sure this isn't a pickle eating contest?"

Mariko moved in front of the village guard and brought a tray for him as well, with sake, pickles, pickled plums and a couple of rice cakes on it. "We have enough pickles we could do it," she said. "Do you want to join in?"

"If it was just an eating contest . . . " InuYasha said, taking another bite. "These are very good," he said, savoring the taste of the pickled vegetable in his mouth.

"Those are the ones Hisa-sama made," Mariko said.

"How am I supposed to choose anything, when they all taste so good?" the hanyou asked.

"You could declare it a tie," Susumu said from across the room.

InuYasha's face lit up with that suggestion.

Chime laughed. "Maybe, then, we should have a pickle eating contest after all. But don't complain if you all have achy tummies tomorrow!"

Across the village, in the little house next to Seiji's, the mood wasn't so mellow. Yoshimi sat there, building up the evening fire in his fire pit. Sitting next to him, Tadaki didn't comment about the dirt or the coldness of the building. Instead, he had found a tray up on a cabinet clean enough, and then pulled some rice balls and grilled fish out of the basket the young man was carrying.

"I don't think she put anything interesting in the onigiri," he said as he unpacked the basket. "Sometimes she does, but today, I don't know if she even put any pickled plum in."

Yoshimi didn't say anything, and instead, merely tossed another stick on the fire.

"That light is nice," Tadaki said. He handed one of the onigiri to the other man. It was covered neatly in a bamboo leaf wrapper, and Yoshimi began to unwrap it.

"What a day," the young man said, doing the same. "First, Tsuneo thinks I was running off to have a tumble with that girl who likes me, when I was working hard at the bean fields."

"A tumble?" Yoshimi said, taking a bite of his rice. "They always think we're up to no good."

"Not always, but sometimes, they have dirty minds." Tadaki took a bit of his own rice ball. "They think you're up to no good when you go out to cut wood?"

Yoshimi kept a straight face, but shifted a little uncomfortably, thinking briefly a moment about how he had spent the afternoon, guilty of just what Tsuneo had been ready to accuse Tadaki of. "What do you think?" he asked between bites. "It doesn't matter what we're really doing. It's what they think we're up to that gets us into more trouble."

"I hear you there," Tadaki said, putting down his rice and picking up a piece of fish. He popped a piece of it in his mouth. "And there I was, working just the way I was supposed to. But after I got back, things really started happening."

Yoshimi looked at what Tadaki was eating. "Kohoru-obasan sent fish over too? She shows a strange way of not liking my family."

Tadaki nodded, and handed him his share. "It's good, too. We don't get fish for dinner ever day. If it's not in the soup, it's not there to eat."

"I usually have to catch it if I want some," Yoshimi said. "Seiji . . . well, he's cheap."

"I've heard that," Tadaki said nodding. "Not to speak badly of your brother, but one hears things."

"One hears a lot, I bet," Yoshimi replied, tearing the wrapper off the fish, and pulling off a sliver that he popped into his mouth.

While he savored the taste, Tadaki continued his story. "When I got back to get some more straw, Tsuneo-sama was talking with InuYasha."

Yoshimi ate some more rice. "He's been everywhere here lately."

Tadaki nodded. "He's been around a lot lately. I think Tsuneo-sama's decided that he likes him. That's a real change, if you ask me."

"You're sure he's not using magic on Tsuneo-sama?" Yoshimi licked a grain of rice off his finger. "He is magic. I've seen him wield that sword of his."

The younger man shook his head, and popped the last of the fish in his mouth. "Nope. No magic. I think it was all that stuff with stupid Aki-kun. Anyway, while they were talking, InuYasha's wife - "

"You mean the one who's acting like she's a real miko?" Yoshimi broke off another piece of fish.

"It's no act. She healed Haname-sama today. Everybody thought Haname-sama was a goner, and she used her own miko powers to get rid of the magic that crazy man used on her. She was up and bossing us all around before dinner."

Yoshimi took that in, then shook his head. "I don't understand what's going on at all."

"Maybe your brother's been wrong all along," Tadaki suggested. He finished the last of his rice ball. "See. I told you she didn't put anything but rice in the onigiri."

"But . . . but . . . " Yoshimi stared at the rice in his hand. "It feels like everybody's plotting against us. That old babaa and her circle of women." He wiped his mouth with his sleeve. "It's not right. That stupid Maeme - what was she doing, walking out into the river like that?"

"You should stop being so mad at Maeme," Tadaki said. Having finished he wiped his hands on the side of his hakama. "She's always done right by you."

"Stupid woman. If she hadn't walked into the river . . . " Yoshimi bowed his head.

"If she walked into the river, then she must have really been upset." Tadaki rested a hand on Yoshimi's shoulder. "Doesn't seem right to be angry at someone who almost died from the miseries."

"What do you know about miseries?" Yoshimi's head shot up. "You're over there where people treat you good."

Tadaki, patient, just shook his head. "I know a lot. My sister, well one day after my otousan passed from the cough, she came for a visit and walked into my ojiisan's well. She couldn't swim, either." He closed his eyes in the memory. "Her husband was a lot like Seiji."

"I...I didn't know that." Yoshimi said. He looked at his young friend with some surprise.

"It was a long time ago," Tadaki said, shrugging. "Things were hard for my family after we lost my otousan. I was the youngest, so they sent me to work for Tsuneo-sama. But I know about the miseries."

"Yeah," Yoshimi said. He rested his cheek in one hand. "I...I don't know what to think. He's gotten so angry lately. But he's my older brother."

"He might be your brother, but think, man," Tadaki said. "A kami came and rescued the miko from whatever that crazy man was trying to do to her. She heals up Haname-sama. InuYasha helped save Maeme's life. I don't like to talk badly about your family."

"Bah," Yoshimi said. "That's never stopped you."

Tadaki ignored that jibe. "Maybe . . . maybe Seiji-ojisan . . . well, maybe he earned it. Maybe even the kami are ready to let him learn a lesson. Let your whole family learn a lesson. Or maybe even fix things for you."

Yoshimi stuffed the last of the rice ball in his mouth. It tasted like dust to him. "I think . . . " he said at last. "I think maybe they're going to do something to him tomorrow. Eiji said . . . "

"I hate to say it, but he doesn't have many friends." The younger man threw the bamboo wrappers into the fire. "Maybe you should go talk to him."

"Talk to him?" Yoshimi shook his head. "When has he ever listened to me?"

"Tell him like it is. Maybe if he acts humble enough tomorrow, he can squeak by. The elders seem to like that. If he can get them to believe he's going to listen . . . " Tadaki stood up and picked up his basket. "If he was my brother, I'd at least try."

Yoshimi covered his face. "I...I..."

"Give it some thought. It's going to be a crazy day tomorrow." Tadaki headed to the door. "Maybe you can help it not to be so crazy."

Yoshimi didn't say anything. After Tadaki left, he spent some time just staring into the fire.


	277. Chapter 277

_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 277**

As Miroku and Fumio watched, Sango and Koume were joined by Kaede as they lead the distraught woman back to the sleeping room.

"She reminds me of how Nahoi reacted, before . . . before that son of a devil did what he did," Fumio said. "Acted like she had failed some way, and acted like she was protecting us by going along with him." He spat, still angry after all this time at the man he could no longer reach for the damage he had done to his daughter. He held his hammer in one hand, and ran his other thumb along the hammer's face. "He didn't get what he deserved in this life," the smith declared, then looked up at the monk, almost if challenging him to disagree. "It was over too quickly. I hope Emma-O, king of the dead, gave him a fitting reward."

Miroku's violet eyes watched the blacksmith without condemnation. "The ways of the dead are not my science," he said, "although I have it on good authority that Emma-O knows what he's doing." He sighed. "What may be more important, and harder for us still alive is to let go, lighten the darkness people like that cause us, and to help others find that light." His lips curled into a sad, wry smile. "I cannot say I am wholly free of being twisted by what that . . . that dark hanyou did to my father and my wife's family and to me as well, but I have tried." He rubbed the back of his neck. "That . . . that is why I cannot stand by and watch what Seiji is doing any longer."

Fumio nodded. "Letting go is hard. Sometimes, I think I've done it, and then something will happen that lets it all come running back in."

"Always," Miroku said.

"But, Miko-sama!" came a loud voice from within the house. "Haha-ue, she needs me! You told me that!"

"It sounds like they've kicked the boys out," Fumio said. "I can take them home. You've got enough going on here."

"Let's go see what Kaede-sama says," the monk replied. "Sometimes, telling a child no when all they are is concerned and frightened can come back in bad ways. It took me a long time to get over being held back when my father died. I was very angry and grieved, even though it no doubt saved my life."

"Sometimes," the blacksmith said, "finding the right path is hard."

"Or even harder," Miroku replied, "convincing a person that the path you chose for them was right, even though it hurt. Let's go see what's up."

Inside the sleeping room, Sango moved the lamp onto a ledge high up enough to cast some light on the chamber, but out of reach of accidentally being knocked over.

It turned out to be a good idea. Maeme, being supported by Kaede and Koume, began to struggle.

"He's going to kill us all," she wailed, trying to pull free. "Me, my boys, the monk, and you, too. Let me go. I don't want your blood on my hands."

"Okaa?" Nakao said. His eyes were large frightened, knowing his father's temper and having tasted his hand more than once. Sukeo pulled him to the side as Maeme pulled an arm free that came close to hitting him.

"Stay back," Sukeo said. "She's too upset, and you'll just make it worse."

"I prepared another dose of medicine for her," Kaede said. "It's by the fire pit. If we don't get it down her soon, she'll be too agitated for it to work, and I'll need something stronger."

Sango came and took her place holding Maeme's arm. "Go and get it. You probably need to get the boys out of here."

Kaede, much to Nakao's displeasure, scooted the boys out of the sleep room.

Up on the rafters, three figures watched the events unfurl below.

"This is not good," Sadayori said.

"It hasn't been good for a long time," Kazuo said. "But it's getting worse. Do you feel that darkness sweeping around her?"

"It always amazes me how much darkness humans can create for one another without using any magic at all," Daikoku, the luck kami said. "Her aura . . . "

"You know what happens to badly abused people, especially women, sometimes, don't you?" Kazuo asked.

The kami and the ghost watched as Sango and Koume managed to walk the struggling, distraught woman towards the bed.

"Fumio is out front, child," Koume said. "He has his hammer. You know what he did when we found out about Nahoi's . . . "

For a moment the two women looked at each other. "But Seiji's bigger," Maeme said. "And he's been a soldier. My poor boys . . . " She sobbed a moment and then started struggling again. "Help us flee. Please. We can't stay here."

"I have seen them turn into avenging ghosts," Daikoku said. "And worse."

"The air around her," Sadayori said. "She's going to turn into a youkai if something isn't done. She doesn't deserve to become a monster because she's married to a man who acts like one to her. I tried warning Yoshio . . . "

"It is true that sometimes abused women do that," Daikoku said, nodding. "It wouldn't do for her to become a nuke kubi, sending out her head at night seeking vengeance." Daikoku tapped his mallet in his hand, sending a small spray of sparks over the three women. "Maybe some luck will help. Can't hurt."

Sango wrapped her arms around Maeme. "I have fought worse monsters than Seiji," she said. "The monster who attacked the village four years ago . . . I stood up to him with Miroku, and InuYasha and Kagome. Do you think we're going to let anything happen to you? All four of us will protect you."

Maeme stopped struggling as Sango's words began to sink in. She looked at the taijiya. "You . . . you used to use that big throwing bone. I remember."

"I still have it," Sango said, nodding. "And my sword and armor, too. I'll use it if I need to."

"But . . . but why?" Maeme asked.

A little bit of Daikoku's luck sparkled around Sango's head, and she gave the woman a big and genuine smile. "Because you're worth it. And he's not."

Maeme collapsed on her bed. "I...I'm worth something."

Sango knelt down next to the bed. "I think so. Koume-sama thinks so."

"I do," the woman said, nodding.

"As do I," Kaede said, walking into the room with the cup of medicine. "It might take you a while to believe it yourself, but we'll believe it for you until you're ready."

Maeme took the cup in her hands. "I..." She swirled the cup around, then swallowed it down. "I...Will the pain ever stop?"

"With time," Koume said. "It did for my daughter. If you let us help you, it will happen for you, too."

Unable to come up with an answer, she covered her face, and once again, let the tears fall. After a moment, she said, "Let me see my boys."

Kazuo gave an audible sigh."Let's go outside," he said. "I think this bit of crisis has passed."

The ghost and the two kami blinked out of the room, to stand under the tree Miroku favored.

"Now what?" Sadayori asked.

"I think . . . " Daikoku started. He was interrupted with a brief flash of spiritual light lit the yard in front of the monk's house. "I think we have company," he said.

Shimame and Yoshio popped into almost the same space. Shimame smiled at the luck kami, a soft, coquettish glance. Catching herself, she covered her face with her fan. "We've been looking for you, Dono."

Not everybody was smiles. For a moment, Sadayori stared at his family kami. His face went from surprised to angry. Yoshio went from surprised to uncertain. "You!" they said in unison.

"Go look at that poor woman," Sadayori said. "This is all your fault. Some family kami you are."

Yoshio sighed. "I have come to do what I can. Still, I must remind you that what I did was based on your deathbed request. You're the one who asked for Seiji to be - "

"To the hells with that," Sadayori said, interrupting. For a ghost, he looked imposingly like an angry deity. "A poor, sick dying man doesn't think cleanly, and you know it. What about the times I'd come to ask your help since? Or the times you hid?"

"I never - " Yoshio began to get defensive. "I had other duties, too. You're not the only member of our family."

"Could have fooled me," the ghost said, stepping closer. Kazuo laid a hand on the ghost's shoulder, and Sadayori turned to look at him.

"Kami ways aren't quite human ways, old man. They see things differently, sometimes. Might even been destiny waiting for this minute."

Not quite satisfied, the ghost stepped back, and crossed his arms. "Whatever."

"I'm here, now," Yoshio said. "We will do what ought to be done."

Kazuo looked at Daikoku.

"Not my doing," the luck kami said. "Luck sometimes does its own thing."

"I don't know about you," Shimame said, flicking her fan, "but I'm ready to see this play that Kazuo-no-kami has worked so hard to prepare. All the actors are in place. I believe the action is beginning to unfold. Shall we go watch?"

"You could stay here, old friend," Kazuo told Sadayori.

"What? And let him interfere?" The ghost glared at Yoshio.

The group winked out of sight.

In the heart of the village, there was nobody about at the moment. Towards Toshiro's house, a dog barked until someone quieted him. Tameo's compound was quieter than usual, with both the headman's and the second son's houses being empty for the moment, their occupants off at Shinjiro's wedding party.

The little fire next to the lockup building grew very low, putting out only a tiny amount of reddish light as the embers glowed in the dark night. Koichi, hard asleep, snored softly. Jun, lying near him, shifted a leg and rolled into a more comfortable position. A cat curled up between the two men.

Yoshimi peered into the compound. He couldn't see the sleeping men, and the lantern he carried revealed very little except that things were quiet. A bit of breeze tugged at his clothes as he stood by the gate, and he shivered, as if he felt someone nearby. Looking around, he saw nothing.

"Why am I so nervous?" he said, too soft to be really heard by anybody. He swallowed. "Oh, I know why. My stupid brother is an asshole, and if he doesn't get his head out of his butt, they are going to banish him tomorrow." He slipped a hand over his eyes for a moment, trying to steel himself. "Or worse."

He dropped his hand. "Maybe I should go up to the shrine and ask the kami to give me some luck first."

Someone in a house down the block yelled. "Little brother, come home! Chichi-ue says now! It doesn't take that long to get the fire wood!" He almost jumped, hearing it, and did drop his lantern, which put out its light.

"Damn it," he said. "My whole day has gone this way. Hell, my whole life has gone this way. Go get the fire wood. Why did you take so long? Aren't you good for anything? And Ani-ue . . . look at him. These last few years, he's been getting worse and worse. Hells, he even scares me some days. What's going to happen to him if they send him away? What's going to happen to me? Right when I thought I was going to finally be able to get married and get away from all this crap. Stupid ass will probably try to drag him with me."

Somewhere else, a baby woke up and began to cry.

He took a deep breath. "All he can do is be an ass. Nobody will be able to say I didn't try."

With that, he walked into the compound.

The cluster of kami and one ghost standing at a distance watched him walk towards the lockup.

"You were right," Sadayori said. "He did just what you said he was going to do."

"And lucky," Yoshio said. "He could have just stayed home."

"Eh, luck we have," Kazuo said, rubbing his hat across his head. "Let's see if he has the guts to do the next thing."

Shimame waved her fan. "I will never ever understand these humans."

Keeping a distance, the supernatural group followed Yoshimi in.


	278. Chapter 278

_ I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 278**

Yoshimi walked slowly towards the glow that was coming from the fire that the lockup watchmen had made earlier. The moon was not up, and it was quite dark, and no lights showed from the windows of the main house or Kinjiro's smaller one. A dog barked somewhere, but there was almost no other sound but the sound of Yoshimi's feet walking lightly on the earth.

"Everybody's gone to the wedding?" he said softly, almost as if making a sound would bring some disaster on him. "That would be a stroke of good luck."

Behind him, Kazuo said, "Good luck would be you doing what I think you'll do."

Fortunately for Yoshimi, he could neither see nor sense the audience that his walk to the headman's compound had attracted.

The only female of the group, the land kami Shimame, who was responsible for the fertility of the land of the village and its general well being, stopped and held her arms out for a moment, blocking the others' movement. She had pulled herself tall, and her long scarlet sleeves swayed gently in a breeze only she could feel. For a moment, Yoshio, the family kami of Tsuneo's (and Seiji's) family stepped back, surprised.

Shimame turned around to face the three male kami, and her eyes focused on Kazuo. "What have you done here, Kazuo-no-kami? I can feel your fingerprints all over the grounds. Is this also part of the play you are giving us tonight?"

"That's not surprising you feel him here," Yoshio said, his tone just a slight bit confused. "This is the heart of his influence. His shrine's behind the main building. And look at all he's done lately - all that with the yamabushi and the young miko - it's not surprising you would feel his power."

"It's more than that," Shimame said, gesturing with her fan. "Something right there . . . " She pointed to the lockup. "Is this part of your show?"

"A necessary step," Kazuo said, rubbing the back of his neck. "Think of it as the setting for the play. Without that . . . "

"Without that," Daikoku said, "all the luck in the world wouldn't matter."

"So you approve?" the land kami said, looking at the luck god. "Kazuo is given to overt manifestations of kami power. I'm not always sure if this is wise. Humans and their reactions . . . surprise me often."

"Anything that lets the luck flow for good . . . " he replied, smiling. "This family needs as much luck as possible. They have a bad tendency to chase it all away."

"That they have," Sadayori said. He sighed. "Maybe I started it all . . . "

"Don't blame yourself, old man," Kazuo said, patting the ghost on his back. "Everybody has to make choices."

"Even family kami," Yoshio said, nodding. "Even we. If only the heavens would give us the wisdom that goes with it."

At Daitaro's house, Masayo had picked up his drum again.

"There are fools that dance,  
>there are fools who watch,<br>yoi, yoi, yoi."

Sitting nearby, Kinjiro, Tameo's younger son, drained his sake cup.

"There are fools that sing,  
>there are fools that listen,<br>yoi, yoi, yoi," he sang.

"Which type are you?" Masayo asked, grinning.

Matsume, Kinjiro's wife, handed her husband a chimaki. "Maybe some of both," she said.

The usually dour man gave his wife a smile. "Maybe so."

"Aren't we all?" Masayo said, good naturedly. "But here's my next verse:"

"There are fools who eat,  
>there are fools who watch,<br>yoi, yoi, yoi."

He gave the drum an extra tap. "That's not an everyday thing."

Across the room, Genjo, currently trying to see if he could out eat InuYasha, picked up his pickle dish. "I know which one I would rather be."

"Me, too," InuYasha said, taking the last slice of pickle out of the dish in his hand. "I had to watch one time too many when I was small."

"Ho," Daitaro said, eating a bit of pickled plum, "with the way you eat, I'm surprised you ever were small."

Chime laughed, and refilled her husband's sake cup. "The way you eat, husband, is much the same."

He picked up his cup. "You have me there, wife," he said, smiling at her. "But then, I have a wife who makes the best food."

"May we continue to have an abundance enough to keep eating this way," Tameo said. "I'd rather this than the lean years."

"True, true," Takeshi said, taking a bite out of a chimaki.

InuYasha put his bowl down. "I...I...I think I have eaten enough."

This made Kagome laugh. "Enough pickles? I didn't think it was possible."

"We did it, Chime-okaasan!" Mariko said. She, like her mother-in-law, was moving around the room, refilling people's sake cups.

"Lightweight," Genjo said, reaching for another slice.

"Hey, I had a head start," the hanyou replied. "You sound like your otousan. Let's see if you can eat as many as I did."

"Don't push him too hard," Mariko said. "I'll be the one who has to treat his stomachache tomorrow."

The group laughed.

"You owe me, Susumu," Hisa said, looking at her son. "I told you Chime-chan could fill our cousin up."

Susumu bowed to his mother. "I do indeed. Like Kagome-chan, I didn't think it was possible, either. I'll pay you in the morning."

InuYasha's ear flicked as he looked at Tameo's wife, and then at Susumu, his face hovering between surprise, irritation, and amusement "You had a bet on how much I could eat?"

"Oh, everybody knows how much you like pickles, dear boy," Chime said. "And we all have heard tell of much you can eat. Kaede-sama used to tell us stories about how much she had to cook when you first started staying with her during your quest." She gave a glance to where Susumu sat next to his brother. "And some people in our village – well, they'll bet on anything."

Kinjiro gave his brother a nudge with his elbow. "Some people will."

"Feh," the hanyou said, not exactly sure of how to respond to that one. Kagome, though, was amused. She reached over and gave his hand a squeeze.

"You did eat a lot," she said. "You and Shippou were always fighting over the scraps."

He shrugged. "I was used to eating a lot when it was there. I never knew when I was going to get my next meal."

"I think, at least for now, you won't have to worry about that," Hisa noted. "If it didn't please us to see you so well fed, you'd be the first to know."

"Here's to days where we don't have to chase the big eaters away!" Daitaro said, taking a drink out of his cup.

That brought a round of cheers from the assembled crowd.

Eiji stood up. "May we all be so blessed. But for now, I probably should continue my rounds."

"So soon?" Chime said, turning to look at the village guard.

"Alas, yes," he said. "I need to make sure all is well at Tameo-sama's house."

"You don't think - " the headman said.

"Not really," Eiji said. "It's just I didn't stop there before coming here."

"Good man," Daitaro said. "Go give Koichi a nudge for me. I heard he was talking bad about my sake the other day." He looked at Tameo. "Or maybe it was just that Tameo's was better."

Eiji laughed. "I will indeed." After a few more words, and relighting his lamp, he headed out into the night.

At the headman's house, Yoshimi walked around to the little fire that Koichi had lit earlier, now mostly burned out. The cat sleeping next to the men opened its eyes and flicked its ears. Deciding that the young man wasn't anything it needed to worry about, it pounded the ground twice with its tail, than went back to sleep.

Yoshimi examined the scene in front of him. "Well, what do you know," he said. Koichi had rolled on his back and was snoring lightly, and Jun was curled into a ball. "Fast asleep. At least I won't have to put up with them poking their noses into my business. What brought this bit of luck my way?"

His foot tapped the empty sake jug, and watched it roll. "Looks like these two have been celebrating Shinjiro-sama's wedding on their own." He bent down by the fire, and threw a few sticks in, and then relit his lamp. "I wonder if Ani-ue is sleeping, too? If so, I could just go home . . . "

"About time you showed up," a voice from within the lockup croaked.

"We might need some luck here," Kazuo said. "Listen to him - even after everything that's gone on today, he's still roaring angry. If he pushes his brother away . . . "

"I don't know if there is any luck for that," Daikoku said. "He tends to turn all the good I sprinkle him with into bad." The luck kami shook his head. "You don't see that every day. Rather sad."

Kazuo sighed.

"I was worried about you, you know," Yoshimi replied, lifting his lamp high enough to get a glimpse of his brother through the barred window.

"Fuck Susumu, and fuck Tameo," Seiji said. His eyes glittered in the lamplight. "Why didn't you get over here to tell me about that bitch Maeme?" His voice was aggrieved, and made Yoshimi wince.

"I tried to get here earlier, but a mob almost beat me up." Yoshimi dropped his lamp lower, not liking the look on his brother's face. "You should have seen it." He held up an arm where the sleeve had gotten torn. It had been torn by the family rooster, but Yoshimi didn't mention that. "They ripped my clothes. I got a bruise on my face. Susumu made the guards take me home."

"You just don't . . . " Seiji said. He began coughing. "I heard them talking. Hisako went after you with her stick. Scared of an old woman, are you?"

"I wouldn't be so cocky if I were you." The younger man took a deep breath. "Tomorrow, they're going to have a full council meeting. Some the people who tried to beat me up are trying to get everybody whoever got mad at you there. You've made a lot of people mad. And what happened today . . . "

"Bah," Seiji said. "A bunch of cowards, the lot of them. What are they going to do?"

"I...I hear Tsuneo-sama may not be so willing to back you up this time." Yoshimi rubbed his nose. "You . . . you pushed the hanyou's wife down. Some are calling for him to . . . to . . . "

"To do what?" Seiji said.

"To take your head, Ani-ue." Yoshimi rested the lamp on the ground and rested his head against the wall of the lockup. "Eiji-sama thinks that's what they'll do tomorrow."

"It seems," Daikoku said, "that maybe our luck is holding."

Seiji was quiet for a moment. He threw something against the wall, and Yoshimi could hear it break. "Damn them all," he said at last. "Take my woman and then cut my head off. Damn them all."

"You . . . you could act repentant," Yoshimi suggested. "Maybe if they thought . . . "

"Fuck that," Seiji said. "They lock me up because I was going after my own son. Stupid boy knew I didn't want him to work in the garden. He disobeyed me. Stupid woman got in the way when I was going after him, too. And now Maeme . . . " His hands wrapped around the window bars.

"I...I was just trying to help," Yoshimi said. "That's the only thing I could think of."

The kami, unseen, gathered as close as they could.

"You want to help, little brother?" Seiji asked. "You said that those fools out there are asleep?"

Yoshimi looked back at the unconscious guards. "Asleep, and drunk, from the smell of it."

"Let me out," Seiji said. "Let me out, and we'll get away from this rat's nest."

"Let you out?" Yoshimi said, his voice trembling.

"You're my brother. It's your duty," Seiji replied. "Let me out, and I'll live to see another day. Otherwise my blood is on your hands. Do it!"

"Yes! The play begins," Kazuo said, his voice barely above a whisper, even though neither man would have been able to hear him.

Sadayori rubbed the back of his neck. "But will he do it?"


	279. Chapter 279

_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 279 **

As the kami watched the two brothers talking at the lockup in Tameo's compound, luck swirled around the village like an unseeable, golden river of light. Perhaps it was the last outpouring of the auspicious day trying to discharge all of its luck at once, to give everybody a taste of it before the moon rose, and it was gone and done. Perhaps it was the influence of Daikoku being in the village, or maybe both. Many things happened that hour.

Children went to sleep without a fuss. Women's spinning went smoothly without a snarl in the thread. Husbands found their wives smiling at them. Nobody spilled their sake.

Sora, her children fast asleep, and her husband as well, managed to find where her daughter had hid her sewing needles in the kitchen cabinet. Smiling, she settled down next to the fire and began stitching away at the kosode she was making. Her thread didn't tangle once.

Daisuke, coming home, managed to slip into his house and put his daughter's walking stick back into place and even find the jug of sake without waking Hisako. Sitting by the fire, he chuckled pleased to have pulled one over on the one person who put up with him the best.

Tsuneo found his newly healed wife in a rather playful mood, and allowed her to have her way with him under the blankets.

The wave of luck spread out further than that, going up the hill on the east side of town.

It washed over Eiji, who was feeling in a particularly pleasant mood as he left the wedding party at Daitaro's and stepped out into the night.

"Yes, here's to years where there's more than enough to keep us all well fed and well watered," he said as he reached the main path down the hill. "And maybe to the end of all the strange things that have been going on this last ten day." He stopped for a moment and scratched his head. "Now, where haven't I been yet? I need to walk by the temple and the shrine, check that all's well by Momoe's house, make sure Hisako-obaasan isn't stirring up more trouble, and check on Koichi and Jun. Wouldn't be surprised if those two had drunk themselves into a pickle."

He laughed a little at the thought.

"One more night of this, and it's Susumu's turn." He heard something along the pathway. The village guard froze. Lifting his lantern, he managed to shine some light into a cat's eyes. The cat paused and looked at him back.

"On patrol, too?" he asked. "You look like that cat that Houshi-sama brought home. Chika, isn't that your name? I hope you're looking for mice. Our fields always have too many of them."

The small cat, bobbed tail and all, walked up to the guard, and rubbed her head against him. He squatted down, and gently stroked her head. "So, should I take you home to your family, or let you wander off in the night?"

Chika jumped into his arms.

Eiji laughed, and stood up. "Well, that's one of the places I did want to check. I guess we can head that way first." Lifting his lantern high, he began walking up the hill.

They had gone about a third of the way to Miroku's house when the cat, who had been snuggling in Eiji's hold stiffened, and looked up. She mewed, and began trying to climb up Eiji's shoulder.  
>He stopped and let go of his grip. "Is something wrong, little one?" he asked.<p>

She mewed again, jumped down, and began heading down the path that lead to the village and not in the direction of the monk's house.

Curiosity got the better of him, especially after the cat stopped for a moment to look back at him.

"Maybe I should check this out," he said, and lifting his lamp high enough so he could see better, he headed back towards the village.

At Daitaro's house, Masayo, Erime's brother, now quite tipsy, stood up and moved into the middle of the room, and began to pound out an interesting rhythm on his drum. He began to dance, in what would have been graceful circles if he had drunk less sake during the night.

"Don't fall into the fire," Takeshi called out, leaning back and grinning.

"Me, fall?" Masayo asked. "I'm as graceful as a cat." The luck swirling about touched him just as he missed a step. He would have otherwise fallen into the fire, just like his father said, but instead, the luck made sure he stumbled just a little. Recovering himself, he bumped into Mariko. "So sorry, Mariko-chan."

She merely laughed at him and gave him a little shove, which this time, just helped him into his next gyration.

"A cat that's been in the sake," InuYasha said, amused as he watched Masayo's antics. The hanyou was feeling rather mellow himself, with a full tummy and just a little hazy from sake, and a lot of the tension that he had been carrying had bled away now that he wasn't the center of attention.

"A drunk cat is a pitiful thing," Daitaro said, grinning at the hanyou. "One got into my sake tub once . . . "

"Don't even mention the sake sage," Kagome whispered.

The hanyou laughed.

Masayo began to sing with his dance.

"They say on a moonlit night,  
>they say on a summer's night,<br>yoi yoi, yoiya sa,  
>they say on a moonlit night<br>that the singing frogs  
>wrestle with the shrimp,<br>while the shorebirds place bets."

"They say a lot of things," Susumu said, draining the last of his cup. "Not all of them true." Mariko offered to fill his cup back up, but he shook his head.

"Like some of the stories you tell, son?" Hisa asked.

Kinjiro nudged him. "Especially the stories you tell to get out of farm work."

There was a wave of laughter about that. "Oh, if Koichi were here, he'd be happy to tell us many such stories."

Masayo hit his drum extra hard, trying to get people to pay attention to him. The motion made him lose balance once again, and he squatted down, which fit pretty well with his next verse anyway.

"Tell me why, oh little frog,  
>tell me why, you little frog,<br>yoi yoi, yoiya sa  
>tell me why oh little frog<br>you sing loud enough to wake me up  
>while the shorebirds screech and fly?"<p>

"Birds are worse at dawn," Genjo said, picking up a last bite of food on his chopsticks. He looked at it a long time, then put it down. "Especially if they're roosters."

"Is this your song or mine?" Masayo asked. He put down his drum and leaned back, resting his weight on his hands, and raising an eyebrow as he looked at Genjo. "You could finish it if you'd rather do it, if you can move after all those pickles."

"Yours, yours, cousin," the young farmer said. He looked up at his cousin, hovering somewhere between mellow and irritated. Genjo decided that mellow was much better than getting his mother mad at him for saying something stupid. "Don't mind me. I was just thinking out loud."

"Wait until I tell Shinjiro you think you can think," Masayo said, grinning. Normally that might get a rise out of Genjo, but instead the young man laughed.

"Oh, he'll laugh at that one," Genjo said. "Maybe it's even true."

Pacified, Masayo struggled back to his feet, and began his dance once again. This time, Chime decided to move closer to her husband after making sure no pots were in the dancer's way.

"Tell me why, oh little shrimp,  
>tell me why, oh little shrimp,<br>yoi yoi, yoiya sa,  
>why your back is bent,<br>why your back is so bent  
>and the shorebirds circle around?"<p>

"The better to get away from dancers?" Tama, Masayo's sister, said.

"Or," said Ushimi, his mother, "it was the dancers who did it?"

"Not dancers," Masayo said.

"The singing frogs this moonlit night  
>dressed up like sumo wrestlers this night,<br>yoi yoi, yoiya sa,  
>And threw me down on the ground,<br>and stomped me down on the ground,  
>while the shorebirds placed their bets."<p>

The young man gave the drum one last tap, and collapsed in a heap.

"I would think it might be foolish to bet on shrimp against frogs," Tameo declared.

"Agreed!" Daitaro said. "I suspect some shrimp might even end up in frog bellies."

While they discussed the song, and Masayo managed to get back into his place with the help of his wife and father, the luck that was swirling around the house wrapped around Kagome as she watched the dance. She suddenly tensed and sat up very straight, looking around the room, not at anybody, but into the corners of the house and the shadows, as if something might be lurking there.

At first, nobody noticed what she was doing, and Daitaro started a long, involved joke about his bull. Uncertain, the young miko gave her husband's hand a hard squeeze.

InuYasha glanced over at her, and sat up straight, seeing how tense she was. "What's wrong?"

"I...I don't know," she said, turning her head to one side, then shaking it, then leaned in close to her husband, speaking just loud enough for him to hear. "I...I felt something. Something strange. I'm not sure . . . "

"You're not feeling sick, are you?" he asked, giving her hand a little squeeze.

"No," she said. "It's not like that." She sucked on her bottom lip. "It felt . . . it felt like . . . almost like there was some youkai around, but not quite."

The men around them laughed at something Daitaro said. "And then Koichi fell flat on his nose and I just knew Okuro was . . . "

The hanyou ignored the old man's story. "Youkai?" he asked, his voice very soft. "You're sure it's just not my brother somewhere nearby?"

"It didn't quite feel like youki," she said. "But almost. And besides, I know what Sesshoumaru's youki feels like."

InuYasha looked around the room thoughtfully, considering what something like a youkai attack might do to the people gathered here. "You want to go see?" he asked. "I'd hate to mess up the dinner, but . . . "

Kagome nodded. "Maybe we could step outside. I might be mistaken. But if there really is something out there . . . "

"I could smell it or hear it better outside than in," he finished. "Maybe even take care of it and nobody would have to know better. I'd hate to disturb them if there's nothing there. Everybody's having such a good time."

"Yeah," Kagome said, nodding. "This has been such an odd day, I wouldn't be surprised by anything that happened." Moving gracefully, she stood up. InuYasha, grabbing his sword, followed.

"Is something wrong, Kagome-chan?" Chime asked, who looked up from the fire she was tending, surprised by their movements. "You look pale, child."

The young miko shook her head. "I...I don't think so, Chime-obasan, but if you don't mind, I'd like to get a breath of air."

"Huh," Daitaro said, stopping his story in midstream as he looked at the two of them carefully. "I thought it would be your husband who'd need to get some air after everything my wife fed him tonight."

InuYasha patted his tummy. "It was a good meal. But Genjo may have eaten more."

"Maybe," Genjo said. "It's a close thing, one way or the other."

"Just don't complain tomorrow," Mariko, picking up some empty dishes, said.

Kagome chuckled and looked up at the hanyou, who, after trying to reassure everybody nothing was seriously wrong, had already moved into high alert. Luckily, most of the people were too busy enjoying themselves to really notice. She whispered to him, "Relax," and taking a deep breath the hanyou nodded.

The young miko padded her husband's arm. "Oh, he can eat an amazing amount," she said. "But I'm sure it's nothing. I just got a little lightheaded. Nothing a little air won't take care of."

Taking his hand, she led her husband outside before he could spook anybody.

Tameo looked at them thoughtfully as the young couple walked out. "I wonder . . . " he said. Shaking his head, he turned and listened to Daitaro tell yet another joke about chasing his bull.


	280. Chapter 280

_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 280**

Kagome followed InuYasha out of Daitaro's house, holding up the lamp Chime had insisted she take.

"I...I don't feel anything," she said, looking around her. "But . . . "

InuYasha took a few steps forward, his ears twisting about as he listened to the night sound, his posture in high alert as he scented the air. He relaxed. "Smell Daitaro's cattle more than anything else." He grinned at Kagome. "But what?"

"I don't know," she said, shrugging. "Maybe it was the sake. It just feels . . . "

"Too much party?" he asked.

She shook her head, and began to walk down the path to the main route would lead them home or back west to the village, Kagome could hear the sounds of celebration going on. "I don't think so," she said, taking his hand. He gave it a little squeeze.

"Let's go see if anybody's walked up the road that shouldn't be here," he said.

They headed that way, getting a bit further from the noise. As they reached the roadway, InuYasha stopped, looking carefully around him.

"Everybody's been having such a good time," Kagome said, leaning against her husband's arm. "I don't know what I felt, but I hope it was nothing, and I'm just being silly." She looked around into the night and up at the sky. It was full of stars, with no clouds, for a change, and no moonlight to interfere with the view.

"Keh," InuYasha replied. "Better to feel silly than to get snuck up on by something we didn't expect." He knelt down a moment and sniffed at the pathway the way he did when trying to track scent traces, then stood, shrugging before he wrapped an arm around his wife. "I don't smell anything out of the ordinary. Eiji went this way, and I think Fumio and Koume must have brought the boys back."

"Want to walk around the house in case we missed something?" she asked.

"Long as we don't get too close to where they put Shinjiro and Erime. I don't really want to pick up any more of what they're doing than I have to," he said, giving Kagome a sheepish look.

"Uh . . . " Kagome said, coloring slightly and laughing a little. "I forget sometimes how good your senses are. Let's just walk over that way," she said, pointing toward a stand of trees that stood near the east end of the compound. "That ought to be good enough to let you figure out if you can tell if anything's around that ought not to be."

He nodded, and the two began walking in that direction.

"This has been the wildest day," InuYasha said. "Do people always act like this when they get together to celebrate stuff?"

"Ho!" Daitaro's voice boomed from the house. "Are you going to let him get away with that, Hisa-chan?" Loud laughter followed.

Kagome giggled. "They do sometimes, especially if everybody knows each other and are comfortable with their relationship."

"Does . . . does that mean . . . " The hanyou's ear flicked.

"Oh, you're accepted, InuYasha," Kagome said, leaning her head against his shoulder. "I know it's hard for you to accept, but we have been welcomed with open arms. Anybody who would feed you that many pickles really has to like you." She smiled up at him. "I guess this means we belong. And we won't be needing to run off into to woods just to find a place to stay."

He wrapped his arm around her waist. "I guess you're right. It's just . . . just . . . for a long time only you, and then Sango and Miroku really made me feel like I belonged. And now there's a whole house of them. That's going to take some getting used to."

"You had to know that Daitaro and Tameo thought well of you," Kagome said.

"Yeah . . . " he acknowledged. "But thinking well of someone and doing stuff like tonight . . . " He looked down on Kagome. "It's sometimes hard to get my head wrapped around the idea. They treat me like . . . like . . . "

"Like friends treat each other," Kagome said.

"Yeah. And kind of like people who look out for you . . . not exactly like parents, but . . . " He thought for a moment.

"I know what you mean," Kagome said nodding. "My mother's sister, my obasan, she was good about doing that sometimes, especially when I was younger."

"Yeah. Kind of like I am with Kaede-babaa, but not so close." He scratched his head. They had reached the trees on their walk. "Didn't smell any youkai on the way here. A rabbit or two. Some dogs like this spot." He patted one of the trees.

"I'm glad to hear that. I didn't want to have anything like a youkai attack to deal with tonight," she said. "Tomorrow's going to be bad enough."

"Yeah," InuYasha replied. He looked up at the stars. "Bad. But nothing he doesn't deserve."

Back at Tameo's compound, multiple eyes looked at Yoshimi, standing there in the gloom, the lamp he had threw warm highlights and deep shadows on his face, and capturing the eyes of his brother Seiji. While he looked doubtful and afraid, Seiji's eyes glittered, staring back at his brother with a dark intensity.

"Let me out," Seiji said one more time. "I know there's no lock. All you have to do is lift the bar holding the door closed. Hurry, before those fools wake up."

Yoshimi looked back to see Jun and Koichi sleeping soundly on the ground behind him. His hand on the lamp shook, and h took a step back, letting his vision of his brother's eyes fall back into the shadows. He swallowed, and took a deep breath. "You know, I thought today was going to be a pretty good day. I headed out early and went into the woods." His voice was soft and sad, wistful, with more than a touch of self-pity. "But my afternoon's been hell."

"Bah," Seiji said, "you were free to move around at least, while I sweated it out in here."

"It was a pretty day, a bit warm. I chopped some wood early, before it got too hot." Yoshimi scratched his head, then looked back into the shadows in the lockup. "Not the first time you had gotten in a fight and landed here. I really didn't think much about it. There were other things to do."

"Some brother," Seiji muttered. "I know how you spend your time in the woods. I bet you were more worried about meeting up with that piece of ass you visit on your wood chopping trips than what was happening to me. Everybody in the damn village knows why you can spend all day getting a single load of firewood." There was a noise from the lockup, like he was hitting something against the wall. "Why should I have expected any different? Nobody cared about what was happening to me. You, Maeme, that snot of a son of mine who never came back . . . "

Yoshimi ignored the self-pitying tone of his brother, and his eyes flashed. "Don't you talk about Kiyoko that way. We're going to be married after the next ten day." Although he kept his voice low, it was more of a hiss, and outraged. He drew himself up. "She's going to be your sister-in-law. Get used to it, Ani-ue, whether you like it or not."

"You? Marry her?" Seiji's voice rose, and then he began to laugh, a hoarse, raspy sound, not loud enough to disturb the sleeping men, but the cat looked up. Deciding there was more noise than necessary, the animal stood up and wandered off to find a different place to sleep. "Oh, I've heard all the stories about Kiyoko. Won't give a man a son, but likes her pretties. The talk is she worked her last husband to death. You think you're going to be any different?" He coughed, loud and hacking, then spit. "All these women, what good are they? Even the sex isn't worth it. They turn our sons into weaklings and they only think of one thing, what they can get out of a man."

"Shut up," Yoshimi hissed. "You don't know anything about her. And I'll get her farm, too. She's already said she's going to pay off my debts. She chose to do that. More than my own brother did. Maybe I should just go. I hear they're going to let the hanyou have your head tomorrow. Maybe that'd solve all our problems."

"I don't think this is going well," Yoshio said, making the gesture that allowed him to pull the other supernatural people he was with out of time. He looked at Kazuo, his long face concerned and nervous about how the events were taking shape.

Sadayori said, "Wait. You must not have spent a lot of time watching my family." The ghost shook his head. "What am I saying? I know you never spent a lot of time watching my family, or you would know how these two relate."

"How exotic," Shimame said, waving her fan. "You, Sadayori-sama, and your whole family."

Sadayori gave the land kami an exasperated look. "Just wait."

Yoshio shook his head. "I don't know why you just don't let the elders handle this. You know they expect to."

Kazuo gave the other family kami a hard look. "Because Tameo and Toshiro and Tsuneo don't deserve to have to bear the decision of what needs to be done to make things right. Because they'll lean on the hanyou, and he, for all of his battle experience, is peaceable when not attacked, and to spill a villager's blood even in justice is something he'd rather not do. Because Maeme might not get the justice she deserves otherwise." He rubbed his hat back and forth across his head. "Because . . . because . . . "

Daikoku laughed, and patted the kami on his back. "Because this is your style, and you've set it up, right old man?" He looked at Yoshio. "His sense of justice . . . ah . . . "

Shimame tittered. "After what you did to that yamabushi, I think it's clear you missed your calling. You should have been a writer of dramas, not a farmer."

Kazuo shook his head. "Let's get this over with," and clapping his hands, he moved them back into the time stream.

Yoshimi held the lamp up, high enough so he could look into the lockup. "I'm not ruining my life to run off and play bandit with you, Ani-ue. I just . . . just wanted to give you a chance. It seemed like the right thing to do. You are my brother."

Seiji sighed. "Fuck it all. Just let me out. Go to your woman. Live happy farming rice with her. She'll keep your bed warm. Just let me out. I'll go get my things and leave. Maybe head back to Odawara, and see if I can get work with the Daimyo's people. I still know a few people there. They owe me."

His eyes met his brother's. "I promise, if you let me out, that's the last you'll see of me. Just . . . just keep an eye on Sukeo. He's a good kid. Don't let them treat him bad because I'm not there to stand up for him."

"I..." Yoshimi said. "You promise to just go?"

"I promise. It's the last thing you'll have to do for me." Seiji's tone was imploring, soft, hopeful. "Just don't let me die by a youkai's hand."

Yoshimi looked back at the two sleeping guards, then put his lamp on the ground. Reaching for the door, he slid the bar off and opened the door. It squeaked as it swung open, and he turned around to make sure Koichi and Jun were still sound asleep.

As he turned, he had just a moment to see his brother's fist aiming for his head and he crumpled to the ground, a perfect hit much like the one InuYasha had landed on Seiji's chin the day before.

"Fuck you, and any promises I made," Seiji said, kicking his brother once for good measure. "I'm going to get that son of a bitch who has my woman, and make them all pay." He grabbed the lamp. "Oh, they'll pay, all right."

And with that, he headed into the night.


	281. Chapter 281

_ I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 281**

"Well," Shimame-no-Kami said, standing over the crumpled form of Yoshimi."That surprised me."

"It was a rather lucky punch," Yoshio said, looking at Daikoku. His eyebrows knit together in a suspicious, unapproving glare.

"It was, indeed," said the luck god. "But not one I actually helped out. Sometimes, humans can be . . . well, lucky, all on their own. The heavens don't always cause it." He stepped next to Shimame, then crouched down. "It was lucky for Yoshimi, here, too. I suspect he would have taken a much harder beating. The anger in that man . . . " Daikoku looked up at Kazuo and Sadayori.

"He always was hot-blooded," Sadayori said, looking down at Yoshimi. "I never could figure out why. They said my otousan had a temper, too, but he was never anything like my son. This one, he was more like I was, I think . . . persuadable, and not always good, but never one to go out of his way and hurt someone. Is he going to be all right?"

Kazuo scratched the back of his neck. "Going to have a sore jaw, I suspect. But as mad as Seiji was . . . " He looked up at Daikoku. "I didn't expect him to have quite that much fight left in him."

Shimame waved her fan. "So, now that you've let the cat out of its cage, Kazuo-no-kami, what's the next scene in this play of yours?"

Yoshio closed his eyes a moment. "He's heading towards his house, I believe," the kami said.

"I expect he's going back for his sword." Kazuo tugged on his beard. "I expected him to go back for his weapon, and maybe some ofuda or something- we know even if he's focused on getting his wife back, he'll be thinking about the hanyou as well. We'll want to make sure Maeme and the boys don't fall into his hands. They're surrounded by good people, but a little extra luck wouldn't hurt, either."

"That's easy enough to arrange," Daikoku said. He glowed for a moment. "Consider it done."

Yoshimi groaned.

"It would be good if he was gone before anybody found him here," Sadayori said.

"Don't you think he'll just run and hide?" Shimame bent closer to him. He was getting a bruise from where he had been hit, one to join the multiple other small wounds he had picked up over the day. "He's never impressed me as one with any backbone."

"He's always been a bit weak on that one," Sadayori acknowledged.  
>"No, he has another role to play in this little drama of mine," Kazuo said. He knelt down, and rested his hand on the young man's forehead. Light engulfed Yoshimi, and he arched up as the magic overwhelmed him.<p>

"All better," Kazuo said, standing back up himself. "You know what to do. Wake up and do it!"

Yoshimi bolted up. "Wha . . . what . . . what have I done?" He got to his feet. "Damn you, Seiji! I . . . I . . . What do I do?" He looked at the two sleeping men. "No, I'm not even going to try. Maybe if . . . "

Shaking his head once, he too headed out into the night.

"Such a flair for the dramatic, Kazuo-no-kami," Shimame said, watching the young man head into the night. "So, what's the next scene?"

"Oh, I think that'll be up on the hill," Kazuo said. "I wonder if Daitaro has any sake left?"

With a quick clap of his hands, they were gone.

"Remind me never to follow a cat again," Eiji said to the small animal in his arms "I swear you must have been following a ghost. No creature could have gone around in such twisted circles as you went."

Chika rubbed her head against his chest, and purred.

"I ought to make you walk home to Sango-chan, cat. But I'm a nice person. Still, if you run away again, I'm going to leave you to the wolves and foxes," he admonished. "I have rounds to make. And my wife, well she promised to heat up a bath for me."

The little calico cat flicked her ear acknowledgment, but she made no other move, nor did she act in the least bit remorseful.

He laughed a little as he walked on.

"Neko, neko,  
>spotted cat,<br>can you bring me good luck?  
>Yoi, yoi, yoiya sa.<p>

"My wife  
>will give you fish<br>if you help us prosper,  
>yoi, yoi, yoiya sa."<p>

Chika cracked an eye at the song Eiji was singing, and rubbed her head against him once more.

"There are more verses than that, little one. You'll want to work for your supper," Eiji said.

"My storeroom  
>has lots of proud mice<br>just waiting to play with you  
>yoi, yoi, yoiya sa.<p>

"Neko, neko,  
>spotted cat,<br>you'll live like a lord here,  
>yoi, yoi, yoiya sa."<p>

The cat let out a soft mrr as he finished, which amused the village guard.

"Sango-chan, though, might have a thing or two to say to me if I ran off with you, my beauty, and I'm not sure who Kimi-chan would be more angry with, me or the monk's wife. So I think I'll just take you home."

The two of them were nearing the hill on the east side of the village, almost past Momoe's house, which, although not on the hill, was the house both closest to the river and the hill and the furthest house on that side of the village. Off in the distance, a dog, maybe at Momoe's started to bark.

"Dogs even out here," Eiji said. "Aren't you glad you're with me? I bet some deer got too close to Momoe's garden. Once he scares her off, he'll quiet down."

"Mrrr," the small cat replied, obviously unconcerned with the barking.

The dog got a little louder. The cat's ear tracked it for a moment, but then it faded. "See?" Eiji said. "All gone."

This got no reaction from the cat he was carrying. But as he neared the turnoff that would take him up the road that led to Daitaro's, Miroku's and InuYasha's houses, he noticed a glow near the fields that shouldn't have been there.

"Now what is that?" he said. "Momoe's otousan wouldn't be burning fields this time of year. And especially this time of night. But what . . . it's too big for a lamp."

He stood there, watching a little longer and the glow grew, turning from just light into leaping flames, and began to take the outline of a building. "What the hells . . . there's nothing out there but that old shack Momoe's ojiisan used to live in. Nobody's lived there for years. Why would it be burning?" He whirled, like he was thinking about returning to the center of the village, but then he stopped, and started running towards Daitaro's house. "Too far away to hit the watch tower and ring the gong. I hope Daitaro and Tameo aren't too drunk to help."  
>He turned up the path. "Who in the hell would set that old place on fire?"<p>

Up at Miroku's house, the group there was totally unaware of anything happening down at the base of the hill. Things were quite quiet. Miroku's children slept easily on their pallet along one of the walls, and even the adults in the room barely spoke above a murmur.

Sango broke some of that silence, stepping out of the sleeping room as she slid the door to it closed. "Well, Nakao's fast asleep, and so is Maeme," she said, walking back towards the fire pit. "I told Sukeo he could lay down too, any time he wanted, but he'd rather keep watch, I guess."

"Boy's got good instincts," Fumio said. The fire cast warm highlights on his face, which made him look both somber and kindhearted as he stared into the fire. "I'm looking forward to getting him into the smithy once things settle down."

"There's going to be more than one boy who wondered how he managed that," Miroku said.

"Let'em wonder," the old smith replied. "None of them impressed me enough to try them out."

"I remember how you used to chase Eiji away," Koume said. "You let him marry your daughter but not touch any of your hammers."

"Still won't," the smith replied, smiling. It was a fond, but gruff look. "He'd either spoil the metal or break his hand."

Koume just shook her head. "We could take the boys home." She was working on a bit of sewing that Sango had offered her to pass the time, and looked up at the taijiya as she rejoined the circle. "I know it's getting a bit late. I'm sure you two would like a bit of quiet. I'm sure you've barely had time to catch your own breath with everything that happens. It takes quiet to think."

"Besides, Nahoi's looking forward to pampering the boys," Fumio said. He drank a sip of his tea, discovered it had gone cold, sighed, and finished it. "She's taken quite a liking to Maeme's youngest. We've got more room than you, too."

"That's true," Koume said, nodding. "All I need to do is push a few chests out of the way, and I'd have this much room in my weaving room. And we have plenty of room in the main house."

The monk sitting next to the smith shook his head. He was fingering a Buddhist rosary, as if he too needed something for his fingers to do to pass the time. He looked up, his face also somber, even if his eyes seemed a little tired. "No, it's all right," he said as Sango settled down next to him. "We can manage for right now." He glanced back at the sleep room. "Maeme . . . well, the boys seem to calm her down. Maybe she's afraid she'll lose everything when they get too far away. But perhaps, if you want to walk someone home, Kaede-sama might prefer to head home herself?"

The old miko was sitting next to the children's pallet, her head nodding, as she pulled InuYasha's trick of sleeping upright against the wall.

"She might," Sango said. "I tried to get her to let me make her a bed but she wouldn't hear of it. I know it's been a long day for her."

Kaede nodded hard once, then straightened up, and opened her eye. "I...I think, perhaps, I really ought to stay, at least until morning. Maeme-chan might wake up in a few hours, and if she's as confused as last time . . . "

"You could lay down while she does," Miroku said.

The old miko shook her head. "Perhaps . . . perhaps another cup of tea."

Sango nodded. "Tea it is," and she got up to fill her kettle from the water bucket.

"Speaking of days, I wonder who's going to remember today the most - Maeme or Shinjiro?" Miroku said, poking at the fire to prepare it to heat some more water. "They are both starting new parts of their life today."

"Probably Chime," Koume said, threading her needle. "She worked hard to make today special. I hope they're having a good time down there."

"I bet by now Shinjiro is," Miroku said, grinning.

Sango, returning with her water, gave him a small shove.

"Don't wake the children," he replied, grinning. "But you know it's true. And by now, I suspect InuYasha has finally gotten his fill of pickles."

"That I'll believe when InuYasha tells me himself," Sango said, putting the water on the fire.

"Ah, Shinjiro and Erime. I suspect they have indeed had a good time by now if they didn't fall asleep first," Koume said, knotting her thread. "I know I did on my wedding night - fall asleep right after they let us get away."

"I think I fell asleep first," Fumio said. "That was a long day. Somehow, weddings manage to be rather exhausting."

"Exhausting, and with too much sake," the older woman said.

Sango reached for her sewing basket, but as she did so, there was a knock on the door.


	282. Chapter 282

_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 282**

"Where did you bring us to?" Yoshio, the family kami of Tsuneo's ko asked. He looked around. The supernatural beings were standing near an old, abandoned house. It was not too far from Momoe's house.

"This is the start of the next scene," Kazuo said, looking at Shimame-no-kami who smiled at him before hiding her smirk behind her fan. "Behold, Yoshio, what that son of your ko is doing."

The group drifted around to the door of the old house, and peered inside. Seiji stood there, heaping straw against one wall. Turning, he looked around and saw baskets filled with hemp fiber, partially prepared for spinning.

"Damn, that'll burn good," he said.

Shimame looked around the old building. "What is he doing?"

"You'll see," Kazuo said as Seiji began to empty out some of the baskets and add their content to the straw. After that, he poured oil on some of the materials.

"This is what he tried to do to Michio's house when they announced his marriage to Chiya," Sadayori said.

"He is rather predictable, isn't he?" Daikoku said.

Kazuo nodded. "If he wasn't, I wouldn't have dared this . . . We're just lucky he picked this as his distraction, and not Tameo's."

"Luck, I believe, is on our side," the luck kami said.

Shimame tittered.

"We can't . . . can't let him . . . " Yoshio said, lifting his hand. "Momoe's family . . . they're mine, too."

Kazuo grabbed his wrist. "Yes we can. You should have thought of that earlier, when Sadayori first came looking for some help."

Yoshio began to jerk his wrist free, but Kazuo was stronger.

"Enough," Shimame said, resting her fan on the place where Kazuo had grabbed his fellow kami. There was a small puff of light, and Kazuo was thrown slightly back, freeing Yoshio, who gave the other kami a dark look as he rubbed his wrist.

"It is enough, Yoshio. I have given Kazuo permission to continue. You may help, but not hinder."

The old farmer kami smiled, and bowed.

"But what about . . . " Yoshio said.

"We will take care of them later," Shimame said. Looking up at Daikoku, she smiled, then dropped her eyes coquettishly. "Perhaps someone would grant them a boon to make amends?"

Daikoku laughed.

While the kami interacted, Seiji looked at his work with a pleased bit of concentration. "Haven't forgot the old tricks," he said. "I still know how to bring them down, house or fortress."

"Emma-O is going to have fun with him when he shows up in hell," Daikoku said, shaking his head. "Such a twisted soul."

"He's handled worse," Shimame replied.

"You better have it worked out well," Yoshio said. "He's got what it takes to turn into a youkai."

Seiji took his lamp, and set the fuel on fire, and watched with a satisfied smirk as it caught flame, then headed out of the building. Nearby was a cart that had contained straw, but now, only held his old armor and sword. He grabbed the cuirass and began putting it on.

"Oy, that's been getting a little moth-eaten," Yoshio said. "Look at it."

"It wouldn't matter to him if it was made out of paper," Kazuo said. "He's an actor in a play of his own making." He rubbed his hat against his skull. "Don't you feel what he's thinking? He's the avenger out to correct the wrongs. A hero?"

"Some hero," Daikoku said.

As if to prove Kazuo correct, Seiji began to rant. "Think they can just take my wife and head, do they?" he said, fastening the tabs on one side. "Get rid of me like I was nothing?" He snugged a strap taunt. "Who do they think they are, stealing a man's life? They thought that in Odawara, too, but it didn't do that officer of mine any good, now did it?"

"A dark play he lives in," Shimame said. "A villain who thinks he's a wronged hero."

Seiji and the kami looked back at the building. It was impossible to see through the flame as the straw and hemp and oil and wood burned. Some flames lapped through the open window, casting hellish highlights on the man and his armor. The fire lapped up the side of the building and began to catch the roof, which was thatched.

He laughed while he armed. "Let'em all come chase the fire. Everybody who might stop me is at that old fool Daitaro's." He strapped on his helmet, then reached for his sword. "And while they're here, I'll get what's mine."

The dog barked again at Momoe's house, and he could hear shouts. For some reason, that made him laugh again. "Shouldn't have said what you said to me last week, bitch. I'll get back at all of you tonight."

Securing his sword in his obi, he picked up the lantern and ran into the darkness.

"On to the next scene," Kazuo said, and the supernatural witnesses were gone.

InuYasha and Kagome began to head back to Daitaro's front door, when the hanyou stopped. His nostrils flared and he turned towards the river.

"Is something wrong?" Kagome asked, immediately going on alert herself.

The kami appeared.

"We have to be careful around these two," Kazuo said. "My little granddaughter who is not my granddaughter here, she is very gifted with spiritual sight." He looked at Sadayori. "She's most likely to sense you. Stay close."

"This is the one who is Kikyou's reincarnation?" Yoshio asked, looking at Kagome with some interest. "Tsuneo and his daughter-in-law think highly of her."

"Yes, yes," Kazuo said.

"It's interesting how someone so slight could defeat the Shikon no Tama," Daikoku said. "And I wasn't even there when it happened."

"Something . . . something doesn't smell right," InuYasha said.

"And the hanyou . . . " Shimame said. "People have always underestimated him. I remember seeing his otousan a few times." She gave a wistful sigh. "So much power, such a heart. Alas, I never did get a chance to . . . entertain him the way I wanted to."

Kazuo started to laugh, but hid it with a cough. Straightening his face, he said, "And the hanyou is probably the only person in the village that frightens Seiji."

"He's warded his house enough," Sadayori. "It even keeps me out."

"I'm not so sure if it's the wards or his own darkness that does that," Shimame said. "He . . . well, he attracts the midnight more than the noon."

"They don't help," Daikoku said.

"Something smells wrong? It can't be a youkai. I would feel it," Kagome said.

"Not a youkai," InuYasha said, shaking his head. He scented the air again. "Damn wind, teasing me. I thought I smelled too much smoke . . . " He sniffed again. "It's gone. Would someone be burning something tonight?"

"Burning?" Kagome asked. "Everybody in the village has fires going."

"Not that. Something bigger than that. Sometimes people burn off their fields," he said. "If a house burns, they sound the gong. They smell different. I didn't get a good enough whiff to be sure what it was or even if it was." He turned and looked at his wife. "Maybe I should go tell Tameo."

"We could go look," Kagome said. "At least to the main road. If it's nothing . . . "

InuYasha nodded, and the two of them started down the path. A bobbing light moved toward them. It was coming at a much faster rate than a typical strolling person walking at night, much quicker than their own lantern would have looked to someone walking.

"Who's that?" Kagome asked.

"Fire!" Eiji's voice yelled the word. "Tell Tameo. There's a fire by Momoe's house!"

"Now we have to time everything just right," Kazuo said, as Eiji caught up with InuYasha and Kagome. "Seiji can't get too far up the mountain too early." He looked at Yoshio. "If you want to help, old man, and make up for what's gone wrong, you'll find a way to delay him."

"Me?" the kami asked. "You want me to keep him from getting to the monk's house?"

The group watched as Eiji, still holding Chika, recounted what he had seen, then all three hurried to Daitaro's.

"We do indeed," Daikoku said. "If he gets there too early, there'll be a big nasty brawl." He closed his eyes, considering the possibilities. "Why should the monk or his lovely wife or the smith or even Sukeo-kun have to deal with the blood guilt on their karma? Besides, his children are traumatized enough, and it's time they had some good luck."

"I agree," Shimame said. "I've seen Nakao in the fields. He has the green touch. Growing things like him." She waved her fan. "I hate to lose those people. Kinjiro has it, especially in this generation. But besides the girl that the miko cares for, few besides Nakao have it in his generation. The girl . . . she has a different fate." Shimame sighed. "I have no claim on her. But I need that boy."

Yoshio sighed, and bowed as he gave in. "If you want this, I will do it, Dono," he said. "But how will I know when it's time?"

The door to Daitaro's spilled open, and a group of people led by InuYasha and Eiji headed out of doors. Daitaro and Genjo ran to the tool shed, followed quickly by Susumu and Kinjiro. Kagome, now holding Sango's cat, stood on the verandah next to Chime and Mariko, obviously irritated that she had been told to stay behind.

"One of us will come for you, obviously," Shimame replied.

"Or the hanyou will find him first," Kazuo said.

Yoshio nodded, and bowing once more, disappeared.

"I think it's time I check up on my grandsons," Sadayori said.

"I think you're right," Kazuo said, and clapping his hands, the entire group vanished.

At Miroku's house, the knock was repeated, harder this time. "Houshi-sama! Houshi-sama!" a man's voice said. "Please, please, let me in." The voice was filled with panic. "Kwannon have mercy. I didn't mean . . . please."

The group of kami appeared, and took places on the rafters of the monk's house.

"You know," Daikoku said, "I think we might owe that boy at least a little boon by the time today is over," he said. "You have used Yoshimi rather hard today."

"Bah," Kazuo said. "He deserves it. Maybe after all of this, and he's married to that woman, he'll learn to appreciate the right way."

"There is always hope," Sadayori said.

He knocked again. "Please, Houshi-sama."

"Now what?" Fujime said.

"Isn't that Yoshimi?" Fumio said, looking towards the door. He reached for his hammer. "What in the hells would bring him out here tonight. Unless . . . "

"Fumio always was a perceptive person," Shimame said.

Miroku, glancing at the smith, bounced up.

"The monk is not a slouch, either," Daikoku said, nodding in approval.

"Please, Houshi-sama. I..." the voice shook. "I..."

"I don't like the sound of this," the monk said. He grabbed his staff and headed for the door. Sliding the door open, he revealed the dirty, bruised and panicked form of Seiji's younger brother.

Yoshimi bowed. "I...I..." he started, then swallowed.

Kaede roused from her drowsiness and looked at the young man. "You look injured, Yoshimi. Did something happen?"

"Spit it out, man," Fumio said. He tensed, and gripped his hammer more tightly. Fujime reached over and touched his arm.

Yoshimi took a deep breath. "Seiji is out of the lockup."

"What?" Sango asked, standing up. She moved towards the weapons rack.

The young man kept his head bowed. His voice did more than shiver, it cracked. "He's coming here, I think, to kill you all." Having used his last ounce of courage, he collapsed on the threshold.

"I thought you healed him," Shimame said, leaning towards the farmer kami.

"Just enough to get him here," Kazuo said.

"Kuso," Fumio said. "I should have known we needed to lock the both of them up."

"Kuso indeed," Miroku said. He tapped his staff on the ground, next to Yoshimi's head. Yoshimi, unconscious, did not even flinch. He turned to the others. "Time to get ready."


	283. Chapter 283

_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 283**

While Miroku and Fumio dragged Yoshimi's body to the wall furthest away from his daughters, and Kaede, tired but committed, bent over the man, InuYasha and the others reached the burning wreck of the burning building.

The building was entirely engulfed, and the fire roared as it consumed the old wood. They could feel waves of heat coming off before they got very close.

"Looks like the gate to hell," Genjo said.

Kinjiro joined him "Nothing much to do but make sure it doesn't spread," he said. "Let's get to work."

The younger men - Masayo, Susumu, Eiji, joined them and started hacking away at anything they thought that was too close that might burn. From time to time burning bits of debris rolled out, and they slapped the burning material with blankets and farm tools.

"Kuso," InuYasha said, using his jacket as a blanket to slap at some burning straw. "Why tonight?"

"Noooo . . . " a woman's voice broke through the night. The men turned and saw Momoe run up to the burning building.

"I'm sorry, Momoe-chan," Daitaro said, frowning.

"Why? Why did this happen?" Momoe said, holding her head in her hands. She obviously had been in bed when the building started to burn. Her hair, for once, not tied back in a scarf, and she was only dressed in her kosode, not her wrap skirt. A breeze kicked up by the heat stirred her hair. "Did someone set it? Who . . . who would have done this?" Her daughter stood next to her, along with her grandson, who watched the fire with large frightened eyes. "All my hemp . . . so much work . . . "

Tameo looked at the burning structure. At that moment, the roof collapsed in with a loud roar and a huge leap of flame. He moved over to the distraught woman, and pushed her away a safer distance. "We'll take care of you, Momoe-chan."

Daitaro rested a hand on her shoulder. "Why don't you go to my place? You don't need to be watching this. Takeshi, why don't you take them back?"

"But . . . " Momoe said, weaving her body from side to side. "All the fabric I was going to weave this year. How will I pay for anything?"

"Don't worry about that, Momoe," Takeshi said. "You go talk with Chime-chan and my woman, and drink some tea. It always looks worse when it's happening. Come tomorrow, and we'll find out things aren't quite as bad as they look now."

Slowly, and with many looks over her shoulder, Momoe and her family let themselves be led away. Right after that, the beam on the front of the house collapsed in a shower of sparks and heat.

"I was cold earlier," Eiji said, beating at some dried weeds that were starting to ignite. "Not going to complain anymore. This is enough heat to keep me warm all night."

"Maybe all winter," Susumu said, joining him.

The burning building was very bright, casting a lot of light over everybody. It was evidently bright enough to be seen from the center of the village, too because someone began sounding the warning gong on the watch tower.

"Sounds like we're going to get some help, maybe," Genjo said.

Kinjiro spit. "Or a lot of sleepy fools with arrows and hoes who'll be expecting a bandit attack and trip over their own feet," he said, smashing an ember that blew off. "Nothing they can do here, anyway."

"Maybe make us laugh while they trip," Eiji replied, wiping his forehead. "There'll be enough light for everybody to see for a while, anyway."

Daitaro leaned on his hoe and reached for his jug, but in the rush to get to the fire he had forgotten to bring it. Looking down at his waist, he sighed. "Well, we'll have some stories to tell about today."

"Too many." Tameo moved towards the farmer. "It'll take me two days just to update the village register."

"It could be worse," Susumu said. He had an ashy blanket in his hands. Folding it, he put it over one shoulder. "We're lucky the barley is still green, or it might take out all the fields."

"We're even luckier that there's no other buildings next to it to burn," Daitaro said. "I've seen whole villages burn. There was that time I went to visit my cousin Shigeo. The village next to his burned three days."

A few men ran up, and joined the effort, and then they were joined by others, but there really wasn't much to do except chase and put out spots of hot material.

A chunk of flaming thatch floated down and landed near a wooden cart that rested not far from the burning building. InuYasha slapped it down, but after he did that, his head turned as he leaned against the cart.

"What the hells?" he asked, then shook out his fire rat and slipped the garment back on. He sneezed, then scented the air again.

"What, InuYasha?" Susumu asked, as the hanyou bent low over the cart and paid special attention to the handle.

"Seiji. He was the last person to handle this." The hanyou tucked his suikan in and fastened the cord.

"You're sure?" Kinjiro said, joining them.

"No question." InuYasha touched his nose. "This doesn't lie."

Tameo overheard them and dropping his hoe, walked over to join the little knot of men by the cart. "Seiji?"

"How?" Susumu said. "I know Jun and Koichi were watching him."

Eiji looked up at the headman and his son who were looking at him for answers. "I never did get back to your place, Tameo-sama. I saw the fire before I made it there." He bowed. "I am sorry"

"Things happen," the headman said, rubbing his chin. "So all of this . . . "

"All of this was meant distraction," Daitaro said, joining them.

The men looked at each other, knowing what that meant.

"We better get up to Houshi-sama's," Eiji said.

"You get home, son," Daitaro said. "Keep an eye on the women. Drag your brother out of bed if you have to."

"Damn," Genjo said. He turned and ran off.

"We better head up the hill," Daitaro said, hefting his hoe. "InuYasha?"

The hanyou bent low and began to look for the scent trail. It was complicated by all the people who were milling around and by the smell of the smoke, but he picked it up. After a moment, he stood up.

Susumu looked up at InuYasha. He was glad the look in the hanyou's eyes, fierce and intense, wasn't aimed at anything. "You're going after him?"

InuYasha nodded.

"Don't go easy on him this time when you find him," the village guard said. "Enough is enough."

The hanyou flexed the fingers of his right hand, and the light from the burning building glinted off the claws. "Enough is enough."

And with that, he loped off into the night.

As the men at the burning house were realizing just who was to blame, a soft "kuso" sounded in the night air up the hill. The sound, although not loud, echoed out in the woods about halfway to InuYasha's house. Seiji sat on a rock, catching his breath. "Where the hell am I? I know I've seen that tree at least two times." He shook his head. "I know there's a trail up here. I used to come up here for mushrooms often enough before that stupid youkai showed back up."

Yoshio-no-kami sat, unseen, on a tree branch above him. "Kazuo-sama was right," he said, although there was nobody nearby who could hear him. "I should have done something about you a long time ago, Seiji son of Sadayori. How did your spirit get so dark?"

To the kami's eyes, the man beneath him glowed with a dark light, like a dying coal. "So much bitterness you've wrapped yourself with," he said. "You're so full of venom. I bet you have lots of nightmares. Let's do something different than just walking in circles."

Yoshio waved his hand. Seiji jumped at the sound of a branch snapping behind him, and then put his hand on his sword hilt as he slowly stood up. He heard another branch break, and then another.

"Could be a deer," Seiji said. "Shame I don't have time to take it."

Another crash followed, louder than the earlier ones.

"Who's there?" he said, drawing his sword and circling around. He heard a great crash, as if a whole tree was toppling over. "Oni?"

All the noise stopped, and it grew very, very quiet. The only sounds Seiji could hear were his own breathing and his heart beating in his ears. Even the breeze in the trees stilled.

"I don't know who you are, but I'm not afraid of you," he said, taking a defensive posture. "I've fought worse."

"This is just as boring," Yoshio said.

The breeze picked up again, moving from gentle to almost a gale and it and swirled around Seiji. It was a hot wind, and it seemed to him to be filled with the smell of dead things, like swamp water full of sulfur and rotting flesh. The wind sounded alive, full of whisperings.

"I'm not afraid of man or youkai," Seiji said, although his hand shook slightly as he stood there. "I'm not afraid."

The wind died, although the pungent scent lingered and the whispers got louder. One stood out in Seiji's mind. "Why," it whispered. "Why, Seiji?"

"I wish the others would get here soon," the kami said. He watched the man turn circles.

"Why, Seiji? Why?" the human heard, although to anybody passing by there would be no noise except Seiji's breathing.

"Please, Shimame-no-kami," Yoshio said, leaning back against the tree trunk. "Hurry."

"Motoharu? Coming to plague me tonight?" Seiji said, peering into the darkness. "It's been a long time. I thought you gave up on haunting me."

The whispers were pierced with a wailing call that only Seiji could hear. It made him shudder, but then he coughed and spit.

"You're dead, Motoharu," Seiji said. "I'm not afraid of you."

A shadowy outline appeared in front of him. A tall man in fine armor stood there, an imposing figure of a samurai. As Seiji watched the man grew bestrewn with mud and leaves and grasses, as if someone had dipped him into the middle of a dirty pond. "You left me, Seiji," the form said. As the human watched, the specter's armor sprouted arrows, as if he had been under heavy attack, and a spear was wedged into his left side. He pulled out the spear and blood cascaded out in a crimson arc, spattering the ground to land in a hot, steaming pool. The figure stepped forward. "Why did you leave me?" he asked. "Why, Seiji?"

For a moment, Seiji just stood there, taking everything in. Slowly, though, a smile crept across his face and then he began to laugh. It was a hard laugh, with no compassion in it, but strident, mocking, and self-assured.

It took him a moment to catch his breath. "Get fucked, Motoharu, and tell Emma-O in hell that he needs to find a better man than you if he's trying to scare me. You're an asshole, Motoharu, always putting on airs. Even when you try to haunt someone you can't stop doing that, acting like you're some kind of special thing." He sheathed his sword. "The hell with any promises I made you. I left you in that damn swamp because it occurred to me that I was supposed to die for a piece of crap like you. Fuck if I was going to try to save you when we got ambushed. You were an asshole of a leader. Got most of us killed, and I wasn't going to be one of them. You deserved what the Takeda did to you. You don't even make a good ghost."

The figure looked shocked. "You . . . left . . . me . . . " Slowly, as Seiji laughed some more, it faded into nothingness.

Seiji picked up his lantern. "I've got more important things to do than mess with asshole ghosts." And with that, he began to move up the hill.

"Well that didn't work out like I thought it would," Yoshio said. "Hurry up, Kazuo!"


	284. Chapter 284

_I do not own InuYasha or any character created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 284**

While Seiji wandered around on the hillside, getting angrier and angrier as Yoshio-no-kami made sure he kept walking in circles, Sukeo, his eldest son, stuck his head out of the back room at Miroku's house.

"I thought I heard Ojisan," the boy said, looking into the room.

Fumio and Miroku were standing next to Kaede, who was kneeling on the ground next to a stretched-out figure. Sango was digging through a chest. The twins were still, miraculously, asleep.

"Who's that?" Sukeo asked.

The adults turned in the direction of the teenager. Miroku sighed, and started to say something, but before he could, Koume stood up from her place by the fire pit and began walking towards the youth. "You did hear him, son," Koume said.

"Yoshimi-ojisan?" Sukeo said. "But why? And what happened to him?"

Koume put her finger to her lips, a sign for him to keep his voice down. "Unfortunately, he's not in very good shape now, and won't be able to answer your questions."

Sukeo stepped out of the sleep room and slid the door behind him, his eyes full of questions.

"Is your mother still asleep?" Sango asked, finding what she was looking for, long pieces of black leather which she placed on the ground next to her.

"Yes, and Nakao, too. He's snoring," the youth said.

"That's good," Koume said. "We want them to stay that way."

Sukeo walked over to the monk and the blacksmith and looked down on his uncle. Kaede was washing the man's face. He had obviously been battered, and with a darkening set of bruises on his head. His shirt was torn and dirtied, and Kaede had opened it up to reveal more bruising, and a small cut.

"What . . . what happened to him?" the teenager asked.

Miroku rested his hand on Sukeo's shoulder. "Your ojisan . . . well . . . he made a mistake, but then was brave about it. But I think the whole thing has been too much for him."

"Bah," Fumio said, hefting his hammer over his own shoulder. "Yoshimi's been the fool like usual. He might have done the right thing in the end and warned us, but he let your otou out of the lockup while everybody was at Shinjiro's wedding. Got beat up pretty good for his troubles, from the look of things. Your otousan . . . " The blacksmith sighed and shook his head.

"He let . . . Chichi-ue . . . out?" Sukeo said, drawing out each word, his voice trembling by the last one, his face growing pale at the thought. He looked up at both men, Miroku first, and then Fumio with wide eyes. "Does...does that mean he's coming here?"

"He might be," Sango said. Her voice, in contrast, was calm and matter-of-fact, as if getting ready for men like Seiji was an everyday occurrence. "We should have at least a few minutes to prepare." She took her leather items and walked behind a privacy screen, where she began to change clothes.

Sukeo swallowed hard, then turned and looked back at the sleeping room. "He's going to try to kill Haha-ue. I bet he'll go for Nakao, too. Whenever he's mad at anything, he goes after my little brother." Turning back to the monk, he said, "He'll try to hurt you, too. And maybe even me, for never coming back to bring him his medicine." The boy hung his head. "He always tries to hurt anybody that tells him no."

The old miko sat up straight, and tugged on the boy's sleeve. "Don't panic, son. Your otousan might find that to do that is easier said than done," she said, looking at him with her single, calm eye. "You don't know what Houshi-sama and Sango-chan have faced over the years. I think he may have forgotten that he's not the only one who has been a fighter."

Sango stepped out from behind the privacy screen, having donned her armor. She walked over and picked up her sword.

"He's never seen my dear Sango in a fight," Miroku said, smiling. It was not an amused smile, stern and serious, but with strong appreciation of the Taijiya's form and ability. "If he thinks we're a weak target, he might have a thing or two coming."

"But . . . but . . . " Sukeo said.

"We can deal with him," Fumio said, nodding. "Would you like to help us keep watch?"

The teenager took a breath, looking down at his feet while he warred between filial piety and the need to keep his mother and brother safe. He looked up at the men. "Is it wrong? To keep watch when it's my father?"

"What do you think?" Koume said. "Is it right for him to hurt them? Your mother, your brother, your ojisan?"

Sukeo swallowed. "I'll help," he said at last.

"Good boy," Fumio said. "You and me, we'll watch the back."

Taking the lamp Koume handed them, the two of them went outside.

Sitting on the rafters, the ghost Sadayori looked at the retreating forms fondly. "Ah, grandson. If only your father could have been like you."

While Miroku and the others got ready, a ball of bright light, invisible to human eyes rose above the hillside, then hovered. A pair of graceful hands clapped, and time froze.

Within the ball, several kami looked over the landscape, assessing the moment with care.

"I never really like observing from this height," Kazuo-no-kami said. "I might be a kami, but I'm not a bird."

Daikoku the luck god laughed. "But the view - you have to admit it's rather lovely." His eyes briefly met those of Shimame-no-kami, the land kami of the village, dressed in resplendent garments of red and gold. The kami smiled, coloring just slightly, then dropped her eyes and hid her face behind her fan.

"Think of it as a game board, Kazuo," she said, pointing to the base of the hill and beyond. "Look - the fire Seiji set is beginning to burn low. Look how many people showed up."

A crowd of villagers, maybe twenty-five, were gathered around the smouldering ruins of the building.

"As a distraction," Kazuo said, "it worked pretty well, but not quite the way Seiji would have liked, I suspect."

"Luck," Daikoku said, "was on your side."

The ball of light settled down on the ground, and they joined Yoshio, where he was standing watch. He, unlike the mortal life forms around him, was not caught by the frozen moment in time, and watched with growing relief as the group of supernatural beings settled on the ground.

"I was beginning to wonder when you'd get here," the kami said. He bowed low to the land kami. "Please, Shimame-tono, if someone needs to watch that one again, find someone else to watch him. His soul . . . I called up the ghost of a man he betrayed, and he laughed at him. I never saw anything like that before."

"He's one of a kind," Kazuo said, nodding.

Shimame brushed off Yoshio's request, and instead, focused on the frozen-in-time form of Seiji, walking around him slowly where he was crouched in the grass.

"How close are we to the monk's house?" she asked.

"Just beyond those trees is the path that leads between the temple and the monk's house," Kazuo said.

"He thinks," Yoshio said, "that he is at the base of the hill."

"If he reaches the path, he'll recognize where he's at, I bet," Kazuo said.

The kami shrugged. "I tried."

"Let's check out the others," Kazuo said.

The group rose back up into the air.

"Look! The monk is going to have reinforcements!" Yoshio said.

Scurrying up the road, their lanterns frozen flames in the moment of no time, Susumu, Eiji and Kinjiro drew close, within sight of the monk's verandah.

"Of course," Daikoku said, grinning. He tapped his hammer, and more luck sparkles drifted down on the village guardsmen. "I left a lot of luck with him."

"Protecting Seiji's wife and children is an essential part of this play, after all," Shimame said, leaning towards Yoshio. "It wouldn't be a proper story if they didn't have enough defenders, not after a rescue like she had."

The ancestral kami shrugged. "If you say so."

"She does," Kazuo said.

"But where is the hanyou?" the land kami asked.

"Not far," Daikoku said. They drifted back in the direction of Seiji. Not far away from the fugitive, InuYasha bent down, sniffing the ground.

"So close . . . " Shimame said. "You must have really had Seiji walking in the most round about of paths, Yoshio, if he can be that close, and not realize it."

"I did try, Dono," Yoshio said, nodding at the land kami. "We must have circled around this area twenty times, in every way I could think of."

"Good job, man," Kazuo said, nodding.

"Anybody else we should be aware of?" Shimame asked.

"I think - yes, look there!" Kazuo pointed to a spot on the road between Daitaro's house and the monk's. Kagome was walking with Daitaro. She was obviously angry, and he was obviously highly amused. "Our young miko must have decided that she needed to come join the party."

"From what I've seen of her," Shimame said, "it would have been a surprise if she hadn't."

Fully oriented at where all the major players were at this moment in time, they let the ball of light come to rest in front of the monk's house. Kazuo was about to move them back into time, when Shimame rested her fan across his wrist.

He turned to her. "Dono?"

"Your play ought to be nearing its climax," Shimame said. "It looks like all your pieces are together. So how are you going to conclude this little play of yours?"

"You really want to know?" he asked. "Won't it spoil it for you?"

She shook her head. "I really want to know. It seems . . . well, chaotic."

Kazuo rested his hand on his hat, started to rub, then dropped his hand back down. "What I wanted," the old farmer kami said, "was to run him down to the river, and let Grandfather Catfish eat him. That old justice-giver would appreciate a snack like that, and it seemed fitting."

"How so?" Daikoku asked.

"It's local legend," Yoshio said. "Grandfather Catfish is said to eat the bodies of wicked men who swim in the river, while letting the bodies of the innocent pass through. He did not bother Seiji's wife."

"But if he took Seiji, it would be a fitting conclusion to the local legend, and absolve everybody of blood guilt," Kazuo said. "It would be the judgment of heaven upon the evil-doer, and nobody would have to shed that man's blood. He would basically be giving it up himself by his actions."

Shimame fanned herself, contemplating the scenario. "Yes, you do have a flare for the dramatic. But . . . " She sucked on her bottom lip, contemplating

"But what?" Kazuo asked.

"Something's missing," Shimame said. "Do you feel it too, Daikoku - sama?"

The luck kami tilted his head to the side, considering, while Kazuo, hand back on his hat, rubbed his hat back and forth across his head, thinking. "Justice, a fitting end, a meal for a deserving village guardian, a reinforcement of the importance of the virtues . . . " The old farmer kami looked up at the land kami. "What am I missing?"

"Ceremony," the land kami said. "Who would be there to witness it? The night?" She touched her fan to her chin. "I might not understand humans all that well, but the rituals . . . what good is one that goes unseen?"

"Exactly. Witnesses would make it better," Yoshio said, agreeing.

"Even if he was being chased to the river's edge," Shimame said, "It's dark."

"I see," Kazuo said.

"Are they even going to see much more than him going underwater?" she continued. "How will they know it's Grandfather Catfish?"

"So, Dono," Kazuo said, irritated, but at the same time, interested how Shimame had gotten caught up in the events of the night, "What shall we do?"

She fanned herself three times. "I have an idea."


	285. Chapter 285

_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 285**

Shortly after Shimame described her idea to the group of kami, the kami scattered with their new assignments and moved back into time.

Unaware of the supernatural activity around him, InuYasha lifted his head up from the ground and scowled.

"Damn, where did that asshole get off to this time?" he said. "Didn't think anything bigger than a mouse could run a trail this crazy." He stood up, walked behind a tree, and ran straight into Kazuo-no-kami. The hanyou stumbled to the ground, landing hard on his butt.

He leapt up almost immediately, claws extended in attack mode until he saw who it was. He knitted his eyebrows together and scowled. "What the hells?" he said, lowering his arm. "Where'd you come from?"

The kami, nonplused by the encounter, as if running into a solid wall of hanyou was an everyday occurrence, merely smiled at him. "Oh, I've been hither and yonder, all over the village today."

InuYasha shook out his sleeve, throwing off some dead grass he had picked up when he fell. "Doesn't mean you ought to turn yourself into a wall," the hanyou said. He took a step to get around the kami, but Kazuo moved to block his way. "Get out of the way. I've got to stop a stupid fool before he tries to do any more damage."

"I..." Kazuo rubbed his hat over his head. "I can't let you go quite yet."

"The hells," InuYasha said. He glared at the kami. "What do you mean, you can't let me go? Seiji's out to kill his wife and maybe Miroku and Sango while he's at it." He started to move again, but Kazuo grabbed his sleeve.

"I know all about Seiji and what he's up to," the kami said. "That's why I'm here."

"I should have known," the hanyou said, freeing his garment. "This day's been too damn weird to think it was just human craziness." He scowled even deeper at Kazuo, who returned his look with a sheepish grin. "Besides, I thought you said you weren't supposed to manifest like this."

"Sometimes," the kami said, "important moments call for extra intervention."

"You're not going to let that piece of worthless dirt get away with whatever he's got planned, are you?" InuYasha took a step forward, looking as threatening as he could. It was a look that had disturbed more than one strong youkai, and even discomforted a minor kami or two in his own past. Kazuo, to his credit, did not step back.

He shook his head. "Absolutely not. One day, if you come to the family shrine, and bring some of Daitaro's sake, I'll tell you the whole tale of everything I set up to get rid of that piece of trash." He sighed. "But alas, even I have to answer to higher powers. The land kami - well, she's decided my plan wasn't elaborate enough, and she pulled rank."

InuYasha crossed his arms, still angry, but thinking. His ear twitched. "Sounds like the kami are as bad as humans with their ranks and who's boss."

Kazuo shrugged. "Where do you think people got it from?"

"Dunno," the hanyou said. He shook his head. "Never thought about it. Kami have mostly let me alone or worse."

"Oh, I bet they've been more involved than you can begin to realize," Kazuo replied. He started to rub his head again, saw InuYasha's eyes follow his hand, then he dropped it back into place. "We just don't show our faces very often."

InuYasha let out a short, bitter bark. "Couldn't prove it by me, but whatever. Let me guess. Seiji's wild path through the night was part of your plan?"

"More or less," Kazuo said. "I was hoping you could chase him down to the river. I had a surprise waiting for him there."

"A surprise?" the hanyou asked.

"There's a river being," Kazuo said. "Kami, youkai, it's hard to say. He usually takes the form of a giant catfish."

The hanyou nodded. "I've heard of him. He's supposed to eat the wicked."

"He's rather looking forward to Seiji getting into the water." Kazuo looked towards the river. "But the way things are going, it might be a bit tricky."

"Wouldn't it have been easier if you just let me catch up with him? Or better yet, let the elders take care of him tomorrow?" InuYasha asked. "Tameo had plans, I think, about getting rid of the bastard."

Kazuo manifested his hoe, and leaned on it. "It would have been, but when I looked at the lines of destiny that rippled out of letting you just take his head, whether you did it tonight or tomorrow . . . they were all bad. I told you that I was making a place where you and Kagome-chan could be safe - maybe not all roses, but where you could be at home. The bad feeling that you taking Seiji out would start small - but they would grow, and make my promise fall apart."

"Feh," InuYasha said. "Destiny." He made it sound like a bad word. "You don't think I could take care of Kagome and me?"

"Oh, I'm sure that between the two of you, you'll manage well enough," the farmer kami said. "It's just that I . . . "

InuYasha sighed. "Whatever." He shook his head. "So what's next?"

"We give Shimame-no-kami time to get everything she wants to happen. She's trying to round up a lot of witnesses. If there's one thing a land kami understands, it's ceremony with a crowd of people," Kazuo said. "I'm not sure how much more they understand of humans, but they like crowds. She'll let us know when she's ready."

"The hell with that," InuYasha said, and pushed past Kazuo. As he moved, he ran smack into an invisible wall, which he hit hard enough to throw him back down.

"Sorry, friend," Kazuo said. He reached out a hand to help the hanyou to his feet. "Not my doing."

InuYasha rubbed his forehead. "Me and the land kami - we're going to have words when this is over."

Shimame-no-kami, either unaware of InuYasha's ire or not particularly worried how the hanyou would react to her interference, hovered near the fire near Momoe's house.

The building was totally consumed, and what was left was burning low, but as the flames died down, the crowd who had gathered around it was restless and began to burn hot.

It centered on the cluster of women who had gathered around Momoe.

"Why did he do this to me?" she cried, leaning against the arms of Yaya, Isamu's wife. "All that work. How am I going to clothe my grandson?"

"It'll work out," a calm voice said, resting a hand on the distraught woman's shoulder. Momoe looked up to see Hisa, who had come down from Daitaro's house once the word spread. "We'll make sure you have enough, Momoe-chan. I promise you that."

Tameo, looking at her, nodded, then went back to monitoring the fire.

"They are bonded closely together, are they not?" Shimame said. "I never quite noticed how even across the ko, they are united."

"That is how people live, Shimame-tono," Daikoku said. "It's like a garden. Not every plant is a peony or a willow, but they together make a community, even the little weeds. Much more than we of the August Fields." Seeing Momoe, he hovered behind her and touched her with his hammer. For a moment she glowed. "This child of the earth deserves a run of good luck."

"I say we grab him tonight," Haruo said. Eiji's brother had a streak of black soot across one cheek. "I'm getting tired of Seiji thinking we're just pushovers. How many things are we going to have to put up with from him?"

"How do you know he did it?" Isamu said. "By the time I got here, that's what everybody was saying, but I don't know how we know."

"InuYasha smelled it." Masu pushed back a bit of burning log that was threatening to roll away. He looked up at Isamu and wiped his forehead off, streaking a bit of ash with it. "And you know how good his nose is."

"Who else would have done it?" Furume said, moving next to her father. "If Hisako-obaasan was here, she'd crack that man in the skull with her stick."

"I think I'd help," Denjiro replied.

There was some nervous laughter.

"It's almost the right moment," Daikoku said, looking around him.

"I agree, Daikoku-sama," Shimame said, as she walked through the crowd unseen. "They are very . . . well, you can feel it. It's like a building thunderstorm."

"With a little luck, I suspect we can get half the village up there," the luck kami said. He tapped his hammer, and a stream of light poured out of it. It landed first on Furume. "She's the one who found Maeme. Let's use her to start this fire."

Unaware of the kami watching their actions, Furume looked up at her father and the men around her. Her face grew stricken. "What if Seiji's heading to Houshi-sama's house?"

"Houshi-sama's? Maeme is up there!" Benika, always nosy about what was going on in the village, had come to see what was happening. She clapped her hands to her face. "We need to get up there. That poor woman! She doesn't need this."

Kimi had also joined the party to put out the fire. She looked up from where she had beat an ember down. Daikoku touched her with his hammer. "My parents are there . . . " She dropped the blanket she had been using. "Okaa . . . " she said, then began walking at first, then running up towards the hill.

"That was a good choice," Shimame said, leaning in Daikoku's direction. "I know she is well liked."

"Wait a minute," Haruo, her brother-in-law said. "You can't go by yourself."

In a few minutes, the entire crowd was streaming up the hill.

"You wanted witnesses, Shimame-dono? I think you'll have plenty," Daikoku said.

"Then let's go. I'm sure Yoshio is ready for a change of duty. It's time for my play to begin." Clapping her hands, Shimame gave Daikoku a rather interesting look, and the kami disappeared from sight.

Unaware of the crowd beginning to head up the hill, Kagome was nearing her home.

"I can't believe he just left me," she said. Surprisingly, she was still holding Sango's cat, Chika, and had been since Eiji had handed it to her since the men went to check on the fire near Momoe's house. Even though she absentmindedly petted the cat, her face was agitated.

"I do not like being left behind," she said.

"Obviously," said her companion, Daitaro. The old farmer, after returning from the fire had grabbed his sake jug, his favorite hoe, a long knife and the young miko who had insisted on following the village guard to Miroku's house. "You're a strong-minded woman, Miko-sama. That's good in a miko." His tone was slightly amused, slightly conciliatory.

She stopped walking a second, and raised her lantern. "You know I have fought far more dangerous people than Seiji."

"I remember," Daitaro said. "And how a certain silver-haired man often tried to tell you know and what the result was. Your . . . disagreements . . . were hard do miss."

"I faced Naraku down," she said. "Does he really think I could just sit at your house knowing that . . . that . . . that . . . man was heading towards Sango's house?"

Daitaro nodded, and tried to hide his grin. "Ah, there are moments we men . . . well, my Chime would say, we don't always think ahead." He coughed into his hand when his urge to laugh got too strong. "I was thinking that InuYasha might have started to outgrow that . . . but since my wife says I still do that, maybe it's not so simple."

They reached the verandah of the hanyou's house. "That's . . . that's InuYasha," she said. Kagome moved the cat to her left arm. Chika looked up at the young miko, blinked twice, and made herself comfortable. "I'm sorry, Daitaro-ojiisan. I am talking out of turn. I shouldn't be letting you have to put up with my irritation."

"Sake and a good party loosen the tongue," the old man said, smiling. "Anyway, walking you up here gives me a chance to see what happens."

She gave the old man a smile. "Waiting is hard."

Kagome handed Chika to a surprised Daitaro, and walked into her house. "And making sure young ones don't do something they'll regret is hard work, too, eh, cat?" he said.

The cat mewed, nodding.

"We'll do our best. That's all I can promise." He stroked the cat's back. "I hope that'll be enough for InuYasha. Sometimes women do things just as much without thinking. I don't know who can be more stubborn when they get their minds made up."

At this, the cat washed her paw.

A moment later, Kagome returned with her bow and quiver. "Let's go see what's happening."

"A good idea," Daitaro said, and handing the cat back to the miko, they headed off to Miroku's house.


	286. Chapter 286

_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 286**

At Miroku's house, a heavy silence had fallen on the inside of the building as the monk and his companions prepared for Seiji's expected visit.

Perhaps it was the silence, or perhaps it was some noise outside as Susumu and the others of the village guard arrived, but whatever it was, something registered in Maeme's mind, and in the quiet of the sleeping room, she bolted upright.

"An awful dream," she said. "Merciful Kwannon, all that water . . . "

She shook her head and covered her face with her hands, then rubbed her eyes. Opening her eyes, she let her hand reach out and brush the coverlet that had been draped over her body. It was a fine blue and white blanket, not the patched and worn blanket she used at home. "Seiji would never let me make anything like this," she said, her voice merely a whisper. "He would have sold it if I had . . . "

She looked around her, and saw the straw pallet she was laying on, and her youngest son fast asleep right at its edge. Moving the coverlet, she snugged it around the boy. "You shouldn't sleep cold, Nakao-chan," she said, then gently brushed his face, hovering a finger tip just above the bruises on his face. "I might not be able to protect you from the hand of your father, but I can from the cold. At least for the moment."

Everything that had taken place during the day began to rush back through a groggy fog, and she sobbed, but too quietly to disturb her son, as its full impact washed over her. "Too much medicine," she said. "Everything's like a cloud. Even my dreams." She sighed. "So much water. I was lost in an endless sea . . . so blue. And now?"

Maeme curled into a ball, her hands over her head. "Kwannon, have mercy. What have I done? Why did you let me live?"

The darkness gave her no answers, so she got out of the bed, a bit shaky from the sedative Kaede had made her drink, but she moved slowly, being careful not to disturb her sleeping son. Once on her feet, she began to pace back and forth across the sleeping room floor. The small light that had been placed up on a shelf earlier flickered a little as the evening breeze blew through the room, making the shadows lurch as she walked.

"I shouldn't be here," she said. "It isn't right. Houshi-sama and his family shouldn't be tainted by the likes of me." She kept her noises as soft as possible, not willing to alert Kaede to the fact that she was once again awake. "I...I'm . . . Death looked like the ocean. Maybe it could make me clean again. I was clean once, and new . . . I . . . "

There were noises outside, voices. She stopped and listened. Mostly they were muffled; she could make out Miroku's voice and that of his wife. They sounded concerned. "I...look at what a trouble I am to them. How could I ever make it right?" She covered her mouth with a hand and shook her head. Sango sound determined. Maeme could just make out her name, and that of Seiji. At Seiji's name, the monk's wife sounded angry. As she listened, the people outside were joined by other voices. She recognized Susumu, Eiji, Kinjiro. Their voices seemed agitated.

"So much trouble," she said, raising her fists to her forehead. "And now the village guard. I thought they would all be at the wedding of Daitaro's son. Did something else happen?"

One of the men barked a bitter, unfunny laugh. It echoed inside her, reflecting just how she saw her life. "Cursed am I. Even the gods laugh at me." She began to hum, then turned her tune into a slightly breathed verse:

"You promised me, river,  
>you promised me<br>a quick trip to forgetfulness,  
>but one last turn,<br>and I was caught like a fish."

"Haha-ue used to laugh at how I would make songs when I was sad or happy," Maeme said, plopping down against one of the walls where she could watch her son's even breathing. She did that for a moment, then lifted her eyes. From where she sat, she could see the window. It was small enough to let in air, high enough to guarantee privacy. At this moment it was like looking into a black rectangle. The night sky it revealed was dark, and there was yet no moon. But even in its darkness, she could see stars. "Stars in the dark night. That's what singing is for me. Sometimes, it's the only way I can say what I need to say." She closed her eyes.

"Ah moon,  
>do not rise upon my foolishness,<br>so often I have failed -  
>do not frown on the fisherman<br>who thought I was worth catching."

As her song drifted away, footsteps neared, much clearer in sound than the voices from the front of the house. There was a thud, like someone dropping to the ground, followed by the sounds of scuffing feet, and the crack of a twig.

"Don't drop the lamp," a man's voice said. It was gruff, but held no malice. Fumio's voice, the blacksmith.

"What's going on?" she said, but not loud enough for the two outside to hear and answer her. "First all that talk with the guard, and now this. What's interesting here at the back of the house?"

"I promise, Fumio-sama," said a younger voice. She knew that voice. Tilting her head, she listened carefully. "We can see the whole road to the temple."

"That's why we're sitting here, son," the blacksmith said.

"Ah, Sukeo," Maeme said. "You're too big a boy to stay with me anymore, aren't you? You have to go off and be with the men. At least you're with a good man."

There were small sounds. Maeme imagined the two trying to get comfortable, scuffling and rustling in the darkness. "Go get me a branch, son," the blacksmith said. "We can at least whittle. Waiting is a hard game."

"Waiting," Maeme said. "Waiting is hard. And now you'll have to wait through all of this, my poor Sukeo. How will you be able to show your face to anyone?"

Maeme heard a sharp snap, and then feet running back towards her window."That's a good one," Fumio said. "We'll be able to make something useful with this, just in case. Sharpened sticks are handy."

"Are we in danger?" Sukeo asked. "Yoshimi-ojisan was beat up pretty bad. Chichi-ue must be really angry."

"I don't think he'll come this way," the blacksmith said. "And I can't see him going to the temple first. But it's best to be prepared."

"Chichi-ue always said bad things about Houshi-sama," Sukeo said. His voice sounded sad, disapproving. "Ever since he put up the temple, he's been complaining. But Houshi-sama's a good man. Look at how he's been treating Haha-ue. He didn't have to do any of that."

"Your otousan's said bad things about a lot of people," the blacksmith replied. To his credit, his voice stayed neutral. "I don't know how much attention you need to give him when it comes to the monk."

"He'll come this way?" Maeme repeated. "Or to the temple?" Suddenly she felt like a cold knife passed through her.

"Why did Ojisan let him out?" Sukeo asked.

"Out?" Maeme said, her voice almost cracking on the word, a squeak. "Yoshimi?" If the men heard it, it must have sounded like a mouse or a bird, and neither reacted. But her heart began to pound in her ears and the world lost its focus. She felt trapped inside of some spinning wheel, the world going around her. "Seiji is coming here?"

"I don't know," Fumio said, after a pause, like it took him a moment to gather his thoughts. During that pause, Maeme, using the wall to steady her, stood up. All of her limbs felt weak as the conversation of her son and the blacksmith filled her head with dark images. She worked her way to the sleep room's door, and even though her hand was quaking, she managed to slide it open.

Taking in deep breaths to calm her racing pulse, Maeme leaned against the door frame and looked out at the room. Kaede was sitting at the head of a person stretched out against one side of the room. The miko did not react as she stepped out of the sleep room. Her head was bowed down, and nodded once or twice, but she was sleeping sitting up. Only the wall behind her kept her from tumbling over. On the other side of the room, the monk's children were sleeping. One of the little girls rolled over in her sleep, and snuggled closer to her sister, and settled back down. Nobody else was in the main room.

Maeme looked at the children. "I...I can't let them come to any harm. I can't. Merciful Kwannon. Maybe if I go . . . " she swallowed, then took a deep breath. "Maybe if I go find Seiji, I can keep him from coming here."

Wrapping her arms tightly around her middle, she walked as silently as she could across the room, pausing a moment to look at the bruised figure of her brother-in-law. The shadows from the fire pit highlighted where he had been battered. "You laughed at me, but not this day. You carry his hand print too. Maybe," she said, still too soft to hear, "we are both fools, Yoshimi. Who is the worst - me for trying to escape or you for trusting?"

A few more steps, and she reached the front door. She looked outside and found the monk talking to Eiji and Susumu. They all stood tensely, on alert.

"You know he's going to be coming here," Susumu said. He held a shovel in his hand, gripping it tightly. "We ought to get Maeme and her boys to my place. It'll be easier to watch them there."

Miroku tapped his staff on the ground. "You know he's out in the woods here. Are you sure we can even get them there without him spotting us?"

"What's one man against the rest of us?" Eiji said. "We can take her by the temple and the back way."

"Too much trouble for the likes of me," Maeme whispered. None of the men noticed her standing in the entryway.

"Even more places to hide and ambush us over that way," Kinjiro said. He carried a hoe, and tapped it impatiently on the ground. "If I were him, that's what I'd expect you to do."

"But you have more sense, man," Susumu said. "You'd never ever get yourself into a situation like this."

Maeme eased herself along the edge of the verandah, hugging the shadows. It was very dark, except for the lamps the men had; the moon had not yet risen.

To the tune she was singing before, the troubled woman hung on the edge of the house, the troubled woman began chanting once more, so soft no one noticed, words that were more prayer than complaint:  
>"Have mercy, wind,<br>and let me slip away, unnoticed,  
>a leaf blown away in Autumn,<br>of no use,  
>except to the earth.<p>

"Have mercy, night,  
>it was night when I was born,<br>or so my mother said,  
>let me return<br>all of my days."

Taking one deep breath, she stepped away from the house, and began to run towards the main road.

Sango, talking to Koume along the length of the house, heard a branch snap, and turned just in time to see a flash of white fabric disappear into the darkness.

"What was that?" she said, looking at the older woman. "Someone running in an under kosode?"

"I...I'm not sure," Koume said. She turned to the house and frowned. "You don't think . . . "

Sango dashed inside, found the door to the sleep room wide open and only Nakao asleep on the bed.

Miroku and the others, having seen her hurry in, followed.

"She's gone," Sango said. Her eyes looked up at Miroku, full of uncertainty. "Maeme's gone. What do we do now?"

Standing nearby, but unable to be seen by human eyes, a small crowd gathered.

"And so the endgame begins," Daikoku the luck god said. He looked at Shimame-no-kami. "Remind me, I don't think I want to ever play go with you. I don't know if I have enough luck."

The land kami laughed, and hid her face behind her fan.


	287. Chapter 287

_I do not own InuYasha nor any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 287**

The unseen kami let the startled monk and his company digest the news of their house guest's disappearance. Sango, followed by her husband and the village guard stepped out of the house, and Susumu began examining the grounds near the house.

"This is bad," Eiji said, lifting his lamp as they looked for any sign of the direction the woman ran in. "With Seiji who knows where . . . "

"I'm going after her," Sango said. She headed back inside. "You can come or stay. Just let me get Hiraikotsu."

"Sango . . . " Miroku said, following his wife.

A white shape floated out of the house, and moved over to the kami. "Is this something you arranged?" Sadayori asked. "Hasn't she had enough?"

"Your daughter-in-law was needful," Shimame-no-kami said. Her voice was firm, but her eyes were sympathetic. "It's the last hard thing she needs to do today, but I am not leaving her alone."

The ghost crossed his arms, unconvinced. "You are a hard person."

"We'll be sure to make it up to her," Daikoku, the luck kami said. "Or at least I will do my best."

"If she lives through it," the ghost murmured.

The land kami ignored the ghost's last statement. "And now," she said, "I think we can draw this play to its conclusion."

She clapped her hands together, and drifted up over the hillside, followed quickly by Daikoku and Sadayori. As they watched, surrounded by her power, the humans in the area glowed brightly, making it easy to see each and every soul who was moving through the night.

"Look," she said, pointing to a spot about halfway up the hill. "Our witnesses are almost upon us."

A crowd indeed was walking up, carrying lamps and the tools they had used to fight the fire. Masu, father of Furume, walked in front, followed closely by Tameo, Haruo and several other of the men. Masu glowed with a particularly bright light.

"Keep an eye out," Haruo said, holding his lantern high, turning around to look at the people behind him. "You, Isamu, Ryota. Be careful at the back. We don't know where Seiji is. Don't let him get past us."

"He's not getting away from me this time," Masu said, nearly strangling the neck of his hoe.

"The man at the head, he looks very angry," Daikoku said.

"Can't blame him," Sadayori said. "It was after what happened to him, I really tried to get something done about my son."

"I should have been paying more attention," Shimame said, nodding. "But you know, I've always let the family kami take care of their family's affair. Maybe . . . " She sighed.

"Masu has a valid grudge. He's been angry since Seiji tried to stop the hanyou from going after his children last winter."

"I know," Shimame said. "He comes and prays regularly about that one. I told Yoshio. But there's always so much to do, coaxing the land to be fertile and the water to work with it, and getting the rain gods to come at just the right time . . . and keeping the foxes under control. And the deer . . . " Her voice dropped off a moment, slightly embarrassed. "An interesting thing is that it was his daughter who first spotted Maeme in the water. If the bandits had succeeded in selling her off to a teashop, what would have happened?"

"Karma is interesting," Sadayori said. "It seems fitting, somehow." The ghost sighed, thinking of what his son had accomplished.

"Then it's his lucky evening," Daikoku said. "He will get his satisfaction."

The floating group turned back to look at the direction of the monk's house. Sango had her weapon strapped across her back, and was beginning to run towards the main road.

"We should back you up," Eiji said.

"Someone's got to watch the house," Miroku said, trying to keep an eye on his wife.

Eiji nodded as Miroku and Susumu hurried to catch up with the taijiya.

"Funny," the luck kami said, "I would have thought it was the monk who would have been most upset about the woman getting away." He looked questioningly at the land kami. "Did you nudge her?"

"Not at all, Dono," Shimame said. "This is all of her own doing."

"A warrior with a woman's heart," Sadayori said.

"And who has known despair of her own, from the looks of her," Daikoku said.

The group moved a little further up the hill.

"Watch," Shimame said.

"Slow down, Miko-sama. We don't need to rush faster than our feet can go," Daitaro said. "If anything happens to you, your husband will be sure to tan my hide."

Kagome, carrying her bow and quiver over her shoulder and a lamp in her hand, turned to look at the old farmer, who was grinning at her.

"You think I'd let him do something like that, Daitaro-ojiisan?" she asked.

"No," Daitaro said, catching up with her. "Not exactly. But I don't want him mad at me, either. It's getting time that my old bull is going to be a restless handful, and I need him to be still wanting to help."

Kagome chuckled just a little.

The farmer scratched his head. "I hope you still don't make him kiss the ground like you used to, though. That's an impressive sight, and we used to joke about it, but . . . "

"Uh," the young miko said. "Joke about it? Was it that noticeable? Did I do it that much?"

"Only at first." He adjusted his hoe over his shoulder. "I will admit he was a surly thing in those days."

"You might say that," Kagome said. She sucked on her bottom lip, not sure if she should grin or feel embarrassed.

"Not saying that he might not have deserved it, either," the old farmer continued. "But it's not a good way for a wife and husband to behave." His lips curled up into a sly grin. "I suspect you have better ways to control him nowadays, anyway. I know my Chime learned that one fast. Ah women . . . if the man is good enough, they have more power than they realize."

Kagome could feel herself blushing, although the night was dark enough to hide her coloring. "Uh . . . " she said, but before she could say anything else, she heard a sharp snap, and a thud.

"What?" she said. Daitaro brought his finger to his lips and the two of them froze. There was another snap, followed by the sound of someone crashing through some shrubbery. Kagome placed her lantern down and nocked an arrow.

She began to sight the bow in the direction of the noise, but Daitaro was stepping in front of her, blocking her view and aim, his hoe to the ready. The old farmer suddenly darted out, surprisingly swift for a man of his age and girth, and disappeared behind the shadow of a tree. There was a shriek, and Kagome, running after him, was surprised when he returned with the struggling body of a slight woman dressed in white.

"Maeme-chan?" Kagome asked.

The distraught woman stopped struggling, and looked up at who was holding her and at Kagome standing in front of her, relaxing her bow.

"Miko-sama?" Maeme said.

Kagome replaced her arrow in her quiver. "What are you doing here?" she asked.

The woman burst out in tears.

"See," Shimame said, nodding her head towards Sadayori. "I told you I wouldn't leave her unguarded."

"Hnnn," the old ghost replied. "That old fool and a girl against my son?"

"From what I've heard, that girl is a rather formidable opponent," Daikoku said. "And I wouldn't underestimate the old farmer."

"Indeed," Shimame said. "Well, everybody's in place."

"Just in time, too," Daikoku said. "Look there."

They drifted just uphill of where the miko and the weeping woman were, to a bright dome of power. Inside of it was one very unhappy hanyou.

"I can't just wait here." InuYasha unsheathed his sword, and it transformed from a worn out katana to the massive fang it was. It began to glow redly.

"That's not going to work," Kazuo. "This isn't some youkai's barrier. It's not even some sage's."

"The hells," the hanyou said. Rearing back, he slammed the sword on the barrier, but instead of cutting through it, he was once again knocked off his feet, landing flat on his back, and the sword flew out of his hand.

It quickly transformed into its ratty sword form. Kazuo picked it up, then walked over to the hanyou. He offered his hand to InuYasha, who looked at it warily, then got to his feet on his own. The farmer kami shrugged. "I told you so. A land kami's barrier power comes from both the earth she's in charge of and the power of the August Fields. She can't hold it long, but while it's up, whatever's there is there."

He handed the blade back to the hanyou who took it, almost gingerly, as if the sword might have been booby-trapped. He sheathed it then slammed his hands into his sleeves.

"So how long do I have to wait? If anything happens to Miroku or that woman or Kagome . . . " A small growl rumbled in the back of his throat.

The dome of energy suddenly collapsed around them. It dissolved in an audible pop, and a cool breeze, filled with scents that had been blocked, wafted in. InuYasha, his nostrils flaring, put out his hand gingerly, but felt no obstacle. He turned around to say something to the kami, but Kazuo, too, was gone.

"Damn interfering kami," he muttered, very low, not really wanting to get on the bad side of the local supernatural beings, but rather irritated nonetheless.

"You know he'd end it all very quickly if you'd just let him run into the man," Kazuo said, watching as the hanyou bent low to the earth, looking for the clues he had been following earlier.

"You started this play," Shimame said. "I know that's not the ending you had in mind."

"But it would get it done," the ancestor kami said, rubbing his hat across his head.

Shimame tapped his hand with her fan. "You should really stop that, you know."

"Funny," Kazuo said, looking at his outstretched hand. "InuYasha said the same thing."

"He has some wisdom, that one, even among the rough edges." Daikoku nodded approvingly. "So now what, Lady of the new drama?"

InuYasha, unaware of their presence, stood up, frowning. He grabbed a handful of earth, and let it sift through his fingers. "He's doubled back again? He moves like a drunk rat. There's no way he could be that drunk."

Suddenly, his ears pricked up. "What's Kagome doing out in the woods this time of night? And with that bastard on the loose? If anything happens to her, I'm going to skin me an old farmer."

Taking off, Seiji forgotten, he headed off in the direction of Kagome's voice.

Seiji sat on a rock. He was very near the path that would take him to the monk's house, but he was totally lost.

"Damn I'm thirsty. I know there's a stream near here. I can hear it. How come I can't find it?"

Yoshio, totally bored, yawned. "This will teach me not to be so patient with my family," he said. "They may come to regret it, but I never ever want to go through another night like this."

"It's good to learn useful lessons, Yoshio-sama," a woman's voice said. "But perhaps you should learn balance, too."

The kami turned around to see Shimame, Kazuo and Daikoku standing to his left. He gave a solemn bow. "Please, Shimame-no-kami, free me from this task. Nothing I do sways this poor descendant of mine - ghosts, thirst, discomfort - even the knowledge that he shouldn't be lost in the woods. He has nothing but bitterness and anger inside. I don't think he believes anything in this world but him is a real person."

"That's how I see it," Kazuo said. "That's why I decided to put on this little show."

"And why I decided to take it over, Kazuo-sama. Something in his body is flawed. He is like a weed or a sport that must be culled," the land kami said. "When things won't grow right, sometimes, you must free them so they can start again. But there's no reason why the whole village can't be given a lesson in the will of the Heavens on what to do with such a sport while we're at it." She tapped her fan to her chin, looked out over the darkness, and made a final decision.

"Do you know where the road bends, just before you get to the fork that leads to the monk's house?" she asked Yoshio.

"Too well," the kami said. "I've had to turn him away from it seven times tonight."

"Lead him there now. Everybody's where I want them to be. As the moon rises, we'll give them a show that they'll be talking about for centuries." She smiled. It was a disturbing smile, both innocent and calculating. "Who knows? Maybe they'll even create a festival to remember it by. Another festival would be nice . . . "

Kazuo rolled his eyes. "In the middle of bean planting time?"

The land kami gave a little chuckle, clapped her hands, and was gone.


	288. Chapter 288

_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 288 **

_A/N I am currently on a road trip right now, and will be writing on the fly. Posting times will have to do with what internet connections I have. I reoly to all comments, but I might be a little slow until I get settled in a more permanent location this trip. _

InuYasha hurried through the woods, following the sound of his wife's voice. It wasn't panicked; she was walking with Daitaro, and both sounded calm.

"Old man should know better than to let her walk through the woods with that bastard Seiji loose," he said. "Don't care if she's not worried about anything. He should know better."

As he moved, pushing under a low cedar branch, he spotted the light she was carrying. It wavered, and for a moment, she put it on the ground.

"Now what?" he asked.

As he watched the light, he heard some woman not Kagome shriek, surprised. Then, after Kagome picked the light back up, the other woman began weeping.

"It's all right, it's all right," InuYasha heard his wife say. "You're safe."

That calmed down his sense of urgency as he continued moving in that direction. "What the hells," he muttered. "Who would she find to comfort out here this time of night?"

The wind picked up and wafted the scents toward him. "Maeme?" The hanyou stuffed his hands in his sleeves and started moving their way at a brisk, but not threatening, walk. "What the . . . Monk must be slipping if she's out running in the woods."

"He's going to kill us all," the distraught woman wailed. "I had to leave. I didn't want him to hurt those little girls. You understand, don't you? So innocent. They don't need to see what a monster a man like him could be." She sobbed loudly.

"I'm sure nobody would ever get near those girls," Kagome said. "You've never seen Sango fight, or Miroku, if you can think that. Let's go back."

"How'd she get past the crowd at the monk's?" InuYasha said. "Stupid woman. Does she think Seiji's going to leave Miroku alone even if he finds her?"

The hanyou leapt up in a tree to survey the scene. As he watched, Daitaro lifted his sake jug up and offered it to the troubled woman, who shook her head. "Nobody's going to touch you, woman. If you don't want to stay at the monk's house, come back to my place. My Chime would be more than happy to put you up for the night."

"I..." Maeme shook her head. "Let me go. Maybe he'll . . . "

As InuYasha jumped out of the tree and landed soundlessly, there was a crash from the other side of the road. All heads turned towards the sound. "There you are, you stupid road. About time you showed up. Now where am I?"

"It's him . . . " Maeme said. Her voice was just above a whisper, but InuYasha could hear the panic rising in her tone. He quickened his pace, not yet running, afraid to panic her. "Where is he?"

"He's downhill from here," Daitaro said. "If we can't see him, there's no way he can see us."

"But not as far away as I'd like," InuYasha said.

"Damn it all to the hells," Seiji said, His voice was loud and angry. "How'd I get here? I thought I was down by that fool bull herder's house."

"I'll fool him," Daitaro said, putting the stopper back in his jug. "At least I know enough not to get lost in the woods."

"I've got . . . I've got . . . " Maeme said, looking around her. "Let me go to him. I can't let him hurt . . . "

"That trash of a monk must be that way," Seiji said. His voice grew very loud, meant as a threat. "I'm coming for what's mine, you piece of trash!"

As InuYasha paused to look at the road to make sure the threat wasn't immediate, Daitaro and Kagome hustled Maeme to the side, behind a tall tree.

"Don't move," Daitaro said, as he got the two women to crouch down. "You two stay out of sight. I'll go distract him. When I do, run home, Miko-sama."

InuYasha used that moment to join the little group. "You stay here, too, old man," he said, moving out of the shadows.

Chika, Sango's cat, jumped up into the miko's arms, and climbed up her shoulder and mewed a greeting at the hanyou. But Maeme didn't take his appearance as well. The glow of the lamp Kagome carried reflected in InuYasha's eyes, causing them to glow eerily, like a wild animal's in the darkness, and Maeme gave off a little shriek of surprise.

The miko put her hand over the distraught woman's mouth to keep her from giving their position away. "It's just InuYasha," she whispered. She smiled up at her husband, glad of his arrival. "I'm glad you found us." She turned back to Maeme. "He won't hurt us."

For a moment, Maeme's eyes looked up wide and frightened. The cat, sensing her fear, jumped from Kagome to the terrified woman. Maeme, for some reason, broke off eye contact with the hanyou looked down at the little animal and took a deep breath.

"Why would I hurt you? I helped bring you to shore today, didn't I?" the hanyou said. "If I was out to get you, I would have let the river have you."

Maeme, still overwhelmed by everything, stroked the cat's back, and somehow strengthened, nodded, and Kagome pulled her hand back.

"That monk thinks he can take my woman, does he?" Seiji said. He was definitely getting closer. "Wife-stealer, I'm coming for you!"

"Take them up to my place," InuYasha said. "It'll be safer. I'll go kick his butt back down the hill."

"If anybody here can do it, you can," Daitaro said, standing up. "I think he's afraid of you. You might be the only person in the village who scares him."

This talk was too much for Maeme, and she tried to stand, although Daitaro pushed her back to the ground. "Please," she said, looking at the small group of people determined to defend her. "Just let me go. If I go to him, nobody else will have to get hurt."

"No," Kagome said. "If you go to him, he'll hurt you, Maeme-chan."

The battered woman shivered and lifted quaking hands to her face."If I don't go to him, he'll hurt someone else," she said. "I don't want anybody else to get hurt."

"Nobody else is going to get hurt," the hanyou said, pointing to up the hill. "Go home, and keep her there," he told Kagome. "I don't care if you have to sit on her, but don't let her back out."

They half stood, Daitaro holding one of Maeme's arms, and Kagome another.

"Please," Maeme said, looking back over her shoulder at the hanyou. "He's got a sword, I bet. He was a soldier."

"So do I," InuYasha replied. "Mine's bigger. Just go."

They started to move off when they heard another voice. "Maeme!" It was a woman's voice. "Maeme-chan! Where are you?"

The group froze. "That sounds like Sango," Kagome said.

"Damn," InuYasha said. "I bet Seiji can hear that. I better get out there now." He bolted for the road.

"Sango-sama?" Maeme said. "I..."

"Come on," Kagome said. "All of us fought monsters much worse than your husband. Let's just get you somewhere safe."

Not quite convinced, Maeme let them drag her back in the direction of InuYasha's house.

As Kagome and Daitaro worked to get Maeme somewhere safe, Sango and Miroku ran down the hillside, then slowed a moment as they reached the main path to the village.

"We've lost her," the taijiya said. She knelt down and looked at the ground. "I know she was heading this way, but I don't see any tracks."

"Where do you think she would have gone?" the monk asked.

"I don't know," Sango said, standing back up and adjusting the strap to Hiraikotsu. "Do you think she might have tried to go back to her house?"

The monk shrugged and scratched his head. "I don't know why she ran off to begin with. I wonder if she heard us talking about how Seiji got loose. It's possible she's trying to find him."

Sango turned and looked at her husband, her face amazed by that thought. "But why?"

"Maybe she thinks she's protecting us, or even her sons by finding him." Miroku leaned on his staff a moment. "It could be she thinks if she offers herself up as a way to calm his anger . . . "

"Oh no," Sango said. She cupped her hand and called loudly. "Maeme! Maeme-chan!" She paused, waiting to see if she heard anything. After a moment she turned back to her husband. "We can't let her go back to that beast. Maeme! Please, where are you?"

Miroku pulled her cupped hand away from her mouth. "Don't do that. If Seiji's somewhere around, he'll know she's out and I bet he'll start looking for her. As long as he thinks she's at our place, she's got a chance to be safe from him."

"I..." Sango said, then let out a loud breath. "I didn't think of that. But we have to find her, Miroku. We can't let that man get near her. There's no telling what he's going to try to do to her if he finds her."

They turned at the sound of footfalls behind them, only to see Susumu heading for them.

"You run fast, Sango-sama," he said, catching up to the monk and his wife. The lamp he carried reflected the worry in his own eyes. Eiji followed closely behind him.

"Not quickly enough," she said, sighing. "She could be anywhere out here. Even with . . . "

Off in the distance they could hear a loud voice. "You can't hide from me, Monk! Take my woman from me, will you?"

"Ah," Eiji said, looking down the hill. His face was somber, and his hand grabbed his club firmly. "From the sound of it, it doesn't sound like Seiji's found her yet. But it does sound like

we're about to have some company."

Sukeo and Fumio joined up with the others. The boy's eyes were big with worry. The smith held the shaft of his hammer tightly.

"Is that Chichi-ue?" the teenager asked.

"I'm afraid so," the monk said. "You should go back to the house."

"He's right, you know," Fumio said, resting his hand on the boy's shoulder. "You don't need to do this. We can handle it."

"When my otousan is angry, he does stupid things," Sukeo said.

"That may be true," Miroku said. "But you don't have to take sides in this. He's still your otousan."

"I..." Sukeo said. He shook his head. "I saw my okaasan tonight, and what he did. I...I can't pretend it away anymore." He looked up at Sango, then the monk, and then Fumio. "I...I need to be here."

"A man has to do what a man has to do," Susumu said, nodding. "But be careful then. Stay to the back. He might . . . " The village guard rubbed his chin. "He might go after you if he sees you."

"I..." Sukeo swallowed. He looked around at the darkened woods. "I need to be here. Haha-ue . . . I don't want anything to happen to her."

"We'll do our best, son," Eiji said. "We'll do our best."

The group began moving down the road to meet their unwelcome visitor.

Others were marching up the hill. They could hear shouting in the night air.

"Be quiet," Tameo said, waving for the group to be silent. "Did you hear that?"

The crowd hushed and listened.

"Stupid woman. How dare she do this to me!" Seiji yelled. "You better get ready for what's coming to you, you worthless piece of trash!"

"Do you think he's found her?" Furume asked her father.

"With most of the village guard up there?" Masu said. "No, he's just trying to make them nervous."

"He's making me nervous," someone in the middle of the crowd said.

"You stupid monk, if the Buddha doesn't get you for what you did to me, I will!" Seiji said.

"I say, let's make him nervous," Haruo said. "I'm tired of Seiji mucking up everybody's lives."

"Then we better get up there to see what's happening," Tameo replied.

The villagers hurried up. They were almost to the bend in the road that would take them to the place where the path to Miroku's house split off. There were lamps ahead. As they neared, the lamps outlined the body of a man wearing armor, with a drawn sword. Even though nobody could see exactly who it was because of the shadows, they all knew who it was.

"What the fuck are you doing here?" the shadowy figure asked a group of men blocking the road.

As they watched, a lone figure stepped out of the shadows. His garments looked almost black except where the flickering lamplight touched it to reveal its true red color and his silver hair glowed from the same light like a ghostly veil. He strode between the group and the lone fighter.

"I could ask you the same, asswipe," InuYasha said.

"I'm just coming for what's mine," Seiji said.

"You mean what you threw away?" the hanyou asked.

All this drama was too much for one of the men in the crowd.

"Let's get him!" Masu said. He began to run.

.


	289. Chapter 289

_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 289**

_A/N Sorry for the delay. I had a vacation that included my car breaking down, my husband having to go to ER because he dislocated his knee badly enough to need surgery, and being out of cellphone and internet connections. I even lost (but luckily found) my wallet at a rest stop along the way. Not exactly the trip from hell, but definitely an adventure I don't quite want to repeat the same way again. But now we're back on the twice a week schedule._

The kami hovered over the hill, looking at the two groups of people on the ground below.

"Well, you have everybody where you want them, Shimame-no-kami," Daikoku the luck god said. "You will certainly have witnesses."

"As angry as Masu is, we'll be lucky not to have a riot. That idiot Seiji," Yoshio said, pointing, "looks like he's ready to start one, too."

As the kami focused their attention to him, Seiji turned around to watch the crowd moving uphill in his direction. The lantern light bounced off his lacquered helmet and his leg protectors and his arm guards, as it heightening the shadows masking his face. The effect was eerie, like if he were some low ranking warrior night terror, a foot soldier from Hell. Laughing, a dark bitter sound, his voice still hoarse from earlier in the day, he lifted his blade in Masu's direction.

"Think you've got what it takes?" he asked.

"I believe Yoshio is right," Kazuo said. He tugged on his hat, getting ready to rub it across his head, but then caught himself. "If we're not careful, he's going to end up hammered by the whole group." He looked at Shimame. "I thought the idea was to keep blood guilt off the village as a whole."

Shimame waved her fan, and a gentle light passed over the assembly. "There. That should hold them for a bit. I use that magic when there's a festival and too much sake. Maybe it will help keep them from coming to blows until the right moment."

"Handy thing, that," Kazuo said.

"A little luck may be indicated, as well," Daikoku said. "This isn't just sake talking. I know these human reactions better than you, Dono. They pull on me for luck all the time, and I have studied them more."

The land kami gave him a grateful smile as he tapped his hammer and a sparkle of light scattered across the gathered crowd. The luck ran through the men and women gathered, and came to rest at first on the carpenter Choujiro, who was standing near to Masu. He stepped up close to the angry farmer and pulled on his sleeve.

"Be careful, Masu!" Choujiro said. "He's got a sword. We don't want to have your funeral today. Just his."

Masu paused for just a moment. "That scrap of iron against all of us?" He lifted his hoe. "There are a lot more of us than him. Let's show him who ought to be running away."

Several of the men raised their hoes and rakes and other tools in the air in answer. "No more bullying!" someone yelled from the back.

InuYasha took a step forward, but Miroku joined him. "Wait," the monk said. As he stopped the hanyou, Tameo the headman walked up and stood between Masu and Seiji.

"What the hell for?" the hanyou asked.

"This is a village matter. Watch the headman," Miroku replied. "But be ready."

Above them, the kami watched with interest as Miroku moved back to his place with a grumbling InuYasha.

"I have not paid attention much to the monk," Shimame said. "He has a certain . . . odd character . . . about him."

"You could say that," Kazuo replied. "But now, let's keep an eye on Tameo. That great-great- grandson of mine's got guts, I'll give you."

Tameo looked at Masu. "We have better ways of handling people like this, Masu."

Masu lowered his hoe, frowning. "Prove it, Headman. This last year . . . "

He was interrupted by a barking laugh from Seiji, and turned to look at the would-be warrior.

"I thought you were going to wait to play your games tomorrow, Headman," Seiji said. "But I see you joined the rest of them who are trying to interfere with me tonight. I have my rights. I'm here for my wife."

"Rights, heh?" Tameo said, crossing his arms. "I seem to remember other rights being violated. That's why I seem to remember you were sitting in my guest house. You must have wanted to hurry things yourself. So perhaps I should comply as well."

"Your hospitality left room to be desired," the fugitive said. "Especially the company you left me with. Jun and Koichi . . . they seemed rather unhappy with my conversation."

Above the conversation, Yoshio looked at Shimame. "Your magic is wearing thin, Dono. I don't know how much longer you'll be able to keep them from fighting."

The land kami took a deep breath, closed her eyes and waved her fan. "Long enough . . . I hope."

As if proof that the magic was thinning, Masu stepped forward, and the gathered villagers followed. "Shut the hell up, Seiji," he said. "Don't talk to the headman that way."

"You talk a brave game for a retainer, Masu. But we know who you are - Tsuneo's toady," Seiji said. "I don't care how many of them are with you. You're all fools. I'm here for what's mine, and nobody here is going to stop me."

Haruo pushed forward through the crowd to join Masu and Tameo. He also brandished the shovel he was holding. "That's no sword anymore. I've seen it. It's turned into a piece of rust. Look at the belly he's put on him in the time he's been back. He's not the only one here who's fought for one of the warlords." He looked at Susumu standing with Miroku. "And the village guard is here, too. Susumu, Eiji - you're not going to let him get away with this, are you?"

"What do you think?" Susumu yelled back.

"Yeah, look at him," Denjiro said, joining the other men at the front. "About time we taught him a lesson."

"So you've all come out to play," Seiji said, whirling around to look at all his gathered foes. "All the little boys who run when I say boo. I don't have time for you, boys. I have a man's work to do tonight."

"You can't claim what you threw away," InuYasha said. He left Miroku's side and took a step forward.

Seiji turned around and faced the hanyou. Although it wasn't visible to the villagers' eyes, InuYasha could hear the intake of breath the man took, and the deep, nervous swallow that Seiji attempted to hide behind more bravado. Seiji smoothed his anxiety, just visible for a moment, with a face of bravado, and he waved his sword, then took a defensive posture.

"So the monster has come out of its lair, too," Seiji said. "Been slammed to the ground by that little bit Tameo's trying to call a miko? I remember how she kept you on a short string back when you were taking advantage of Kaede-sama. Damn, even the monsters in this village let their women lead them around by their manhood. Or is that your leash she uses on you, Inugami?"

InuYasha barked a laugh and cracked his knuckles. "You must really have a death wish, Seiji," he said. "Haven't you caused enough trouble for one night?" As he spoke, Susumu and Eiji, followed by Miroku and Sango drew closer, forming a half circle around InuYasha.

"I have a wish about death," Seiji said, "But it's not about me."

"You will not touch Maeme-sama," Miroku said, tapping his staff on the ground, making the rings jingle.

"Tell him, Houshi-sama!" Furume, Masu's daughter yelled from the gathered crowd.

"You hear that, Tameo?" Seiji spit. He took a step in Miroku's direction. "You've got a woman-stealer in this village."

"I think . . . " the headman began. He took a deep breath. "No, I know. Maeme would be dead if it hadn't been for Houshi-sama. That gives him certain rights." He tugged on his chin. "If I were you, I'd walk back down the hill and leave. Go away where your shame won't follow you."

"Shame?" Seiji said, turning towards Tameo. "Shame? That worthless piece of woman-flesh you foisted on me deserved every mark on her body. The shame would be if I let some upstart think he can just walk in and take things that don't belong to him." He turned around once again to face Miroku. "Bring me my woman."

"No, Otousan." Sukeo stepped out of the shadows behind InuYasha and the others. "You hurt Haha-ue too many times."

Miroku rested a hand on the boy's shoulder. "Step back, boy."

"You're taking my son, too? You greedy bastard," Seiji said. He glared at his son. "These people aren't your friends. You're my boy. Get your ass over here, Sukeo, if you know what's good for you."

"I think not," Fumio said, stepping up next to him. Sukeo looked at his father and then up at the blacksmith, his face wavering between fear and uncertainty. "You stay here, son. Your otousan doesn't deserve a son like you."

Sukeo nodded.

There was a pop, one only those with spiritual powers could hear. Tameo and Miroku's heads shot up, looking for the source.

"Time for the next scene," Shimame said. "Make sure nobody gets killed." She clapped her hands and disappeared.

As her magic shredded and she moved on to do whatever it was she was planning, Seiji lifted his blade once again, and began to charge the knot of people surrounding his son.

"You assholes," Seiji said. "Give me my boy!"

Before he took three steps, Masu let out a loud cry and with Choujiro, Haruo and Denjiro following closely behind, he leapt at the man, knocking Seiji to the ground.

Seiji's sword flew out of his hand as the villagers piled up on him.

"You're not as tough as you think," Masu said, his knee pinning Seiji's right hand. Denjiro and Choujiro, aided by Haruo and Isamu, had other parts of the would-be warrior under their feet and arms. Eiji pulled out a piece of rope.

Somehow, Seiji lifted his head. "This is your fault, boy," he said, looking at his son. "You should have come when I called. Damn you and damn that trashy piece of ass you call a mother." Sukeo looked white, nearly ready to cry.

"I...I...I..." the boy said.

"You're an asswipe, Seiji," Haruo said, twisting the man's arm behind him. Seiji tried to spit on the man, but couldn't turn his head far enough.

InuYasha walked up, and kicked dust in the man's face. "Shut the hell up. This is nobody's fault but your own." He turned to Sukeo. "And don't you even believe him."

Seiji let out a wordless yell as Eiji tied him up. The boy gave a hesitant nod to the hanyou. Sango walked up, and put her arm around him. "Let's get back to my place."

"But Haha-ue . . . " Sukeo said.

"She's with Kagome," InuYasha said.

Sango looked up at the hanyou and gave him a relieved smile. "Is she? How did you manage that?"

InuYasha shrugged. "Luck, I guess."

"Damn all the miko and all the women in this village," Seiji said. "Every one of them is just a piece of shit."

The taijiya unslung Hiraikotsu and bopped him on the head with one end of the weapon. "That's for Maeme. Not as much as you deserve, but I have other things to deal with." She rested her hand on Sukeo's shoulder. "Let's go check on your okaasan."

Nodding, Sukeo let her lead him away.

As the crowd called out rude words of encouragement, Eiji finished trussing Seiji up. "Hey, Tameo, what do you want to do with this piece of trash? Should we take him back to the lockup?"

Undaunted and even angrier, Seiji lifted his head once more, glaring at the headman."I demand the river challenge!"

From above the villagers, there was a loud victorious cry. Kazuo had his hand on his crumpled hat, but he was grinning like he just had been given a special treat. "Shimame-no-kami pulled it off."

"She has her ways," Yoshio said. He looked at his fellow kami with a smug grin. "You really should stop by and play go with her. It's an interesting experience." He scratched the tip of his nose. "She doesn't like to lose."


	290. Chapter 290

_ I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 290**

As the kami looked on, unseen, Miroku, followed by InuYasha, walked up to the headman.

"Let me up," Seiji said. "I know my rights."

"I'd be quiet if I were you," the hanyou said.

This time, Seiji did manage to spit, but InuYasha nimbly stepped out of the way as he joined the monk and the headman.

"Feed him to Grandfather Catfish!" someone in the crowd yelled.

"Don't wish that on the old kami," someone else replied. "Might give the old thing indigestion!"

There was a wave of laughter. Masu, though, kicked dust in the bound man's direction. "Just take his head," he said, looking at Tameo "Or we could hang him. He doesn't deserve to get a chance."

"I think," Eiji said, standing over Seiji, checking his knots, "that they aren't too happy with you, man."

Seiji tried to lunge up, but the bindings were too good to give him any leeway. The monk looked at him, thoughtfully, before turning to Tameo.

"The river challenge?" the monk asked. "I haven't heard of that one. It's a local custom?"

Tameo scratched the back of his head, and nodded, not particularly comfortable with the turn of events. "That's what it is - an old tradition here," the headman said. "A man who's condemned of wrongdoing can swim the river. There's a huge catfish who lives in the waters, not very far from the rocks where you spotted Maeme-chan."

"I see," Miroku said. "A really big one, I take it?"

"Big enough to eat a horse," Denjiro said, dusting himself off from his wrestling with Seiji. "My otousan, he saw that happen once."

"A fish that can take a horse?" InuYasha said, stuffing his hands in his sleeves. "That's a mighty big catfish."

Tameo nodded. "It is that. Some say it's a youkai, others claim it's the kami of this stretch of the river. I'm not sure which. He usually doesn't make his presence known. But the tradition of the village is we call to him and let him know we're asking him to judge. If an accused person can make it across the river without the catfish rising to the surface, he's free to go. If Grandfather Catfish rises up, well, that's an end to it." He shrugged. "Nobody's done it in a long time though, although a few people have gone into the water and we never found them. My otousan said that sometimes, Grandfather Catfish doesn't wait for a trial. If a person with a black heart gets into the stream, he'll render judgment all on his own."

"My ojiisan told me about a time Grandfather Catfish leapt out of the water when a thief tried to swim across," Haruo said.

Tameo turned to Seiji. "You're sure you're willing to take the chance?"

"Better the river than this shitty place," Seiji said. "I'm not a thief. Let me up!"

The crowd began to murmur as a woman pushed through until she stood near Seiji.

"The river challenge," she said. "Funny that I was the one looking for the water today."

"Maeme-sama?" Miroku asked.

"You bitch. You've been planning this, haven't you?" Seiji growled. He tried to lunge towards her, but Eiji's bindings were too stout for him to get off the ground. "I ought to . . . "

"Okaa? Why did you run off?" Sukeo said. He made a move to join her, but she held her hand up to stop him.

"I...I..." Maeme looked thoughtfully at the bound man in front of her. "I didn't want you to get hurt. Today . . . "

"I thought you were at my place," InuYasha said. His nostrils flared and his ears pointed in the direction of the woman, and a very puzzled look washed over his face. "I left you with Kagome for your own good."

"I...I heard the noise. I had to see," she said. She shook her head. "I just didn't want anybody else to get hurt."

"I'll hurt you," Seiji said, straining against the ropes.

"I floated down the river," Maeme said, looking at nobody in particular. Her voice sounded very distant. "It was cold, but peaceful. I guess Grandfather Catfish didn't think I was worth the trouble."

InuYasha moved over to Miroku's side. He whispered to the monk. "That's not Maeme."

"You're sure?" the monk said.

"Doesn't smell like her," the hanyou replied.

Miroku's eyes grew big for a moment, but then he regained his composure. "I wonder . . . ?"

The Maeme lookalike gave the monk a small smile and the nod of her head. "I wonder if Grandfather Catfish would think he is as worth ignoring as I was?" The woman fanned her face.

The crowd began to talk.

"Let the water have him!" Furume said. "Even Houshi-sama had trouble getting out of the water today."

"But . . . but . . . " Masu said, obviously not happy with the idea. He was ignored.

"The river!" Ryota said. "It's fitting."

"Nobody should have his blood on their hands," the Maeme lookalike said. She waved her hand again. "Let Grandfather Catfish decide."

She turned, and headed back into the woods. A scent of incense wafted on the night air as she left.

"You heard her," Denjiro said. "Let Grandfather Catfish decide!"

Several other villagers spoke up agreeing with it.

"What do you think?" Tameo asked Miroku. "I'm . . . well, confused."

"I think there's something more here than meets the eye," the monk replied. "Perhaps . . . "

Tameo looked at the woman, and at his son. Susumu shrugged. "It does seem fitting," the village guard said. "And it is his right."

"Well then," the headman said. "Then let's go down to the river."

As Eiji hauled Seiji to his feet, unseen by mortal eyes, Shimame rejoined the other kami.

"Don't let anybody accuse me of loving drama," Kazuo said.

"But you do," Shimame said, smiling at him.

"And you do, too, Dono," Daikoku said. "Well done, well done."

Yoshio nodded appreciatively. "They'll be talking about this night a long time. Shall we see this to the end?"

"Of course," the land kami said, fanning herself. "We can't miss the end of the play."

It was an odd looking procession down to the river, with Tameo and Susumu, carrying lanterns and leading the way. Then came Seiji and Eiji, and behind them InuYasha and Miroku. The monk looked solemn, and his lips moved, almost silently. InuYasha, though, could hear him intoning a sutra. Behind them, not nearly as quiet, the rest of the witnesses seemed almost in a festive mood, jeering at Seiji.

"I didn't expect to be heading back to the river this soon," the hanyou said.

"It feels . . . strange," the monk replied. "This is the same path I took this afternoon with Sango. I had gotten Rin-chan and her friends to watch the children and just wanted a little quiet time with my wife. And then everything changed." He sighed. "Amazing how different a world it is tonight than it was this morning."

"Keh," InuYasha said, nodding. "Sometimes everything . . . well, one moment, everything is wonderful. The next, you don't know what the hell went wrong."

"Oh, we know what went wrong in this case." Fumio said. He was right behind the two friends. "A festering sore got lanced. We just didn't know how badly it was infected."

"Shut the hell up," Seiji said, looking back over his shoulder. "You always talk so high and mighty, but you're just like all the other men in this damn village. And look what it got you. An idiot daughter, and a wife who leads you around by the short hairs."

Fumio tensed, and lifted his hammer off of his shoulder. "If the river doesn't take you, man, I'll show you what a real man does."

Seiji laughed, until Eiji pulled on his rope. "You talk big for a man destined to go to hell," the village guard said. "One way or another."

"Bah," the bound man said. "Women, the lot of you. I've swum that river plenty. Nothing there for me but a bath. And when I get to the other side - who's going to catch me?"

InuYasha cracked his knuckles. "Nothing like a night hunt."

Seiji froze for a moment. "You . . . you can't do that. The challenge . . . " he said, but his voice was uncertain. Eiji pulled on the man's rope again. This time, he turned and let himself be hurried along.

A few minutes later they reached the same outcrop of rock where Miroku had dived in after Maeme earlier in the day. The moon had begun to rise, but it was only a half moon and shed little light on the waters there. The villagers and their lanterns barely penetrated the darkness of the night as they grew close as they could to the headman and Seiji.

"You could still go back to the lockup and let the elders meet tomorrow," Tameo said as they stood near the water's edge.

"What? You're not going to take my head if I go meekly?" Seiji said.

"Fat chance," someone from the rear said. "If they don't . . . " The threat was echoes by others in the group.

"Enough," Tameo said. "We'll do the right thing."

Seiji spit then straightened up, looking once more like a soldier. "Yeah, take my wife and sons and give me nothing. Some justice." He shook his head. "I'll take the river. It's my right."

The headman sighed. "Then so be it." He walked to the edge of the rock, clapped his hands and bowed. "Grandfather Catfish, it's been a long time, Dono, but we come to you tonight asking for your justice. Chichi-ue told me that his otousan taught him that you can read the heart of all who swim in your waters. Tonight we bring you Seiji, son of Sadayori. Look upon him, and read his soul. If he is innocent, we ask you to let him pass across the river untouched. But if you judge him guilty, we turn him over to you."

Everybody grew very quiet as the headman spoke. Somewhere out on the river, there was a sound of splashing water.

"I think the catfish heard," Miroku said.

"Bah," Seiji said. "Get these ropes off of me."

"You have to cross the river," Tameo said. "If you land on this side of the river, you'll be judged guilty."

"I'll show you guilty," the condemned man said. "Just cut me loose."

The headman walked back to the main crowd. "Untie him, Eiji."

Eiji unfastened his bonds and coiled the rope across one arm. "Get the hell out of here."

The crowd watched to see if he'd try to run off or attack, but Seiji just laughed and shook the kinks out of his arms. "I'll go. But don't be surprised when I come back for what's mine. All you wife stealers and children thieves - don't think I won't remember!"

He took off his armor and stripped down to his fundoshi. He turned, and gave the crowd a shallow bow. "I'll be back. And then we'll see who's the real man in the village." After that, he turned, and taking a deep breath, he dove in.

"So now what happens?" InuYasha said.

"We wait," the headman replied.

It was too dark for anybody but InuYasha to see him swim much beyond the riverbank, although they could hear him splash.

"Well?" Tameo asked. His voice was soft.

"Halfway there," Seiji yelled. "So much for your catfish. Never did believe in him, anyway. Stories people tell to frighten children. I -"

As he spoke, the river around him started to glow, a bright greenish light, easy for the people on the bank to see, and the waters around him started to churn.

"What the hells?" Seiji said. After that, he screamed as he was tossed up in the air by something big, and dark that burst out of the water.

"It . . . it's almost as big as a whale," Miroku said. He looked at Tameo. "Do you feel that? That's no youkai."

The headman nodded. "I've never seen him come up like this. So huge . . . he can't live down in the waters like that. This river's not big enough."

"Look at those whiskers," Eiji said, pointing at the catfish's face. "Must be longer than I am tall."

Seiji splashed back to the river and tried to swim, but the monstrous fish grabbed him by the leg. He let out one more scream and then he disappeared down the great fish's gullet. The fish looked toward the bank, and the gathered villagers began to draw back. Some of them ran.

Tameo, though, stood there respectfully and then bowed. "Thank you for appearing, Grandfather Catfish. Thank you for your justice and for keeping our village safe."

Nodding its head at Tameo, the fish splashed its tail once, made a mighty leap and dropped back into the river.

Slowly, as the gathered villagers who hadn't run watched, the green light faded, and there was no other sound but the river flowing downstream.

"I don't think I'll ever want to swim in that water again," Furume, Masu's daughter, said, breaking the silence."Ever."

"He's been there all along, girl," Masu said. "If he had wanted you, you would have been gone."

"Not the way I'd want to go," InuYasha said. "Down a fish gullet." His ear flicked.

Miroku tapped his staff on the ground, making the rings jingle. "Nor I. But it was what he asked for."

"I think," Tameo said, rubbing the back of his neck, "I need a cup of sake after that."

"I'll join you, Otousan." Susumu walked up to his father, and gave him a grin. "You think there's any left at Daitaro's?"

"What - you rather drink that old man's sake instead of mine?" the headman asked in mocked outrage.

"Well, we do have to get Haha-ue," Susumu said. "And you know he never runs out."

"Good point." Tameo patted his son on the shoulder. "Coming, Houshi-sama, InuYasha?"

Miroku shook his head. "I'm going to stay here and pray a moment. Even though he was an awful man, he deserves the prayers for the dead. He's going to have enough trouble not being a hungry or angry ghost. I'd like to keep that from happening."

"I'll make sure he gets home in one piece," the hanyou said.

The headman nodded. He and the rest of the gathered people began to leave.

The kami hovered over the river, watching the villagers slowly go their own way, drifting off in ones and twos and threes. Miroku's voice echoed on the water as he chanted his prayers, adding an especially somber note to things. Most of the humans leaving didn't talk much; each seemed to be contemplating what they had witnessed.

"So this long play is finally at an end," Daikoku said. He pulled on his beard in a thoughtful way.

"A sad play," Shimame said. Her eyes glistened, as if she too felt the heaviness of the moment. "I...I thought I would feel . . . " She looked at the ancestral kami, and at the luck god. "Satisfied? But somehow . . . "

"Tragedies are like that," Kazuo said, sagely. "Humans so often bring their own bad ends on themselves. Seiji . . . well, he chose, every step of the way. The tragedy there was there was nothing he would let us do to help him do the right thing. Something inside him . . . "

"Sometimes, some souls need to be reborn to start fresh," Daikoku said. He shrugged. "Now he's Emma-o's job."

"I hope he has a better time with Seiji than we did," Yoshio said.

"Oh, the king of the dead has seen far worse than Seiji," Daikoku said. His lips turned up in a knowing way. "Seiji's not nearly the worse of them. He'll manage without even blinking."

"I hope so," Yoshio replied, although he sounded a bit doubtful. "But the village - what for the village, the families here?" Yoshio said. "Maeme and her sons, and the others - what happens next?"

"Perhaps," Kazuo said, "They and this village can have some peace."

"Until you find another reason to stir the pot." Shimame said.

Laughing, the kami vanished.

Elsewhere, in Miroku's sleeping room, Sadayori rested a ghostly hand on the head of his youngest grandson, still sleeping. "You're safe now, Grandson. Live a good live, boy. You will stay in my heart." Suddenly, a gentle breeze blew through the room, one only he could feel. "Time to rest."

Closing his eyes, he let the breeze take him to the next world, his work done.


	291. Chapter 291

_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 291**

The next morning dawned on a changed village. Sunlight slowly grayed to reveal a beautiful blue sky. One after another, the households awoke, and as morning smoke began to rise as breakfasts were cooked and people began their day's work, talk about the previous evening's activities began to spread quickly. But even with all the talk, a wave of calm washed over the households, as if the gods were well pleased with how everything turned out. It was a new day, and like all new days, another beginning.

No one was quite aware of the newness as Maeme, as she began the first hesitant steps of putting the pieces of her shattered life together, facing a world without her husband. Shortly after dawn, she, her sons, and Miroku walked down to the riverside where the monk had first spotted her, and where her husband jumped in to meet his own demise.

It was a particularly peaceful scene, far removed from the supernatural happenings of the previous night. A boat was making its way across the water, carrying a couple of reed-hatted fishermen off to get an early start. A lone duck flew over the river, calling out, answered from the water by another, and song birds sang in the willows that overhung the waters.

As they neared, the only thing left of Seiji's passage was his armor and clothes, neatly stacked on the rock; nobody had taken them after his meeting with Grandfather Catfish. For a moment Maeme wrapped her arms around her middle, looking at the little pile. Miroku said nothing just waiting. Nakao rubbed his eyes, then looked up at the woman.

"Okaasan," he said, tugging on her sleeve.

Maeme looked down at him, and gave his head a rub. "It's all right, son." She looked over at Sukeo, who was fighting back some tears, and chewing on his bottom lip. "And you too, Sukeo-chan. It will be all right."

He nodded, although his face showed how uncertain he was about it all. Taking a deep breath, she walked over the stack of garments, and picked up the shirt he had been wearing, lifting it up to the sun. Her eyes traced the needlework of a patch she had sewn into the fabric. Suddenly, she clutched it to her chest.

"It really happened, didn't it?" she asked, looking at the monk. "I...I..."

"Yes," Miroku said. "Believe it."

Maeme's tears began to flow down her cheeks. Even she didn't know if they were tears of grief or relief or fear. She buried her face in the shirt. Sukeo moved past him, and began picking up the rest of the stack. "What . . . what do we do now?" He looked at Miroku.

"We should have a memorial for him," Maeme said. She turned to Miroku. "He . . . he . . . he was what he was, but he deserves that much."

"He does," Miroku said nodding. His face was somber, but he was pleased by her intentions. "It will help him move onto whatever is next."

Suddenly, she began to sob, rocking a little back and forth. "Whatever is next. Next. What do I do now?" she asked. "What do I do now?"

"Live," another voice said. They looked up to see Daitaro and Chime standing there. "That's what you do next," the old farmer said. "One hour, one day, one month at a time."

"And you won't be alone. Come with us," Chime said. "We're here to help. One shouldn't be alone the day after something like this."

She looked up at the older couple, amazed.

"You used to visit us often enough when you were little," Daitaro said. "You're still welcome." He pulled out some small, bamboo-wrapped treats out of his pocket, and handed one to Nakao. "And you, too, young man. Are you afraid of cattle?"

Nakao shook his head no.

"Good boy." Daitaro looked to Sukeo. "And you?"

"I helped chase your bull last summer," Sukeo said, crossing his arms and standing tall.

"You can tell a lot about a man by how he deals with his cattle," Daitaro said, nodding approvingly. "I remember when - "

"You and your bull stories," Chime said, interrupting her husband with a fond smile. "Ignore that old man's jabber. Come with me and we'll get things sorted. You'll see."

Maeme, amazed and grateful, nodded. And as she moved forward, the old couple was joined by others from the village. Hisako was there, along with Hisa and Kimi, each carrying a basket.

"Just like him to make all my work yesterday getting everybody ready today to be worthless," the old woman said, tapping her walking stick. But she held out her arms to Maeme, and the younger woman let her wrap her arms around her. "We'll get through this, child," Hisako said. "And you'll do fine. And we'll never ever let another man do what your man did to any other woman here." She looked up at Daitaro and Miroku. "You can tell the elders that for me."

"I believe you, Dono," Miroku said, nodding. "I believe you."

Soon the word about what had happened passed through the village and beyond. But even with a day of such events and portents as they had just lived through, there was no rancor. Kazuo-no-kami's statement about peace was a true foretelling for the little community.

Over the next several weeks, a hesitant and frightened Maeme found herself drawn back into the life of the village. A group of women went around to every household and got hemp donations for Momoe, and the men raised a new shed. Not long after Seiji's death, Michio met Chiya under the stars in the house by the river, and overcome with feeling, took her home. Shippou continued to spend his time between the village and his uncle's house, going and coming as he pleased, growing wise in both the ways of fox magic and human nature. InuYasha learned to do his turn at being the village guard on call. Kagome continued to work with Kaede, and before long, people were seeking her out sometimes just as quickly as the old miko, especially the younger ones who sometimes found Kaede a bit intimidating. Soon, no member of the village thought it strange that one of their miko was married.

Spring turned into early summer. One morning, while it was early enough not to be too hot and sticky, Kagome was walking along the dyke path of one of the fields. Insects hummed lazily in the midmorning air above it, and small plants grew out of the still waters. Since that night when Grandfather Catfish had judged Seiji and found him wanting, the barley had turned golden, the fields had been flooded and the rice planted. She put her hand to her back thinking about the hours she had spent bending over to get the rice in. Everybody in Tameo's ko had helped to get the ko's fields planted, one after another, and she had experienced her first major reality of life in a farming village - that planting row after row of rice seedlings was hard, wet work, important work that even the village miko participated in. After all, the first field that Tameo planted each year was dedicated to the shrine and its workers. Kaede had explained to her how planting their field first was to honor the land kami, and if the kami decided the job was well done, everybody would prosper.

"I hope she didn't think too badly of me," Kagome said. "I only slipped three times."

As if in answer to her line of thought, a voice spoke up behind her. "I believe the land kami is happy with us this year," it said. "Everything looks like it is growing well."

She turned around to see Tameo, a hoe over one shoulder and mud on his feet, looking rather contented as he walked towards her.

"Ah, Tameo-ojiisan," Kagome said, smiling. She bowed a greeting. "You got to escape the office this morning? I didn't see you coming."

"Not a single bit of official work to do this morning for a change." He gave her a pleased smile. "I thought I ought to enjoy it as long as I can. It was a fine morning to do some weeding before the rains come in." He swatted at a flying insect. "As lost in thought as you were, I'm not surprised you didn't hear me. Good thoughts, I hope," he said.

She nodded. "They were. I just came back from checking on Daisuke-ojiisan. He's doing much better."

"If he's better, he must be driving Hisako-obasan crazy, I suspect," the headman said

Kagome laughed. "You know how he is. But he's getting up and around now, and I think that means she's more than happy for him to do that."

"If that's the case, no doubt she and my wife will be plotting something or the other up before long." He gave a mock sigh. "Hisa-chan's been hinting at having another sewing day. I wanted to ask – " Whatever Tameo started to say was interrupted when a blur of red ran past them to stop in front of Kagome.

"They're back! They're back!" Shippou said, almost out of breath and jumping up and down in front of Kagome. He pointed in the direction of the hill where she lived. "I saw them. I was just coming back from my Ojisan's house, and I saw them on the road. They were just outside of the village."

"Ah, the travelers have returned," the headman said. "I hope they had a good trip to Houshi-sama's old master."

Kagome's eyes lit up as she looked at the young kitsune. "You're sure?" the young miko said. "You saw them? Did you talk to them?"

Shippou shook his head. "InuYasha was carrying a big bundle. And he was grumpy," the young kitsune said. "He was telling Miroku that he had better things to do than stop off at the market at . . . some village. I forget. But if I had stopped to talk, he would have kicked me back to my ojisan's house." The kitsune rubbed his backside. "I know how he is when he sounds like that."

"You are learning wisdom, I see, my fine young fox." Tameo dropped his hoe off of his shoulder and leaned on it like a walking stick. "One day," the headman said, "Houshi-sama is going to have to get a horse. Some of the loads he's had InuYasha to carry . . . "

"Why?" the kitsune asked, honestly surprised. "InuYasha can carry more."

"Uh . . . uh . . . It's . . . " Tameo said. "That's not the reason. InuYasha is a respected person. It -"

"Excuse me, Tameo-sama," Kagome said, interrupting. She fought hard to suppress her giggle at the headman trying to explain appropriate behavior to the kitsune, who looked unimpressed. "It's been almost a ten-day. I expected them back a few days ago. I was beginning to get worried."

"I bet they'll stop at Miroku's first," Shippou said. "That's what they usually do." He jumped up into Kagome's arms, and gave her a sly look. "I think Miroku wants to see if there's any gossip he should know about before coming into town."

Tameo picked up his hoe, and shouldered it once again. "A clever man, Houshi-sama." He nodded at the pair. "Well, tell him I expect to hear all the gossip at his leisure. You two hurry up to Sango-chan's. I'll let Kaede-chan know what's up."

Laughing once again, he took his leave.

"One day, Shippou-kun, you're going to be an important kitsune of many tails," Kagome said, letting the boy slide down back to the ground. "That is, if you learn one thing."

"One thing?" he asked, both pleased and uncertain by the miko's words. His tail, as if anticipating the company, waved behind him.

"When to say just enough." With that, the young miko shook her head, turned and began walking towards Sango's house.

"Just enough?" the kitsune said. "What's that supposed to mean? I told you everything that was going on." He frowned and scratched his head, pondering it for a minute. "Did I leave something out?" He shrugged, then began running. "Hey Kagome! Wait up!"


	292. Chapter 292

_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 292**

While Kagome was walking through the fields on her way to meeting Tameo, InuYasha and Miroku wearily plodded their way back home. Something caught the monk's eye as they rounded a bend in the road.

"Look," Miroku said, pointing to the sky at the sight of a floating pink bubble that drifted overhead. The balloon shape had obviously spotted them, circling high overhead for a moment.

"That's just what I don't need," InuYasha, said. He was bent forward slightly under the bulk of a large white bundle, but raised his head and looked in the direction Miroku was pointing. He scowled. "Not only do I have to listen to you, Bouzu, but Shippou, too?"

Almost if the young kitsune had heard them, the pink balloon dashed off in the direction of the village.

"Ah," Miroku said as he headed towards the last bend in the road that separated him from the village beyond. "I guess our young friend has decided to err on the side of caution. No doubt he'll let everybody know we're on our way home. No surprise arrival."

"Sometimes he can be smart," the hanyou replied.

"Cheer up," Miroku said, looking at his companion and smiling. "We're almost there, InuYasha." He lifted his staff and used it to nudge a rock out of the way. "It's going to be good to sleep in my own bed tonight. What do you think?"

"I think that we could have been home five days ago if you hadn't let yourself listen to that old man," InuYasha said. His ear flicked as a small animal barked at them as they passed its tree.

"Ah, but who am I to refuse aid to those in need?" the monk asked, putting on his serious monk face, perhaps a little irritated at the hanyou's complaint. "I wasn't trying to exploit him. You have to admit, that was a nasty youkai he had bothering him. And he sought us out."

InuYasha moved to the center of the road to escape a low hanging branch that came down too low for his load to go under. "Only because that old sot of a priest told him we were there. And he did happen to be the richest man in the valley."

"Even the rich can find the time to be bothered with monsters," Miroku said. He stopped to let InuYasha get through the center, then caught up with him. "No doubt that karma has something to do with it. The wealthy do seem to do more to attract the spiritual world's attention. Especially if they get too grasping."

"Feh," InuYasha said, stepping over a large branch that had fallen across the road. He glanced up at the tree that had dropped it. It was an old tree, and looked like it would fall soon. The hanyou dropped his pack, and gave the trunk a shove, but it wasn't ready to fall yet. Shrugging, he picked his pack back up. "The poor don't have anything to take. Even a youkai understands that much, if he's doing more than eating people. But you're right - that was one ugly snake."

"And that rich man was lucky we came by," Miroku said. "He had more than enough to interest a greedy youkai. That snake was certainly interested in his daughter. I don't think he was ready to deal with a snake youkai for a son-in-law."

"I tell you who was really lucky," InuYasha said, settling the large bundle back on his shoulders. "The merchants. How many yards of cloth did you buy?"

"Enough for the both of us," the monk said. "Kagome-sama will be just as pleased to see her share as Sango will."

"And why did Mushin have to send that jug of sake?" the hanyou asked. "It's not like there's no sake in our village."

"Professional courtesy," Miroku said. "After all, we took him some of Daitaro's. He had to exchange the favor."

"Well," InuYasha said, "Next time he can carry it. Or send Hachi or something." He shook his head. "I'm not a pack animal, you know."

"I never said you were," Miroku said. "No pack animal could keep up with you."

InuYasha growled a little at that.

"No matter what," Miroku said, "We wouldn't have been gone much longer." He pointed. "Nearly there. See? There's the first field."

InuYasha could see the glint of water that marked the first rice fields. A boy, carrying a fishing pole, was running along the dyke path towards the river. "What do you mean, we wouldn't have been gone much longer?"

The monk turned to his companion. "It's almost time for Sango to pay her visit to the village."

"Time for her family memorial again? Already?" The hanyou shifted his load a little. "Doesn't seem like a year already."

"It's been a busy year. Time flies, but it is that time again. She takes her duty to the dead seriously. " Miroku said. He paused and leaned on his staff. "It's a good thing. The way the taijiya villagers died, their ghosts could be angry and in need of placating, but I have never felt anything but calm when we visit." He began walking again. "We'll wait a few days to see if Kohaku shows up."

"I was kind of surprised he came last year," the hanyou said. "He's come a long way since . . . "

"He's a good boy, fast growing into a good man," the monk said. "But you've seen him - he still feels a lot of guilt. His taijiya master told me he's seldom seen a young man push the way he does. I think he wants to make up for all the things Naraku made him do."

"Feh," InuYasha said. "Even back then, he was trying too hard for a kid his age."

Miroku nodded. "He wanted to know if he bothers the ghosts of his father and the other taijiya when he shows up." The monk sighed. "He was really relieved when I told him it didn't. In fact things seemed even more at peace there. I know he knows he was being controlled and it really wasn't his fault . . . "

"Still a lot to carry on his shoulders," the hanyou said.

Miroku looked at the bundle his companion was carrying. "More than what you have on yours right now," the monk said. "But still, I believe his father appreciates what happened to him, and the prayers keep his soul comforted."

"Some burdens aren't as visible," InuYasha said. "But they can be damn heavy anyway."

The two friends fell silent, and made the rest of their trip to the path up the hill in quiet, thoughts heavy with the burdens that life had put on their shoulders and the unfair havoc Naraku and other events had placed on them. Right before they reached the turnoff, InuYasha's nostrils flared. He stopped. He took another breath, and the faintest smile touched his lips.

"Wait," he said. His ears focused in on the direction of the village.

"What is it?" Miroku asked, curious at first, but the look on his friend's face gave it away. "Perhaps Daitaro-sama's bull got loose again?" he asked, teasing. Only one thing could make InuYasha wait there with that look on his face.

"Shut up, Bouzu," the hanyou said, dropping his load once again. There was no real bark to his words.

Soon, even Miroku could hear the soft voice coming towards them and see the red and white clad figure hurrying as quickly as she could and not totally lose the content of the basket she held against her hip. "InuYasha!"

"Ah," the monk said. "We have company already. Somehow, I suspect Shippou's involved with this. I suspected Kagome-sama to have been at Kaede-obaasan's."

"Like I said, sometimes Shippou can be smart," InuYasha said as the hanyou's smile broke out in earnest. For a moment he stood there, pack forgotten, hands stuffed in his sleeve, watching.

Kagome stopped a little short, and waved. "You're back!" Her smile was as broad as his was. "I hope everything's all right. I was beginning to get worried."

It was too much for the hanyou to take. He dashed across the gap between the two of them, picked her up by the waist and circled around a couple of times. Kagome's pleased laugh rang in his ears like music. "Damn right we're back," he said, letting her down. "Should have been back days ago. You're the best thing I've seen since we left."

"But is Mushin all right?" Kagome asked.

Miroku walked up to the young couple. "Nothing's wrong. The old man is fine. We just had some unexpected business come up."

"Keh," the hanyou said, looking at the monk. "And I got to carry it home." He headed back to his pack, with Kagome following closely.

"That," she said, "is quite a bundle." She watched as her husband picked the load back up.

Shippou, who had been staying out of InuYasha's reach, hopped up on the monk's shoulder. "That's quite a haul," he said. "What did you do? Wipe out some bandits?"

"Kept a snake youkai from running off with a rich man's daughter, actually," the monk said.

"That's what I did," InuYasha said. "The girl was pretty happy about it, too. Miroku here just convinced her father to give us enough to buy out the market nearby."

"You could call the merchants there bandits," Miroku said, with a small sigh. "If I had waited, I might have been able to get a little more here."

"Who's the bandit?" InuYasha said.

"So," the monk said, to change the subject. "What happened in the village while I was away?"

"See?" Shippou said, crossing his arms and giving the young miko a gloating smile. "I told you he always asked that."

Kagome just rolled her eyes. "One day, Shippou-chan." She looked at the monk. "We planted rice while you two were gone. There wasn't much time for anything else, and nobody had time to get into trouble. Even Susumu couldn't get out of it."

"But I bet he tried," Miroku said.

"Not really - for Susumu." Kagome bent over, noticing a flower that was blooming along side of the path. "How come you weren't growing in the field I was in, herb?" She carefully pulled it up. "I'm going to have to talk to Kaede-obaasan about why it's been so hard to find you." She stood up. "Really, Susumu doesn't dodge work. Other work just seems to find him. Isn't that right, InuYasha?"

"Feh," the hanyou said. "I'm staying out of this one."

It didn't take them long to get up the hill. Daitaro stopped them briefly. He was out in the back pasture, checking up on a cow he had there, but turned when he heard them walking.

"Your bull's been behaving?" InuYasha asked.

"Okuro must be getting old," the farmer said, brushing his hands off on his pants before he put one foot up on the railing and leaned against the top beam. "Old man hasn't tried to get out in a long time."

"Maybe it's all those girlfriends you keep bringing him," the monk said, nodding at the cow Daitaro had been seeing to.

"I could be bringing him too many," Daitaro said. "Too content, maybe, to have any fire left." He got a wicked grin on his face. "You've been gone how many days now?"

"Feels like forever," InuYasha said, grumbling. He looked at Kagome with a longing that was not lost on the old man who laughed loudly.

"I don't think either of you will be having the issues of too much like my old bull," the farmer said. "I suspect both of you'll be ready to chase your women across the village. And I bet you won't have to run very hard to catch them."

Kagome blushed a little as she caught the meaning, which made Daitaro grin even more. InuYasha looked uncomfortable, even as a small grin touched his lips, as if he wasn't sure how to handle the teasing. Shippou though, was less amused.

The kitsune shook his head. "If you're going to talk like that, maybe I better go. I'm just a kid, you know."

This made the farmer laugh. "I thought kitsune knew all about that, young fox. All those stories . . . "

"I haven't reached that level yet," Shippou said. He jumped off of Miroku's shoulder. "I think I'll go tell Sango you're coming. Better to put up with the twins going for my tail." Transforming back into his balloon form, he floated away.

"He'll find out one day, I suspect," Daitaro said. "Suspect he'll be a little terror when he does."

Miroku laughed. "You're probably right about that. But maybe you forgot what it was like to have a house full of young ones, Daitaro-sama."

"Bah." The farmer got a faraway look in his eye as if he was remembering something. "I remember those days . . . somehow, we always found a way. Ah, Chime . . . what a flower . . . " His voice drifted off, and then he straightened up. "I better let you go home to find out if it's as true for you as it was for me."

He started to turn to go.

"Wait a minute," Miroku said. "We brought you something. Give him the jug Mushin sent, InuYasha. Now's as good a time as any."

With just a little grumbling, the hanyou dropped his bundle, opened one end and fished out a sizable earthen jug. Miroku took it and handed it to the farmer.

"From my master Mushin to you, Daitaro-sama," the monk said.

"My, my," the old farmer said, taking it. He hefted it. "Your master is a generous man."

"As were you," the monk said.

"Got to get rid of that swill he makes somehow," InuYasha whispered to Kagome. She gave him a small slap on the arm in return. Grinning, he turned to close up the bag.

"Shall I try it?" Daitaro asked.

"No time like the present," the monk replied, curious about how the farmer, who was so proud of his own brewing prowess, would react.

Daitaro uncorked the jug, sniffed the contents, and nodded. He took a small drink, swishing it around in his mouth before swallowing thoughtfully. "Not bad," he said. "I could drink this. Tell that master of yours that if he keeps this up, he'll be a real sake-master one day."

InuYasha snorted, then picked up his pack. "I told you so."

Miroku ignored the hanyou. "High praise indeed," he said, bowing. "It's amazing, though. My master said nearly the same about yours after he had the first drink."

This made Daitaro roar with laughter."A fellow soul! I'll toast him tonight as a man who knows how to brew!"

After a few more pleasantries, they took their leave and headed up the road.


	293. Chapter 293

_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 293**

"Ah, home," Miroku said as they spied his house.

"Your place," InuYasha muttered. "I'm not there yet."

Yusuko was the first to spot the small group heading towards the house. She put down a pretty brown and black rock on the stack she had built, stood up and pointed. "Otou! Otou! Inu-ojisan! Kagome-obasan!"

Noriko was playing with her stick doll on the verandah when she too looked up and saw the tall black and purple robed figure of her father walking up the path towards their house. "Okaa, look. Otou!" It only took her a moment before she too went to join her sister.

"Took you long enough," Shippou said. He was sitting in a tree branch, safe out of the reach of Miroku's daughters. "How long does it take to walk from Daitaro's place?"

He jumped and landed on InuYasha's pack.

"You like to live dangerously, do you?" the hanyou said, looking up.

"You're safer to be around than Yusuko," the kitsune said. "She can only pull your ears."

Kagome laughed at the two of them. The hanyou glanced at her, clearly not pleased, but she rested her hand lightly on his arm. "Come on, InuYasha, the longer you fuss, the longer it'll take to get home."

Nodding, he followed Miroku, who began to move up to the house. Sango, who was doing laundry, looked up, and smiled, watching as her husband caught first one girl, and the other in his arms.

"Otou!" the girls said in unison.

"Do they have to be so loud?" Shippou asked.

"What, you think you're not when you run up to greet Kagome?" the hanyou laughed.

"I'm not that loud," Shippou said, crossing his arms.

"Oh, I wouldn't be so sure," Kagome said, still laughing. "Even to my ears."

Miroku was too busy to pay attention to their banter. "Look, InuYasha!" he said, twirling his daughters around, much to their pleasure, and they squeed with enjoyment loud enough that InuYasha laid his ears back to protect them from the noise. "I've caught me a pair of beauties. Tennyo, they have to be, my two little heavenly maidens. What other girls are as lovely as these?" He kissed the head of one and then the other. "Did you miss me, girls?"

"Yay, Otou finally home," Noriko said, nodding, but then she frowned. "Otou gone too long." Looking at her hand, she held up three fingers. "This many too long!"

"Okaa said so," Yusuko added. She too added a frown. "Okaa told us this morning. Why late, Otou?"

"Someone's in trouble, and it's not me," Shippou said. There was some smirk to his grin as he peeked over the top of his bag.

"For a change," InuYasha muttered.

Miroku looked up at the kitsune, and then at his daughters and sighed. "Sometimes, little ones, things don't go according to plan," He gave them each another kiss on the head, but Noriko still frowned. "I got delayed." He let the girls down, then reached into one of his sleeves. "But look what Otou brought you to make it a little better!"

He handed each of the girls a bright, thread-covered ball, one in blues and reds for Noriko, one in greens and yellows for Yusuko. Mollified, Noriko ran to her mother to show off her treasure, but Yusuko held onto her ball, looking at it and then looking at her father as if trying to decide if the monk was trying to bribe her.

Sango, drying her hands on a towel got up and went to greet her husband. "Is everything all right? I really was expecting you three or four days ago. Is Master Mushin all right?"

"He's fine and as stubborn and drunk as ever. We stopped to do an exorcism," the monk said. "I didn't know we'd get some business on the way back." He rubbed the back of his neck. "You know how those things go. One must take advantage of what the gods send one's way. The Buddha stresses compassion on those in need."

InuYasha dropped his bundle, which caused Shippou to tumble. "Must include compassion on merchants as well. He damn well tried to buy out the local market."

"Hey, watch it," the kitsune said, hopping up onto the hanyou's head. He looked down at InuYasha's face. "You should warn somebody when you do that."

"And you should find better places to take a ride," the hanyou replied, picking up Shippou and dropping him to the ground.

Sango raised an eyebrow at the size of the bundle. "So that's why you're late?"

Miroku raised his hands. "Not planned. They just happened to be having their market day nearby after we were done with the exorcism. I wasn't planning on buying anything, until I saw this . . . " He fetched out a beautiful carved comb from his sleeve. "And then I thought of you, and saw the fabric merchant, and one thing led to another . . . "

"And so now you're home," Sango said, smiling, taking Miroku's peace offering. "I'm glad you're back."

Chika, Sango's cat, lifted her head, where she sat, guarding Sango's washtub. First she stretched, then walked up to the monk. Mewing softly, she jumped into his arms, looking at him as if to ask where her treat was. He stroked her head by her ears, which seemed to content the calico cat.

That reminded Miroku of something. He looked up at Sango. "Any word from Kohaku yet?"

Sango shook her head, looking just a little anxious. "Not yet. But it's too soon to leave anyway."

"Well, he didn't get here this early last year, so we'll give him time," the monk replied. "It's for the best. That'll give me a little time to rest up."

InuYasha bent down and opened the pack. "Don't know why you think why you need to rest." He pulled a bag out of the larger bundle. It was significantly less than half the load. Picking it up, he tossed it over one shoulder. "I fought the youkai, and I carried the load you bought home."

"InuYasha," Kagome said, reacting to his grumpiness. She looked at him, not quite sure if she should say something about how he was acting or not. Sucking on her bottom lip, she decided to hold back her words.

"But it's true." He held out his hand to the young miko. "And I haven't been home yet. Let's go."

Miroku raised an eyebrow, a bit amused. "Wait, InuYasha. Don't you want me to tell about – "

The hanyou caught the glint in the monk's eye, but wasn't in any mood to play. "I don't want you to tell about anything, Bouzu," the hanyou said, scowling in a way that Miroku knew his friend had reached his limit. "Come on, Kagome." Tugging on her hand, he began to walk off.

Kagome gave the monk and his family an apologetic look over her shoulder, and hurried after her husband.

"InuYasha sure is crabby," Shippou said. "He was like that the last time you came back from a trip. What's his problem?"

"Newlywed sickness," Miroku said. Sango, picking up Noriko, giggled.

"Newlywed sickness?" The kitsune looked at the retreating couple. "InuYasha's sick? He never gets sick. What . . . " Suddenly, it dawned on Shippou what Miroku meant, and he glowered at the monk. "You're as bad as Daitaro. I'm just a kid. I don't want to know stuff like that yet."

"Oh, there will be a day," the monk said, and bending over the bundle InuYasha left on the ground, he began to take his treasures into the house.

InuYasha and Kagome walked home, mostly in quiet. From time to time, Kagome looked up at her husband. His hand never let go of hers, but he glared ahead at the path as if it were the enemy.

After they entered the little house, InuYasha put his bundle down while Kagome moved to her place by the fire pit. The hearth was cold, and she pulled out the flint and steel and got ready to make a fire.

"I was at Kaede-obaasan's house last night, and Sango's the night before that, so the fire's totally out. If you're hungry, if you want to wait a little bit, I could fix you some food if you'd like it," she said. "I don't have any lunch ready but - "

Before she could finish what she was going to say, InuYasha was across the room, emptying her hands and lifting her up. He crushed her to him.

"I'm hungry, but not for lunch," he said, his voice low and husky. "The only thing I want right now is you." Even in the light of the house, his amber eyes almost glowed with their own light.

Kagome looked up at him for a moment, surprised at the intensity she saw there and the surge in his youki, but then, recovering, her face lit up with its own fire and she threw her arms around his neck. "I missed you so much! You were gone so long!"

Their lips met, hungry to rediscover the taste of each other, their bodies the feel of each other. Neither of them thought about pulling the futon out as their hands reached for belts and slid under garments. Amazingly quick, their clothes began to gather around their feet, and they collapsed, too busy to notice anything else, on top of them.

It was a swift coupling with few preliminaries, full of what the frustration of their time apart had filled them with and the yearning their reunion stirred in them.

When it was over, InuYasha lay there resting his forehead against Kagome's, taking deep breaths. "Damn, woman, I missed you so much. All those days with Miroku, I thought of this moment. Didn't turn out like I imagined at all. Over way too soon." He rolled off of her and found his shirt. "I'll have to make it up to you later."

"Was it better or worse than?" she asked, smiling, as she began to sort out her own things.

"Real," he said, his ear flicking and his smile sheepish. "That's what really matters."

Kagome slipped into her own shirt. "Was it really that bad, your trip with Miroku?"

"I...not really," the hanyou admitted. "Outside of the exorcism, everything was pretty much like I suspected. Mushin's temple is in worse shape than the last time I was there. The old sot still looks the way he always does, and Miroku grinches at him just the same." He finished wrapping himself in his fundoshi, then fastened his under kosode. "I get tired of the same stupid banter. And then when we get back, he wants to drag things out, and I just to get away."

"He knows it," Kagome said, slipping into her hakama. "He just likes to tease you."

"Feh," the hanyou said. He gave a wicked grin. "He's just jealous because he has to wait until his kids go to sleep."

Kagome chuckled at that as she tucked her under kosode into her hakama and began tying them shut. "I had too much peace," she said. "The house is too quiet when you're gone. I spent the last five nights at Sango's or Kaede-obaasan's."

"You should always stay with one of them when I'm gone." The hanyou put his jacket on. "This house is too far from the rest of the village to stay in by yourself. Sango'd probably be happy for the company, any time. But I bet it was quieter at Kaede-babaa's,"

"Oh, I don't know," Kagome said. "The twins can be noisy when they're getting tired, and Naoya can get fussy, but Rin can talk enough for all of them sometimes."

"Sometimes, I wonder about how she and my brother manage to be so close. She must do enough talking for the both of them," he said. "The kid doing all right?"

"Mostly," she said. "When she's not helping Kaede, she plays with her girlfriends. At least some of that time, she's at Kimi's because of Tazu, and I think Kimi is a good influence. But it's been a while since Sesshoumaru's paid a visit, and I think she's starting to get worried about him."

The hanyou's ear flicked. "Worried about him? I don't know anybody else in the world that'd worry about that ass. What's she worried about? No humans, and not many youkai that could hurt him, anyway."

"Oh, I know she's not worried he'll get hurt," Kagome said, looking up at InuYasha. "She gets worried that he's lonely. She doesn't think Jaken makes good company for him."

The hanyou barked a laugh. "Don't know if Jaken makes good company for anybody."

"I think it's more that she just misses him." Kagome shook her head. "I know what it's like to miss someone."

InuYasha reached over and gave Kagome's hand a gentle squeeze. "Me, too."

"Now what?" Kagome asked, going over to the chest of drawers to get her hair comb.

"You were saying something about food?" the hanyou asked. "I think I've worked up an appetite."

"Somehow, I knew you'd say that." Smiling fondly, she went back to the fire pit, and began to fix lunch.


	294. Chapter 294

_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 294**

Lunch didn't take Kagome long to make after she got the fire going. It was simple, just soup and rice.

Kagome handed her husband a cup of the soup.

He took a sip, and a smile touched his lips. "Now this tastes like home," he said. "You're a way better cook than Miroku."

The comment pleased the young miko, and she gave her husband a big smile. "I hope you got to eat more than fish on a stick while you traveled," Kagome said, dipping up the rice. "I remember how he cooked when we were chasing the jewel shards."

"He doesn't cook any better now," InuYasha said. He took another sip.

She handed him his rice. "I'm sorry, but we're out of pickles. I really haven't been home much lately. If I had known you were going to be back today, I'd have made some. Or maybe asked Chime. She still talks about all the pickles you ate at Shinjiro's wedding."

"Does she?" he said, picking up his chopsticks. "I hope what she says is still good."

"Oh yes. She keeps giving me hints on how to pickle this or pickle that." She put a bowl of rice on her own tray. "That's why we've been having all these different things lately. I'm waiting for the turnips to get big enough. There's one recipe I really want to try."

"Pickles are nice," the hanyou said. "I can't say I don't like them. But I missed sitting here with you more."

She looked up and smiled at him. "I missed that, too. The house doesn't feel like home when you aren't here."

He smiled, pleased at both how Kagome reacted to his words, and her words in return. "Besides, Miroku puts umeboshi vinegar in everything he fixes. After all those days on the road, I might not need to eat pickles for a week."

Kagome tilted her head, a bit surprised. "But you seem to like it when I put umeboshi in your onigiri," she said as InuYasha began to wolf down his rice. "You must really be hungry," she said, picking up his soup bowl and refilling it.

"I guess I am," he admitted. "Well, umeboshi is good with rice. But I don't want everything to taste like plum pickles and salt. Sango doesn't cook like that. I don't know why he does." He put down his rice bowl, now empty, and picked up his soup. "Fish on a stick was much better than some of the other food we ate."

Laughing, the miko refilled his rice bowl, then finally started on her own meal. "Are you sure he wasn't doing it to tease you?"

InuYasha shook his head. "No. He does that every time we go on a trip. Claims it keeps him from getting traveler's sickness." He started on his second bowl of rice. "Do you think that'd really help?"

"My grandfather liked it on his food. Maybe it works?" Kagome said, sipping her own soup.

InuYasha shuddered. "I think I'd rather be sick."

They were almost finished when there was a knock on the door. "Kagome-sama?" a woman's voice said. "I hope you're home. I have something for you."

"That sounds like Tama-chan," Kagome said.

"Better go see," InuYasha said.

She nodded, then got up and went to the door.

"Daitaro-otousan told me your husband got back today," Tama said.

"He did indeed," Kagome said, stepping out of the house. The door mat rattled behind her.

InuYasha's ears rotated to the sound of small talk and laughter that came in through the door, but instead of paying it much attention, he concentrated on eating his lunch. His ears did perk up when the young bride mentioned mushrooms. For a moment, he flashed back to the memory when Daitaro brought him some fresh mushrooms because he thought they'd give the hanyou extra bridegroom stamina, and smiled.

"Don't know if I'll need any help tonight," he said, finishing his soup bowl.

Tama didn't stay long, and after she left, Kagome came back to her place, smiling. "Seems like Chime must have though you'd be needing something more than just rice and soup to eat today."

She uncovered the basket, and started lifting things out. "Rice cakes," she said, putting them down. Next was a jar. "Pickles!" the young miko said, opening the lid.

"Chime makes good pickles," the hanyou said.

"Do you want some?" she asked, getting up to get a knife.

InuYasha shook his head. Kagome looked at her husband, surprised. She froze for a moment, then reached over and touched his forehead. "Are you all right?"

"I'm fine," said the hanyou, smiling. "I'm just . . . overpickled. Let me get all that plum vinegar out of my system first."

This made Kagome giggle. InuYasha's eyebrows knit together. "What's so funny?"

She covered her mouth trying to stifle the giggle, then lifted the last item out of the basket. "I bet you really aren't in the mood for these." She put a small bowl on her tray, and took the wrapper off of it. Inside, a whole bowl of pickled umeboshi glistened in their pickling liquid.

"Definitely," InuYasha said. "More than definitely." He stood up. "I think I'll go get some water."

While Kagome finished her meal, he filled up the water buckets. It felt good doing home things; while she washed up, he restocked the wood box, then, with nothing left to do, stretched out on the floor, watching her put the last of the dishes up.

"Well, that's the last of that," Kagome said, hanging up the towel. Sighing, she picked up her gathering basket and headed to the door.

"You're not going back down to the village already, are you?" the hanyou asked. He looked at her, his hands tucked behind his head, surprised at her actions. "I was hoping we could just stay here this afternoon." He sat up, trying to explain himself. "I just . . . well . . . it's been so long . . . "

"I...I promised Kaede-obasan," Kagome said, looking apologetic. She walked over to him and knelt down, and brushed the back of one hand against his cheek. "I'd rather just stay here, too, but I spent the morning gathering these herbs for her. She uses them in her headache medicines, and she's almost out. I don't really have anything else to do today, but I really need to do that much."

The hanyou sighed. "Always has to be something, doesn't there?" His eyes were wistful, and Kagome felt a pang of guilt.

"I guess," she said. She leaned her head against his shoulder. "I'm sorry. If I knew you were coming home today . . . "

"Nothing to be sorry about." InuYasha got to his feet and went over to the corner where he had put his sword. "Probably ought to let Susumu know I'm back anyway. Won't be long before it's my turn at guard duty, and I probably need to know if anything's going on."

"Maybe we could arrange a little getaway," Kagome said, watching him walk across the room. "We deserve a few days just to ourselves."

He turned and gave her another wistful look. "Not until after the new moon. I don't want to get caught out in the woods like we did last month."

A shadow crossed across her face. "That wasn't a very fun night, was it?" she said, as she moved to join him.

"Stupid bakeneko," InuYasha said, wrapping an arm around her. "Who knew that Chika would have relatives stalking us after that many weeks? Kitsune must have been bragging about getting her tail. That's foxes for you."

"And who knew we'd get delayed because of the weather?" she said, leaning into his hold. "That was an awful storm that blew up."

"Stupid cats probably called the storm down to trap us." He rested his chin on the top of her head.

"They may have," Kagome said, nodding. "I've heard of that."

"I'm sure watching over me while I'm wounded while a group of stupid cat youkai are stalking you isn't your idea of fun. That's what I get for cutting it too close on the afternoon of the new moons. Not this month. Not ever again if I can help it." He pulled her closer, remembering:

_He had come to in a place that tasted of blood and pain. Everything was confused and dark, except for a flickering camp fire, casting shadows that didn't make much sense to him. He didn't remember how he got there. All he remembered from earlier in the night was shining red eyes, a cat's cry of triumph and a dull sword. _

"_Kagome!" he had screamed. Or at least he tried to. His voice cracked, his throat too dry to really speak._

_Instantly she was there, looking at him with concerned eyes. "No, don't move," she had told him, pressing down on his shoulders, trying to keep him from getting up. "Stay still. You'll start bleeding again."_

_He had struggled to sit up, with no success. "Must protect . . . "_

"_Not this time, InuYasha." She bent over him, her dark hair falling on either side of her face like a curtain, and kissed him lightly on the forehead. Her kiss was warm, and he tried to hold onto it, to her, but he collapsed under her determined touch, wincing with pain. He had no strength to fight with her, to do what his heart was screaming at him to do. _

_The air was heavy with the smell of blood, his blood, even enough for his too human sense of smell to make it out. He had reached out, found bandages wrapped across him instead of his fire rat._

"_Where are we?" It was hard for him to breathe. Pain radiated from his middle._

"_I wish it were a cave, but it's just a rock shelter. At least nothing will sneak up on us from behind." In the firelight, he could see the bloodstains on her chihaya. _

_Fear ran through him when he had seen that blood, beyond any concern he had for himself. "Are you hurt?" He had touched the blood marks with a shaking finger._

"_No. Not at all. But you are." She had clasped his hand, kissed his finger, then, laying his hand back down, she rested a hand on his forehead. "I purified the youkai that got you, and found this place. But there's another one out there. I can feel his youki."_

"_I love you, Kagome," he had said, swallowing hard to get the words out. It never came easy for him to say such things, but the fear he felt drove him to it. "Just in case. I want to make sure you know it."_

"_Hush, Baka. Of course I know it." She looked at him fondly. "Just don't leave me. Dawn's not that far away." He remembered nodding. It had hurt even to do that much._

_His consciousness had faded in and out while they waited, but came to with amazing clarity when a dry branch cracked outside of the circle of light provided by their fire. Kagome was immediately on her feet, arrow notched, bowstring taunt as a deep snarl cut through the night._

_His panic rising up gave him a burst of energy, and he had tried to grab his sword, but it was too much. Never had he felt so defeated. _

"_Lay still, InuYasha," Kagome said. "I've got this."_

_The air around her had begun to shimmer faintly pink as she firmed her stance. The ends of her hair had begun to drift in the wind that was created from her own aura. Suddenly, the tip of her arrow began to glow so brightly that he had to protect his eyes. The monster, cat-headed and human bodied, baring teeth and brandishing claws, stepped into the clearing. _

"_Move aside, miko. Do not stand between me and my prey," the bakeneko had hissed. "Maybe then I might let you live."_

"_Go to hell, youkai!" Her voice had been calm, but there was deadly threat in it. "There's no way I'm going to let you have what is mine." She let her arrow fly, and immediately took another from her quiver and notched it._

_As the arrow struck home, there was a flash of pink light that lit the clearing like pink daylight. When the light receded, the bakeneko was no more._

"_Damn, woman," he had told her, amazed, overflowing with emotions he couldn't verbalize. "Remind me never to get you seriously angry with me."_

_She had turned around and looked at him, only slowly letting go of the tension on her bow then had plopped to the ground. Totally confusing him, she began to giggle. "Remember that the next time you don't want me to check your bandages."_

"You were wonderful, woman," he said, chasing the ghosts of that night away. " But it feels a lot better not to get caught like that."

"I bet," she said, reaching up to touch his face. "And it'll be a whole lot less scary just to be home."

He lifted the door mat. "That's what I think. So, let's just do whatever it is we need to do in the village. Then maybe we can get away some place, that hot spring, maybe."

"I'd like that," Kagome said, smiling as she walked through, and he followed her.

"I wonder if we can convince Miroku he doesn't need to come by that night," she said. "I know he has a long history of keeping you company on the new moons, but does he really need to do it, here in the village? It's not like you're going to be alone."

He lifted an eyebrow at that. "You have something in mind?"

She gave him a slightly wicked smile. "Oh, maybe."

"Hmm. That look . . . " InuYasha said, a small smirk rising on his own lips. "What's going on in your head?"

They began walking down the path side by side.

"Nothing, really," Kagome said. She reached out and gave his hand a squeeze. "We just haven't had any time on the new moon together since I've come back when we were alone and you weren't in trouble. I just wonder what it'd be like."

"I'll probably be grumpy," he said, his ear flicking.

"You're not always grumpy," Kagome replied. "You weren't grumpy last month."

"I was kind of out of it for a lot of the night." He looked at her, his brows knotting together. "In fact, everything's kind of vague. Did you give me some medicine?"

"I had to. You wouldn't stop moving, and you kept shifting your bandages." She gave his hand another squeeze. "I was afraid you'd bleed to death. That scared me more than the youkai."

InuYasha was almost speechless at that. "And people tell me I'm brave," he muttered.


	295. Chapter 295

_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 295**

_A/N My husband will be having surgery on his knee tomorrow. Not sure if there will be a chapter on Thursday._

The walk down the hill was uneventful for InuYasha and Kagome. Shinjiro, who was working on a field of young eggplants, waved as they passed, but didn't stop to talk, and they ran into nobody else until they reached the main road through town.

That changed as they passed the steps up to the village shrine.

"Who's that?" Kagome asked.

A young couple were walking in the direction of Kaede's house.

"Looks like Tetsuya and his wife," InuYasha said, dropping Kagome's hand, which was cloaked by their sleeves, but still somewhat obvious. He stuck his hands in his sleeve. "They live over by Choujiro's. I think he's kind of related to Toshiro. Choujiro likes him. I think that's because he likes to work wood as much as Choujiro. But he makes stuff - figures and bowls and things."

"Ah," Kagome said. "I still don't quite know everybody who lives here."

InuYasha shrugged. "Me neither. But Etsumi doesn't look so good."

Etsumi was leaning on the shoulder of her husband Tetsuya. She looked ill, her face drawn as if she was in some pain, and her hands were wrapped around her middle.

"Ah, Miko-sama," Tetsuya said, bowing, as he spotted the two. There was a look of concern in his eyes. "Is Kaede-sama at home?"

"She is," Kagome said. "Is your wife not doing well? Is there anything I can do to help?"

"I'm . . . I'm sure it's nothing," Etsumi said, plastering on a fake smile. Her eyes looked feverish. "But my husband here, he thinks I should go see Kaede-sama. I hate to bother her, but . . . "

"Please, don't hesitate," Kagome said, moving towards the door herself. "You can come in with me, if you'd like. I'm about to bring her some herbs."

"You shouldn't be so afraid, wife," Tetsuya said. "That's what the miko do. Pray to the kami for us, and help us when we have these things. You might have felt better if we had come by sooner."

"I know . . . " Etsumi said. "But . . . it just seems like I'm bothering her for nothing. This always goes away if I wait long enough."

InuYasha pulled on his wife's sleeve. "I'll go check in with Susumu," he said. "If you finish, you can come and get me."

Kagome nodded, and opened the mat door to Kaede's house to let the two villagers in.  
>Giving his wife a smile right before she stepped through herself, InuYasha walked down the road.<p>

The road through the village had the usual mix of children, dogs, chickens and the occasional adult walking down it. Denjiro, heading out to his fields, welcomed him home, and a cat licked its paws as he passed, looking at him curiously.

As he passed the cat, he heard a familiar voice.

"Ah, InuYasha-sama, you're back!" Turning to his left, he saw Eiji walking up, a pleased smile on his face. Eiji was carrying a hoe over his shoulder, and with his guardsman's club tucked into his obi. His feet and knees were muddy, a clear sign that he had been doing more farming than guarding at the moment, although once again, it was his turn to be doing the guard duty. "And that means Houshi-sama is back as well?"

"Yeah, we're both back," the hanyou said. "We got back today right before lunch."

Eiji nodded. "I'll let Kimi know. She's been taking care of things at the temple while Houshi-sama was gone. He'll be happy to know that with the rains coming back, his roof didn't leak once. We must have done a good job when we fixed it in the spring."

InuYasha nodded.

"Nice to know such a crazy day paid off well," Eiji continued. "No need to get back up and make emergency repairs."

"Just don't look at me if you think they need anymore," the hanyou said. "I think roofing kami prefer I work on the ground."

Eiji smiled, remembering how the hanyou had fallen that day. "I think you might have a point there."

"Keh," InuYasha said, still embarrassed a little about his two experiences with roofing that went badly.

The guardsman's smile turned into a small smirk. "Clever of you and Houshi-sama, to be out of town during the rice planting," the village guardsman said. His voice was teasing, with no real incrimination. Neither InuYasha nor Miroku were farmers, and neither of them were really expected to do much during it.

"Feh," InuYasha said, with a small shrug. "It wasn't my doing. Sounds like it went well. Probably made the land kami happier we weren't there, if she's anything like the roof kami. Kagome told me about it a little."

Eiji laughed a little. "You didn't miss much, except a lot of work. That's the one time we don't have a lot of trouble. Everybody's too tired at the end of the day to do anything. Even Chiya and Benika don't have any energy left to start gossipping."

InuYasha grinned at that. "I should have been here to see it."

"You're going to Tameo-sama's?" Eiji asked. The hanyou nodded.

"Tell Susumu I saw a peddler on his way here." Eiji said, getting ready to take the turn to his own house. "I haven't seen him before. We might want to keep an eye on him. I saw him down by Denjiro's place. Something about him . . . "

"I'll tell him," the hanyou said. "Peddlers are always coming through. What's wrong with this one?"

"Eh," Eiji said, shrugging. "I don't know. Sometimes, they're just crooked. Sometimes, I wonder if they're not bandits spying on us for raids. We've had at least two raids not long after a new peddler came through. Well, my wife has my lunch for me. I'll see for myself later."

"Eiji's always seeing bandits spy on us," Haruo, Eiji's brother said, walking up behind them. "Good to see you back, InuYasha. The real danger of a peddler is that they keep finding things to sell us."

"Or to our wives," Eiji said. "Especially that one with all the pretty threads and needles and combs and mirrors."

Haruo nodded. "Oh yes. I try to find something for Teruko to do when I hear he's coming up the road," he said, only half-joking. "He's always finding something new to sell my wife."

"Sounds like a cousin of Miroku's," InuYasha said.

All three of them laughed. The two brothers headed towards Eiji's place, and InuYasha continued on to the headman's house.

By the time he made it to Tameo's house, three other villagers had walked up to welcome him home, something that made him feel edgy with the newness of the experience, to be welcomed for himself, and not just because he was with someone he knew was welcomed.

"Stupid people don't know how to behave around here," he muttered as he entered the headman's compound.

Isao, Amaya's son who was living as Susumu's foster son and apprentice was busily sweeping the walkway in the courtyard, kicking up small clouds of dust as he passed his broom over the paving stones that lead through the compound.

"Ah, InuYasha-sama, you have returned," the boy said, looking up from his broom.

"Where is everybody?" InuYasha asked, looking around the courtyard. Nobody was moving around, not even the children. The only moving soul he saw besides Isao was Tameo's pet rooster.

"Ah, Hisa-sama took Emi and the children over to Koume-sama's," Isao said. "I think they're planning another women's sewing day. Tameo-sama went to speak with Tsuneo-sama. But Susumu-sama is over at the big house."

Nodding at the boy, InuYasha headed in that direction to discover Susumu sitting on the verandah Susumu was sharpening his hoe, while Koichi was also nearby, making a pair of straw sandals.

Susumu looked up as the hanyou approached.

"I didn't expect to see you with a hoe in hand," InuYasha said. A little smirk crossed his lips. "I have heard a lot about how much you love them."

The village guardsman smiled. "And I expected you three or four days ago." He shifted the hoe in his lap, to get a better purchase on it, and ran the sharpening stone across the blade in a way that made InuYasha lower his ears. "Rumor or not, I do use this thing from time to time."

"To grind it away until there's nothing left," Koichi said, trying to keep a straight face. He failed a little bit. "Or if you absolutely have to." Not dropping his sandal weaving loom, he grabbed a fresh handful of straw to work into it.

"I'll get out there, after Chichi-ue gets back from Tsuneo's," Susumu said. "My bean patch needs some weeding."

"You noticed that, did you?" Koichi said. "I was wondering if you were going to take care of it before your girls did."

"You want to get Emi mad at me, do you?"Susumu shook his head, taking the teasing in stride, then looked back up at InuYasha, who was standing there with his hands stuck in his sleeves. "Come sit down, InuYasha. Chichi-ue told me you were back in town," he said, putting his hoe to the side. He picked up a pruning knife, and began to sharpen that. "You and Houshi-sama had a good trip?"

"Yeah," the hanyou replied, moving under the shelter of the verandah awning, sitting down not too far from Susumu. "I guess we did. Miroku was happy enough."

"Rather smart of you, how you managed to get out of the rice planting," Susumu said, running the whetstone carefully down the blade.

"Feh," the hanyou said, leaning against a post. "I'd rather have been here. Next time Miroku goes on one of those trips to see his old master, you can go with him instead of me."

"Don't give him any ideas," Koichi said, looking up from his sandal making. He picked up his own knife and began trimming something that didn't satisfy him. "He'd probably take you up on it."

Susumu stopped his knife sharpening a moment, looked thoughtfully, as if he were considering it, but shook his head."I don't think I actually have the talent he needs, alas."

"Not to mention what your okaasan might say, or your wife," Koichi replied. "She'd probably want to go to keep an eye on all of you."

The men laughed at that.

Isao walked up to the house carrying a bucket. "Koichi-sama is good with a hoe. Really good. Susumu-sensei is good with a bow." He sat down next to the village guardian. "Tsuneo-ojisan says I'm good with a hoe, too." He rested his head in his hands. "Sensei's good like Kagome-sama is with the bow. I don't know if I'll ever get as good."

"Feh. Don't feel so bad. She didn't start off that way." InuYasha said. "He's been teaching you to shoot?"

Isao nodded. "Trying to. But my aim isn't very good, alas."

"Give it time, boy. It takes practice, and a lot of muscle." Susumu got up off his seat on the verandah and walked over to Isao. "Let me see your arm."

The boy pushed up his sleeve, to reveal a fading bruise on his left arm.

"Have you talked to Jun about making you a better wrist guard?" Susumu asked.

Isao nodded.

"Good," the guardsman said. "Bow strings are something to be respected. And one way we respect them is to not to give them our arm to thump."

"Yes, Susumu-sensei," the young man said. "It kind of hurts when that happens."

There was some chatter from the gate as Hisa and her grandchildren and daughter-in-law returned home.

"Ah, quiet over," Koichi muttered.

Suzume, Susumu's youngest daughter, broke away from the crowd and headed towards her father. "Otou! Otou! Come and see the pretty things!" she said.

"Pretty things, eh?" Susumu said, standing and picking his daughter up. "Now why would there be pretty things to look at?"

All the men moved to the edge of the verandah where they could see the walkway. Hisa and Emi and the children were there, as well as Kagome.

A peddler was with them, carrying a massive pack on his back. "And this herb, Miko-sama, this one is good for all the aches and pains a body can have," peddler told Kagome as they moved up towards the house.

"What is it?" she asked.

InuYasha watched with some amusement as the peddler pitched is spiel at his wife. She was turning the root around in her hands, and lifted it up, not quite convinced. "Eiji told me there was a new peddler in town," he said.

"Hide your money pouch," Koichi said. "This one looks like he's got your wife's full attention."

"The good monks at the monastery called it Herb of -" The peddler, a grizzled older man's words stopped as he looked toward the big house.

"Youkai!" he yelled, pointing his finger at InuYasha. "That man looks like a youkai! Why is there a youkai here? Miko-sama, get your arrows quick! You have to purify it!"


	296. Chapter 296

_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 296 **

_A/N Thank you everybody for the well-wishes for my husband. Surgery on his knee went fine, and he will be starting physical therapy soon. I really appreciate all the kind words!_

"Is there something wrong, Dono?" Hisa asked, turning to look at the peddler as he stood there, overburdened by his big wooden pack. One hand clung to a heavy wooden walking stick. The other shook as it pointed. Small bags and containers were attached to it at odd places, dangling. As he leaned on his staff and pointed towards the main house, the containers trembled with his shaking.

"That . . . that . . . that . . . thing! And here at the headman's house!" he croaked out. "Monju Butsu, Lord of Wisdom, have mercy on us all." He looked at Kagome, his eyes pleading. "Please, Miko-sama, do you not see? Purify it!"

Mitsuo, Susumu's son, pulled on his grandmother's sleeve. "Obaa, is there something wrong with him?" he asked, looking at the man with a perplexed gaze. "Horsie's scared." He clutched his toy to him tightly. "Why is he doing that?"

As Hisa soothed her grandson and Matsume, Kinjiro's wife whispered something to Yorime, the oldest of Susumu's children which made them both giggle.

Kagome, on the other hand, didn't find the peddler amusing at all, and stiffened, her brows narrowing as her temper began to rise. "What?"

"That youkai! Why don't you do something?" the peddler said. He dropped his arm and covered his eyes. "Everybody says Hotaka is as stupid as a rock, good for nothing but selling trinkets, always seeing things that make him seem foolish to others, but he knows what he sees! I can feel the youki radiating off him. Red, red , just like the clothes on his back." He uncovered his face and looked at the women who surrounded him. " Don't tell me I'm the only one who can see him? That white-haired freak standing on the verandah, standing next to the man holding the girl. That's no human. Look at those ears!" He was obviously rather frightened. InuYasha's ear flicked as he spoke. "How can all of you just stand here? Why aren't you running away? Why am I just standing here where he can see me? Oh, Monju Butsu, Kwannon of the Thousand Eyes, protect this old fool and help us all!"

Kagome looked at the dried root the peddler had been trying to sell her like she was trying to decide if she wanted to hit him with it or give it back. For the moment, she did neither, but looked at her husband. He shrugged.

"This fool should have been an actor," Koichi said, twirling a bit of straw in his hand. "If he's so scared, why doesn't he run?"

"Maybe I should just leave," Hotaka said. The circle of women around him began to broaden, giving him space as he talked. "Maybe the gods are sending me a vision, so I just look foolish to everybody. The god of commerce, Ebisu has hated me since the day I threw a rock at his shrine to kill a spider." He rocked back and forth. "Why now?" He looked up at the sky, and his voice was loud, a shout to the gods. "Haven't I done enough penance yet?"

Aomi, Susumu's toddler, began to cry at the noise of the peddler's rant and she struggled to get out of her mother's arms. Susumu, still carrying Suzume, moved forward, standing between the hanyou and the peddler. "What the hells is your problem, man? You like to frighten my children? Is that how you sell stuff?"

"That man's strange," Suzume said. "He didn't seem strange when he showed me the pretty things. What's wrong with him?"

InuYasha's ears lowered slightly at the girl's words as he tried to stand there nonchalantly. His amusement at watching the peddler try to make a sale from before the man's rant had disappeared, moving from anger to the stoic mask he had perfected when confronting strangers' disapproval of his right to exist, to something torn between pity and the unease people get when confronting mental illness. He decided to put an end to what he could.

"I'm real, you know, and everybody can see me. Don't talk about me like I'm a thing," the hanyou said, scowling. "But who do you think you are, telling people to get rid of me like that?"

Hotaka sputtered, looked into the faces of the crowd, none of whom seemed bothered by InuYasha's appearance, but all who were looking at him as if he had done the most unacceptable thing. "But he's a youkai . . . "

Isao moved next to Susumu. "What do we do, Sensei?"

"Feh," the hanyou said, shaking his head. For a moment, he rested his hand on Isao's shoulder. "You don't need to do anything, boy." He turned to Susumu. "I'll go. I've seen this type of thing spiral into more than I want to have happen here. I don't want any trouble. I just wanted to let you know that Miroku and I were back. I had enough of this crap on the road. Don't need it at home."

He took a step forward, but Susumu caught his sleeve. "Don't go yet," the village guardian said. "Obviously Peddler-sama hasn't heard about who you are, cousin. He obviously doesn't know that you are a member of the village guard, either. If he wants to do business here, he's going to have to deal with it."

"Maybe he's too touched to do any real business," Koichi said.

"The way Miko-sama's looking at him," Isao said, "he ought to drop his pack and run."

Hotaka turned back to Kagome, who thrust the root he had been trying to sell her back in his hands.

"I don't want this," she said. "I don't want anything you're selling."

Hotaka looked bewildered. "Miko," he said, "is everybody here bewitched? A youkai is a member of the village guard? Don't they see what he is? No human has eyes or ears like that." He tried to hand her a small bag. "I have some blessed salt here. Maybe that'll be enough to break the spell. You have the kami's favor. Please, please, I mean no disrespect, but everybody knows it's not right to have youkai living with you. Do your job, Miko-sama. Please protect the headman's family."

Kagome's eyes narrowed as she stepped away from the peddler. Her voice was stern, and he almost recoiled from the look he gave her. "I will forgive you because you're a stranger here and have no idea what you're talking about. There's no need to protect anybody here, unless it's from you. No, I will not purify him. Neither will Kaede-obaasan, and she's known him longer than just about anybody here in the village."

"You'd leave a youkai loose at the headman's house?" the peddler said. He tapped his fingers on his chin, looking at the hanyou, who instead of snarling at him, just gave him an irritated look. "I don't understand. Merciful Kwannon, why would anybody want to keep a youkai around the village." He covered his eyes again, and began chanting a mantra, then peeked through his fingers. "Oh, Monju Butsu, give me the wisdom to know what to do, so these people won't try to stone me out of the village. He's got a lot of youki, that one. Dog shaped ears, like a bear dog, and claws. But look at the rosary around his neck." An idea came to him, and his face lit up. He bowed as deeply as he could go carrying his pack towards Kagome. "Pardon me, pardon me, Miko-sama. I should have realized what was happening. The white-haired one . . . he's not just a youkai, is he? He's an inugami?" He looked at Kagome. "He belongs to you? Forgive a foolish old man. I always pray to Monju Butsu for wisdom, but he never gives me enough. I am sorry. I shouldn't have doubted your purity. No doubt the kami love you very much."

"He didn't really say that, did he?" Koichi muttered, picking up the knife he used to trim the straw he was weaving. "Calling InuYasha an inugami?"

Kagome's hands clenched. "Yes, he's mine," Kagome said, working hard not to yell at the peddler. She started walking across the compound towards the hanyou, then looked back at Hotaka over her shoulder. "But he's no inugami. You need to pray for more wisdom. He's my husband."

Hotaka let out a high-pitch shriek and collapsed to the ground, surprisingly not disturbing his pack, which stayed snugly on his back.

"Oh my," Hisa said, and she and Matsume tried to help him to his feet, but he rose to one knee and pushed them away.

"Definitely needs to be an actor," Koichi said, grinning. He was the only one amused by the turn of events. Kagome stood next to her husband, her eyes glistening, both from anger and with concern for the hanyou.

"I ought to show him wisdom," the hanyou said, his hand resting on the hilt of his sword.

The peddler's eyes grew even more round as he watched the young couple. "What sort of miko are you? You claim a husband. And a youkai for a husband? This village has a black miko? " He looked at the headman's wife. "What sort of people do you have here? I've heard about places like this." He began to back up. "Nothing good ever comes of it, to let youkai in to mix with humans. I don't know if I want to do business with people who let a youkai rule the roost. Just ask the people of Matsumura. They'll tell you what happens when you mix heaven and hell in one place."

"Seems to me that I heard it was the Takeda," Susumu said. "Not smart to tell a daimyo no when you have something he wants."

"That's what you think," the peddler said, getting back to his feet. "I was there. I saw the ghosts walking in the night. They told me what really happened."

"Or that you had too much sake," Koichi said. He sat back down, and picked up the sandal he was weaving. "Who's going to believe an angry ghost? They just want more blood to drink."

"I tell you, I was there!" the peddler said. "Don't mock me, man."

"Dono," Hisa said in a conciliatory tone. "You are truly worrying too much. Kagome's no black miko. We all know about InuYasha-sama and his wife, and why they're together. There's nothing dark about it. They were married before she became our miko. In fact, my husband the headman asked her to take up the miko work. And he's made InuYasha part of the village guard because he's a trustworthy soul. He's saved our village more than once. He's fought off the bandits side by side with the rest of our men. You must have come from a long way away - they are well known in Musashi. Haven't you heard about Miroku-sama, the monk who is InuYasha's partner? You told me you had been to Kagemura. They could tell you all about how InuYasha saved them from a nasty bakeneko."

The peddler stopped for a moment. "I heard about that. But how do you know he didn't call the bakeneko up? The priest in my hometown, he warned me about youkai doing things like that. And a monk? There's no way a monk would have something to do with the likes of him."

"Oh?" A voice behind the peddler said. He turned around to see Miroku standing there, carrying his staff. On the monk's left shoulder the monk carried Shippou, looking sternly at the vendor, his arms crossed. "You should ask before you make statements like that. InuYasha and I have been partners for four years now."

The peddler yelped at the sight. "Kitsune! Now I know what's the matter. Everybody must be fox possessed."

"You don't know anything," Shippou said. "What are you doing, talking like that? You must not be from around here. Go back to wherever they let ignorant guys like you try to sell stuff."

Miroku shook his head sadly. "Now Shippou, I've told you, Kwannon wants us to be merciful to all sentient beings, even the ignorant," he said, raising his hand in a sign of blessing. "Let me pray the sutras for you."

The peddler covered his eyes again. "This village must be cursed! A black miko and an evil monk! A monk who consorts with kitsune! Monju Butsu, protect me! I'm never coming back to this place again."

Pushing past Miroku, Hotaka hit the main road, running as best as he could with his pack on his back, all the little containers attached to it rattling and swaying as he did.

"Oh my," Hisa said, looking sad as the peddler ran away. "And he had such a nice supply of silken threads. I just brought him back here so I could get some money to pay him."

"And I wanted those tea cups he showed us," Matsume said, shaking her head. "Who knew he was so . . . so . . . "

"Strange?" Susumu asked.

"Troubled?" Miroku volunteered. "Maybe he's the one who's fox possessed."

"I doubt it. He doesn't smell like it. More like stupid," Shippou said.

"Whatever he was, I've had enough of him," InuYasha said, grabbing Kagome's hand. "Let's go home."


	297. Chapter 297

_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 297**

As they stood there in the courtyard in front of Tameo's house, Kagome looked up at her husband and saw the distress in his face, a barely controlled tension that let her know he was in real need and afraid he would do the wrong thing. Trying to give him a look that said she understood, she nodded. "Home it is. Kaede doesn't need me this afternoon." But before he could drag her off, she turned back to Hisa. "I'll come by later, maybe tomorrow, and talk to you about the sewing party."

"That will be soon enough," Hisa replied, giving the young couple a tender smile. "Come by in the morning, while it's still cool. It's been getting so warm in the afternoons. Maybe the heat got to that poor peddler. Everything that happened - what can I say? But we're all glad you're back home safely, InuYasha."

The hanyou nodded and was about to start walking when Susumu barked out a laugh.

"What's so funny?" InuYasha asked.

Susumu rolled his eyes. "Another sewing party? And after this?" He turned to the farm hand who had already gotten started back to work on making his sandal. "Better run, Koichi. Haha-ue's talking about another one of those things. Ready to move her cabinet around again?"

Koichi looked up and his face dropped, a touch of panic in his eyes.

"He doesn't know, does he?" Matsume asked Emi as he tried to sputter a reply.

Mitsuo looked up at his mother. "Is there something wrong with Koichi-ojisan, too?"

"Just panic," Emi replied.

Hisa laughed gently at Koichi's reaction. "You don't have to look like you're going to a funeral, Koichi. This one will be at Koume's house. Or Fujime's. We haven't decided yet. You won't have to move a thing in our house."

Koichi audibly sighed, and gave the headman's wife a sheepish grin.

She tapped her chin, as if a thought had just struck her. "Although I did mention that if they need any help to get ready, you'd be available to help . . . "

He almost choked, then sighed again. "Ah heavens," he said looking up to the sky. "You aren't going to cut me any breaks, are you?"

Susumu and the women laughed. InuYasha, though, merely stuffed his hands into his sleeves, and looked down at his feet.

"We ought to leave," Kagome said. She rested her hand on her husband's arm. He gave her a small smile.

"Go home, InuYasha," Susumu said, letting Suzume down. He patted the girl on the bottom, and she ran inside the house. He watched her as she went inside, then turned to the hanyou. "We can talk about what's going on in the village later. You look like a man who's seen too much of the strange side of people today."

"Keh," the hanyou replied. His face softened a little and he nodded. "Don't know if I've ever seen anything quite like that peddler."

"I know I haven't," Isao said. He picked up his bucket and started heading towards the well.

"I'm not sure I have, either," Hisa said. "After that little event, I think perhaps we all could use a little break." She shook her head. "That poor, troubled man. Well, I'll see you tomorrow, Kagome-chan. And maybe you, too, InuYasha. I have some new pickles you might like to try." She followed her granddaughter inside the house. Emi and Matsume, herding Mitsuo, joined her.

"Come on, Kagome," InuYasha said. "I need to get that peddler's scent out of my nose."

Kagome rolled her eyes, but bowed her goodbye to Susumu, and the couple moved towards the gate. Miroku, who was still standing there near the gate with Shippou still on his shoulder, joined them for the walk back.

"You are the reason I showed up here," the monk said, his staff jingling as he walked.

"You didn't get enough of my time on the walk home?" InuYasha asked.

"I told you this was a bad idea," Shippou said, jumping off of Miroku's shoulder. "I think I'll get out of the way. He's in a bad mood."

Kagome shook her head. "Who wouldn't be, after all that? Is it really important right now?"

"Maybe," Miroku said. "It's just - "

"It can wait, Bouzu," the hanyou said, interrupting, the scowl on his face fully in place, but he stopped and turned to look at his friend. "You better not have thought up something for us to do today."

Miroku held up his hand and shook his head. "No, no, nothing like that. I just wanted to let you know that Kohaku has arrived. He flew in on Kirara an hour or so after we got home."

"See?" the hanyou said. "You were worrying for no reason."

"Kohaku?" Kagome smiled. "I know Sango was anxious about him showing up, too. How is he?"

"Growing like a weed," Miroku replied, smiling. "If he keeps it up, he'll be taller than me in a year or two."

They passed Kaede's house. Choujiro, standing near the steps that lead up to the land kami's shrine, waved to them.

"The wanderers have returned," he said. "I hope it was a good trip."

"It was, it was," Miroku said.

"And heavy," InuYasha added.

Choujiro gave the hanyou an odd look, but then shrugged. "You wouldn't know anything about that peddler that just hurried out of town, would you?" he asked. "I tried to stop him because my wife wanted to know if he had any red thread, but he just mumbled something about cursed places and kept on walking. Yurime's going to be disappointed."

"Uh," the hanyou said.

"You could say he saw something he didn't approve of," Miroku said, looking at InuYasha.

"Huh, so that's how it goes," said the woodworker, rubbing his chin. "Maybe I shouldn't complain. I always end up the poorer when one of those people come to town."

"Don't we all?" the monk said.

"Sounds like what happens when Miroku visits a rich man's house," Shippou whispered to Kagome. InuYasha lifted an eyebrow on that one.

"Hush," she said.

"But now I get to go explain to my wife how she'll have to wait until market day to finish that jacket for our boy." Choujiro sighed.

"Tell her to come see me," Kagome said. "I may have something she can use. I'm not getting much time to do any fancy sewing right now."

"Very kind of you, Miko-sama," Choujiro said, nodding. "I don't know - "

He was interrupted by a loud, young voice."InuYasha-sama! Houshi-sama! There's a monster loose!"

Shippou jumped back onto Miroku's shoulder. "Now what?"

The group turned as one as two boys, Akemi and Jiro, began running towards them, fishing gear rattling on their shoulders as they hurried in the direction of the village center.

InuYasha rolled his eyes. "Let me guess," he grumbled. His scowl intensified. Kagome rested her hand on his arm, torn between giggling and trying to look serious as the boys raced to find them.

"I suspect you're right," Miroku said. He on the other hand, couldn't resist a small chuckle.

"You're sure?" Shippou said, frowning. "They look scared."

"Pretty much," the monk said. "I don't sense any youkai around that's not you or InuYasha."

"Me, either," Kagome said, nodding.

"This wouldn't have anything to do with that peddler, would it?" Choujiro asked, scratching the back of his head. "What did you do to him?"

"Not a thing, except listen to him rant," the hanyou said. His ear flicked in irritation. "I was just standing around, talking to Susumu."

The boys caught up to them and for a moment, struggled to catch their breaths.

Akemi bowed. "I...I...was . . . hoping . . . we would find you," he said, panting a little.

"How's the fishing, boys?" Choujiro asked.

"It . . . it was good," Jiro said, taking deep breaths in between words. "But on the way back . . . "

"There was this peddler," Akemi said. His eyes looked down the street past the group, worried. "He said there was a big monster at the headman's house."

"A big monster, eh?" Miroku asked. "And did he describe it?"

"He . . . he said it had huge claws, and eyes from hell." Jiro rubbed the top of his head. " It was going to eat Susumu's children!" He too peered down the road.

"Stupid peddler," Shippou said.

"Well, we just came from the headman's house," Miroku said. "Did you see any monsters there, InuYasha?"

"No youkai ones," the hanyou said, his lips curled in a dark scowl.

"I was there, too," Kagome said, nodding. "If there was a monster, don't you think I would have purified it?"

The boys looked confused. Akemi frowned, and looked at the adults and back at Jiro. "Why would he say something like that? He didn't act like he was joking, did he? He looked really scared."

"I thought I'd be seeing awful things in the street," Jiro said, nodding. "Fire and screams from the way he talked." He looked down the road. "But it looks like just any other day."

"I hear he sees ghosts," Miroku said, resting his hand on Jiro's shoulder. "If you do that without the right training, they can confuse you a lot."

"Ghosts are bad news, my obaasan says," Jiro said, nodding. He scowled, and looked at his companion. "What monster would try to attack our village anyway, when we have you, Houshi-sama and InuYasha-sama to keep us safe? I don't know who was more stupid, us or him?"

"The peddler, of course," Akemi said, now thoroughly irritated. "We were just trying to do the right thing. Good riddance, scaring me like that. I hope he doesn't come back." He shifted his fishing pole on his shoulder and held up his catch. "Fishing was good today."

"Save any for me?" InuYasha said, cracking a small smile, as the boy's vote of confidence in him began to sink in. "Or have you fished the river out?"

"You're funny, InuYasha-sama. Everybody knows nobody fishes better than you here in our village," Jiro said.

"You do have that talent," Miroku said, nodding. "The streams between here and Mushin's temple are clearly a witness to it."

"Well, if there's no disaster to warn anybody about, I'm going home," Akemi said. "Maybe Haha-ue will fix my fish. I missed lunch."

The two boys set off home.

"Well," Choujiro said, grinning at the hanyou. "You'll have to tell me the story of how you were going to eat Susumu's children some later time. Interesting how the boys didn't even realize that peddler was talking about you . . . "

"Feh," InuYasha said, but something dawned in his eyes, and he looked off in the distance, as if he was having trouble dealing with it.

"I hope you all have a better afternoon," the woodworker said. "I'll go tell my woman the news about the peddler, and what you said, Miko-sama." And with a nod of his head, he headed to his home.

"Well, that was interesting," Miroku said, looking back towards the village as Choujiro walked off.

"I'm tired of interesting," InuYasha

"So," Kagome said, deciding to change the subject as they started walking home again, "tell me more about Kohaku."

"He's still happy with his new taijiya master," Miroku said. "I wish, for Sango's sake, they were based closer. She misses him."

"You should see the weapon he's carrying," Shippou said. "It's really big. Can you believe it? He told me Toutousai made it for him."

"That's funny," the hanyou replied, turning to walk again. "A taijiya using a youkai-forged weapon to take out youkai."

"Well," Kagome said. "Hiraikotsu is made from youkai bone."

"Not the same thing," InuYasha said.

"You do youkai exterminations. What do you call Tessaiga?" Miroku asked. "Your sword was forged to protect humans."

"You have a point," Kagome said, looking up at her husband. "And Toutousai-sama made both."

"Feh. But he must have impressed the old guy, for him to do that." InuYasha shrugged. "Bet it didn't cost him any teeth." He rubbed his jaw.

Shippou snickered, which earned him a dirty look from the hanyou.

"I suspect you're right," the monk said. "But even without the cost in teeth, it feels like it may be a powerful weapon. Still, it won't protect him from being attacked by two little girls. They were climbing all over him while he was trying to meet his new nephew."

"At least he doesn't have a tail to pull," Shippou said.

Kagome chuckled. "So how long is he here for? I haven't seen him for so long."

"We were thinking about leaving tomorrow," Miroku said. He looked over at InuYasha. "I know we usually come over that night, but I suspect Kagome-sama can make sure you'll stay out of trouble."

InuYasha looked at his wife, and something passed between them that caused her to smile. Miroku, noticing, lifted an eyebrow, but said nothing.

"Feh," the hanyou replied. "We can manage."


	298. Chapter 298

_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 298**

The group walked up the hill in quiet for a moment.

"Can I stay with you tomorrow night?" Shippou said. "I can help keep watch."

"Not this time," Kagome said. Her voice was sweet and apologetic.

"But . . . but if I'm not at my uncle's, I usually come by that night." Shippou made big eyes at the miko, the type that used to almost always let him get his way. This time, it didn't work.

"Not this time, Shippou-chan." She shook her head, and the kitsune sighed, knowing her there's-no-budging-me-on-this voice.

The kitsune looked up at the hanyou. Sometimes, he had discovered, the big eyes could work on the hanyou, but he had no such luck this time.

"No," InuYasha said rather emphatically. "If Kagome says no, it's no."

"Just thought I'd ask." He looked up at Miroku, who had become very amused at all the antics of the three. Shippou leaned closely, and whispered to the monk. "Is this more of that . . . sickness you were talking about?"

"We'll have to see," Miroku said. A sly smirk spread across his face.

After a moment, he rubbed the side of his face, as if thinking. "We could, I suspect, put our journey off a day if you have any doubts about it just being the two of you. Friends do take care of friends. You're sure you two feel comfortable about managing? You don't have to be sacrificing about something this serious just so we can get started a day earlier."

"I've been taking care of myself longer than you've been alive, Bouzu," InuYasha said, knitting his eyebrows together as he glared at the look on the monk's face. The monk tried to feign an innocent look, but InuYasha caught the last of the smirk before it faded off of Miroku's face.

"I have no doubt about that, InuYasha," Miroku said, now having his concerned friend look firmly in place. "Still, it will be your first night like that alone in your house. And you are on the outskirts of the village."

"So what's it to you, Bouzu?" InuYasha's tone was not pleased. He had been carrying his hands in his sleeves, but he separated them, dropping them by his side, but clasping his right hand into a fist. Shippou who had been riding on Miroku's shoulder closest to the hanyou moved to the other side. "At least we're going to be in our home village. You're going to be on the road with three children. I'd worry about what you need to worry about."

"I think I was right," Shippou said, very, very soft. "Newlywed stuff." He made a face, but out of the line of sight of both InuYasha and Kagome.

Miroku gave his head a quick nod, then held his hands in a peacemaking gesture. "If you're willing to make the sacrifice for us, I do appreciate it. I know Sango will. But to ease my conscience, I can leave you some ofuda, just to be safe."

"Feh," InuYasha said, well aware by now he was being teased. "If you don't – "

"That's a lovely idea," Kagome said, interrupting her husband. She knew he was irritated, but gave him a soft smile. "We can pick them up on the way home and say hello to Kohaku-kun all at once."

The hanyou's ear flicked as he was caught off-guard by his wife's response.

"Excellent idea," Miroku said, smiling broadly at being pleasantly surprised. "I mentioned to Kohaku that you were back living with us. He was hoping to get to see you. I didn't expect to get a chance to do it before we left."

InuYasha sighed. Kagome rested her hand on the hanyou's arm. "You don't mind us stopping by Miroku's house, do you?" she asked. "We won't stay long, only long enough for Miroku to get us the ofuda. It's been a long time since I saw Kohaku last. He was so brave during the final battle, taking care of Rin. And you know how seldom he gets to come and visit with his new master."

"We're supposed to leave as soon as we can get the girls up and fed," Miroku said. "We'll probably be gone before you go to Kaede's."

InuYasha rolled his eye and shrugged, giving in to the inevitable. "Let's go see the kid."

"You won't be able to call him that much longer, InuYasha," Miroku said

.

Kagome gave her husband a brilliant smile in thanks, then turned back to the monk. "We won't, will we?"

"Young people have a way of doing that, it seems," Miroku said. He looked at Shippou. "Some quicker than others."

"Hey," Shippou said. "I'm growing just as fast as a kitsune is supposed to grow."

"If you say so, Shippou," Miroku said. "He's older now than you were during the quest, Kagome-sama."

"Has that much time passed already?" she asked.

"It has, it has," the monk said. "Not that you'd know it looking at this one." He picked Shippou off of his should and put him down.

As they took the fork in the road that lead to the monk's house, the first thing they heard was laughter.

"It sounds like the twins still have him cornered," Shippou said. "He should be glad he doesn't have a tail."

"My turn, Kohaku-ojisan!" one of the twins said.

"You're probably right." The monk smiled. "But I don't know if he would have cried about it as much as you do."

As they neared, Miroku held his arms out by one of the trees near the path. Stopping behind the monk, the group watched a slender young man, easily as tall as Sango, if not a little taller, dressed in the black armor of his calling.

"His new taijiya group uses the same type of armor?" Kagome asked quietly.

"They do," Miroku said, "It's better against youkai venom and power attacks."

Kohaku had Yusuko on his shoulders, running in small circles around Noriko, who was holding her arms up, trying to catch him. Yusuko alternated between mock-roaring and laughing as the young taijiya dodged his little niece.

"Slay the monster!" Noriko yelled.

"They look like they're going to be well worn out pretty soon," Miroku said.

"He has grown some since I saw him last," Kagome said, "He was about as tall then as Rin is now. And now look at him. He's not much shorter than you, InuYasha."

"Keh," the hanyou said.

Kohaku lunged the wrong way, and Noriko wrapped her arms around his leg.

"She got us, Yusuko-chan. Noriko-chan caught us." He carefully sank to the ground and deposited the girl on the ground.

"I slayed the monster!" Noriko said, jumping on her uncle's lap.

Yusuko, not pleased by this turn of events crossed her arms. "Do it again?"

"It's Noriko-chan's turn," Kohaku said, putting Noriko on his shoulders and standing up carefully to Yusuko's disgust and her sister's joy.

"His voice is growing up, too," Kagome said. "It's a lot deeper."

"Time tends to do that to young men," Miroku said.

The door opened up, and Sango, followed by Rin came outside, carrying a chest and a carry basket. Sango smiled at the young man playing with her daughters. Kirara was wrapped around Sango's neck, while a very jealous Chika walked in and out beneath the taijiya's feet. Rin put down the carry basket and picked up Chika.

"It's all right, Chika-chan," Rin said. "Sango-obasan isn't going to leave you for Kirara. Kirara used to be her cat, but now she helps Kohaku-kun. You can stay with Rin while they make the trip to pay respects to Sango's ancestors, and when she gets back, she'll be needing your company very much."

The cat looked back at Sango and Kirara, and mewed doubtfully, but gave Rin a lick as if to say she understood, even if she didn't like it.

"You won't be the only one who will miss them," Rin went on. "Rin will, too, but she knows they will come back. They do this every year."

Chika, giving in to the inevitable, snuggled into Rin's arms. Rin stroked the cat's back while she looked up at Kohaku and the girls. She smiled at first as Kohaku danced around Yusuko and Sango began sorting things she wanted to take with them on their trip, putting them into the carry basket, but as they worked and played, Rin's face grew distant and sad, as if she was remembering something that troubled her.

The look vanished instantly as she spotted Miroku and the rest heading for the house. "InuYasha-ojisan! Kagome-obasan!" she said, waving.

"Ah, we've been spotted. I'll go get those ofuda," Miroku said.

Kohaku turned around at the announcement, watched for a moment, and then put down Noriko, who too was not happy at being denied her uncle's shoulders.

"I promise, girls, there will be plenty of time for me to carry you while we're on the trip," Kohaku said.

"Carry now!" Noriko said, sticking out her bottom lip.

"Girls," Sango said. "Be polite and come sit by me."

Sighing, the girls headed to their mother's side. Kohaku, though, watched the group of friends head closer, smiling. He gave a polite bow. "It's very good to see you again, Kagome-sama," he said. "I am happy that you've come back to join us."

"Kohaku's become even more polite than he was when he was young," Sango said fondly. She held up a small kosode and inspected it. Satisfied, she folded it neatly.

"My master tells us to be as cunning as a thief, as careful as a priest, and polite as a noble," Kohaku said, looking back at his sister.

"That sounds like good advice for a taijiya," Kagome said. She looked at the young man before her. He still had the pleasant earnestness that was his character, the charming face with a light dusting of freckles across his cheekbones that made him particularly cute as a boy, and did nothing to distract from his looks now that he was approaching manhood. The haunted look that had marked his eyes after discovering what Naraku had done with him was mostly gone in the obvious moment of happiness he was having. If it was still there, in the need to do penance for the wrongs he had been forced to do, he masked it well.

"He's a good man, your master," Miroku said, stepping back out on the verandah. "He does his job well, takes care of his clients, and never frauds. Learn as much from him as you can."

InuYasha coughed into his hand as Miroku mentioned fraud, and Sango's eyebrow went up as well. "Miroku does know what's of value, InuYasha," she managed to say with a straight face.

"Knows, yeah," the hanyou said.

"That is true," Miroku said, in all serious. "That I know."

Conversation began to dwindle. Noriko got up and walked over to Kohaku and grabbed his hand. "Up, Ojisan. Up!"

"You'll have to tell me about your adventures when you were gone from us, Kagome-sama," Kohaku said, picking up his niece.

"Schooling, mainly," Kagome said. "I really didn't have any adventures to speak of. I lived a very boring, quiet life."

"Sometimes, maybe," he said, grabbing Yusuko as well, because she was pulling on his leg, "that can be a good thing."

"I...I think I needed it for a while," she admitted.

Kagome chuckled as he tried to handle the two little girls. "Slay the youkai!" Noriko said.

Sango got up from her position on the ground, shook out one of Miroku's undershirts and began packing it. "Would you like to come to dinner? I know we all have so many stories to share."

"When you come back, perhaps," Kagome said, looking at her husband, who was looking at her, not saying anything. His eyes were caught between wanting to get away and curiosity about her last statement. "I think we need to go home and let you get ready for your trip. If you get away before we get moving tomorrow morning, have a safe journey."

Miroku handled the small bundle of ofuda to Kagome. "This should be enough for whatever you two have planned."

Kagome colored slightly and looked down at the ground.

Shippou made a face. "Adult stuff," he grumbled, then hopped back on Miroku's shoulder as Yusuko made a lunge for his tail.

"Yet another reason for you to want to grow up, Shippou," Miroku said. "Your tail would be much safer on a grownup body."

Chuckling, InuYasha and Kagome made their farewells, and finally headed home.


	299. Chapter 299

_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 299**

InuYasha and Kagome reached their home with no other interruptions from friends or neighbors or delusional peddlers. The only thing they saw on their way home was a small flock of birds that took off chattering as they passed by.

They didn't say much, mostly comfortable with just being in each other's company as they made their way along the road home, but the closer they got, the more relaxed they both felt. As they crossed the footbridge over the stream that separated their home from the rest of the village, InuYasha sighed, a breath of contentment.

"Home," he said. "And no more interruptions."

Kagome looked up at him, and briefly thought about how much of his life he had not been free to feel that. She gave him a brilliant smile, then leaned against him. "I hope so. I'm looking forward to just having you to myself."

"Feh," he said, wrapping an arm around her, "if they come knocking, they're going to find me pulling some of that rank they keep telling me I have. Not going to budge. It'll take someone like Sesshoumaru going on a rampage to pull me out."

Pulling away enough that she could hold his hand, Kagome laughed gently. "I'm sure even he has enough sense not to do that this afternoon." She gave his hand a squeeze. "It is good to have you home. I missed you a lot."

He returned the squeeze. "I've had enough bad jokes and bad food and stupid comments that people don't realize I can hear to last me a few months. It would have been a lot nicer to go with you than Miroku."

Kagome shook her head. "There might be times when I can go instead of him, but I don't think that would have worked this time. I'm not so sure Mushin would have appreciated me visiting as much as Miroku. Miroku's the closest thing he has to a son."

The hanyou barked a laugh. "That old lush? I've seen him look at women. I suspect he'd much rather have you smile at him than Miroku grouse at him. He always gets edgy when he goes and checks on the old guy. The bouzu keeps trying to get him to move here, but the old man's not going to budge. His temple is crumbling around him, and he's the only one left there, but he refuses every time Miroku asks. I think it's because he thinks it'll interfere with his sake drinking. That man can put it away."

"When you put it that way, maybe it's a good idea that he stays," Kagome said. "Can you imagine him and Daitaro-ojiisan getting into a sake-making war?"

"The village would never be the same," the hanyou replied, grinning. "I don't know who'd get angrier, Miroku or Daitaro's family."

"Oh, Chime would probably take it all in stride. She's rather indulgent when it comes to whatever Daitaro comes up with. Shinjiro and his brother would start making bets on who would give in first."

"You may be right," InuYasha said.

Their house came in sight as they made it around the last bend. InuYasha looked at the little building with some contentment. The shed that Choujiro had made in the spring stood behind the main building, just barely visible from the angle the path was leading them. Kagome's garden, still checked on from time to time by Kinjiro was thriving. Mustard and daikon and gobo and onion and some things he didn't know the names to lifted up their leaves to the afternoon sun. A few things were blooming. The wash tub was outside, resting on the ground where Kagome had last emptied it. The clothesline held nothing right now, but it stretched out between its rods waiting for its next load of laundry. His woodpile was where he left it, a stack of branches and logs waiting to be chopped into useable pieces, and the rick of wood he had already finished.

"If you'd told me that I'd have a place like this to come back to when I first met you, I'd have called you a liar," InuYasha said. "I didn't believe something like this was possible for me."

"It's good to have a place to come back to." Kagome looked up at her husband. "And it's a nice place. Just right for us."

He tilted his head to the side, thinking for a moment."It's not the mansion I was raised in as a boy. That was a big fancy place and a lot of people lived in it. My mother's room was larger than our house. It was a good thing, to, because she felt she had to keep me out of sight a lot. Maybe it was home when I was a baby, but by the time I left, it sure didn't feel like home. Nobody wanted me there, and when she died, they made sure I knew it, too. But at least here, I know I'm where some people want me to be." He looked at Kagome. "I don't know what it is with this place. Those kids . . . it didn't even dawn on them that the peddler was trying to describe me."

"You mean, you don't want to eat Susumu's daughter?" Kagome asked, smirking a little.

"Feh." He shook his head. "It's kind of hard to wrap my head around sometimes. Especially when someone like him shows up, or I've just come back home."

"How's it make you feel?" she asked.

"Dunno. Weird. I keep expecting them to wake up and realize what I am." He gave Kagome a rueful little smile.

She gave his hand a little squeeze. "Oh, I think they know exactly what you are. That's why they like you."

He shrugged, really not wanting to get into it anymore. Instead, he dropped her hand, and walked over to look at the wood pile. It had reduced a bit during the days he had been on the road.

"How's the firewood in the house?" he asked. "More gone from here than I expected."

"Oh," she said, as they reached the verandah, "I haven't used a lot. I've been at Sango's and Kaede's mostly since you were gone, but I let Haruo take some wood over to Daisuke's." She frowned a little bit. "Poor old man. I don't think he'll ever be in real shape again to take care of his own."

"Suspect you're right," the hanyou said, moving onto the verandah and opening the mat door. "He's getting kind of fragile. This winter and last were kind of hard on him."

"That's what I hear. And besides, it's getting so warm. I've been using the lamp more for light. Keeping enough fire in the fire pit for light makes the room too hot." Kagome stepped inside. "We're definitely moving into summer. I'm surprised it's not raining."

"Doesn't smell like rain," he said, following her in. "And the sky's wrong. Bet it doesn't rain until tomorrow, or the day after."

"So it's just going to feel sticky hot," she said.

"Probably." He walked over to the wood box. "You're right, you didn't use much wood while I was gone."

"I told you so," Kagome said. "That's why I had to make a brand new fire when I cooked your lunch." She walked over to her clothes cabinet, and slid open a drawer, and took out some garments. "As it is, I feel sweaty all over. I think I'm going to change clothes. That's enough miko-ing for the day." Laying the clothes down on a chest, she began to unfasten her chihaya jacket. "I don't know how Kaede-obasan stands it. These miko robes are hot. And she doesn't wear anything else."

"She didn't grow up in a place where people can make it cool inside the house like at your family's house," InuYasha said, picking up some wood from the wood box.

"I guess." She shrugged off her jacket, while InuYasha, holding an armful of wood, watched. A small appreciative smile touched his lips as she examined her jacket, and then put it in the laundry basket. She proceeded to untie and step out of her hakama. "But still, when it gets really warm, I don't know how you stand to be in your fire rat clothes." She caught him watching her, admiring her legs, and gave him a winsome smile, amused at his interest.

InuYasha shrugged. "Didn't have anything else to wear," he said truthfully. "What was I supposed to do, run around in my fundoshi?"

Kagome picked up her hakama and laid them on the side, giggling. "That would have been a pretty interesting sight when we were on the quest. I used to think about what your legs looked like. I got to see them so seldom. If I saw them all the time, I would have really been distracted."

"You think I would have been distracting - can you imagine how Miroku would have acted?" InuYasha said, chuckling as he took his armful of wood to the fire pit area, where he began to put it in a stack. "I know he gets hot in all those priest robes he wears, too. Heard him gripe about it often enough. If I had stripped down, you know he would have, too."

"I don't want to think about Miroku doing that, personally," Kagome said. "And Sango would have probably done more than slap him. Run away in self-defense, maybe."

"Sango? She doesn't like to run. She'd probably have let him have it too hard with that weapon of hers," he said. He grinned, imagining it. "All those village girls who would have been ogling him would have been way more than she could have dealt with. She can get real possessive of the bouzu."

"Ooh," Kagome said, sliding into her beige kosode. "I can almost see that in my mind. Poor Miroku - we'd have had to bury him before the quest was over if he had done that." For the moment she didn't put on a wrap skirt, but instead, picked up another garment. "But now, she's got him where she wants him and we have other options. Here's one I made just for you."

InuYasha looked up. Kagome was holding up a kosode in a good blue and beige plaid fabric. "Back in my . . . in my mother's time," she said, "people wear kosode like this in the summer when they are relaxing." She gave him a slightly nervous smile. "I thought . . . with the weather getting warmer, you might like something like that, so you don't have to stay in your jacket all the time."

InuYasha stood up, surprised, and brushed his hands off, and then walked over to where Kagome was standing. "You made this for me?"

The young miko nodded. "I did. While you were gone . . . it's what I did with my free time while I was over at Sango's." She watched his reaction while he took the garment and looked at it. "I wanted to surprise you."

"I am," he said, holding it up, examining the garment. He carefully ran his fingers over the fabric. It was soft and very thin, summer weight.

"I got the fabric from Koume," Kagome said while he looked it over. "Her daughter wove it. Nahoi is a very good weaver."

"Keh," he said. "It feels nice."

She sucked on her bottom lip. "Do you like it?"

He looked up at her and smiled. "I do. I'm just . . . I'm not . . . I'm not used to having more than one set of clothes. It's been a long time since I wore something that's not red." He gave her an odd look. "I wonder how that will feel?"

Amused by the look on his face, Kagome laughed. "Why don't you put it on?" she said. "I want to make sure it fits right."

"Something this nice? After I take a bath," he replied handing it back to her. "After all those days on the road, I won't want to put anything this nice on before that." He pulled her close and gave her a hug.

"If you want to take a bath, then you're going to have to get more water," she said. "I know there's not enough water in the house."

"I bet I need to go hunting, too, if we want any meat with dinner," he said.

"How did you guess?" she said, smiling.

"Oh, let's just say the wood box told me." He gave her a quick kiss. "Chores first, fun later."

Reluctantly letting her loose, he headed out of doors to get started.


	300. Chapter 300

_ I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 300**

Not long after InuYasha went out to do some hunting, Kagome grabbed her sewing basket and moved outside to sit on the verandah and get some work done on the new kosode she was sewing.

"A little cooler out here, I think," she said. "At least there's a breeze."

Smoothing the white fabric across her lap, she threaded her needle, and began to stitch. She started singing what she thought of as her happy song, the one she would sing while cleaning house or doing chores when she was in a good mood.

"Why does the crow caw  
>flying over the mountain,<br>kawaii, kawaii  
>hear her calling."<p>

She pulled her needle through the white linen.

"In her nest she has  
>seven cute chicks,<br>kawaii, kawaii,  
>she's calling for them.<p>

"'I love you, my cuties,'  
>she sings as she goes flying,<br>kawaii, kawaii.  
>Each and every one."<p>

Suddenly, she stuck her finger. "Ouch!" Sticking the finger in her mouth, she looked up to see Rin walking her way.

The girl looked a little sad, but she broke into a small smile as she saw what had happened to Kagome. "Rin is glad that she is not the only one who still sticks her finger when she sews," she said.

"Oh, I suspect we all do it sometimes," Kagome said. She looked at the girl closely. She was still holding Sango's cat Chika. Chika seemed to be content with the arrangement at the moment, but she cracked an eye open at the sound of Kagome's voice and flicked an ear in her direction. "Come sit down, Rin-chan. I thought you were at Miroku's house."

"Rin was," she said, sitting down next to the young miko. "But Sango-obasan is packed, and Miroku-ojisan is back and they don't need any more help with the twins, and Kohaku-kun . . . "  
>She let her words drop off, and merely looked down at Chika, petting the cat's back gently.<p>

"I thought you'd be happy to see Kohaku," Kagome said. "Is everything all right?"

Rin looked up and tried to paste a happy look on her face, but just like it was always possible to tell when Kagome was putting on a face just to look happy for those around her, it was the same with the young girl. "Rin was happy to see Kohaku-kun. She hadn't seen him in a year. He's grown a lot. Rin was surprised."

"But . . . " Kagome said, picking her sewing back up. Neither said anything, but Kagome decided to wait to see if Rin was ready to talk about it.

"It's not Kohaku-kun," Rin said after a moment. "He seems really happy. Rin is glad. But it made Rin remember when she . . . she and Jaken and her lord used to go across the countryside. Rin misses that sometimes." She sighed, and let her hand just lightly brush against Chika's ear, which made it flick. The cat opened her eyes and shook her head.

"Sorry, Chika-chan," the girl said.

"Ah," Kagome said, repositioning the fabric on her lap.

"Rin worries about them. Master Jaken has nobody to talk to much, because her lord doesn't like to talk like Rin and Master Jaken do. And Master Jaken can't cheer Sesshoumaru-sama up like Rin can."

"I see," Kagome said.

"Rin likes being here. She likes living with people, and learning what Kaede-obasan teaches her, and playing with Tazu and Iya and working in her garden. But . . . "

"But?" Kagome asked, looking gently at the girl.

"Rin misses Sesshoumaru-sama. It's been so long since he was here last." A tear trickled out of the corner of her eye, and she wiped at it, a bit angry with herself.

Kagome put down her sewing and wrapped her arms around Rin. "It's all right, Rin-chan to miss the people who are dear to you. When I was separated from InuYasha, I used to feel very sad a lot. It's hard, sometimes. Very hard."

For some reason, that made the girl cry harder, as if Kagome had given her permission to let go of her loneliness. Chika, taking that as a signal, slipped out of Rin's lap and curled up next to Kagome's sewing basket. Kagome rocked her back and forth, until the girl was able to get hold of herself. The young miko handed her a handkerchief, and the girl daubed her eyes and wiped her nose.

"Rin is sorry, Kagome-obasan, for crying like this," she said, looking up both relieved a bit, and embarrassed.

"It's all right, Rin-chan," Kagome said, brushing a lock of hair out of the girl's forehead. "I probably understand better about how it feels than most people you know. Just know this. Sesshoumaru no doubt thinks of you a lot. But he just doesn't understand time the way you and I do. I'm sure he's planning to come for a visit soon. He just doesn't realize so much time has passed for you. But he'll be back."

The girl nodded. "Kaede told me he was like that. A month seems forever to me, but for him, it's like a day or two."

"That's right," Kagome said, nodding. "I'm sure he'll be back. You don't have to worry that something will happen to him, either. There are very few people out there that could hurt him."

Rin nodded.

"I tell you what," Kagome said. "Tomorrow, I was planning on going to the meadow on the north side of town, over on the other side of Toshiro's house. It looked like it was going to have a lot of flowers the last time I was there. If it's all right with Kaede-obasan, you can come with me. I'm going to see if there are any herbs, like udo I can get for her."

That brightened Rin's face some. "You want Rin to go with you?"

"Yes I do. Maybe even we can have lunch up there. It's a pretty place." She picked her sewing back up. "And I'd like the company. InuYasha talks more than Sesshoumaru, but he doesn't understand girl talk."

This made Rin giggle. "Rin will go talk to Kaede-obasan about it. Come, Chika-chan, we need to go home. It's time to help Kaede-obasan with dinner. Rin thinks we will have some fish for you, too."

Chika looked up, mewed, and allowed Rin to pick her back up. The girl bowed. "Thank you, Kagome-obasan. Rin feels better."

"Any time, Rin-chan." Kagome said. She watched the girl walk off, looking a good bit happier. "And you better stop playing around with her like this Sesshoumaru," she said. "Or I'm going to give you a big piece of my mind one day."

Not long afterward Rin went home, Kagome saw InuYasha coming down the path towards the house, carrying a pair of rabbits. She smiled as she saw him, then folded up her sewing and took the basket inside.

While she was in, he made quick work of skinning the creatures out of her eyesight. He wasn't expecting her to be sitting outside or he would have done it before he arrived. That chore done, he walked inside to see his wife getting ready to cook.

"Rin was here?" he asked, putting the meat in a dish they used for that. "Her scent is . . . well, she was crying, wasn't she?"

Kagome nodded, moving the dish to where she wanted it on the kitchen cabinet."Yes she was. She seemed . . . well, troubled. But we had a little girl talk, and I think she's feeling better now."

InuYasha stopped to wash his hands in the basin. "I bet it was about my stupid brother. I saw how she was looking at Kohaku when we were at Miroku's. She had a bad time of it the last time he showed up." He picked up a towel. "It's not the boy's fault. One thing you got to say, Kohaku's a good kid."

Kagome, getting ready to start the rice, nodded. "You're right. I think seeing him brings back memories. Poor child - as sweet as she is, she just misses your brother too much for her own good."

"That's another thing he does that just drives me crazy," InuYasha said. "He needs to come see her more often. Or just get the hell out of her life. This once ever three or four months is enough to keep her marked as someone who'll never really fit into village life. What man's ever going to be brave enough to court her, much less marry her when she's old enough? She's always going to be that youkai's girl. And some of the parents are nervous about even letting her kids get close to her. Maeme's youngest kind of likes her, but his brother already knows how the world works. He always interferes if he catches them talking."

"To be honest," Kagome said, pouring the rice in a bowl so she could wash it. "I don't think she'll ever want to settle on one of the village boys anyway."

InuYasha hung the towel up, and grabbed the water basin. "Keh, you may be right there. Let's hope my brother gets some sense in his head before she gets much older. Right now, I'd rather think of other things." He took the basin outside and tossed the water.

Thinking about other things included bringing in fresh water for their baths, and the wash basin. With each trip, his mood improved a bit. By the time he had gotten the last bucket of water fetched, and the water cans in the house and outside replenished, Kagome had the rabbit roasting and his mood improved considerably.

"Call me when it's ready," he said, grabbing his axe. "I'm going to go chop some wood."

For a while, Kagome worked to the pleasant sound of her husband's work on the wood pile. It had become a comforting, homey sound, one she had missed while he was out of time. When the meal was almost, but not quite done, she realized that all was quiet.

"Just as good as any time for a breath of air. It's hot in here," she said, and making sure her food was in a place in the fire pit where it wouldn't burn before getting back to it, she wiped her hands on a towel and headed out of the house.

It was cooler outside. She stood on the verandah a moment, closing her eyes briefly as she enjoyed the evening breeze, before heading around to the side of the house where she expected to find her husband. He wasn't there. She knew he couldn't be far. His axe and his jacket were laying by the woodpile.

"He's somewhere nearby," she said to herself. "I can feel his youki." In a louder voice, she called his name.

"Hey," his voice answered.

Kagome looked up. He was perched on the top of the roof. His shirt clung to his frame; he had done enough work to build up a sweat, but he had a pleased, contented look on his face.

"Hey, yourself," she said. "What are you doing up there?"

"Enjoying the view," he said. Standing up, he leapt off the roof and landed effortlessly next to her, and wrapped an arm around her waist. "Want to see? But you need to hurry. It won't last long."

The young miko looked into her husband's face. He seemed eager to share, and she nodded. "I can't stay long. Dinner might burn."

"Won't take long," he said. Holding her firmly, he jumped back up on the roof and settled her on the roof ridge. "Look."

The sun was setting in the west. From up on the top of their house, they could just glimpse some of the village beyond the tree tops - the top of Miroku's temple and the shrine, glimpse some of the higher rice paddies, stained with flecks of gold and red.

"I didn't know it was such a nice view up here," Kagome said. "And cooler too."

"Keh," the hanyou said. "Sometimes I come up here just to catch the breeze when I've been working. It's a good place."

"It is if you can get up here as easy as you do," Kagome said, leaning against her shoulder. "Me, I'd usually need a ladder."

A faint breeze stirred their hair, red stained silver and bronzed ebony in the sunset light. His arm, wrapped lightly around her waist to steady her, pulled her closer as they sat there watching. Heading towards the river, a group of ducks flew across the sky. Insects nearby began chirping. Kagome sighed contentedly.

As the light dimmed, InuYasha's lips found her neck and planted little kisses.

"Ummm," Kagome said, tilting her head to the side to give him easier access.

He pulled her closer, and one of his hands moved up to cup the gentle swell of her breast. One of her hands dropped down to run along the hard muscle of his thigh.

"Beautiful," he breathed into one of her ears.

Kagome wasn't sure at that point if he was talking about the sunset or not. She turned in InuYasha's arms, looking up at him with warm and inviting eyes of blue-grey. He kissed her lightly, taking one of his hands in hers, threading his fingers through hers.

"Lets go in," he said. "I think I'm hungry."

"For me or dinner?" she asked, teasing.

"Both," he replied, his grin as naughty as hers, and holding her tightly, jumped to the ground.


	301. Chapter 301

_ I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 301**

It was the morning of the next day, the day of the moonless night. InuYasha turned over in his bed, brushing his nose against Kagome's hair, which made his nose twitch. It wasn't quite dawn yet, just the very earliest lighting of the sky.

Having Kagome's hair tickle his nose wasn't what woke him up. Instead, some bird who thought the barely graying sky meant it was time to get up, lighted on a branch near the house and began singing, quite loudly. Whether the creature was confused about when to announce its presence to the world or was lonely and looking for an early rising mate or defending his territory wasn't clear to InuYasha, nor did it really matter. The hanyou's ear twitched at the sound, and not long after that, a pair of amber eyes popped open, groggily taking in where he as and what was going on. As he listened to the singing, he quickly grew too awake to pretend to be asleep. Taking a deep breath, he let it out slowly.

"Stupid bird."

InuYasha had tried to say it softly enough that only he would hear it, but it was enough to make the woman laying next to him stir, if not wake up. She rubbed up against him, her backside against his front, looking for warmth, and as her soft skin brushed up against him, producing a pleasant friction, he smiled, remembering the night before - the fun of her getting him cleaned up in the tub, and how she had almost fallen in when he pulled her close for a kiss, the pleased look in her eyes as he modeled his new kosode for her, even though it felt weird to look down on his arms and not see red or whit, and the hungry look she had, when after having enough of seeing how her handiwork suited him, she turned him around and started to undress him.

His hand, moving under the bed cover, slipped softly over the curve of her hip, sliding over her silky smooth skin as she rested next to him. He enjoyed these early morning moments, when all was quiet and peaceful. The bird continued its singing as the sky slowly lightened, and was joined by others. Still, as his ears focused in, it was not enough to drown out the sound of Kagome's even breathing, the beating of their hearts. He nuzzled the back of her neck, relishing this one bit of time when there was no one else in existence that mattered or had a demand on his time and attention. Just Kagome.

"Best time of the day," he said, pulling her closer, her head resting on his chest, the silk of her hair cascading over his arm. Warm and solid and here, he thought. Here. He knew too well the feeling of her absence to take for granted the reality of moments like this, filled with her scent, her presence, the glide of her skin against his.

Kagome stirred a little and turned in his hold, facing him. She moved her arm to rest her fingers against his chest. Her eyes fluttered open. "Morning already?" she asked.

"It's still early," he replied, and kissed the top of her head. "Way earlier than you usually get out of bed. You don't have to get up yet."

"Umm," she replied, snuggling into his warmth. "But what if I want to? I'd like to wish Sango a good trip."

"Not going to stop you if you want to," he replied. "But it's really early. They might not even be up yet. Sure you want to get up?"

"Maybe," she said, giving him a little kiss on his chest before snuggling back down.

Unsurprised, InuYasha watched as her breathing evened out, and it wasn't long before she fell back asleep. After a while, feeling other needs pressing, he slipped out of the bed and quietly got dressed in his usual clothes, then went outside.

First item of the day taken care of, InuYasha stepped on the verandah and looked around. Even though the sun was just barely up, the air was already a little warm. The sky, though, promised another dry day, or at least dry until the afternoon. He couldn't tell this early if the little rain showers that popped up on warm afternoons would come to plague them or not. Shrugging the uncertainty off, the hanyou walked down to the stream, thinking idly of going fishing for breakfast, but instead, stopped by his water drawing place and scooped up a fresh handful out of the stream. It, at least, still had some chill to it. He drank, and caught up another handful, but before he got it to his lips, he caught a scent in the wind, and let it trickle out through his fingers as he stood up.

"I was wondering if you'd be up yet," Miroku said, walking up the path. Behind him he could hear Sango's voice and that of her brother, but were hanging back. The monk had a pack basket stuffed with things slung over his back.

"You're on the road?" the hanyou asked. He dried his fingers on the side of his hakama.

"Indeed, we are. Luckily Kirara is with us. The twins are more asleep than awake. She's being nice about carrying them."

"Earlier than I expected," InuYasha said. He pointed to Miroku's pack basket. "Carrying your own weight for a change. You don't have me to be your pack ox this time."

That made the monk smile. "No, I don't. But I have to bring something. I expect we'll be gone seven or ten days."

"I figured," the hanyou said. "Kagome wanted to say goodbye. If you can wait a moment, I can go get her."

Miroku shook his head. "Let her sleep. She deserves it, and it'd just make getting down the road a little harder."

"I guess," InuYasha said, nodding.

"Well, you know where we're going and how long we should be gone. If we're gone much longer, come looking for us?" Miroku said.

"So I can carry home all the stuff at whatever market you hit up?" InuYasha replied.

That got a laugh out of Miroku. "Would I do that? With Sango watching?"

"Do you really want me to answer that?" InuYasha grinned at his friend.

"You know me too well," the monk said, still chuckling. He turned to go.

"Be safe," InuYasha said.

"I'll be with two taijiya, and a fire cat. I think we'll frighten anybody that comes too near!" Miroku said, grinning. "Take care, yourself."

"If you see that peddler on the road, feel free to knock some sense into his head," the hanyou called to him as he walked off. "He deserves it for bothering Kagome."

"I'll be sure to do just that." And lifting an arm in farewell, he headed down the road.

InuYasha turned to go. As he did, he almost bumped into Shippou. "Where'd you come from?"

"I followed Miroku," the kitsune said. "Didn't you hear me talking to Sango? Can I have breakfast with you?" He jumped on the hanyou's shoulder.

"Why? You spent the night at Miroku's and not Kaede's?"

The kit nodded. "Kohaku was keeping the girls entertained. I think they forgot I had a tail."

InuYasha snickered. "Maybe you're just getting too quick for Yusuko."

"Noriko's almost as bad," Shippou said. "I'm hungry."

"Sango didn't feed you?" InuYasha asked. He began to head back to his house.

"Well, she gave me an onigiri. But I'm still hungry." The kitsune made pleading eyes at the hanyou, and InuYasha rolled his eyes.

"I'm not even sure Kagome's up yet," InuYasha said. "I came outside so she could sleep some more."

"But it's light now," Shippou said.

"If you're that hungry, you could go to Kaede's," the hanyou said, plucking the kitsune off of his shoulder. "You know she doesn't mind feeding you." He dropped him on the ground. "Or you could go hunt up your own breakfast."

Shippou dusted off his pants where he landed. "Can I just come see if she's up?"

"Not stopping you," the hanyou said. Together they headed to his house.

When they got there, Kagome was standing on the verandah. She gave the two of them a big smile. "Good morning, Shippou-chan. There you are, InuYasha. I was wondering where you'd gotten off to."

"Looks like she's up to me," the kitsune said.

"I guess she is," InuYasha said. "You get to ask her, though."

Grinning at InuYasha's permission, Shippou successfully inserted himself into breakfast.

Less than an hour later, and after being threatened with being turned into firewood for jumping on the wood pile, Shippou joined the hanyou and the miko around the fire pit as Kagome dipped the meal up and put it on their trays.

"What are you doing today, Kagome?" the fox asked. "Can I stay with you?"

"I think I'm going to be busy this morning, Shippou-chan. I told Rin that after I give Daisuke-ojiisan his medicine, that if Kaede didn't need me for anything else, I'd take her with me to that meadow on the north side of the village, not far from Toshiro's place," Kagome said, passing a bowl of rice to Shippou.

The kitsune looked at his food with a pleased smile. "Thank you, Kagome."

"Why there?" InuYasha said, accepting his own bowl. "That's pretty much on the edge of things. It's not the best place to just have a picnic in or something."

"Well, there's udo that grows up there, and Kaede could use some," she said, putting a bowl of rice on her own tray. "And a few days ago when I went up there to see what herbs might be ready, there were a lot of meadow flowers. You know how Rin likes flowers."

"She grows some, too," Shippou said, digging into his breakfast. "Have you seen the garden patch Kaede gave her?"

"Oh yes, Shippou-chan," Kagome said. "More flowers than food. But there are some things she likes that you just can't find in a garden."

"Well, I don't want you going up there alone. Be too easy for some bandit to wander in and run off with you before anybody knows about it," the hanyou said.

"I'll take my bow," Kagome said, looking at InuYasha with a look that said for him not to baby her.

InuYasha returned it with a look that said he was serious. "Bow's not enough. So don't head up until I'm with you."

"But I thought you were going to go to Susumu's today." She sipped her soup.

"Susumu can wait. I'm not taking over my shift as guard until the day after, anyway." He shoved some rice into his mouth. "A few more hours won't make any difference."

"If you say so," she said. "Anyway, I thought it would be good if we could distract her for a few hours. She was definitely down and unhappy yesterday afternoon."

"She always gets that way when Sesshoumaru stays away too long," Shippou said, popping a slice of pickle in his mouth. "Last time he showed up was when Tazu tried to get me in trouble with him."

"Does he always stay away this long between visits?" Kagome asked, eating a bite of cooked greens.

The kitsune shrugged. "I dunno."

"He's been doing that more lately," InuYasha said. "When he first left her here, he'd be back at least once a month, sometimes twice. But this last year, the visits are getting further and further apart." He frowned. "It's not like he really stays away. I catch his scent around here. I don't know what his problem is." He picked up his soup bow. "And I don't really want to think about the bastard right now."

"Well, we'll do what we can to keep her busy while Miroku's away," Kagome said. "Maybe I'll talk to Kimi, and see if she has any ideas. I know how close Rin and Tazu are. Maybe Emi could use an extra hand."

"I thought you needed to talk to Hisa this morning," InuYasha said.

"I forgot about that. Well, I'll stop by on the way to Daisuke's. But that might be a good time to ask if they could help me keep Rin busy."

Shippou looked at Kagome with his brows knit together. "I didn't know you were like Miroku," he said.

"Me?" Kagome said, surprised. "How am I like Miroku?"

"He's always trying to figure out how to get people to do things." The kitsune finished his soup, and put the bowl down.

"I'm not like Miroku," Kagome said. "I'm not trying to get her to do things. I'm trying to help her be happy."

"And you don't, brat?" InuYasha said. "Who hustled up a second breakfast?"

Shippou got up, not exactly comfortable with the look on the hanyou's face. "Uh, thanks for the breakfast. I think I'll just go visit my uncle before you find something for me to do." He headed for the door. "Tell Kaede I'll come see her later."

As the doormat clattered behind him, Kagome looked at InuYasha with a mildly outraged look. "I'm not like Miroku, am I? I mean Miroku has good intentions, usually but . . . "

"Hells, no," InuYasha said. "Miroku's a hustler. You just want to make that girl happy." He leaned forward, and planted a kiss on her forehead. "I don't think I'd ever want to do that to the bouzu. And you cook way better than he does."

Kagome gave InuYasha a crooked smile. "That's an odd way of putting it, but thank you, I think."

Getting up, she decided to leave well enough alone and started to get ready for the day.


	302. Chapter 302

_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 302**

"Good morning, you two," Kaede said, as InuYasha and Kagome walked towards the miko's little house.

Kaede was already up and about, and had a basket filled with herbs from her garden tucked close to her waist.

"You're getting an early start of it, Baaba," InuYasha said.

"Some herbs are at their strongest in the early morning," the old miko said. "And these old bones can already tell it's going to be a hot day. I thought I'd get the heavy work done first." She shifted her basket to her other hip, and lifted the doormat to her house. "Heading to dose that old scoundrel, are you? He's getting rather frisky for Hisako-chan, I hear."

Kagome nodded. "I was going to ask you if I should cut his medicine dose. I don't know how much real pain he's feeling. I'm beginning to wonder if this isn't some tug of war between his daughter and him."

"Been telling you that," InuYasha said. "They've been at this forever from what I hear."

Kaede smiled. "You've noticed that, have you?" She looked up at the sky. "You might try today. When the weather's cool, he seems to hurt more, and if he doesn't move enough, his lungs will start to give him trouble. Cut it by a third, and see how he is tomorrow. He often needs less when the weather's warm, but sometimes when it's hot, it's the heat, not the pain that keeps him from moving. And if that happens, I'll add another herb that helps with that."

Kagome nodded. "Is Rin around? I told her she could go herb gathering with me today."

The old miko shook her head. "You're too late. Tazu came by earlier and got her. I heard them talking about how Koume was going to dye some yarn today, and that Kimi had asked Rin to help. It'll keep her busy."

"I hope she doesn't come back so red and brown as she came last time," Kagome said, smiling.

"I had her put on the very same kosode," Kaede said. "There's no reason for her to spoil another robe with all that color. But she seems to like it well enough. She told me it was like making flowers."

"Smelly flowers, if you ask me," InuYasha said, his ear twitching.

"But as moody as she came home last night, I was pleased," the old miko said. She gave Kagome a thoughtful look. "Sometimes, after visiting Kohaku, I am afraid she gets saddened by old memories."

The hanyou scowled, shifting a little as he stood. He kicked a pebble that was in the roadway. "My stupid brother doesn't help any."

Kagome gave him a quick look, and a shake of her head. "We'll do what we can to make her happier. Sometimes, when a girl starts to move towards adulthood, it can be particularly hard. Everything can seem sunshine or rainstorms. I know it started to be like that for me when I was her age."

"True, true," Kaede said, nodding. She smiled. "Even I have a vague memory of those days myself. So, what were you planning on doing today? There's nothing much pressing outside of a few aches and pains in the village, and I'm not making any medicines today. You two can have some time together if you want."

"I'm going to go see Daisuke-ojiisan now, and then I'll stop by Hisa-obasan's for a bit, and then I'll go herb gathering. I saw some udo up in the meadow north of Toshiro's house."

"Good, good. The only thing I'm doing today is to check on Choujiro's little boy. His mother is fretting over the boy's sore throat. I'm wondering if I need to give her something for her nerves. She worries about him too much. And Haname asked me to stop by. If I see Rin and she wants to catch up with you, I'll tell her where to look," Kaede said. "Well, time to put these things up to dry." She stepped into her house.

Kagome and InuYasha headed down the road to start her rounds.

As they neared Daisuke's house, they could hear voices, the old woman Hisako and her even older father Daisuke talking, both quite loud, in part because the old man was hard of hearing, and in part, Hisako was irritated. InuYasha and Kagome stopped for a moment, standing behind a tree, and looked as the two interacted.

"Just watch," the hanyou said. "See if he's not acting like that just to get a rise out of Hisako."

The old man and his daughter were standing in the front of his house. It was obvious from the way she stood that Hisako was not happy.

"Otousan," she said, her arms crossed, hugging her walking stick. "For the last time, what did you do with the sake jug?"

"How do you know it was me, and not some kitsune or tanuki who did it?" the old man replied. He sucked on his bottom lip, not totally hiding his smirk.

"With the ofuda I have around here?" She shook her head and then glared even more at him. "I'm amazed InuYasha-sama can even come visit. It's not where I put it last."

Daisuke scratched his chin, intentionally ignoring her look. "Why should I be telling you?"

"I can think of several reasons that an irritating otousan might do that." She straightened out her arms, and put a death grip on her walking stick. "To go on a drunk. To sneak a drink when I'm not looking. Just to drive me crazy, like it would prove that he is the father and I am the daughter," she said. She tapped her stick on the ground.

"You need to find better hiding places," Daisuke said. He left the doorway and went to sit on the stump near his house, giving his daughter a triumphant smile. "I think I'll just keep it hidden a little longer."

"I believe you're right," Kagome said to her husband. "He looks like he feels fine this morning."

"Moving pretty good today," InuYasha said. "Don't know if it's your medicine or just his hard head."

Kagome covered her mouth, trying not to giggle loud enough to draw attention to them.

"There's good reason I put it up. You know too much of it makes you sick," Hisako said, leaning on her walking stick. "Remember what happened last week?"

"Bah. All because of the swill you brought home. You give me rotgut sake, I'll always get sick." He picked up a piece of wood he had next to him, and began whittling on it with a long, sharp knife.

"Well, I can't get you anything any better if I don't have the jug, Otousan." She tapped her cane on the ground.

"Maybe I want to get some from someone else," he said, shaving off a long curl of wood. "It's not winter, girl. I don't need you hovering over me like I was a . . . a . . . a sakura blossom or something. I'm not going to blow away."

"That would be too easy," Hisako said. "My karma is to be a dutiful daughter and take care of you in spite of yourself."

"Well, then bring me home better sake," the old man said, starting another cut. "Go talk to Daitaro. Maybe he'll be nice and take pity on an old man."

"After what you told him last time he came to visit?" She shook her head. "Calling his bull an ugly black piece of crap . . . you know how he feels about that animal."

"Almost ran me over, that stupid thing did," the old man said. He brushed away the wood he sliced.

"And if you weren't moping around by his cow pasture, it wouldn't have happened." Hisako shook her head.

"You always tell me I sit too much," Daisuke said, shaking the knife at his daughter. "And now you're telling me I shouldn't be walking?"

"I'm going inside to make your tea," Hisako said. "Then I'm going to see Amaya. I hope you can stay out of trouble until I get back. Or maybe I'll just get Tsuneo to send Joben or one of his workers to come over here and watch you."

"Only if they have some decent sake," he said.

"Good morning, Daisuke-ojiisan," Kagome said, walking up to the old man.

"Ah," he said loud enough for Hisako to here him. "Here's that pretty girl who knows how to treat an old man with respect. You hear that, daughter?"

"I'm making your tea," she said from within the house.

"And her white-haired fellow is back, too." He grinned at the hanyou. "Couldn't stay gone long, now could you? If she were my pretty thing, I wouldn't stay away very long either."

"Keh," InuYasha said, a small smile touching his lips. "Worth coming home for."

Kagome blushed a little at that, especially with the way Daisuke looked at her. "I'll just go fix your medicine cup, Daisuke-ojiisan." She hurried into the house.

InuYasha's ear flicked as the old man snickered. The old man's mood though shifted a little as Hisako gave a triumphant shout. "You need to find better hiding places, Otousan," she yelled from inside.

"Ah well, it was fun while it lasted," the old man grumbled.

Daisuke took his medicine with only a few more rude comments, and Kagome kept a straight face until she was far enough away until she felt he couldn't hear, and burst into a peal of the giggles.

"I wonder what would happen if all of a sudden, Daisuke-ojiisan started to behave like . . . oh, say, Tsuneo, always gentle and proper," she asked her husband.

He grinned. "Old woman would probably go into a funk and get all sad," he replied. "I think she likes that game almost as much as he does."

"You should have seen the look on her face when she found the sake jug," Kagome said. " It was . . . almost wicked. They are both such teases."

"You look like you're in a good mood today, Miko-sama," a voice to their left said. The two turned to see Chiya standing in a vegetable patch, her sleeves tied back, leaning on a hoe. Her face was honestly amused at the two.

Kagome gave a greeting bow. "Good morning, Chiya-chan. You're up and around early."

"Oh, it's going to be too hot this afternoon," Chiya said, nodding. "Haha-ue's teaching my daughter how to weave and the garden duty fell on me until they get done. I thought I'd get an early start on the weeds. I'm afraid she's better at this than I am. I let them get a little ahead of me this last tenday." She pointed to a pile next to her that showed her work. It was filled with the wilting bodies of several rather mature plants. "Weeds wait for nobody, I guess."

"Oh, too true," the young miko said. "I have to get into my garden today or tomorrow to do just the same thing." They started to move on.

"Tell Michio I'll come see him later on," InuYasha said, over his shoulder as they left. "I need to ask him something about rabbits."

Chiya looked surprised, but not aghast. "I will, InuYasha-sama," she said, bowing. She picked up her hoe and began to get back to work.

"Now that's even more amazing than how much Maeme has bloomed since . . . " Kagome said, once they got far enough away from the woman. "Chiya being polite to you! There was that time I ever thought that would happen."

The hanyou shrugged. "Michio laid down the law on her, from what I hear. Seems she wanted to be with her husband enough to learn to be polite, I guess." He turned and looked at his wife. "What's this about Maeme?"

"I have it on very good authority that Koichi and Maeme are spending a lot of time together," Kagome said. "Hisa told me about it. You know Tameo's been having Koichi help her repair her house and with some of the farm work, especially with Sukeo spending all that time learning to work with Fumio doing blacksmith work."

"Yeah, I heard that," he said grinning. "Susumu's been having to pick up some of the slack. Kinjiro's been making jokes about his brother turning honest. Eiji's been getting a big kick out of it."

"Well, something more seems to be happening," Kagome said. "They were looking for Koichi one night when you were gone. Turns up he was at Maeme's."

"Funny how women can get a grumpy guy to have a different outlook on life," InuYasha said. "I thought he seemed too happy yesterday."

Kagome just smiled.


	303. Chapter 303

_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 303**

"So we go to Tameo's next?" InuYasha asked as they left Chiya behind and headed back towards the village center.

"Well, Hisa-obaasan asked me to stop by," Kagome said. "And if you need to talk to Susumu or Tameo, this would be a good time to do it."

"I guess," the hanyou said, although his posture showed he wasn't all that enthusiastic about making the stop. "Maybe the old man's in the fields."

Kagome's eyebrows went up as she looked at her husband. "Why would you say that?"

"Everybody's going to want to talk about that peddler yesterday," InuYasha said. "I'd just rather forget about the ass."

"Well, it was the most exciting thing to happen in a month or so," Kagome said. "You can't stop people from talking. At least they aren't talking about you as the bad guy. They're talking about him that way."

"Right now," InuYasha said. His ear flicked and he turned to her. "You know, that's what bothers me, maybe. It just feels . . . weird."

Kagome laughed, but gently. "Get used to it, InuYasha. These people like you."

"Yeah, I know," he said. "Just not the rest of the world."

A number of people were out and about. The first one they saw was Masu. He waved at them as he carried a load of wood back towards Tsuneo's place. Umi, Sayo's daughter, stopped them, looking worried.

"Excuse me, InuYasha-sama, Miko-sama, have you seen my brother?" she asked.

Kagome shook her head.

The girl sighed. "Okaasan is going to be so upset when he gets back," she said. "Daiki! Where are you?" She continued walking down the road, looking for him.

Benika stopped them asking about Miroku. Fujime, coming back from the well with a bucket of water, waved to them. They had almost reached the headman's house when a dog dashed down the road, followed by a boy, followed by Ryota.  
>The dog stopped by InuYasha, and looked up, confused. The boy, drawing near, yelled, "Run, Yoshi! He's getting closer!" With a single whine, the animal began heading down the road.<p>

Kagome covered her mouth as she started to laugh. "Well now we know who else is looking for Daiki."

"Keh," the hanyou said, watching the farmer. "Ryota sure looks unhappy about something."

Unhappy wasn't exactly the right word. Carrying a large paddle, Ryota hurried towards the boy, but he was clearly losing the footrace. "Get back here, you brat," the farmer said. "You owe me an explanation, and you're going to clean up the mess. I'll teach you to go play in my shed."

Daiki took a turn and headed down one of the dyke roads leading toward the river. Ryota slowed down, and instead of following him, just stood there, shaking his fist. "Wait until your ojiisan hears about this! Toshiro-sama can deal with you." He gulped for air. "And if he doesn't . . . "

It was impossible to know if the boy heard the farmer, but he didn't stop running.

"Now what?" Kagome asked. "I know Daiki can be a handful, but I know he's not malicious. Just high spirited."

"When he passed, he smelled like miso," the hanyou said. "Like a lot of miso."

"That boy is as slippery as a snake," Ryota said, turning away from the paddy road, and headed back, stopping in front of the hanyou and the miko. He bowed a greeting. "So you smelled the miso, InuYasha-sama? Somehow, Daiki got into a tub of miso at my place and managed to splatter it everywhere. Heaven only knows why he was there." He shook his head. "Even the cat got splashed with it."

"Oh dear," Kagome said. She turned her head slightly, trying to imagine what the boy might have been doing. Unable to come to a conclusion, she just shook her head. "Someone needs to tell Umi where her brother's run to."

"Poor girl's looking for him, too?" Ryota scratched his head. "I bet she'll hear about it soon enough. I made enough noise. Maybe I should just go find Toshiro. He ought to deal with it. It's his grandson."

Jun walked by, pushing a hand cart filled with compost. "You put on quite a show, Ryota."

"Not as much as that brat did," Ryota said, putting the paddle over his shoulder. "You should see my storage building."

"Well, I have one bit of good news for you. Toshiro-sama's over at Tameo's. They're talking about some peddler who showed up yesterday."

"That'll save me some steps," Ryota said, nodding. "Thanks." He began walking towards the headman's compound.

"Glad to help. Think of it as payment for such an entertaining moment." Jun replied, chuckling, and with a shove, he started pushing his handcart down the road.

Kagome looked at InuYasha. He had his hands stuffed in his sleeves, and if he were a little reluctant to go to Tameo's earlier, he was definitely more uncomfortable about it now. She called out to the retreating farmer. "If you're going to Tameo's, tell Hisa I'll see her tomorrow."

Ryota nodded. "I'll do that. Let's see if I can't get someone to clean up the mess that kid made. Sometimes, I wonder if that kid doesn't have a fox spirit." Shaking his head, he continued on his way.

Watching Ryota leave, InuYasha turned to Kagome. "Thanks. I just didn't . . . "

"No need to explain, InuYasha," Kagome said. She gave him a big smile, and the two turned around and headed towards the meadow where she was going herb collecting.

A little while later, InuYasha lay on his back looking at the clouds while Kagome wandered through the meadow gathering herbs. "Nicer here. No bratty kids. No barking dogs. No angry villagers," he said.

"It's hard to believe that we could be so close to the village here, isn't it?" the young miko said as she knelt down by something that caught her eye.

"Keh," the hanyou said. "That's why I didn't want you coming up here alone. The woods are too easy to hide in. If a bandit saw you, it could be hours before anybody knew you were gone."

She looked up the hill to where the grass gave way to other things, the tall stand of udo that she had picked first, and to the larger trees beyond. "I guess you're right," she said.

"There's some pretty well used trails back there. And they aren't all made by deer." He picked a grass blade and twirled it in his fingers. "Don't mind coming up here with you, you know."

"I know," Kagome said, cutting some leaves of the plant she was interested in with a knife. "I just hate having to put you to the trouble when I know there are other things you could be doing."

He rolled onto his side. "Other things? Like what?"

"I don't know," she said, getting up and moving to another patch of ground. "Fishing. Hunting. Listening to Miroku's bad jokes."

"Feh," he said. "That's something I look forward to missing."

Kagome laughed "Listening to Kinjiro talk about how some people don't seem to take work seriously enough? Or Daitaro talk about how you can judge a man by his sake and how he works with animals?"

InuYasha sat up, and grinned. "I could be listening to Daisuke tell me all about wanting a pretty girl to keep his bed warm."

"He does like that subject a lot," Kagome said. With a quick flick of her knife she cut another plant and added it to her basket.

"That's because it's very nice to have one," he said, giving her a small, but definitely suggestive, smirk.

She rolled her eyes at him, but gave him a big smile that let the hanyou know she appreciated the comment, then stood up. "That's all for this spot. I'm going to go over there by the big rock near the trees," she said, pointing to a place where a number of plants besides grass were growing.

He nodded and rolled gracefully to his feet and followed behind her.

"It's a shame Rin didn't come," Kagome said, looking across the meadow. "So many flowers in bloom."

It was true. The meadow was studded with little stands of yellow and red wildflowers. Insects buzzed around them, busy with the job of pollinating, and small birds flew from the trees and into the grasses, keeping a close eye on the miko and hanyou as they moved across the field.

"The girl does like her flowers," InuYasha acknowledged.

Suddenly a rabbit bounded off in front of Kagome. Letting out a loud eep!, she lost balance and might have fallen if the hanyou hadn't been next to her to steady her.

"Remind me not to take you hunting with me," he said, teasing. "Hard to catch dinner if I have to catch you."

"I bet the rabbits would like that," she said.

"Yeah, I bet they would." His ear flicked, listening, but he caught no further sound of the animal. "But we'd get kind of hungry. But that's another reason it's good I'm with you. It takes some practice to know where to walk in a field like this."

"I guess you're right," she said, and moved off to examine what was growing near the rock. She knelt down, and was evidently quite pleased by what she found.

"Ah, look! Lilies!" she said, admiring the plants she had found.  
>The flowers were nodding in the shade of the nearby trees, perfect and palely pink in the shadows.<p>

InuYasha walked over. "Pretty," he said. "My okaasan used to like those. She would bring them in the house sometimes."

She looked up and nodded. "Sakura is said to be the symbol of spring," she said. "But lilies like this sasayuri are symbols of summer. They're one of my favorites."

Kagome cut one.

"Can you use them?" he asked. "I thought most lilies are poisonous."

"Not this type," Kagome replied. "I'm cutting this one to give to Rin. But you can use other lilies like yamayuri, so let me know if you see any. These are smaller, though, and I think I like them better. My mother used to grow them in her garden." For a moment a wistful look clouded her eyes.

InuYasha knelt down next to her.

"Rin will like it," he said. "It's delicate and pretty like her."

Kagome nodded. "When I was in school," she said, "they taught me a poem about this type of lily:

"How painful it is,  
>love, blooming like a sasayuri<br>in a summer field,  
>its beauty never noticed,<br>unseen by the beloved."

"Unseen by the beloved," InuYasha repeated. "I'm glad you didn't tell her that poem yesterday. She'd probably think it's about how Sesshoumaru stays away too much."

"I bet you're right," Kagome said. "I'll be sure not to mention it when I give her the flower."

He stuffed his hands in his sleeves. "Keh."

Kagome looked up at InuYasha with a thoughtful glance. "I can understand how she might feel that way," she said. " Before I knew how you felt about me, I used to recite that poem. For a while, I thought I was the lily unseen in the field, while you only had eyes for Kikyou."

InuYasha's ear twitched as he returned her gaze, at first surprised, and then his eyes filled with a sort of sad regret. Kagome dropped her head, like she was embarrassed she had made the comment. InuYasha lifted her chin with a single finger. "I...well, I'm not good at talking about stuff like that, and I was worse then. But your feelings . . . That was never true, you know. I...I just didn't know what to do, and was a baka. Maybe I still am. But you were never not noticed by me. Never."

Kagome's blue-gray eyes searched his face, but smiled gently. "I know that now. But then, I wasn't much older than Rin is now. Young girls . . . well, we can be just as . . . baka."

InuYasha wrapped his arm around Kagome's waist. "I don't know if young girls are so stupid or just really strong. You had to be strong to put up with me after all I put you through. Rin's like that too. You should have seen her right after Sesshoumaru left her here. She tried hard never to let anybody know she was sad, but I'd find her in the woods, which is the only place she'd let her feelings out. She's really trying hard to do what he asked her, to learn to be a regular girl from a human village, and I think she's mostly happy. She really likes being around Kaede-baaba, and Sango and the rest of the people here, but I know where she'd rather be."

"It's such a strange relationship. What do you think he sees her as?" Kagome asked.

"I don't know," InuYasha replied. "I have never been able to figure what motivates that bastard. But he's possessive." He kissed her gently on the forehead. "Maybe neither one of us are really good at telling people what's in our hearts."

"Well, what's in your heart was worth waiting for," Kagome said. "I hope Rin has the same luck."

"Yeah," InuYasha said. "He better watch out. Some of the boys are already looking at her. If he stays away too much, she might start thinking like a human girl."

Kagome cut one more of the lilies. "That's enough, I think. Let's go home. I have a full basket, and it's getting hot. I want to go home and change clothes."

The hanyou nodded, and stood up. "Sounds like a good idea. I'd kind of like to stay close to the house this afternoon."

"Good," Kagome said. "You can help me with the laundry."


	304. Chapter 304

_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 304**

A pair of golden eyes watched the retreating forms of the miko and hanyou. The eyes were carefully downwind of InuYasha and Kagome, and they studied the retreating forms of the two thoughtfully as the two retreated. The face that went with those eyes, though, was, as usual, unreadable, locked into the stoic look that was his face at rest, revealing nothing of the thoughts that went on.

After they were safely on their way, the white-clad daiyoukai stepped out of the clearing.

"Lord Sesshoumaru?" his small green attendant said, running up to him. The small courtier straightened his hat as he caught his breath "I did as you told - "

"Be silent, Jaken," the youkai said, making a motion with his arm for the little youkai to stay where he was.

Knowing his master well, Jaken took a deep breath and froze into place.

Sesshoumaru walked over to where the strange miko had been talking about Rin. He had not actually intended to eavesdrop on his brother and his brother's woman.

Jaken watched his master carefully as he walked across the meadow and stood near a large boulder. "Did I hear InuYasha, Sesshoumaru-sama?" he asked, judging it safe enough to talk again. "Was he with Kagome-sama?"

"Yes," Sesshoumaru said. He bent down, and looked at the flowers blooming near the stone. Kagome had cut two, but there were several more. He picked one.

"Blooming like a sasayuri in a summer field, its beauty always noticed," the daiyoukai said.

"My Lord?" Jaken said, leaning against the Staff of Two Heads. He looked surprised at seeing his master examine the flower.

"Tell me, Jaken," Sesshoumaru said. "Does time seem to run faster to humans than it does to us?"

"I...well, they don't live . . . " The little youkai scratched his head, knitting his brows together. "My lord, I don't know. Why do you ask, Dono?"

Sesshoumaru twirled the flower in his fingers, before tucking it into his robes. He ignored the little youkai's question. "Come, Jaken."

Together, they headed back into the forest.

Unaware of Sesshoumaru's thoughts and presence, InuYasha and Kagome went on with their day's activities.

"I'm back," he said, walking up to the house with a fish big enough for their dinner.

"You took less time than I thought," the young miko said. Kagome, as she had intended, had changed clothes into something lighter and was doing the laundry in her tub near the clothes line.

"Told you I wanted to stay around the house this afternoon," he replied, walking inside with his catch. While he put the fish up, she wrung out the towel she was washing, and got up to hang it on the line, joining her miko garments to flap in the breeze.

He stepped back outside, crossed his arms and looked at the sky. "I think it's going to rain tonight. Kind of smells like it." His nostrils flared as he scented the air. "Not sure I trust my nose right now, though. Need any more water?"

Kagome shook her head. "Good thing I'm doing this now." She dunked another piece of cloth into the tub. "I think we're going to have to hang a clothes line in the house once the rains start in earnest."

"Easy enough to do," he replied, walking over to stand near her.

"Take off your kosode," Kagome said. She looked up at him. "I'm almost done, and your kosode definitely needs washing."

"Why?" InuYasha asked.

"Because you didn't change this morning," she said.

"Uh," he replied, his ear twitching, but then he broke out in a grin. "I think someone distracted me."

She wrinkled her nose, and refused to take the bait. "It must be the new moon. How you can wear the same shirt you wore while you were on the road . . . "

He sighed as he pulled off his suikan and then unfastened his kosode, tossing it into the clothes basket next to her. "Most of my life I only owned one. I forget." He stood in front of her, slinging his jacket over one shoulder."You never used to complain when we were hunting for the shards."

She looked up as she began to wring out the cloth in her hands, seeing him standing there, his hakama slung low without his jacket or shirt. His skin was golden and unmarked. The warm light highlighted the cut of the muscle across his stomach and chest, and she enjoyed the sight with open admiration. "That was then," she replied, returning to her work and giving the garment she was washing a final squeeze. "Handy, though, that your fire rat cleans itself."

"Let me hang that up for you," he said, reaching over the tub to take it from her. His hands gently touched hers as he did, enjoying the look on his wife's face. "You have much more to do?"

"Nope," she replied. "Just a couple more pieces."

"Want a bath tonight?" he said, draping the cloth over the line. "I ought to get the water while it's early."

"As hot as it is?" she asked. "You'll be lucky if I don't want two baths. But put a kosode on first." Her voice was just a little regretful.

His sense of smell was still good enough to be aware of why she asked that. He laughed, and headed into the house.

The rest of the day went quietly. Not long after they brought the clothes in off of the line, the sky began to cloud up. The evening's arrangements weren't much different from usual. She laid out the bedding, but put her bow and quiver within easy reach. InuYasha brought the tub in. She lit the lamp, a bit earlier than usual, and pulled out her sewing basket, to have something to do during the night's watch.

Then the sun went down, and her silver-haired husband changed into a black-haired one. Almost at the same moment, a flash of lightning lit up the sky, but was so far away there was no thunder.

"You can't tell what night it is from looking at the sky." Kagome asked. She stood in the doorway, looking up at the clouds. Lightning lit it up again.

"I'd know," he said.

"I guess you would," she replied. "You're doing all right?"

"I guess," he said from his seat near the fire pit. He tossed a small piece of pine onto the fire. It caught flame, adding a little light to drive away the shadows. That did nothing to help the warmth in the room, and he got up and moved away, sitting against a wall. The air was still and heavy. Another flash of lightning lit up the clouds.

"Maybe the rain will reach us. That might do something to break the heat for a little while," Kagome said softly.

"Feh," said her companion, sitting in a corner of the dimly lit room. "Just make it stickier."

She sighed, and dropped the door mat, and walked back into the house. "It's too hot for all these clothes," she said, and removed her wrap skirt and kosode, tossed them into a basket. Her inner kosode clung to her skin. "I can see I'm going to be doing a lot of laundry this summer."

"Keh," he said.

"It's not exactly how I imagined tonight to be," she said. "Too hot to want to move."

Her companion said nothing from where he sat in the shadows. He had taken off his suikan and loosened the neck of his kosode. His long dark hair hung limply down his shoulders as he watched her strip. She idly rolled the long length of her hair into a bun. Moving to the cabinet, she rummaged in a box until she found a long stick and with it she skewered her hair in place.

"Feel better?" he asked.

" A little," she replied as she went and sat next to him. She reached for a lock of his hair. "It's a good thing we left the tub in here. I can tell I'm going to want another bath in the morning. How are you doing?"

"Good as I can do on a New Moon," InuYasha grumbled. His skin glistened damply in the lamplight.

She twirled the lock of his hair around her finger. "I could braid your hair and get it off your back. You wouldn't be so hot. And you ought to put on that new kosode I made you. It's made for weather like this."

He shook his head, but didn't meet her eyes. "I just . . . "

He let his words trail off and Kagome let go of the piece of hair. "At least with Miroku and Sango out of town and Shippou off at his uncle's, and Susumu knowing this is a 'youkai thing' night, nobody should bother us." She reached for the fan she had tucked in her waistband.

Neither of them said anything for a moment. Kagome waved her fan listlessly. "If you want me to stay up and watch with you, InuYasha, you're going to have to talk to me. I thought I was going to do some sewing, but it feels like too much effort."

He tilted his head back against the wall. "Yeah. Too hot."

Considering how he normally acted like hot weather was no big deal, Kagome was mildly amused. A thought struck her though, and a slight smirk touched her lips at the possibility. She got up and went past the fire pit to get a bowl and a cup. She filled the bowl with water from the tub. Grabbing a towel from the cabinet, she walked back and sat near him.

"What are you up to, woman?" he asked, curious in spite of the heat.

"My mother told me that this is how her mother stayed cooler in summer," she explained, trying to keep her look innocent, even though the corner of her mouth gave away at least some of her intention. She dipped the cloth in the water, and then wrung it out slightly before wiping her face and neck with the cool water. Next, she took the cup, and poured some of it on her head, using the cloth to help direct it across her scalp. Taking her fan, she waved it, and let the little breeze work with the water.

"Does it help?" he asked.

"Some," Kagome replied. She loosened the neckline of her kosode, exposing the tops of her shoulders and the valley between her breasts, and dipped the cloth again. Tilting her head up, exposing the length of her neck, she ran the cloth from under her chin downwards and across her shoulders. It glistened wetly in the lamplight. Glancing at her husband, who seemed to be growing more interested, she repeated the action, letting a small trickle of water run between her breasts, moving down and out of sight. She reached for the fan, but InuYasha's hand covered hers.

"Let me," he said. "If you're doing it, it'll just make you hotter." There was something in his dark, human eyes, something playful, which she hadn't often seen on the New Moon, and she decided she liked it. She nodded.

He got up on his knees, and began to move the fan. She rotated her head this way and that, as much for his benefit as hers, keeping eyes closed, letting the gentle air current cool her down a bit. She peeked long enough to see a pleased smirk touch his lips, just as he pushed the neckline of her kosode further down her arms. He took the cloth from her hand, rewet it, and let the water trickle down from her shoulder and across the swell of her breast. Gently, lightly, he let the wet cloth follow the water trail, until his hand and the cloth rested on the bottom of her breast, cupping it lightly.

"Umm, InuYasha," she murmured as he repeated the process on the other breast. He dropped the cloth back into the bowl, and reached for her obi. With a strong tug, he loosened the knot

She opened her eyes. "What are you up to?" she asked.

"Just taking care of you," he said.

She let him guide her to the floor, one strong arm cupped behind her neck and a playful smirk on his lips as his now black hair tumbled forward. Turning his head for a moment, he rewet the cloth, let it drip across her body from the center of her chest to her navel. Then gently, he ran the cloth down and across her creamy skin, before fanning her once again.

Kagome took in a deep breath as the fan swept above her skin, closing her eyes once again. He chuckled. She could hear him rewet the cloth. This time, he ran the cloth over and between her thighs. When the cool air hit her, her eyes flew open to see laughing violet eyes just above hers.

"That's enough bath-time," she said, grabbing the fan out of his hand. "Time for you to dry me off." Wrapping her hands around his neck, under the cascade of midnight black hair, she pulled him down into a wet and heated kiss.

Outside, the lightning flashed once more, and this time, the thunder boomed. A cooling breeze ran through the little house as the rain started to fall, but by this time, neither of the occupants cared.


	305. Chapter 305

_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 305**

The sky was graying, and the first birds of the morning had woken up and started to sing. It wouldn't be long before the sun broke over the horizon.

Kagome and a black-haired InuYasha stood in the dark shadows of their verandah, escaping the close confines of the little house.

"See?" InuYasha said. "I told you it would be cooler out here."

"I know," she replied. "It's just . . . well, people do live near here. We didn't want anybody to start gossiping about the strange man visiting us. At least you're in your new kosode. If they saw you, I wouldn't have to explain why some dark haired stranger was dressed up like InuYasha."

"Nobody's that close," he replied. He pulled her close and rested his head on hers. "Too early for Daitaro and the bouzu is out of town, and they'd be about the only ones who'd come by, anyway. Besides, it wasn't me complaining about how hot it was this morning. I got tired of watching you playing with that fan of yours. Probably made it hotter just waving it around."

Kagome laughed lightly, and pulled out of his hold so she could look at him. "That's a funny thing to complain about, InuYasha. You certainly seemed to enjoy playing with it last night." She waved it seductively, and he caught her hand and grinned.

"You seemed to like it even more," he replied, his lips curling into a smirk. "I'll have to remember that one. There's a lot of warm weather ahead of us."

She tiptoed up and gave him a quick kiss. It wasn't meant to be quick. It was interrupted by a yawn as she pulled away and covered her mouth.

"I told you to get some sleep," he said.

"I'll sleep on the New Moon when you do." She leaned against him and yawned again. "Anyway, it's almost dawn."

"Yeah," he replied, wrapping his arms around her.

Looking into his violet eyes, she reached up and touched his cheek before running her fingers through the long dark tresses on the side of his hair, brushing her fingers over his ear as she did so. "Oh," she said. "I'm not used to running into that there."

He caught her hand and pulled it down as he leaned forward, breathing into her ear. "That tickles, you know."

"Oh does it?" she said, with a wicked look that let him know she was going to try it again.

He let her wrestle her hand free, but as she moved her finger teasingly across his jaw line and towards his ear, the sun broke over the horizon and his youki pulsed. Almost instantaneously, the dark of his hair grew silver and his ears morphed, changing rapidly from human to youkai and sped off of his jaw line and into their usual canine form at the top of his head. Her fingers reached out against the flat skin at the end of his jaw, unable to catch the ear in its transformation.

He grinned at her, a toothy grin that exposed his newly regained canines, and rested his hand on hers once more.

"No tickling before breakfast," he said, bringing her hand between them.

"Spoilsport," she replied, pouting.

Kissing her lightly on her pouty mouth, he broke away. "I know what you were trying to do. Maybe next month."

She laughed, and went inside to start breakfast.

After they ate, InuYasha tried to get Kagome to go to sleep, but she refused, and the two of them headed into the village.

The village was alive with people getting started on their morning work. Choujiro, heading to the forest, waved. He had an axe over one shoulder. Joben's son, Aki followed in his wake, pushing Choujiro's hand cart of woodworking tools. Momoe, already at work in her garden, tended her stand of hemp plants. Most of the signs of the fire that Seiji had set two months earlier were gone, and a new storage building rested on the spot where the old house she used for storage once stood. Her grandson Shou was busy hoeing the vegetable plot while she worked. Sora, Denjiro's wife, along with Benika, were walking down the shrine steps as they past. Benika was whispering something to Sora, and both seemed so engrossed with whatever the latest gossip was that they didn't notice the young couple as they passed.

All in all, it was a typical morning.

"So you're on guard duty today?" the young miko asked.

Akemi walked down one of the dyke paths, and saluted with his hoe. "No fishing today. Off to catch some weeds."

His friend Jiro walked beside him, and gave him a nudge. "You know, you're a real baka."

This made Kagome laugh.

InuYasha waved back at the boys, then turned to his wife. "Yeah. After I leave you at Kaede's, I'm going over to Tameo's to make it official," he said.

They stopped in front of Kaede's house.

"So, you're going to take Daisuke his medicine?" InuYasha asked.

Kagome nodded. "I don't think he really needs me to make sure he takes it. Kaede thinks it's just good for him to have people drop by. It cheers him up. But I need to stop in with Kaede first. I want to see if there's something she wants me to do, and I need some more of his medicine."

"Think you can handle the old guy yourself?" the hanyou asked. "He sure seems to like to embarrass you and make Hisako mad."

She nodded. "Oh, he talks a lot, but he's mostly all bluster." Suddenly, she giggled. "I wonder if Miroku will turn out like that?"

"Only if Sango doesn't outlive him," InuYasha said. He made a face at the thought and shuddered. "If you need me, you know where you can find me. But if I finish first, I'll come looking for you."

"I still need to talk to Hisa-obaasan," Kagome said. "So if it takes much time, just wait. If you see her, tell her I'll be by once I'm done."

The hanyou nodded, and gave his wife's hand a squeeze. She gave him a brilliant smile, then went into Kaede's house.

"Well, time to get it over with," the hanyou said. He headed for Tameo's place.

Isao, Amaya's son who was living with Susumu as his apprentice, was in the courtyard when the hanyou arrived, sweeping the walkway.

"Koichi has you cleaning the courtyard again?" InuYasha asked as he walked in.

Isao shook his head. "I lost a bet. I get to do this every day for a ten day," he said, turning his lips up in a wry, mildly regretful, grin.

"Who'd you bet with? Susumu? Jun?" InuYasha asked.

"Yorime," the boy replied. "She's a smart girl." He sighed. "Smarter than me, anyway."

The hanyou chuckled. "You have to watch out about those girls. They'll get you every time."

"You learned that too?" Isao asked, pushing a pile of dust to the side.

"Oh yeah. The hard way." InuYasha's ear flicked, remembering a few choice moments with a younger Kagome. "So where's Susumu this morning?"

"Over by the office. Most of the village guard is there, too." Isao said. "If I ever get finished here, I'll go, too. Susumu's going to start teaching me about using a bo staff to fight with." Just then, a cat ran into the compound, followed by a dog in hot pursuit, right over his dirt pile, scattering it everywhere. He sighed. "If I ever get finished."

InuYasha suppressed a chuckle and headed into the compound, passing by the main house where Emi and her daughters were winding hanks of yarn for weaving. "They're waiting for you," Emi said, with a smile that for some reason made the hanyou feel uneasy. He nodded and headed around the bend and towards the office, to see Susumu leaning on a staff, surrounded by other men of the guard - Eiji and his brother Haruo, and Kinjiro.

"Looks like almost everybody's here," the hanyou said, walking up. "Where's Ryota and Shinjiro?"

"They begged off, the slackers," Haruo said, smiling.

"Shinjiro's repairing the fences around the cattle pen at his place," Kinjiro said. "Be glad. That'll save us some work."

"Okuro'll just knock it down again," Eiji said, shaking his head. "That bull's harder headed than Daitaro."

"But maybe not today," Susumu replied. He grinned at the hanyou. "Well cousin, I'm glad you finally made it. I was beginning to wonder if we were going to have to come fetch you."

"Wouldn't be the first man who was a little late on his first day," Eiji said, looking at his brother.

"What?" Haruo said, looking like he was caught off guard. "Now you know that wasn't my fault. I didn't plan on the storeroom collapsing that morning."

As InuYasha looked at each of the men there, trying to decide how to react, he realized Susumu was teasing him. "Sounds like an excuse to me," he said.

"So what's your excuse, cousin?" Kinjiro asked.

"My wife," the hanyou replied.

"Now that's an excuse nobody can argue with," Eiji said, nodding with approval. "Wives, well, they have a certain authority."

"So let's get to business, then," Susumu said. "There's enough of us here."

Eiji walked up in front of InuYasha and gave a ceremonial bow. "So, InuYasha, now it's your turn to carry this stick around for a while." Eiji took the heavy club that was the symbol of the lead village guard of the ten day period, and put it in the hanyou's open hand, giving an audible sigh as he released it. "You are now the lead guard. May the kami watch your steps. And not drive you too crazy."

"You act like there were a lot of things going on this last ten day," Susumu said, grinning. "Don't listen to him, InuYasha. You didn't miss much at all."

Eiji turned to Susumu, and frowned. "It's not like I didn't do anything. I chased off three boys who were hanging around the homes of their sweethearts without the girl's father's permission," he said, counting on his fingers. "And - "

"So few?" Kinjiro said, interrupting. He crossed his arms. "My last turn I had to do that seven times."

"That's because of just one boy. And now the marriage is arranged, and he's still hanging around," Eiji said, shaking his head. "I don't know if that counts the same way."

"Bah," Haruo said. "Her father's asked me to bash him one anyway. He's always over there and he's been eating more than he's worth, I hear."

Tameo stepped out of the office. "Reminds me of one or two other men I know before they got settled down. Go ask Fumio about that one."

"Yes, Eiji, tell us about it," Haruo said. "I remember when you were courting Kimi that Fumio said . . . "

Eiji coughed into his hand, interrupting his brother, before continuing his count. "And then we had to go chase after Daitaro's bull and one of Toshiro's cows."

"That's normal," Susumu said. "Wouldn't be a warm weather watch without chasing after Okuro at least once."

"Besides," Kinjiro said. "We were busy with the rice during your watch. Nobody has any energy left over to do anything wrong while that's going on."

"So I didn't miss much while I was out of town," InuYasha said, tucking the club into his belt.

"Not much," Eiji finally admitted. "The liveliest bit the entire watch was having that crazy peddler come through."

"Well, let's hope the next ten day is as calm as the last," Tameo said. "I wish - "

Whatever he wished got cut off as they heard a woman screaming. Loudly. "Help! Someone!"

The men looked at each other. "Who's that? It sounds like it's coming from the well," Kinjiro said.

Susumu picked up his staff but made no sign of moving. He turned to InuYasha. "It's your turn."

"Yeah, I guess it is," InuYasha said, and he began running towards the sound.


	306. Chapter 306

_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 306**

_A/N Apologies for missing Tuesday's chapter with no advanced warning. Got a little under the weather._

As InuYasha hurried toward the watch tower and the community well, leaving a chuckling group of men behind, he noticed a small group of people had gathered there - Amaya was kneeling down, surrounded by Hisako, Sora and Ryota. Since it didn't look like anybody was under immediate threat, he slowed down as he watched the gathering. As he neared, Yaya, Isamu's wife walked up, carrying her water bucket. She put it down empty and joined the others looking at something on the ground.

A small child squeezed out of the group and took Sora's sleeve. "Okaa, go?" he asked hopefully.

"Not yet, baby," she said, patting him on the head. "We'll leave soon."

Not really mollified, he walked behind her, and clung to his mother's skirt.

Hisako shook her head. "This is how you found him?"

"Yes, Hisako-obaasan. I was coming for water, and he was here, stretched out," Amaya said, looking up at the older woman. "I was afraid he was dead. But he's still breathing. I guess he passed out."

"What do you mean he was passed out? Did someone hurt him? You're sure he's not just sleeping?" Hisako said, tapping something with her walking stick.

There was a soft groan.

"Did someone knock him out?" Ryota asked, rubbing the back of his neck. "Or wound him?"

"You don't think someone here would do something to hurt him, do you?" Amaya said, looking up at Ryota. "I mean he can be annoying, but . . . "

"Otousan saw him earlier and threw a rock at him," Hisako said. She frowned.

"He didn't," Ryota said, acting surprised. "Why?"

"Said he woke him up one time too many," Hisako said, frowning. "Otousan missed, though, so he didn't do it."

"Couldn't have been a rock. I don't see any blood," Amaya said. "And there's no bruise that I can see."

"The headman will want to know about this. If someone in our village hurt him . . . " Sora said. "Who's going to tell Tameo-sama?"

"What if he's got something catching?" Yaya shook her head. "Or if there are bandits nearby?" She bit a knuckle, looking a little frightened.

"We need to do something," Amaya said. "We can't just leave him here, and the headman needs to know as well."

All eyes moved towards Ryota.

"It's more a man's job," Sora said. Hisako humphed, obviously not agreeing on that point.

He held his hands up and shook his head. "Not me. I don't want to be the bearer of bad news. I'd end up being there all afternoon, talking with Susumu and planning what to do. I've got work to do today."

"But . . . but . . . " Yaya said. Hisako stomped her walking stick and glared.

Amaya, reached forward and moved, like she was stroking something. "I wonder what made him stop here at the well. He usually goes straight to Toshiro's."

"Your guess is as good as mine," Ryota said. "Maybe I should get busy with that work . . . "

Before he could move, Sora's boy turned and spotted the hanyou, and made a mad dash for InuYasha. Ryota breathed a sigh of relief as the toddler reached the hanyou. The boy stopped in front of InuYasha, stuck his finger in his mouth and looked at InuYasha's ears. For a moment, InuYasha watched him, a small, crooked grin touching the corner of his mouth, and he flicked an ear. The boy pointed at it.

"Yeah, yeah, I have ears. Come on, kid," the hanyou said, resting a hand on the boy's head. He guided the boy back towards his mother, his right ear twitching. The child, seeing it, took his finger out of his mouth, and pointed up at it again. Sighing, InuYasha flicked his ear again, and looked at Ryota. "What's happening?"

Ryota turned around and noticed the club stuck in InuYasha's obi. "Ah, InuYasha-sama. They pinned the club on you today?"

"Yeah," the hanyou said, pushing the boy to Sora. "There you go, kid. Here's your mother." The boy grabbed onto his mother's skirt. She rested a hand on her son's head. "I heard someone yelling. So, what's going on?"

Amaya stood up and bowed to InuYasha. "Ah, that must have been me, InuYasha-sama. I was startled when I saw him just laying here."

InuYasha looked down. Laying on the ground was a man the hanyou had seen in the village from time to time. He was a thin man with greying hair, breathing slowly and shallowly, and his face was flushed. His garments weren't much different from the short hakama most of the farmers wore and a kosode; perhaps they were even a little poorer, and often mended. He had a towel wrapped around his head folded into a headband and it was soaked with sweat, more than the heat of the day should have caused. Nearby, there was a large, pack baskets with worn straps. It was impossible to see inside of it, because it was lidded, but to InuYasha's nose, it was filled with something that smelled of herbs.

Amaya knelt down next to the man again, and gave his shoulder a little shove. "Hajime-sama!" she said. The man groaned, but did nothing else. She got back up. "What do we do, InuYasha-sama?"

"Hajime?" InuYasha asked as he knelt down next to the stricken man. "He's that herb dealer from the east? He used to come by Kaede-baaba's sometimes. I think she sells him stuff."

Hisako snorted. It was obvious she didn't like the person. "Freeloader if you ask me." She looked down at the man. "Sold me some herbal powder for the headache one day. Sayo-chan said it was the best medicine she ever had for her headaches. But he stayed so long I had to offer him lunch. And pay for the medicine, too. Cost more than I thought it should. And he never stopped talking."

"Did it help?" Sora asked.

"Funny how the biggest part of my headache went away after he left," the older woman said. "But yes, it did the job the next time I got one. He's not a huckster. He's mostly honest. Still he mooches and talks a lot."

"I don't know about all that. What I do know is that he smells sick," InuYasha said. He rested his hand lightly on the herb-seller's forehead. "He's got a fever, too."

"Maybe he ate the wrong medicine," Hisako said. "Some herbs can make you feel feverish. And sweat like a waterfall. Or one of his customers that he mooched from may have gotten tired of him and poisoned his soup."

"Hisako-obaasan!" Amaya said, rather shocked. The old woman, unrepentant, shrugged.

"I heard they were having some sort of fever up the river from us," Ryota said. "More than one place has it too. Hit my cousin's village right about the rice planting."

"Eeek!" Sora said. Her eyes went wide and she made a sign against bad luck. "Merciful Kwannon of the thousand eyes, keep that from ever happening here."

Ryota nodded. "Very bad luck. They may have a hungry winter."

InuYasha finished checking out the unconscious man as they bantered. "We need to get him to Kaede-baaba's" he said, looking up. "She'll know what to do."

"Are you sure that's safe?" Ryota asked. He crossed his arms and looked thoughtfully at the sick man. "Maybe Tameo's lockup would be a better place. And it's closer."

This surprised the hanyou. "If he's not wounded, it ought to be safe to move him," InuYasha said. "I don't smell any blood."

"I don't think that place is fit for the ill," Yaya said, giving Ryota a hard look. She sucked on her lip. "It's barely suitable to hold wrongdoers. So small inside. He couldn't lie down. And how's Miko-sama supposed to get in there with him?" She shook her head. "She's not the smallest woman."

"But is it safe to have this peddler stay at Kaede-chan's?" Hisako said. She leaned on her stick. "He might try to sell her his whole basket. And talk her to death."

Ryota scratched his head and looked bemused. "You really have it in for him, don't you, Hisako-obaasan? I was more worked about us than him," he said. "But I've breathed the same air he has." He raised his eyebrow as a thought hit him. " Maybe I should visit Kaede as well. And you, too."

InuYasha rolled his eyes at their banter, and then gave the man a nudge, harder than the one that Amaya had tried. "Hajime, wake up," he said. "I need to get you to the healer's."

Hajime groaned again, this time trying to reach consciousness. Straining to wake up, his eyes fluttered, and he cracked them open to see InuYasha's head, white hair and dog ears peering down at him. The sick man suddenly came to, and he jerked a little, startled by the image. "Youkai? You're not a dream? You do exist . . . " he said, his voice barely over a whisper. "I'm doomed."

"Yeah, I'm real." InuYasha straightened up, then moved from the man's head to his side. "You're not doomed. You're sick. I'm going to take you to Kaede-baaba's."

The sick man lifted up his hands and covered his face."That peddler I met on the road . . . He warned me about the village here. He said you're a monster," Hajime said. The panic in his voice was clear, even if he couldn't speak loudly. He swallowed, then winced, as if it were painful to do it, then dropped his hands back down. His eyes, glazed and feverish, darted from face to face. "But all these people . . . they're not running. Do you have them in a spell?"

"You've seen me before, baka. Never ate you then." The hanyou's ear flicked. He was irritated, but worked to keep his face smooth. "You even saw me at the old miko's house. You think I'll eat you now while you're sick?" He frowned. "Feh, who eats sick stuff?"

"Youkai . . . " Hajime said. Suddenly, he shivered. "So cold."

"He's delirious, poor man," Yaya said. "We need to get him out of here." She looked around at the others. "Are we all going to get sick?"

"Don't know," Hisako said. "What will be, will be. That's kami business." She kicked the ground. "Maybe we need to sprinkle vinegar over the area, though."

"You can follow me to Kaede's," InuYasha said. "She might want to know who saw him anyway."

"The monster's going to eat me," Hajime sobbed. A small trickle of tears had formed in his eyes, and ran down. "So sick, so cold. Kwannon have mercy. What did I do to deserve this? I just helped a poor child. Jizo, help me when I get to hell."

"Well this monster's going to take you to our miko. She's the best healer around," InuYasha said, squatting down. "You're not going to get better just laying here near the well. You need medicine or something."

"Where's the village guard?" the sick man asked, looking at the gathered villagers. "Get the guard so this youkai won't eat me." He tried to push himself up, but he couldn't.

"Please, Hajime-sama, let us help you," Amaya said. "Let InuYasha-sama take you to our miko."

"Youkai . . . I . . . I . . . help me." He grabbed Amaya's sleeve, pleading with her, his face twisted into terror. "No youkai. Get the guard, please."

"You're looking at him," the hanyou replied. "Just relax. I'm going to help you." Under his breath he mumbled, "In spite of yourself, if I have to."

"I...I...Don't let him eat me . . . " Hajime closed his eyes as InuYasha started to slide his arms under his body and then, overwhelmed, the peddler went limp.

InuYasha sighed. "Baka man," he grumbled, then gently picked him up. "Someone get his basket."

Hisako tapped Ryota on the shoulder with her stick. "You do it."

Sighing, the farmer gave in to the older woman, and walked over and lifted it up. The group began the procession to Kaede's house.


	307. Chapter 307

_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 307**

_A/N Today is the 3 year anniversary of my first publishing the first chapter of A Tale of Ever After in 2011_. _Thank you everybody who's stuck with this story and continues to come back for more!_

While InuYasha and his group of villagers were taking the sick peddler to Kaede's house to try to get him some help, Kagome put her medicine cup back in her basket.

"Well, Daisuke-ojiisan, I'll see you tomorrow," she said.

Daisuke grinned, a rather wicked grin. "If you see that daughter of mine, tell her to take her time. I found the sake jug."

Kagome rolled her eyes. "You haven't been drinking yet. It always shows, you know."

"I know it, and you know it, girl, but she doesn't have to know that yet." The old man stood up stiffly from the stump he used as a seat. The ground around it was covered in wood shavings from the little carvings he did there to pass the time. He reached for a small bundle wrapped in a bright bit of red cloth. "She got mad at me because I threw a rock in the direction of some fool who came by singing too early in the morning. It was that stupid herb peddler from back east. I warned him off before, the last time he came through. Besides, I didn't get anywhere near hitting him. Don't have the arm I had when I was a young man. Ran off and said she was going to the well. Well, the gossips at the well can have her." He shook his head.

"Another peddler so soon?" Kagome asked.

"It's the season," the old man said. "We're about to have a whole plague of them." He held out the bundle to Kagome. "Enough about stupid peddlers and daughters. Here, child. Here's a little something from an old fool who appreciates getting to see a pretty face in the morning."

Kagome, touched and surprised took the little bundle in her free hand, feeling the weight of it as she stood there.

"I...I..." she said, then bowed. "Thank you, Daisuke-ojiisan. Such a surprise!"

"Well, unwrap it, girl. Tell me what you think." Daisuke folded his arms and straightened up as much as he could.

"Yes, yes, of course," Kagome said. She put down her basket and carefully unwrapped the cloth to reveal a small but well-formed medicine cup. "You made this, Daisuke-ojiisan?"

"A man's got to have something to do to pass the time," he said. "Thought about that cup you always give me my medicine in. Nasty tasting, whatever it's made out of. This, though, maybe it'll taste better."

Kagome smiled up at the old man, who seemed pleased at her reaction to it. She ran her fingers over the surface. It had been polished smooth and finished with something that brought out the grain of the wood. "You want me to give you your medicine in this cup?" she asked.

"It'd be sweeter if it were sake, but you might try it out," he said.

"I'll do that," Kagome said, picking her basket back up, and putting the new cup inside with the other. "Well, I need to get back to Kaede-sama's. I think she wants to show me how to make a new medicine."

"Go and learn, girl. And if you see that hot-headed daughter of mine, send her home. I'm still waiting for my breakfast!"

Kagome took her leave from her daily patient, touched that he had chosen to gift her with something, and headed down the road. She passed Yasuo, Toshiro's son, and one of their workers, heading out to one of their field. She waved; he replied with a nod of his head.

"Come by the house soon," Yasuo called out. "Sayo has something for you."

Nodding in return, she continued back towards the old miko's house. Stopping for a moment, she spotted a small flowering herb growing along the roadside. It was useful for women's ailments. Bending over she took her knife and cut several sprigs.

While she was bent over, a young voice called out, "Miko-sama! Miko-sama!"

Kagome straightened up, dropped the herbs in her basket and shook out her sleeve in time to see Nakao, Maeme's youngest son waving to her and running in her direction. He seemed rather excited about something.

"Here I am, Nakao-kun," she said, waving a bit as she watched him hurry. "How are you today?"

The boy ran up to her and bowed. "Miko-sama, I was hoping I could find you," he said, catching his breath. "I know you go visit Daisuke-ojiisan every day."

"I think everybody knows that by now," Kagome said smiling, but there was something about how Nakao was standing that caught her attention. He was fidgety as he stood there, waiting for her to finish her small talk. "Is there something wrong?" she asked. "Is Maeme-chan having problems? If she's still having nightmares . . . "

"No, no," he replied. "Haha-ue is doing very well, thank you. She hasn't needed any sleeping medicine in almost a moon. It's not about her. It's just . . . " He floundered a moment trying to say what was on his mind, then dropped his head.

"It's just what?" she said, her voice soft and encouraging. Somehow or other, Nakao sometimes reminded him of her brother when he was younger. Now that she was here and not being a teenager coping with the brother under her roof, she found that all the things that used to irritate her were somehow endearing.

"I..." he swallowed. "Are there things that are birds but aren't birds?"

"Now that's an odd question," Kagome said. "Why do you want to know?"

He took a deep breath. "I...I saw something weird."

She tilted her head and looked at the boy thoughtfully. He seemed edgy, slightly embarrassed, as if a little worried about being made a fool of, but honestly concerned.

"Weird?" she asked. "And it involved a bird? Who might not be a real bird?"

Nakao nodded. "I don't know how else to say it," he said, looking down at the ground, not sure if the young miko's thoughtful look was concern or lack of belief. "I thought I saw this huge bird. Biggest bird I ever saw."

"That's interesting," Kagome said, giving him an encouraging smile, which made the boy relax about not being believed. She could see some tension drop out of his shoulders. "What did it look like and where did you see it?"

"Not far from the river. Near the road north," he said. "It was big and gray and had a yellow tail. It was kind of shaped like an eagle, but not exactly. Nobody was out where I was, except a peddler. He didn't look too well."

"Ah, Daisuke-ojiisan talked about a peddler," Kagome said. "I wonder if it was the same one? He didn't say anything about him looking sick."

"Maybe." Nakao's earlier flicker of assurance died out once again, and he sighed. "Nobody's going to believe me, I bet. Nobody believes a peddler's stories, and I bet he didn't even see it. "

He looked dejected.

Now Kagome looked a bit confused. "Nobody will believe you saw a really large bird? Why should they doubt you?"

Nakao rubbed the back of his neck. "It's not . . . it's not that, Miko-sama," he said.

"What is it then, Nakao-kun?"

"Are there some birds that look like birds sometimes, but can . . . like Shippou-kun, change their shapes?" His head bowed, he drew circles in the dirt with his foot, as if concentrating on how to phrase what to say.

"Well, there are some youkai that can take any shape they like, like Shippou-chan. He's taken bird shape before. Kitsune can do pretty much most forms. Tanuki can do it too, and some others. And there are tengu, who are normally bird shapes. Sometimes, heavenly beings, like tennyo, take bird shape according to some of the old stories." Kagome shifted her basket to her other hip. "Does that help?"

He nodded. "Do you think something like that might come around here?"

Kagome gave a quick look around but saw nothing out of the ordinary. It looked like the outskirts of a peaceful little farming village. "I guess so. Does this have to do with what you're telling me?"

He nodded. "It's what I saw next. You don't think I'm just making this up, do you?"

Kagome rested a hand on his shoulder. "You can tell me anything, Nakao-kun. I won't laugh at you. I know you try to be truthful, and you wouldn't have come looking for me just to tell me a tall tale."

He looked up at her, studying her face carefully, then gave a curt nod. "As I was watching it, the bird landed behind some bushes. It was so big, I was surprised at how easily it landed. It called out a loud sound, and for a moment, I could hear it flapping its wings. I pushed through a gap in the bushes to see if I could figure out what type of bird it was. But when I got closer, the noise had stopped and there wasn't any bird there."

"Huh," Kagome said, wondering where he was going with his story. She pursed her lips together, trying not to discourage the boy. "Are you sure you just didn't see it take off again? Birds can land and take off really quickly."

"This bird was bigger than a crow or even an eagle. I would have seen it," Nakao said, frowning. "Something like that usually makes noise when it flies."

Kagome licked her lips and nodded, thinking about the times she had really paid attention to birds landing and taking off, which wasn't too often. "I guess you're right, now that you mention it. Even the little birds do, especially if they're in a big flock." She scratched her head. "So the bird wasn't there?"

Nakao shook his head. "This is the weirdest part. My brother would tell me I was dreaming it all. Promise me you'll listen until I'm through?"

The young miko nodded solemnly. "I promise."

He took a breath. "There was no bird there. But instead of a bird there was a girl. She wasn't from our village. I don't think she was from here at all. She was dressed in a gray and yellow kimono, the same colors as the bird. It looked like silk, and was very shiny. And her hair was done up funny. I never saw anybody wear their hair that way. It was almost like it was put up like a weird eboshi cap or something. It was up really tall. And she had silver and gold stuff stuck in it."

Kagome raised her eyebrows at that description. "What happened then?"

He swallowed. "I got scared. Something about the way she looked. Her eyes - they were really scary. They kind of looked like a rooster's eyes, right before he's ready to run after you. I think she saw me, but before she could say anything, I ran away." He swallowed again, and dropped his head. "I thought maybe it was an angry ghost."

"A ghost?" Kagome shook her head. "I...I don't think so. It doesn't sound like any ghost I've ever heard of." She frowned. "Maybe a youkai, though. I think we should tell Kaede-sama about it. This is the type of thing that we need to be sure of. I'm glad you came and got me, Nakao-kun. If it was a real bird, and there was a girl, I bet InuYasha could find out for us."

"InuYasha-sama? You think he'd do that?" Nakao asked, surprised.

"Oh yes," Kagome said, nodding. "If it's a lost girl, and the bird just happened to come by at the same time, then we'll need to find her. And if it's something more, we'll need to figure out what is going on." She knocked on the boy's head playfully. "And if it's just you being too hungry so you're seeing things, we can fix that, too."

"I ate breakfast!" he said, mildly offended. "And dinner last night, too! I'm not seeing things."

Kagome smiled. "I believe you, Nakao-kun. But let's get to the bottom of this. Now I'm very curious."

Together, they began to head to the old miko's house.


	308. Chapter 308

_ I don't own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 308**

"Help me . . . " Hajime, the sick peddler, muttered as the hanyou walked into Kaede's house. "I don't want to be eaten. Don't let . . . "

"I'm getting you help, baka," InuYasha muttered as he walked into the small house. "Best help around. We're here. You can stop squirming."

Kaede, sitting by her fire pit, stirring a pot of something with a strong medicinal smell, looked up, and took in the two with a calm, patient glance of her single eye. "So much for a quiet morning. What have you brought me today, InuYasha?"

"Right after Eiji gave me the village guard baton, this guy showed up. I found him by the well," the hanyou replied. "He's burning with fever and delirious, I think. Keeps talking like I'm going to have him for lunch."

"Please," the sick man muttered. His face glistened with beads of sweat, and he rolled his head back and forth where it rested in the crook of InuYasha's arm. "Don't . . . "

"Let's get him stretched out so I can take a look at him." The old miko got to her feet, and walking to a chest, grabbed the bedding she used for her patients. "At the well, you say?"

"Yeah. Amaya found him first," he said as Kaede rolled the bedroll out. "There was a bunch of people there looking at him by the time I got there." The sick man coughed feebly and tried to raise his hand, but couldn't.

Kaede frowned as she watched. "Lay him down, and let me get a look at him," she said. "I don't like the sound of him."

The hanyou carefully put the man on the bedding then shook out his sleeves. Hajime rolled his head back and forth, and his hand grabbed the bedding. "Otou . . . " he muttered. "They . . . "

"Ah, that's Hajime," Kaede said, kneeling down next to the sick man. She touched his throat under his jaw, and the sick man winced. "I wonder what he's doing here already? We don't usually see him for another month." She rested her hand on his forehead. "He's burning up. And sweating, too. A sweating fever is not a good thing at all." Pursing her lips, she took his wrist and began to take his pulse.

"Don't ask me why he's here yet," the hanyou replied. "But he's out of his head. He didn't even recognize me. Thought I was some stray youkai about to do him in."

"Fevers can do that, sometimes," the old miko replied. Having taken his pulse, she rested her hand on his abdomen. "We will need to bring his fever down and get him something to drink. Where's Kagome?"

"I guess getting Daisuke-jiji his medicine," the hanyou replied.

"She'll be coming back here, then," the miko replied, nodding. "I may need her help."

Amaya stuck her head in the room. "Is there anything I can do to help?" she asked. "Do you know what's wrong with him?"

"Not yet, child," the old miko replied. "You found him?"

Amaya nodded. "He had fainted near the well." She gave the ill peddler a sympathetic look. "I think he's sicker than when I first saw him."

"Stay near," Kaede said. "I might. And be sure to tell me if you start to feel ill at all. But first I need to examine our peddler here." She looked over at the hanyou who was standing there with his hands stuck in his sleeves, unsure of what he should be doing. "You, too, InuYasha. Go outside. If you see Rin-chan, send her to Kimi's. Until I know what's wrong . . . "

InuYasha and Amaya headed out.

"So?" Ryota said, as they filed into the street. "Will our herb seller live?"

"Don't know yet," InuYasha replied.

"Well, I'm not going anywhere until I know what's going on," Hisako said.

"I guess then," Amaya said, "that means we wait."

"Better than washing clothes," Sora replied.

While they milled around, InuYasha jumped up on a rail post to sit while he watched the gathering.

"Summer fevers are bad things," Yaya said.

"It's certainly hurt some of the villages up north." Ryota scratched the back of his neck. "That's what all the talk was about at the last market day."

"And you call women gossips," Amaya said. She found a piece of log to sit on, and lowered herself on it. The gathered women snickered.

"My obaasan told me about a time when something like this happened," Hisako said, tapping her staff to the ground. "Fever spread from village to village in a great wave."

"It does that every winter when the cough goes around," Ryota said. He walked up to the fence and leaned against it. "Not that unusual."

"Having the cough might not be unusual, but some years," Amaya said, crossing her arm, "it's bad enough to make me wonder if we're not getting cursed. Remember six years ago? That was a bad one. People's fevers went so high, and almost everybody got it."

There were nods of agreement from the crowd. "Lost some good people that year," Ryota said.

"Curses. My obaasan said the sickness she told us about was caused by a fever demon," Hisako said. Amaya offered her a seat on the log she was sitting on, but she shook it off. "Or maybe it was just an angry kami, spreading the wrath of heaven on us for our sins."

Sora nodded. She sat down next to the miko's house. "I've heard stories about that. There's a shrine . . . My ojiisan told me about it. He went there once."

"I heard the kami said we were due for a horrible disaster from the sea for our sins, but he convinced the gods to let it be a coughing sickness instead," Yaya said. Unlike most of the others, she had not taken a seat, and instead, was walking nervously back and forth in front of the miko's house. She stopped for a moment and shook her head "I really ought to be doing something. Isamu is going to be wanting his lunch when it's time. Should I just go home?"

"You can come with me when we're done," Amaya volunteered. "We can cook enough to send home with you. You know how good my kitchen is."

Yaya sighed, and nodded, and began to pace again.

"I've got some sewing with me," Sora said, lifting the basket she was carrying. "My young ones, they're always tearing through their clothes."

"I think I'm too nervous for sewing," Yaya admitted. "Fevers scare me."

"I've heard the story about the kami who gave us a sickness instead of a disaster," Hisako said. "But that was a different sickness than the one my obaasan told me about. That kami just gave everybody a cold. This one was real punishment."

"I don't know if heaven really does that to us that way," Tameo said, walking up to join the group. "Maybe a single kami might get mad at a family or a village, but the whole country can't be guilty of the same thing. And the demons - they don't leave the hell regions very often."

"Good thing," InuYasha murmured. "They're ugly as hell."

Several pair of eyes turned InuYasha's way, and it made his ear twitch as he watched. Sora's eyes were big, Hisako's irritated, Tameo's curious. Ryota, though, snickered a little.

"I hope I never see one," Yaya said, hugging herself.

Sora dug into her basket and pulled out a small kosode. There was a needle tucked into it. She pulled it free and began mending a rip. "You and me both. I've seen enough other things these last few years not to want to see anything from hell until Emma-O sends for me."

Hisako tapped her walking stick. "Hmmph. My obaasan was known for truthful tales."

Tameo shrugged. "It could have been, I guess. But didn't your obaasan tell that story about that smallpox plague? That was a bad one." He scratched the back of his head. "I think all of our families have stories about that one. Sicknesses happen. I'm not sure if Heaven or Hell play a lot of role in it. So why is everybody standing here talking about diseases and kami?"

InuYasha leapt off the fence post with practiced ease. "We have us a sick peddler. Hajime the herb seller."

Tameo raised an eyebrow. "He's here early. Sick you say?"

"Delirious. He thought InuYasha-sama was going to eat him," Amaya said, shaking her head.

"Another one of those?" Tameo looked rather surprised. "What is it? Is someone poisoning the peddlers in this part of Musashi?"

"Ooh, that's a bad thought," Amaya said. "Who would buy my silks threads?"

"And where would Benika get her gossip?" Ryota asked.

Hisako barked a sharp laugh at that one.

"Maybe," Tameo said, "some good might come out of it after all."

Shortly after Tameo joined the group, Kagome and Nakao neared enough to watch them.

"That's an awful lot of people in front of Miko-sama's house. What are they talking about?" Nakao asked, pulling on Kagome's sleeve.

She looked at the group, knotting her brow. "I don't know. Maybe someone's gotten ill?" She shifted her basket higher on her hip. "I'll guess we'll have to go see."

"You won't . . . you won't mention what I saw to everybody, will you?" Nakao asked.

Kagome looked down at the boy. "You're really bothered by it, aren't you?"

The boy dropped his head, but nodded. "It's funny. It's like when you ask me about it, my throat gets tight." He shuddered. "Why would...would . . . that happen? It makes my head hurt, too." He looked up at her. "What would it be like if a whole group wanted to ask me questions?"

This made the young miko's eyebrows go up. "Maybe your brother has teased you too many times?"

"Maybe," Nakao said. His voice sounded doubtful. "Maybe Kaede-sama can figure it out?"

"Maybe," Kagome replied. "Let's just find out what's going on."

The first one to spot them was InuYasha. A fresh bit of breeze blew over them and shortly thereafter, the hanyou turned around. As Kagome watched, his look changed from the stoic, slightly bored look he often had when he was listening to small talk to something warmer - his eyes grew pleased at watching his wife walking up, and a hint of a smile touched his lips.

Others turned as she neared. Amaya waved. Sora bowed. Hisako got a sardonic smirk on her face. "Ah, Kagome-chan," she said. "I see my otousan managed not to devour you this morning. I hope he didn't chase you off, either."

Kagome covered her mouth, and giggled, just a little bit, before bowing to acknowledge the elderly woman. "Oh, he actually was quite well-behaved . . . " Someone in the group guffawed. "For Daisuke-ojiisan. He did want me to pretend that he found the sake again, but I told him I wouldn't tell such tales."

"And it would be a tale if you did," the older woman said, patting a bag she had dangling at her side, "since I brought it with me."

Ryota laughed out loud. "You two."

Hisako tapped her stick on the ground, and looked down. "I could have him come and stay with you for a ten day."

He held up his hands and waved the suggestion away. "Ah, Hisako-obaasan, that would be too much honor. I'm afraid we couldn't even do your honorable otousan justice at all."

"He talks rather well for being afraid of an old man," Yaya said to Amaya.

"You have a point there," Tameo said, nodding sagely.

"You and most of the village men," Hisako said. She leaned on her walking stick.

"So," Kagome said, walking up to her husband's side, with Nakao trailing behind her, "why is everybody standing outside of Kaede-obaasan's house?"

"Your husband," Hisako said, nodding towards the hanyou, "brought her a sick patient."

"We're waiting to see if it's catching," Sora said. "And if we need to take some medicine ourselves."

"Who was it?" the young miko asked.

"A peddler. Hajime the herb seller. I don't think you ever met him," InuYasha said. "He was burning up with a fever."

"I told you he didn't look well," Nakao said. He swallowed hard, like his throat was painful, and put his hand around his neck. "Even that?" he whispered.

Kagome looked down at the boy and frowned. "You stay out here, Nakao. I better go see what's going on."

InuYasha raised an eyebrow at that. "I'll tell you about it later," she replied.

His ear flicked but he nodded, and watched as his wife walked into the miko's hut. 


	309. Chapter 309

_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 309**

_A/N My apologies at missing Tuesday's chapter. Something happened that prevented me from getting the chapter written. It's possible, but not certain, that this might happen again over the next few weeks. But I shall do my best to keep to schedule! Real life and all that..._

Kagome let the door flap drop behind her as she stepped into Kaede's house.

The room was much quieter than outside, where Tameo was telling some story about yet another peddler who had caused problems in the past. The only sounds in the room were the popping of the small fire in the fire pit, heating a potion Kaede was making, and the murmurings of the sick peddler Hajime who lay stretched out on a bed near the back wall.

Kaede was sitting along side of the ailing peddler, a bowl next to her, but she looked up as Kagome entered. "Ah, I was hoping you'd be back soon. We have work today, it seems," she said, her single eye looking calm but pleased at her apprentice's appearance.

Suddenly, the calm was shattered as the sick man bolted up, his breathing going from mostly asleep to full-fledged panic attack. "No! Leave the girl alone. Eat me instead! No!"

"Nobody's going to eat you here, Hajime-sama," Kaede said, pushing him gently back down to the bed. He was too sick to resist and let her push him down easily. "But if you don't lay still, we might have to restrain you to protect you from your fears. Please - I don't think you would like that. Just rest."

"Nobody is?" he said as he laid back on the bed, his skin glistening across his forehead from all the sweating he was doing. "No monster?"

"None at all, Hajime-sama. You know I wouldn't lie to you." Kaede gave him a small smile. "No monsters ever come in my house."

"Kaede-sama," he said, as a moment of lucidity hit him. "You always did right by me." He sighed and closed his eyes. "Your herbs were always what you said they were. Honest woman."

"So much fever . . . " the old miko said, shaking her head. She sighed, and looked back at Kagome. "It's going to be hard to get enough water in him with the sweats and it being so warm. Let's hope the fever medicine brings it under control."

As Kagome put down her basket near the entryway, Kaede dipped a cloth into a bowl of water, and used the cloth to wipe off the sweat from the ailing man's head. "For now, until we can get the medicine into him, we'll try wet compresses."

"Wet compresses," Hajime muttered. "Mint and willow."

"No, just water," Kaede said. "I need to know what's wrong with you first."

"What is wrong with him?" Kagome said, walking forward and looking at the ill man. Her brow knit together with a concerned frown. "I've been hearing talk about a sickness in villages up north. Something with fever. Does he have it?" she asked.

"Perhaps, child," the old miko said. "Peddlers who go and visit so many places are more likely to pick up whatever is going around. Hajime-sama is very ill with whatever it is he has. I know he is delirious. He keeps saying something about a monster who wants to eat him and a girl he tried to help, but I haven't had him here long enough to figure out exactly what is making him so sick."

"The eyes. So red," he muttered.

Kagome sat down next to Kaede. "Let me take care of the compresses while you check the medicine."

"A good idea, child," the old miko said. "And then we'll check him to see if he has a wound or rash linked to whatever is making him like this. Some sicknesses, like the small pox or even the influenza can give a rash. It'll help us know what to do."

"Don't run, child," he said, trying to lift a hand. It collapsed back onto the bed.

Kagome picked the compress off of the ailing man's forehead, noting how it had already gotten warm. She ducked it in the water as Kaede moved to the fire pit.

"He's been talking about a girl?" Kagome placed the wet cloth on the ill man's head. "This will help, Hajime-sama. Let's get that fever down, and the whole world will start to make more sense."

The man mumbled something unintelligible. Kaede checked the fire under the medicine pot, then looked up. "Fever sometimes means people say strange things, as our friend here is demonstrating. I know Hajime-sama knows who InuYasha is. He's come by when InuYasha was here, and even in my house. But the fever has scrambled his memories. He seems to think InuYasha wanted to eat him. "

"That makes two visitors who seemed to have thought that lately. The peddler who ran off - he was saying the same thing." Kagome turned to look at the older woman. "Do you think he may have met up with Hajime-sama?"

"We'll have to ask him when he feels better," the old miko said, sitting back and reaching for a towel to use as a pot holder.

There was a noise outside. Ryota was yelling to a passer by. Hajime, as if disturbed by the sound, knocked off the cold compress.

"Where did she go?" He muttered. "Girl . . . don't look at me like that. Your eyes . . . "

Kagome picked up the compress cloth and rewet it. "Funny," she said.

"What's funny, child?" Kaede asked, grabbing her ladle.

"Right before I got here, I was talking to Nakao, and he said he thought he saw a huge bird land, but when he got there, he saw some girl, not from the village." Kagome pursed her lips. "He was talking about her eyes. He said that her eyes looked like a rooster's eyes."

"Now did he, now?" There was a bout of laughter in the front of the house from the group gathered outside, and Hajime stirred again. "Maybe we need to ask that group to move off a little," Kaede said. "It's not doing our patient much good."

Kagome replaced the cold compress. "I think Nakao-kun sort of thought that the bird turned into the girl."

"Really?" Kaede asked. Using the towel, the old miko lifted the lid off of her medicine pot and a pungent steam rose, smelling of ginger and cinnamon and bitter orange. She gave it one stir, then looked up at the younger woman. "I have heard he's given to tall tales. His brother and sometimes Maeme-chan have mentioned it."

"I don't know if he is or isn't imagining things," Kagome said, "but I think he was being honest."

Kaede dipped some medicine from the pot into a small cup. "It is possible he has some spiritual power, and sees things that others might not," she said. "It runs in his mother's family, but it's been a long time since any of that produced anyone with any real talent. But I doubt if Hajime here has such a gift. If he saw a girl, it had to be something anybody could see, and most likely human. We don't even know where he saw her, or even if he saw her. Help me hold his head up so I can get him to drink a little of this."

Kagome nodded, and moved to the other side of the ailing man. Together, they lifted him partway up, and Kaede put the cup to his lips. "Drink some of this, Peddler-sama. You'll feel better if you do."

He opened his eyes up and gave her a look that was somewhere between startled and amazed. "But I don't have any herbs to sell you today, Kaede-obaasan. Why am I here?"

"You don't need to sell me any today," the old miko said, pressing the rim of the cup on his lips. "I'm giving you a drink, anyway."

"You've always been too kind to me," Hajime said. He took a sip, rolled it around in his mouth. "Ah, fever tonic. I'd know that taste anywhere. Do I have a fever?"

"Yes, you do, Hajime-sama," Kaede said. "So drink your medicine."

He gave a small nod. Kaede got him to drink the rest of the cup down.

"You make it better than me," he said, as she put the cup to the side.

"Long practice, Hajime-sama. Now you rest and let the tonic work," she said.

Kagome, who was helping to hold him upright enough to drink, lowered him back onto the bed.

"And you have a tennyo helping you," he said, looking at the young miko. "I have gone to the other world."

Kagome giggled a little at the unexpected complement. "I don't think I'm a heavenly maiden, Hajime-sama." She took the cloth off of his forehead, and dipped it back into the water.

"Behave, old friend. She has a husband, and he's right outside." Kaede put her cup down.

"Why is the world spinning?" he asked.

"Because you're very sick," the old miko said.

Kagome started to replace the cloth on his forehead, but he grabbed her wrist. "I..." he said. "I..."

"Please, Hajime-sama, this will help with your fever," Kagome said. She looked down at where his hand had caught hers. There was a small gray feather dangling from a red thread around his wrist. "What's this?"

"I got it . . . " he started to say, but suddenly his eyes grew big and he swallowed hard, like if his throat had constricted, and then he coughed.

The young miko reached out and touched it, but pulled her hand away quickly right after she did so. There was a flash of bright light, and the ill man yelped, as if her actions had hurt.

Kaede's head shot up at the flash of light. "I didn't notice that before," she said, and hurried over to examine the man's wrist herself.

"The girl!" Hajime managed to say at last. "She . . . " He tried to get up but couldn't, when Kaede reached for his arm.

"Hold him, Kagome-chan," the old miko said. "We need to get that off of him."

Nodding, the younger woman grabbed his arm and held onto it firmly, even as he tried to jerk it free. Kaede grabbed a knife she had used to cut herbs with earlier making her fever tonic, and with a quick flick of her hand, cut the cord holding the feather. As she cut, Hajime arched up and knocking the water bowl across the room, and screamed, "I'm going to kill you all!"

But as Kaede grabbed the feather away from him, he collapsed into a heap on the bedclothes.

"That was exciting," the old miko said, holding up the feather to get a better look. "Here, hold this," she said, giving it to Kagome as she returned to her patient. "But I'd be careful about touching the feather anymore. We'll deal with that after I check on him."

"Is he . . . " Kagome asked.

"He's breathing," Kaede replied, bending over the man.

"Kagome!" a voice from outside yelled. The doormat rattled as InuYasha raced inside, his hand on his sword hilt, but he stopped as he took in the scene before him. "What the hells? Are you all right?"

Kagome picked up the spilled water bowl, and gave her husband a smile and a nod. She moved it to the side of the room where she got a towel. "I'm perfectly fine, InuYasha," she said, using the towel to clean up the spilled water. "And so is Kaede-obaasan. And Hajime . . . I think he had a seizure or something."

"Something troubled him, and then he fainted, I think," Kaede said, taking the stricken man's pulse.

"Then what was all that racket?" the hanyou asked, walking over and looking down at the peddler.

"Something odd," Kaede said. She finished taking the man's pulse, then straightened the unconscious man up, and covered him with a sheet while InuYasha watched, his eyes reflecting his confusion. Done, she turned back around. "Let's look at what he had on his wrist."

"What's that have to do with anything?" the hanyou asked, his ear flicking.

"Maybe everything," Kaede said.

Kagome held it up. She touched the feather again, and once again it flashed a light, not quite as strong as the first time. "What type of feather is this?" she asked. "It's got a lot of magic on it. I can feel it when I touch it."

Kaede took it from her hand, but only held it by the cord. "I'm not sure," the miko said. "I've never quite come across something like this before."

InuYasha grabbed the thread from his wife's hand. "I know that scent. Yosuzume."


	310. Chapter 310

_ I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 310**

Outside of the old miko's house, InuYasha's ear flicked as he heard Daitaro's voice join in with the others of the small group standing outside.

Kaede, not yet hearing her cousin, instead looked up at the hanyou then down at the feather he was holding. It rotated slightly on the red string, a gray feather that edged into almost black at its tips. It was iridescent, picking up bits of light from the room, about two inches long. And for some reason, just looking at it gave her an uneasy feeling.

"You recognize that scent?" she asked. "Are you sure?"

"No mistaking it," he said, raising the feather by its cord up to his eye level. "Doesn't look like much. Not a tail or wing feather."

"Lightweight!" Daitaro bellowed outside, followed by several people chuckling.

Kagome turned her head to the front of the building. "We're getting quite a crowd," she said. "Would you like me to ask them to leave?" She noticed a bit of water on the floor she had missed mopping up earlier, and bent down to sop it up with the towel in her hand.

"Not yet, child," Kaede said, frowning. "Yosuzume?" She frowned. "I have heard a tale or two about them. But they are not common around here. And I've never heard of any magic done with their feathers before. Are you sure, InuYasha?"

InuYasha shrugged. "I had a run-in with one a long time ago when I was young. I was lucky to get away with my ears attached to my head. It's not a scent I would forget."

"Yosuzume?" Kagome said, pausing in her search for spilled water. "I know I've heard that name before." She rubbed the back of her hand that wasn't holding the towel against her forehead. "Now what did Ojiisan tell me about that?" She sighed. "For some reason, I always keep forgetting the stories he told." She sucked on her lip, and then her face lightened up. "I remember! At least a little."

"Miko-sama?" Nakao said from outside the front door. His voice sounded bored, and maybe a bit irritated. "Can I go home yet?"

"Wait a moment more, Nakao-kun," Kagome said. "I'll be out in a minute."

"You've remembered something, Kagome-chan?" the old miko asked.

Kagome nodded. "The stories I heard were that they are small, troublesome youkai that harass travelers in the mountains at night, chirping as they walk. Sometimes, they can cause bad luck. Once in a while, they don't look like small sparrows. Instead, they'll look like black butterflies." She paused a moment. "Oh yes, they can fly into your sleeves, so mountain travelers who had to go out at night would tie up their sleeve strings, so they didn't actually bring any misfortune home." She shook her head. "There's a song you're supposed to sing to ward off them coming nearby, but I don't remember it."

"And the tales I've heard were that they were a portent of disaster," Kaede said. "But no feather magic?"

Kagome shook her head one more time. "None that I've heard of." She gave the floor another look for water spots, and satisfied, put the towel down next to the water bowl.

"Little sparrows?" the hanyou said, his eyebrows raised. "Feh. People don't know what they're talking about."

Hajime, almost forgotten in this discussion, began to snore. Outside, Yaya said, "I'm sorry. I have too many things to do. I'm going home and starting lunch. You tell Isamu if I need to come take some medicine or something."

"This youkai doesn't look like sparrows?" Kaede said. She glanced at Hajime, and rolled him onto his side. The snoring stopped.

"Hells, no," InuYasha said, letting Kagome take the feather from him.

"So tell us what you saw." The old miko adjusted the blanket over the sick man's shoulder.

The hanyou sat down near the fire pit, and looked into the small fire still burning there. His voice grew distant, as if drawing up an old painful memory. "You said the yosuzume was a portent of disaster." He stuffed his hands into his sleeves. "Just living back in those days was pretty much a portent of disaster for me. I was little and on my own. My okaa was dead and my family had turned me out. Didn't stop the stupid youkai from jumping on me because she had some sort of issue with my old man. I was guilty by association." He looked over his shoulder at the unconscious man. "So how'd he end up with a yosuzume feather, anyway? They sure don't hang around this part of the country."

"We don't know," Kaede said. She reached back and rested her hand lightly upon the peddler's forehead. "He feels a little cooler. I wonder . . . "

"That's good," the hanyou said, turning back to look at the flames. "He was sure burning up when I carried him here. Didn't remember me at all."

"It's mighty quiet in Miko-sama's house," Amaya said. She must have been standing very close to the window; her voice, although soft, sounded near. "Do you think . . . "

"Bah," Hisako said. "If InuYasha-sama had to do anything, don't you think half the village would have heard it by now."

"She has a point," Ryota said. "Remember the fights those two used to have..."

"I've heard a fight or two coming out of your house," Daitaro said. "What about you, Tameo? Remember that time, oh, about a year or two before our friends showed up?"

"You wouldn't think such a small woman could have such a loud voice," Tameo said.

"What are they talking about," InuYasha asked.

"Ryota and his wife . . . well, when they were younger . . . " Kaede replied.

"I actually think," Daitaro said, "She can get louder than our young miko here."

Kagome's cheeks pinked as she remembered some of her earlier arguments with InuYasha. "I...I think maybe there is a spell on the feather," she said, changing the subject. She touched it once again, and once again, the light flashed when she did, but much more weakly than the first time. "Do you think I can purify it like I did with the jewel shards?"

"Possibly. It does seem to be getting weaker each time you touch it. Let me see it again, Kagome-chan," the old miko said. "I want to look at it more closely."

Kagome handed the feather charm to Kaede. She spotted one last drop of water. Grabbing the towel and water bowl, she walked over to it, then wiped it up. Satisfied, she moved the bowl and towel to the side of the room and left them there, moving over to InuYasha's side. Sitting down next to him, she asked, "If it didn't look like a dark sparrow, what did this yosuzume you ran into look like?"

The hanyou glanced at his wife, and then back at the fire. "Like a bird. But bigger than a sparrow."

The tone in his voice, sharper than usual, bothered the young miko. "I was just asking," Kagome said. "I've never seen one. And if one's around here . . . "

"Keh," he said, shifting in his seat. "You're right. It's just an old bad memory."

"Okaa-san!" Sora's little boy said outside. "Wanna go home!"

"Maybe I should leave," Sora said. "I know he's getting hungry."

"They get to be an armful at that age," Daitaro said. "Maybe he'd like one of these. Chime made some this morning."

"Thank you, Daitaro-sama," Sora replied.

"Someone else isn't having a good time either, " Kagome said, looking towards the window, where she could just make out the back of the old farmer's head. She rested a hand on her husband's knee. "I understand."

He unfolded his arms and rested his hand on hers, then picked it up off of his knee, and put it on the ground between them. He gave her hand a little squeeze, but didn't let go. "I was about half-grown, and was off in the mountains north of here. One day, I spotted a big gray bird circling around the tree I was sitting in. Never saw anything quite like it before. It was shaped way more like an eagle than a sparrow, and I was wondering if it was a crow tengu, but it wasn't crow-like, either. 'No brats of the Inu no Taisho here!' it screamed. I think I froze more because the bird talked and mentioned my old man than I would have if it had just started to fly at me. And it did come after me, and its claw scraped my ear. I jumped off. Or maybe I got knocked off the branch. I landed badly. Next thing I knew some girl with her hair pulled way up was looking at me."

Kagome exchanged glances with Kaede. "A girl?"

"Interesting," the old miko replied. She stood up to come join the others.

"I hope Hajime-sama makes it through all right," Daitaro said. "Chime always bought a herb powder from him."

"We all bought some," Tameo said. "Even Hisa. She liked the one she torments me with after I drink too much."

"It's that rotgut you brew, cousin," Daitaro said, chuckling.

"So what does your woman use it for?" Ryota asked.

"She says it makes her feel more . . . playful." There was a certain smugness that gave no doubt to what he was talking about. "Nothing better than a playful Chime."

"You old bull, you," Ryota said. "Bet she gives some to you, too."

"Don't need it," the old farmer said. "Not me."

"Hush, you two," Sora said. She sounded a bit outraged. "There are children here."

"They'll find out one day themselves," Daitaro said.

"Okaa, go home?" Sora's youngest asked.

"That cousin of mine is such a tease. One day . . . " Kaede said, sitting down at her place by the fire pit. She took the medicine pot off the heat and put on her tea kettle. "So tell us about this girl, InuYasha."

"Yeah," the hanyou said. "She had bird-like eyes. Kind of like Tameo's pet rooster." He unbent one of his legs and stretched it out, not looking at his wife. "She might have looked like a girl, but she came right at me and gave me a hard kick before I could do anything. Told me to get off of her mountain. She didn't want any dirty inu there." He looked up. "Never did tell me what her gripe with my old man was, but I didn't stick around to find out. She let me get to my feet, and I ran off fast as I could." His lip twisted into a small, embarrassed grin as he looked at his wife. "Yeah, I let a girl beat me up, but I wasn't as tall as Nakao out there. I was really just learning to fight, and she caught me off guard."

"I believe you, InuYasha," Kagome said, giving her husband a sympathetic look, choosing not to add to his discomfort.

"I had heard that the yosuzume had an . . . odd relationship with the inu and wolf youkai," Kaede said. "I even heard that they would sometimes warn people away when travelers were moving into the territory of an okuri-inu."

"Well, the one who lit into me must have been one of those types," the hanyou said. "Went back later when I was older, and never saw any sign of whoever it was. Maybe she ran into an inu who could take her on."

"Like Sesshoumaru-sama?" Kaede asked.

InuYasha shrugged. "Never told me about meeting one. But he doesn't tell me anything, so I wouldn't know."

Kagome stood up and began to move towards the door. "Maybe she didn't get caught by him. Maybe she just moved on. Or there are others."

"What do you mean?" the hanyou asked. "And what does this have to do with Hajime?"

"We don't know yet," Kaede said. "But there does seem to be some dark magic involved."

"Feh," InuYasha said. "All this because of one sick peddler and a feather? He could have picked that up anywhere."

"Yes he could have," Kagome said. "But there's something else going on as well." She lifted the doormat. "Nakao-kun? Would you come in?"

The boy pushed through the doorway. "Miko-sama?"

"Tell InuYasha the story you told me," Kagome said. She looked at her husband. "I think this is something you'll want to hear."


	311. Chapter 311

_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 311**

_A/N I hope people had a nice holiday! I personally had a wild holiday week, marked with a 3 day virus, a monitor that went on the blink and the most calm and quiet Christmas day. A definitely odd holiday. But now, I'm back in business, and here's today's chapter. I'm hoping the craziness of December is over and I can get back to my twice a week schedule. _

As Nakao walked inside of the old miko's house, he looked at Kagome a bit nervously as she stood there waiting for him, an encouraging smile on her face. Stepping across the threshold, the boy glanced at the hanyou who was sitting next to the old miko.

"InuYasha-sama wants to hear my story?" Nakao said. "I...I..." His hand went up to his throat.

"I guess," the hanyou said, glancing at the two. "If Kagome says so. She's smart about stuff like that." He turned his attention back to the fire pit.

Outside, Hisako said, "I wonder what she wants to talk to him about? He wasn't with us at the well." Her tone was a combination of curiosity and a bit of irritation, and several thumps followed, as if she were tapping her walking stick. "I want to know why that peddler is sick. How long is it going to take?"

"He was with Miko-sama when she walked up," Ryota said. His voice had a soothing tone, although he couldn't hide a note of amusement in it. "Maybe he saw Hajime before he made it to the well."

"Well, he didn't say anything to us," the old woman replied. She thumped her stick again. "All that noise earlier. Did he have a crisis? Someone needs to come out here and tell us what's going on."

"At least you know something," Daitaro said. There was just a note of whining in his voice. "Would someone like to explain whatever it is you know? Honest workers like me get behind on things like this."

Someone laughed at his comment. "Come on, cousin," Tameo said. "Let's go over here and I'll tell you everything I know."

"Take Amaya-chan with you," Ryota said. "She was there from the beginning."

As the crowd moved around, InuYasha's ear flicked at the sounds outside. Nakao turned back at the door as the people outside continued to gossip. "Hisako-obaasan sounds mad," he said, then dropped his eyes, staring at his feet. "Is she mad at me? Did I do something I shouldn't have?"

"I doubt it," Kagome said, walking up to the boy. She rested a hand on his shoulder, nudging him further inside. "She's just wanting to know what's going on, and getting a little impatient."

"She does take after her otousan," Kaede said.

InuYasha smirked for a moment at that, and then turned back to Nakao. "You're going to just stand there?" the hanyou asked. His smirk turned into a small smile as he tried to make the boy feel more at ease. "Don't know about outside, but there's nobody's here who's mad at you."

Nakao took a step or two, encouraged by Kagome's nod. "I...I..." He took a deep breath and stepped up on the wooden platform.

"It's all right, Nakao-kun," Kaede said. She added tea into her teapot. "Kagome-chan told me a little of what you saw earlier. We just want to hear what you saw. Sometimes, hearing what the person who saw something directly tells us more, details that might have gotten missed. It might help our peddler friend here." She nodded towards the sleeping patient in the back of her room.

"Keh," InuYasha said. "He's pretty sick. If it helps, it'll be a good thing."

"But . . . " the boy said. He scratched his head, rather confused. "What does what I saw have to do with him? I saw him walk by, but he wasn't with me when . . . "

"We think there may be a connection," Kaede said. She poked the fire under her tea kettle.

"It's funny," Kagome said, leading the boy towards the fire pit. "InuYasha saw something that sounds like you saw this morning a long time ago. And we think maybe the peddler might have, too. Maybe even before he came to the village."

"But," Nakao said again, sitting down next to Kaede. "What's that have to do with what I saw?"

The old miko held up the feather charm once again "You see this?"

"A feather?" Nakao looked up at Kaede. He started to reach his hand out, but she moved it away before he could touch it. "Did it come from the bird I saw? It looks the same color."

"I wouldn't touch it if I were you," the old miko said. "Our peddler friend was wearing it. I have some worries this is what made him sick. And when Kagome-chan touched it, it called up her spiritual power."

Nakao jerked back his hand, and looked up at the miko, fear in his eyes. "I...Is it safe to be near?"

"I think so," Kaede said. Her single eye looked at the feather and then the boy in calm reassurance. "It reacts to spiritual powers, growing weaker each time."

"If you say so," Nakao said, leaning away from the feather in Kaede's hand. He looked at the sick man stretched out on the bed. Hajime was snoring softly, but the profuse sweating he had earlier had passed, and he seemed to be sleeping naturally. The ailing man groaned a little, and pulled his blanket closer to his chin, but made no effort to awaken. "Is he going to be all right?"

"We will do our best, son," Kaede said. "It counts how deeply the disease has him, and if there was dark magic that touched his soul."

Nakao watched as the old miko lifted the feather up to her eye level once more, letting it twirl on the red thread that it was fastened to. He frowned, trying to make sense of things. "How could a feather do all of that?"

"There are magics that can do that, and sometimes, magical beings can make poisons, as well," Kaede said. "I'm not exactly sure which one is involved here yet." She stood up and walked across the room. "I shall put this away for now, and under a ward so we are not accidently harmed." She opened up a chest and proceeded to put away the feather charm for safekeeping. Done, she turned around. "Now, Nakao-kun, tell us what you saw this morning."

The boy took a deep breath, and nodded. "I had been out early. Okaasan had wanted me to check on the bean patch. She had seen some deer near there. I pulled some weeds and started to come home when . . . when . . . " The boy winced and swallowed hard, lifting a hand to his throat.

Kaede frowned at his motion, and walked to a shelf, and took down a small package, then returned to her place by the fire. She put her hand on the boy's forehead, and then took his pulse. "You have no fever yourself. But does your throat hurt?"

"A little," Nakao admitted. "It feels fine until . . . until I . . . "

"Do you think . . . " Kagome asked. "Did what he saw do something to him?"

"Perhaps," the old miko said. She took a small, leaf-wrapped item out of her bag. "Some beings can do that with just a glance."

"Never worked for me," InuYasha muttered, almost too soft to be heard, but it was loud enough for Kagome to catch. His wife turned and looked at him, a sharp glance, and his ear twitched, and he gulped, not saying anything else.

"Maybe you are not the one in your family that has that particular gift, InuYasha," the old miko said, chuckling. Smoothing her face, she whispered a few syllables that InuYasha couldn't understand, and the small item she held glowed ever so slightly. "Here, Nakao-kun, eat this," she said, handing the boy the small morsel. "It's good for sore throat. Even if there is some magic behind it."

He nodded, and unwrapped it, popping it into his mouth. "Will it help?"

"It should," the old miko said. "If it doesn't, we'll figure out something. My home is a place where dark magics don't last long."

They waited a moment for the boy to finish eating the medicine. The group outside laughed at something Tameo said.

"How many times are you going to tell that story?" Hisako asked. Her irritation had not gotten any better.

"As often as necessary," the headman replied.

"Would you like some tea?" Kaede asked, ignoring the voices outside of her house.

Nakao nodded. "Yes, please."

"So continue with your story, Nakao-kun," Kaede said, handing him a cup of pale green liquid.

Nakao took a sip. "I was coming back from the bean patch, when I saw a bird. At first, I thought it was an eagle, a gray eagle a long way from the coast. But as it swooped down, it was too big for an eagle. I never saw anything like that before, so I just stood there on the road and watched as Peddler-sama passed by. I thought he didn't look well, and he didn't say anything. I thought that was weird. He always says something to me. My okaasan sells him stuff, and he usually wants to know if she's home when he comes to the village." He took another sip. "The tea feels good on my throat."

"Good, good," Kaede said. "You can have more if you drink it all."

"The bird was gray?" InuYasha asked. "Did it have bright yellow feathers on its tail, instead of white like an eagle?"

Nakao's eyes widened as he looked across the fire pit at the hanyou. "You saw it too?"

"Probably not this one," InuYasha replied. "It's been a while. The one I saw kind of looked like a gray eagle, but bigger, and with bright yellow tail feathers. But its head's not like an eagle at all."

The boy nodded. "More like a chicken," he said.

"Or maybe a pheasant?" InuYasha scratched the back of his head. "At least that's what it looked like to me. A pheasant hen's head on an eagle's body."

Nakao took another swallow of his tea then put the cup down. "I guess. The top of its head was smooth like a pheasant. It looked really weird. It started circling around a field and I moved up near the edge and hid behind the brush. I wanted to go tell my brother or some of the other boys. I didn't think anybody would believe me if I told them what I saw."

"Well, I do," Kagome said. "You've always told the truth to me."

"Keh," InuYasha said, nodding. "I do, too. Sounds just like the one I saw when I was young."

The sick peddler moaned, and turned over in his bed. His snoring changed rhythm for a moment, like he might wake up, but then smoothed out. After looking in his direction, Kaede turned back to Nakao. "So then what happened?"

"The bird landed in the field," Nakao said. "I thought that was weird, too, a bird that had an eagle body to land in the middle of a farm field instead of on a tree or something. It didn't set its wings like it was going in for a kill. It was landing So I got closer and peaked through the bushes that surrounded where it was going." He picked his tea cup back up, and took a swallow, and stared at the fire. "Then the weirdest thing happened."

InuYasha stuffed his hands back in his sleeves, his ear flicking as he heard Tameo tell Hisako something that made her stamp her walking stick. He ignored them and focused on the boy. "There was no bird when you looked, was there?"

"You . . . how did you know that?" Nakao asked, surprised at the hanyou's words.

"Instead there was this weird girl, I bet. Dressed in weird clothes with her hair put up funny like one of those statue guys in a temple," InuYasha continued. "That's what I saw when I ran into one. Mean girl, too."

Nakao's face ran through a range of emotions, from surprise to relief, but then, embarrassed, he dropped his head. "I ran when I spotted her," Nakao said, looking down in his tea cup. "She had weird eyes. Almost like a chicken's. I got scared, and ran until I found Miko-sama."

"Things like that can be frightening," Kagome said. "I'm glad you found me."

"You did right," the hanyou said. "Things like that can be dangerous."

"But who is she?" Nakao asked, looking at each of the adults in turn. "Is she a kami? Is she telling us that something bad's going to happen?"

"Not a kami, child," Kaede said. "The kami don't behave like this."

"No kami. A youkai," the hanyou said.

"Although, if InuYasha here is to be believed, it is a type of youkai the wise say sometimes is a portent of bad things to come." Kaede pursed her lips. "Still, I've never heard of it using feathers like she seems to have done."

"Don't believe everything you hear." InuYasha got to his feet. "If that one's a warning of bad things to happen, it's because she's making them happen herself," he said. He nodded to Kagome, who also stood up. "At least if it's a youkai, I know what to do next."

"So," Kaede said, looking up at the hanyou, "you're going hunting for our visitor?"

InuYasha patted the guardsman's club stuck into his obi. "It's my turn at lead guard. I guess I'm supposed to."

"And I think I should go with you," Kagome said. "We might need to purify it."

Kaede looked thoughtfully at the young couple. "That might be a good idea," she said, giving a sharp nod. "That feather did react to your spiritual powers. Don't let anybody else touch any feathers you might find. We don't need all the village coming down with whatever it did to our peddler here."

"I'll need my bow," Kagome said.

"You will indeed," the old miko said. "It's the safest way to purify something like that."

InuYasha nodded, and looked down at Nakao, who was still curled up, his knees drawn close to his body. "So where did you -" He stopped, hearing something outside.

"So, Susumu," Daitaro said outside. "You found another way not to go to the fields today?"

"No time, cousin," Susumu replied. "I'm looking for InuYasha."

"He's inside," Amaya said.

"Maybe you can find out what's going on," Hisako grumbled. "Nobody's telling us anything."

The door pushed open, and Susumu stepped into the house. Amaya peeked in behind him. "So there you are, InuYasha. I see you're having an exciting day for your first day of guard service."

The hanyou hovered between a scowl and a sigh. "Something else happened?" the hanyou asked. "I'm getting ready to go hunting. We've got a problem."

"Yes we do," the village guard said. "Something, something big, got one of Toshiro's cows. Cut it up bad, like nothing I've ever seen. I was hoping you could scent it out."

"Could it be the same youkai?" Kagome asked.

"Youkai?" Susumu asked. "You get all the luck."


	312. Chapter 312

_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 312**

As Susumu talked with InuYasha, there was a small gasp from the doorway of Kaede's house.

The village guard turned around to see Amaya standing there, holding the doormat in her hand.

"Amaya-chan?" he said. "I didn't know you were following me in." He frowned.

"Youkai?" Amaya said. "A dangerous one? In our village?" Her voice was loud enough to be heard by the people outside, and there was rumble of reaction from the group gathered there.

"Maybe now is not the time to be teasing Susumu," Sora said. "Come on, baby. Let me take you home." Her son began babbling something, nonsense syllables, that faded as the woman headed away from the miko's house.

"I knew something strange was going on," Hisako said. InuYasha's ear flicked as he heard her stomping her walking stick one more time. "But what does this have to do with the peddler?"

"Well, that news will travel quickly," Kaede said. She sighed and put down her teacup.

"We don't know yet for sure if there's one in the village," Kagome said, coloring a little at causing a potential disturbance. "Maybe. We're just getting ready to check to be sure." She looked up at her husband, who gave Amaya a confirming nod. "Hajime-sama for sure has had a run-in with one. But we don't know when it happened. It may be why he's ill."

Tameo pushed into the foyer. "Youkai magic?" He pulled on his beard, noting the scene in front of him, then looked up at the hanyou. "It seems, InuYasha, we have given you more than the usual handful for your first day on the job."

"He's already looking better than when I found him," Amaya said, crossing her arms and hugging herself tightly. "But I found him. Would it affect me?"

"I doubt it, child," Kaede said. "We found . . . a youkai artifact. We removed it, sealed it away, and he immediately started to improve, I think. You should be fine."

Amaya nodded. Sucking on her bottom lip, she pushed past the men and stepped up on the wooden platform and moved near to where the sick man was laying. "Let me help, Miko-sama. I found him. I...I feel . . . well, if the kami led me to him, maybe I should still be helping."

"That is very kind of you, child," Kaede said. She looked at Kagome. "You can help me with caring for Hajime-sama while I send Kagome-chan out to help purify whatever youkai is out there."

The old miko got up, and moved to the back of the house, where a bow and quiver were resting against the wall. She looked up at Kagome. "It was convenient, was it not, that you left these here the last time you used them? One less trip to make today."

"The sooner to get started," Susumu said. "That's a bit of luck. Yasuo's waiting for us so he can do something about that poor animal."

Kagome blushed a little once again, feeling a bit embarrassed as she accepted the bow from Kaede, who gave her an understanding smile. "He's right you know."

"I know . . . " Kagome said, slipping on the quiver.

"Keh," InuYasha said. "Saved us some time. Let's go youkai hunting."

She nodded and shouldered her bow.

Before they could reach the beaten earth of the entryway, Ryota pushed into the house, with Daitaro following closely behind. "A youkai? In the village? Where? Who saw it?"

"No one saw it," Susumu said. "So we're not even sure that's what's happening. Something ripped up one of Toshiro's oxen. Something big."

"I..." Nakao said. The grownups, for the moment, ignored him.

Daitaro grimaced. "It's a sad thing to lose an animal like that. You saw it?"

Susumu nodded.

"But this morning, I . . . " Nakao said.

Susumu patted him on the head. "You can come with us if you like, boy. I have to warn you, though, it's not going to be a pretty sight."

"Youkai attacking cattle has to be big," Daitaro said. He lifted his jug and took a small sip. Letting the bottle go, he wiped his mouth with the back of his sleeve. "Maybe I should go home and round up that old bull of mine."

Ryota grinned at this one, just a little.

"It doesn't have to be a youkai. It could be wolves," Tameo said, rubbing the back of his neck. "Bad luck for Toshiro. I heard him wondering if he should sell one of his oxen off at the next market day." He frowned. "But I've never heard of wolves coming out of the mountains unless the snow was so bad they were starving."

"Hunting should be good right now," InuYasha said, nodding. "Can't think of any reason they'd be coming down here. Well, maybe one." He looked at Kagome who raised an eyebrow at his suggestion. "No, not even him. There's no way they'd be going after anything in the village."

Daitaro scratched his cheek, trying to understand what the hanyou was talking about, but before he could ask, Susumu shook his head.

"This didn't look like any wolf or dog attack I've ever seen," the village guardsman said. "Whatever did it left deep claw marks. Too large for any wolf." He shrugged. "That's why I came to find InuYasha. He's better at this type of thing than we are."

The hanyou crossed his arms and drew himself up. "Keh."

"Some men are farmers, others hunters," Ryota said, nodding.

"Funny thing though, that poor animal. Its hide's all cut up. Almost more like chicken scratches than anything I've seen any other meat eater do," Susumu said, shrugging.

InuYasha and Kagome exchanged glances.

Nakao, tired of being ignored, pulled on Susumu's sleeve. "But . . . " the boy said. "I saw something this morning. What about what I saw?"

"You saw something today?" Susumu asked.

"He did indeed," Kagome said, "and came straight here to tell us about it. It may well be connected. Even before you came, we were getting ready to investigate. "

Susumu bent forward, and placed a hand on the boy's shoulder. "Well then, Nakao-kun, I think you should definitely go with us. "

"Go?" Nakao asked. He gulped, looking at both InuYasha and Kagome before looking back at the head of the village guard. "Susumu-sama, you think I should go with you?"

"You can show us where you saw it," Kagome said. "After that . . . "

"You're not afraid, are you, boy?" Ryota asked.

"Don't ask stupid questions, Ryota," Hisako said, standing in the doorway. She had a wicked smile on her face. "Didn't you run in here like the youkai was after you?"

"Uh," the man said. Daitaro snickered.

"Look," Susumu said. "It'd be useful if you showed us where you saw whatever it was you saw." He looked up at Ryota. "If you're too nervous after that, Ryota can walk you to your okaasan's house."

Ryota gulped.

"He never met a roof beam he was afraid to walk on, but something like this . . . " Daitaro whispered to Tameo.

"We all have our limits, cousin," the headman said.

"And while we're walking," Susumu said, "You can tell us all about it."

Nakao nodded.

Suddenly, Hajime, almost forgotten in the negotiation, let out an incredibly loud snore, then turned over in his sleep. "Stupid bird," he muttered, talking in his sleep. "Get out of here. Don't you see the hunters?"

His snoring resumed.

As the people in the house exchanged glances at that odd event, Kaede put her hands on her hip. "Enough, all of you. I have a sick man to attend to. It's time to get started with whatever you are going to do."

Susumu bowed to the old miko. "I'll get them out of your hair, Kaede-obaasan. You heard her. Let's go."

One by one, the group filed out, Susumu in the lead. Kagome was the last to head out.

Kaede stopped her just before she headed out of the door. "Be careful, child. I'm still not sure what's going on. Stay alert. And don't let anybody touch any feathers." She pressed a bag into the young miko's hand. It looked like it was made of silk, and designs like the ones on Miroku's ofuda had been painted on the surface. "Put any that you find in this. I would hate to see a rash of fevers like our friend has had here."

Kagome took the bag and tucked it into her sleeve. Giving the old miko a nod and a smile, she headed out to join the others.

While the motley group of visitors filed out of Kaede's hut and began to make their way to the far side of the village, two others walked in the mountains to the east of the village, a hard two days' march for the people of Kaede's village, but not nearly as far for the two travelers.

There was a crash in the woods as a large red shape hopped out of a great pine tree and landed on the ground in front of them.

"Who dares walk in my mountains without my leave?" the shape said. It stood up, a good eleven feet tall, with flaming red eyes and a grinning mouth marked by long fangs. He carried a massive club over one shoulder and had horns like a great ox sprouting out of his forehead. With a quick flick of his wrist, he pounded the ground with his club, knocking the smaller of the two travelers off his feet as the earth quaked with the impact. "This is my mountain, and I am its king! Nobody walks here unless I say so."

The little traveler picked himself up, leaning on his staff, adjusted his hat and moved towards the youkai. "Stupid oni!" he said, tapping his staff on the ground. "Do you not know who stands before you?"

"I see lunch," the oni said. "You for appetizer, and him, well, he's the right size for a main course."

The taller of the two travelers rested his hand lightly on the hilt of his sword. His face was unreadable, showing no fear nor even much interest at the words the oni spoke.

"You fool," the little traveler said. His green fingers gripped the staff he was carrying more tightly. "Sesshoumaru-sama doesn't need to ask permission from the likes of you."

The oni's eyes grew big for a moment, then his smirk returned. He squatted down. "So this is the mighty Sesshoumaru-sama. Funny, I always thought he'd be bigger than that. I heard that he was getting soft. Maybe I - "

Whatever the oni was going to say was interrupted by a flash and the fact his head separated from his body. It took his body several moments to realize that, not until the red jet squirting out of its neck had begun to ease and his body collapsed onto the ground.

Sesshoumaru flicked the blood off of his blade and resheathed it. "Come, Jaken."

A few minutes later the two sat on the grounds of a mountain meadow. The country was high here; most of the trees were pines and other evergreens. At one point, perhaps before the oni moved in, woodcutters had been busy here, creating the opening. A few stumps and slash from their work showed their progress, but now, outside of the small creatures who peeked from the trees surrounding the meadow, and then who dashed to safety, there were no other beings for long miles around.

The sky overhead was filling quickly with billowing clouds, and rain would be falling before the evening on the ground where the two were resting, but the clouds were not yet dense enough to block the view of one person who was looking up and watching them drift by.

Something crossed Jaken's field of view, something unexpected, like a dark shadow. His eyes narrowed a little as he watched. Pushing back his too small eboshi hat, he pointed with a green finger.

"Look, Sesshoumaru-sama," Jaken said. "Do you see that?" He scratched his head. "It's not a tengu. Big as one, though."

Sesshoumaru looked up. Overhead, a large bird flew. It was an odd looking bird, gray and mostly eagle-shaped, with bright, yellow feathers in its tail.

His face remained as stoic as ever, but his eyes narrowed as he watched the bird in flight. "Hnn."

"What is it, Dono?" Jaken said. "Is it a youkai?"

"Yosuzume." Sesshoumaru stood up. A small breeze played with his bangs as he looked up at the bird which made a long, lazy circle around and headed back to the west. He started moving in the same general direction.


	313. Chapter 313

_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 313**

While Sesshoumaru wended his way in the general direction of the village, his brother began heading towards the other side of the village. The going wasn't as simple as Sesshoumaru's progress, nor as quiet.

It began almost as quickly as the young miko stepped out. InuYasha was talking to Nakao.

"So tell me again," the hanyou said, "which field did you see the bird?"

Nakao moved next InuYasha, rubbing his throat like it still pained him a little, but he spoke up without any problem. "You know that field just past where my okaasan planted her beans?"

"The one that Michio let fallow this year? Not far from where Koume planted her tade plants?" Susumu asked. "Is that where you saw it?"

The boy nodded. "It was hard to get close. There's a lot of bushes and tall stuff."

"I know where that's at," the hanyou said. "I think we should start there, before going to Toshiro's."

"He's got a good crop of grass growing there," Daitaro said. "Be good hay."

"The rabbits like it," InuYasha said. "Tall enough to keep the people out most of the time."

"So do the hawks," Susumu said. "I've seen them hunting there."

"Maybe that's why . . . " Nakao said.

"That could be," Kagome said, nodding. She patted his head. "Good thinking."

"Maybe," InuYasha said. "But I have a feeling if what you saw was the same type of thing as I saw when I was young, it's after bigger prey."

"Now that that's settled, I guess we can go now," Kagome said.

"About time," InuYasha said. He stuffed his arms in his sleeves. "The longer we wait, the harder it's going to be to track. It won't be so bad at the field. I'll probably be able to pick up the scent. But at Toshiro's . . . the more people who walk around it, the harder it gets to see what happened."

"I didn't think you had trouble picking up a particular scent," Kagome said.

"It's not that. Tracks get hard to read when people step all over them," he replied. "And what if there's any more of those feather things? And if it can fly . . . "

"Besides, Toshiro's probably going to be sending an army after us if we don't get started soon," Ryota said, nodding. "He's got lots of patience with his grandchildren and his retainers, but threaten his livelihood . . . "

"Don't we all?" Tameo said.

"Some more than others. I could tell you stories," Daitaro replied, grinning. "Remember that time when those deer and that wolf . . . "

There were a few groanings and an eyeroll as he began to wind up. Hisako looked at her walking stick as if she were contemplating using it on more than the road. He paused to take a drink out of his jug, but before he could get any further, a young voice called out.

"InuYasha-sama! InuYasha-sama!"

InuYasha and most of the others turned to look as a teenaged boy carrying a huge bundle of fire wood, mostly deadwood with a few greener broken branches tied to his back.

"Well, Jiro," the hanyou said, his ear flicking impatiently but his face smooth. "Not fishing today?"

The boy bowed as best as he could under his load of sticks. "No, not today, alas. Haha-ue sent me and my cousin out for firewood. Why is everybody here?"

"Is what true, Jiro-kun?" Tameo asked.

"Ah, Headman-sama. I didn't see you there," he said, bowing again. The sticks he carried creaked under his movement. "I heard -"

"Better be careful there, boy," Hisako said, tapping his bundle with her walking stick. "You're going to lose your load."

"He definitely might if you keep poking him," Ryota mumbled. He was lucky he was out of her earshot.

"What did you hear, Jiro-kun," Kagome asked.

"Ah, Miko-sama," Jiro said, bowing once again. His bundle shifted a little, but the bindings held firm. "I heard another peddler went crazy today. My cousin, he was over by our apple trees this morning. He said he saw the herb peddler, walking down the road, talking out loud, like he was talking to an invisible person, all sorts of strange things."

"I saw him this morning too," Nakao said.

"It sounds like we're getting a plague of sick peddlers." He looked at the group with real concern. " What's going on? Miko-sama, is there a sickness that makes peddlers act crazy?"  
>"I don't think there's a sickness that makes peddlers in particular act that way," Kagome said. "But Hajime-sama is sick. He has a bad fever and is inside with Kaede-obaasan."<p>

"Can we go now?" InuYasha asked, obviously getting irritated. Kagome looked up at him with what she hoped was a soothing look. "This is taking too long."

"Good idea," Susumu said.

"That's too bad, Miko-sama" the boy said. "My okaasan likes him. Sometimes she buys headache medicine from him." He looked at the group of people, obviously getting restless. "So where is everybody going? It's not a religious procession is it? It's not the festival to honor Grandfather Catfish, is it? I know that's coming up, but I didn't think it was time already."

Ryota coughed. Hisako rolled her eyes. InuYasha sighed.

"I'd hate to miss that one," Jiro continued. "If I did, I bet I'd never catch another fish, and then how would I explain that to Okaasan?"

"It's not that festival," InuYasha said. "It's not any festival." He tried to keep his voice level, but there was a bit of a growl in the undertone.

"Oh, good," Jiro said.

Hisako tapped his bundle again with her staff. A largish branch decorated with dry, brown leaves shifted, which knocked a small piece out. It landed on the ground next to him. "Isn't your mother waiting for her firewood?" Hisako asked.

Jiro gulped, and carefully picked up the fallen stick. "Yes, yes. She told me there would be no rice if I didn't get the wood in. Please let me know the details about Peddler-sama when you get a chance. Haha-ue will probably pester me or Chichi-ue until she finds out. And she'll want to know if there's anything she can do to help."

"We'll let her know if we need her," Kagome said, giving the boy a small nod.

The boy adjusted the straps of his bundle and hurried off.

"It's a good thing Chiya and Benika weren't with us," Hisako said as they neared the turn off to the well. "If they had been . . . "

"If they had been," Susumu said, "everybody in the entire community would be turning out to see what was going to happen." He looked back at the group of people waiting to go with him. As he watched, Koichi and Denjiro were walking up. "Instead of half of it. And it seems to be growing by the minute. Maybe someone did tell them."

Tameo spoke up. "Everybody. This is a job for the village guard. If you're not in the guard or they haven't asked you to come, please - either go home or go to my house. You can get all the news there."

"You're serving sake, Tameo-sama?" Denjiro asked.

The headman rolled his eyes.

"Only the rotgut stuff," Daitaro said.

There was laughter from the gathered crowd. InuYasha flexed his fingers and tensed.

"Feh. Can we get going now?" InuYasha said. This time there was a little more of the growl in his words.

"Lead on, InuYasha," Susumu said. "Toshiro really will be sending out the troops if we don't get there."

Finally, the group moved out.

As InuYasha tried to get the unwieldy group of people on the move, in a different part of the village, Kimi was walking with her daughter Tazu and Rin, looking at a field filled with rows of plants covered with small pink blossoms. It was a field planted with tade, which Koume would use to make indigo dye.

"It's definitely a good day for weeding," Kimi said. "Haha-ue told me she had been too busy to get out here. And it shows."

"But it's still so pretty!" Rin said as they began to walk through the field. "Rin didn't expect to be working in a field of flowers."

"Yes, tade is a pretty plant," Kimi said, bending over to pull a weed. "But even pretty needs work." The three of them spread out across the field, hoes at hand.

"Rin's garden takes work," Rin said. "And it's flowers and herbs."

"Not just a little work. It takes a lot of work," Tazu said. "How often do you drag me out there?"

"Any time you want to tell Rin about the village boys," Rin said, picking up a small weed.

While Tazu sputterd, Kimi gave the girls a fond smile and began working in earnest. She started singing while she worked:

"In spring the green starts,  
>Sakura blossoms blooming,<br>and then the planting,  
>yoi, yoi, ya.<p>

"What to plant this year?  
>Purple eggplants, ginger,<br>onions and mustard,  
>yoi, yoi, ya.<p>

"The foxes run down  
>beside the mountain spirit<br>waking up the fields,  
>yoi, yoi, ya.<p>

"Don't wake up the weeds  
>please, between the crop rows,<br>where I must bend over,  
>yoi, yoi, ya.<p>

"Don't wake the rabbits  
>who eat all the young green things<br>unless they eat weeds,  
>yoi, yoi, ya."<p>

"It would be nice if the rabbits only ate the weeds," Tazu said, standing up after pulling a particularly stubborn one.

Rin tugged on a stem of lamb's quarters, and pulled it up, and put it into her basket. "Kaede-obaasan will put you in the soup tonight, weed. That's what you get for growing in Kimi-obasan's garden."

Tazu giggled. "You're so silly, Rin-chan."

Rin looked up at her friend, and smiled. "But it is true. Kaede-obaasan likes those in her soup."

"At least we don't have to work hard to plant them," Tazu said, pulling her own weed up. "They seem to grow everywhere without us even trying."

"What Rin doesn't understand," she said, walking down a row and tugging on another weed, "is how does a plant like tade make blue color?" She stopped and let her finger run up the stem of one of the plants. "All of its flowers are pink!"

"Ah," Kimi said, "I asked Haha-ue that myself when I was a girl weeding the tade patch." She pulled a bit of grass that was growing in between the plants. "Things aren't always what they seem, she said. She told me plants have their secrets just like we do. Some plants are loud and give them away whenever you look at them, like benibana."

"She still says that," Tazu said. "Things aren't what they seem. But she said that because of something someone said about InuYasha-sama."

"Well, I'm sure Okaasan was right," Kimi said. She stood up and stretched her back before grabbing another weed. "People have trouble looking deeply sometimes. Now what was I saying?"

"About benibana. Benibana's flowers are yellow and red," Rin said. A bee buzzed by as she walked down the row, landed on a flower and then flew off. She bent down and added another weed to her basket.

"That's right. But we can make red from them, now can't we?" Kimi said.

"I like that color better than what tade makes," Tazu said.

Kimi ignored the comment to continue with her lesson. "So they have their secret where we can see it. But other plants, they like to hide things deeper. Tade is one of those." She called Rin close, and gave one of the leaves a squeeze. It turned a dark green, with traces of something else in the bruised area.

"When the tade is ready to give away its secrets, when you squeeze the leaf, the spot where you squeeze it turns blue," Kimi said. "That's when you know it's time to harvest."

"Rin thinks it is a sneaky plant," she said, knitting her brows together. "But pretty."

Kimi laughed as they continued their work. Suddenly there was a loud screeching sound. "What was that?"

Rin shaded her eyes and looked up.

"Was that a hawk?" Tazu asked. "It sounded too loud for a hawk."

"And too low," Kimi said.

Rin pointed to the west. "What kind of bird is that?"


	314. Chapter 314

_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahasi_

**Chapter 314**

InuYasha, irritated, and mumbling beneath his breath in words too soft for even Kagome to make out, walked towards the headman's house, his hands firmly stuffed in his sleeve, and a scowl tightly planted on his face. He was followed by a motley band of villagers, headed by Susumu and Tameo, that seemed to grow with almost each step.

Susumu watched how the hanyou, walking next to Kagome was behaving. "We definitely need to let him get to work as soon as possible," he whispered to Tameo. "I've seen him before when he winds up like this. I watched him take down a whole tree barehanded once."

"True," the headman said, nodding and speaking nearly as softly. "I remember that day. Good thing his woman is with him, and he's taking duty seriously. But we're almost home. I think we can get your okaasan to smooth things over."

"Let's hope," Susumu said.

"Keh," InuYasha's ear flicked. He turned and looked at Tameo. "You don't have to worry. I'll do what I have to do. This is my village now, too."

"Good man," the headman said, looking a little sheepish at being caught by the hanyou. "I have to remember about your hearing."

"I keep forgetting as well," Susumu said. "Never doubted you, cousin. I just wanted to make things easier."

The hanyou gave the two a small nod acknowledging that, and a tiny, almost bitter curl of the lips, not quite a smirk but far from a smile, but about that time, they reached the headman's home. Tameo stuck his head in the gate, and waved down Isao, who he sent to fetch his wife. Turning back to the others, he drew himself up.

"So, InuYasha," he said, loud enough for the whole group to hear. "I think you and Kagome need to get on with your work." He turned to the others, looking particularly at Hisako, who was frowning. "If you're not in the village guard, you should go home, or stay here and wait."

"Keh," the hanyou said. He took a couple of steps, but Kagome turned back to look at the group.

"We're pretty sure that the peddler got sick from a youkai," she said, addressing the crowd herself. "I don't think you need to worry about coming down with whatever made him sick. It should be perfectly safe to go home or back to work. We don't even know where he met the youkai. It might not have been here."

"You heard what happened to Toshiro's ox. Who cares where the peddler got sick? If we have a monster in the village that can do that to an ox . . . " someone asked. "What if it comes after us when we're in the fields?"

The old woman tapped her walking stick, nodding. "It's not being infected that I'm worried about. We don't even know what to look for."

"That's why I'm trying to get to work," InuYasha said. "If there's a youkai to exterminate, it'll be safer if you aren't there to be youkai food."

"Bah," Hisako said.

"You're going to battle a youkai with that staff of yours?" Denjiro asked the old woman. He was standing in the back of the group, well out of reach of her walking stick. A few people standing near him snickered.

"Hisako Youkai Exterminator," someone said, just loud enough for the old woman to hear.

The old woman swirled around and pointed her stick at the speaker. "I heard that, Tadaki. I wonder what Haname would say?"

The young man swallowed.

The old woman pointed her stick at Denjiro next. "Better a stick than an attitude," she said. "What would you use, Denjiro?"

Someone tittered nervously.

"That's why I'm inviting you to stay here," the headman said. "Jun and Koichi and Kinjiro are around. And good company."

Hisa, with her daughter-in-law Emi reached the gate. As she studied the group, Tameo gave her a large smile. "Wife, we will be having company. Did you hear about the peddler?"

Without missing a beat, she returned his smile. "Yes, the poor man, and about what happened to Toshiro's animal as well. Hisako-obaasan, Yurime, Chisuzu, won't you stay? We were getting ready to talk about the next sewing party. You can tell us about everything you saw. "

"And what about us?" Denjiro asked.

"Jun's here," Hisa said. "I'm sure he can find something you might find interesting."

She walked over to Hisako. "Come on, Hisako-obaasan," she said, taking the older woman by the elbow. "I have some of those chimaki that Kotori sells at the market. You know how much you like them."

"Well . . . " Hisako said. "Kotori does have a way with treats . . . "

"You'll come back soon as you have news, won't you?" Hisa said to InuYasha.

"Keh," InuYasha replied.  
>"Of course he will," Tameo said. "That's part of his duties as village guard."<p>

"I guess I'll stay," Denjiro said. "Jun's a mighty fine storyteller."

"Just don't let him fill you with that rotgut sake," Daitaro said.

"You're not staying, cousin?" Hisa asked. "I have some fresh rice cakes."

He shook his head. "No, not today, Hisa-chan. I need to see what happened to this beast of Toshiro's. Anything that can take out an ox, I need to know about." He looked at Susumu and InuYasha. "And maybe these two could use the wisdom of experience. I know Miko-sama will try, but someone needs to keep them out of trouble."

InuYasha snorted, and Susumu rolled his eyes. Eiji, who had been in the compound, stepped out of the gate.

"And who, Daitaro-ojiisan, is going to keep you out of trouble?" he asked.

"Why, you will," Daitaro replied grinning.

Eiji nodded. "I could do that. I'm curious myself to see what happened."

"What about me?" Nakao said, pulling on Susumu's sleeve.

"Ah, you and Ryota will walk us to the field," Susumu said, looking at Ryota, with the smallest of smiles on his lips. "After that, he can walk you home or back here for some of Haha-ue's chimaki . . . that is, if Hisako-obaasan doesn't eat them all."

Hisako chuckled. "I'll save you one, boy."

"If that's all settled, can we leave now?" InuYasha said.

"Surely, cousin," Susumu said, stepping forward. "What's taking you so long?"

As they walked passed the rice fields, now filled with young rice plants nodding in the warmth, Susumu looked at InuYasha. "So what do you think we're looking for?"

"Yosuzume," InuYasha said.

"It was a big bird," Nakao said. "Big and gray with a yellow tail. Bigger than a gray eagle." He coughed. "It had a weird head." His hand grabbed his throat and rubbed.

"Your throat is bothering you again?" Kagome asked, looking at the boy. "I didn't think Kaede's medicine would wear off this fast."

"Maybe. Just a little." He waved away a mosquito that buzzed his head.  
>"Yosuzume?" Eiji said. "I thought they were small, like sparrows. My ojiisan had a run-in with them once, or so he told me."<p>

"Feh," the hanyou said. "I don't know what he saw. Not the ones I've seen. But they're shape shifters. Not as good as foxes, but maybe they can look like small birds or big. Or maybe your ojiisan was just telling stories."

They turned left and headed towards the edge of the cultivated land. "Could be. Ojiisan did love to talk."

"Especially after he had a cup of sake or two," Daitaro said. "But I think he really did run into some. It was right before that big storm that tore up half the village." He scratched the back of his neck. "You must have been a toddler then. Don't suspect you'd remember."

Eiji shook his head.

"I sure don't," Susumu said. "But Chichi-ue talks about it sometimes. Right before the rice harvest. It was a bad winter."

"There was a lot of fever, and not enough shelter," Daitaro said. His eyes grew distant as he remembered, and a little sad. "We're all lucky who made it through. Not all of us did."

Ryota had been walking behind them all rather quietly, looking at the fields like he was expecting a monster to jump up out of the water. He looked up though while Daitaro was talking. "I had a brother who didn't make it through that winter."

"Your brother and others," Daitaro said. He shook his head and turned back to Eiji. "Your ojiisan said he heard the yosuzume were supposed to warn about coming disasters. Well, didn't do us any good."

Nakao coughed again. Kagome put her hand on his forehead. "I don't know if I feel good," he said.

"No fever," the young miko said. "I wonder why you're feeling bad. Maybe you need to go back and see Kaede-obaasan."

"Maybe the youkai's near," InuYasha said. "If he got affected the last time, maybe it can still do it."

Several pairs of eyes looked up, scanning the skies.

"I don't even see a crow," Eiji said. "Now that's weird."

"We're almost there," Nakao said. He coughed again, then pointed. "That's . . . that's where I saw it."

Susumu patted him on the shoulder. "You're sure?"  
>Nakao nodded.<p>

"Good. Now you and Ryota go back to my house. Go see Kaede if you're still feeling bad," the village guard said. "I'm sure Haha-ue will have something special for you." He looked up at Ryota. "And you, too, friend."

"Just getting out of here will be good enough," Ryota said. "I'd rather deal with roof kami than bird youkai any day."

Daitaro lifted his jug, looked at the plug for a moment, then shook his head. "I think most of us would agree to that one." He dropped his jug, letting it dangle at his side on its strap. "Except maybe for our friend here."

InuYasha grinned. "You have that one right."

For a moment, InuYasha and Kagome watched the two walk off.

"I guess it's time to begin," the hanyou said.

"Right," Kagome said. She pulled an arrow out of her quiver and followed her husband as he headed toward the field.

"Stay behind me," InuYasha said. "I want to work on picking up any scents."

The group fell in line behind the hanyou. He picked a leaf up off a bush that edged the field, and held it to his nose. Kagome drew up near him.

"That yosuzume, it passed here," he said, answering the question in his wife's eyes.

"The one the peddler's feather came from?" she asked.

"Yeah," he replied. Slowly he made his way into the open field.

Out of sight, a voice started singing:

"In spring the green starts,  
>Sakura blossoms blooming,<br>and then the planting,  
>yoi, yoi, ya."<p>

"That's a fine voice," Daitaro said.

"That sounds like Kimi-chan," Susumu said.

"It does, doesn't it?" Eiji said. He scratched his head. "Koume-okasan grows her dye plants near here. I wonder if Kimi's working in the field today." Suddenly, he started looking at the sky a little anxiously.

InuYasha and Kagome began walking across the field. It was obvious something large had beat down some of the grass, although most of the field was untouched.

"Maybe we could go check on Kimi," Susumu said.

"I think I'll get a head start on you two," Daitaro said, and began heading towards Koume's field.

"Don't wake the rabbits  
>who eat all the young green things<br>unless they eat weeds,  
>yoi, yoi, ya."<p>

Almost, as if on cue, a rabbit jumped and ran across the field to disappear into a deeper section of the field. Kagome gave a little shriek of surprise.

"Kimi sounds fine," Eiji said. "Maybe a little better than Miko-sama here. Daitaro will let us know if we need to hurry. But still . . . "

He was about to head down the road when Kagome gave a triumphant cry and picked up a large grey feather. As her hands closed around it, there was a flash of bright light as her spiritual powers coursed through it.

"What was that?" Eiji asked.

"Miko powers over youkai power, I believe," Susumu said. "Is this thing dropping little treasures everywhere it goes?"

Suddenly, there was a loud screech, much louder and lower than an eagle would make. From the field where Kimi was working, they very clearly heard a young voice say, "What kind of bird is that?"

"Rin," Kagome said.

Everybody began running. 


	315. Chapter 315

_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 315**

As Rin and Kimi and Tazu looked up, they watched the strange bird circling overhead, then drop from the heights. As it dropped, its huge size became quite clear, but nobody in the field felt alarmed at the sight, just curious. Birds of prey flew over their part of the world quite often, and the three of them had not heard nor seen any of the unusual events of the morning.

It screeched again, a loud, nerve rattling sound.

"Is it hunting something?" Tazu asked. "It sure is big. I've seen other birds do that."

"Rin thinks it looks like an eagle," Rin said. "It's got a funny head for an eagle."

"It does, doesn't it?" Kimi said. "I've never quite seen one like that. We'll have to talk to Akimori-otousan. He knows more about birds than anybody else here in the village."

"He does?" Tazu said, surprised. "I didn't know Ojiisan knew that."

As they watched, it stopped circling lower and moved into a dive. It screeched again, louder.

Kimi laughed. "That's because Fujime-okaasan won't let him talk about them around her. She says he puts everybody to sleep when he starts."

As they watched, the bird stopped diving, and began to circle around much closer to the ground. Its odd, vaguely chicken-shaped head was clearly visible. It skimmed just above the level of the trees that separated Koume's field from the next plot of ground.

"I wonder what it's after?" Kimi bent over and pulled up another weed.

"I wonder what it eats," Tazu said.

"Something that big, just about anything it wants, I suspect," Kimi said. The bird flew directly overhead, then circled once more, gaining altitude. Kimi shivered as it did. "I don't think I like it. It shouldn't have a head like that."

Suddenly there was a crashing of brush from the direction of the field to the right, and a streak of red and silver followed as InuYasha, carrying Kagome on his back, ran into the field.

"Kimi-chan! Rin!" Kagome said, her bow at the ready.

Kimi dropped her hoe, and jumped as she saw the two running her way. She grabbed Rin's hand, knocking the girl's gathering basket out of her hand, and then grabbed her daughter and pulled her close. She threw both of them on the ground and covered them with her body.

"Okaa?" Tazu said, totally confused by the sudden turn of events.

Kimi peeked up at the couple, focusing on Kagome's drawn bow. "What is it Kagome-chan?" She turned as much as she could while keeping the girls under the cover of her body. "Is it a youkai? Bandits? Where? I don't see anything."

The bird, already flying at the edge of the young miko's bow range, gave a loud screech and flew off, heading west. The young miko lowered her bow. The breeze blew her bangs across her eyes, and she pushed them out of the way, quite unhappy as she watched.

"It's safe," Kagome said, disappointment in her voice. "I'm sorry we frightened you."

"Damn bird. Look how fast it's going," InuYasha said, pointing. "We could try to chase it."

Kagome shook her head. "Chasing something that flies like that when we don't even know where it's going won't do much good." She slipped off his back. "Even you would have trouble following that scent. We'll have to try something else. I guess we'll just have to go to see what happened to Toshiro's animal. Maybe it'll give us another clue."

"Damn it," the hanyou said. "So close . . . "

"But not close enough," Kagome said.

He nodded. "Not close enough."

"It has strong youki," the miko said, slipping of her husband's back. "I could feel it flair, right before we got here. It was strong enough, anybody nearby could have felt it." She walked over to Kimi and gave her a hand. "I bet you felt something." Much to the two girls' relief, Kimi got shakily to her feet.

"I did," Kimi said, nodding.

"Well, the one I met almost kicked my butt," InuYasha said. "I might have been young and stupid, but a low-level youkai wouldn't have done that. Don't know much about yosuzume, but I know that much."

Kimi stood up and brushed off her dress. "A youkai? Here?" Slowly Tazu got to her knees, and pulled a broken bit of tade out of her hair. "What did you call it?"

"A yosuzume, Kimi-chan," Kagome said. She slung her bow back over her body.

"I thought they were little," Kimi said, pulling a bit of tade out of her sleeve. "I've heard stories . . . "

"Not always," Kagome said.

Rin got up more gracefully, and helped Tazu to her feet, plucking a bit of weed out of her hair. "Rin thinks you need better flowers than that," she declared, throwing it on the ground.

This was not able to break the frightened look in the girl's eyes. Tazu looked at InuYasha, scowling. " You scared us."

"Sorry, kid." His ear flicked, as if in embarrassment, but the seriousness in his eyes didn't change. "You saw that bird? It wasn't just a bird. We couldn't catch it, but at least we chased it away. Who knows what it might have done to you."

Kagome rested her hand on her husband's arm. "Don't make her more frightened."

He took a deep breath and shrugged. "It's the truth."

Tazu, unnerved by the adult action, grabbed her mother's sleeve, and snuggled close. Rin, though, looked at InuYasha and Kagome and then back at the sky. The bird was a tiny dot on the distant horizon.

"That . . . that was a youkai?" Rin asked, perhaps more unnerved by being clutched by Kimi than the appearance of InuYasha or the strange bird. "Rin has not seen a youkai like that, before."

"Yeah," the hanyou said. Before he could say more, he was interrupted by an almost panicked voice calling Kimi's name.

"Kimi-chan!" Eiji said, running into the field from the road, not having InuYasha's ability to deal with bushes or trees. Susumu followed right behind. "Kimi! Are you all right?"

"Eiji?" Kimi hurried to her husband's side. "What's going on?"

He panted as he neared, then put his hand under her chin, looking at her carefully. "When I heard you singing here, I got scared. And when I heard Rin talk about the bird, I came running."

"Of course I'm all right," she said, shaking her head free, flickering between frightened and confused. "You must have been close. Where were you?"

"Michio's field." Eiji pointed in the direction they had come from. "So what are you even doing here?"

" Haha-ue asked me to check on her tade patch. We were just weeding it." She frowned. "The way everybody burst in here, I thought we were under a bandit attack or something. But all this talk about youkai . . . Are you all right?"

Daitaro, the first to head to the field and the last to arrive, strolled up to the gathered group.

"No bandits this time. Besides, they don't like to pass through this time of year. The rice is too young," the old man said.

"Did you see the bird?" Kagome asked.

"It was too big to miss," Kimi said. She bent over and picked up her hoe. "I've never seen one quite that large. Or that odd-looking." She shook her head. "Like an eagle and chicken. And there was something about it - I got the shivers when it got close."

"That's its youki," Kagome said.

Kimi shrugged. "If you say so. I thought it was because it just looked . . . looked . . . so wrong."

"Did it land?" Susumu asked.

"No," Rin said. She picked up her gathering basket from where she had dropped it when Kimi had grabbed her. "Rin thought it was going to. It was heading to that tree over there," she said pointing to a tall, but mostly dead tree on the edge of the field. "Rin wondered if it was hunting rabbits."

"Feh," InuYasha said, crossing his arms. "Not rabbits. Not a bird like that. It was looking for something bigger than rabbits."

He left unsaid what in the field might be bigger than rabbits. Kimi shivered a little. "At least it's over."

"It's not over," Susumu said. "Whatever it is, is still flying around. But I'm not sure what we need to do next." He frowned, scanning the sky.

"First things, first," Eiji said, resting a hand on his wife's shoulder. "Did anybody pick up any feathers?"

Kimi shook her head. "Why?"

"Good," Susumu said, ignoring her question. "Why don't you three head home? Kaede-obaasan has a sick man at her place. Rin, you might want to stay with Kimi. Haha-ue's entertaining a group at my house. I hear she's got some new chimaki from the last market day. If Hisako-obaasan hasn't eaten them all, I'm sure she wouldn't mind sharing."

"And they know all about what's been going on," Eiji said. "They'll bring you up to date better than I can. I'd feel better if you were there today. Or go to Haha-ue's, or your okaasan's place."

Kimi gave her husband an odd look, seeing the unspoken pleading in his face, which surprised her. "It's that bad?"

"Maybe not. We don't know yet." He shrugged. "Better with others when strange things are happening. But stay out of the fields."

She nodded.

"It was such a weird bird," Tazu said. Suddenly, she coughed, and put her hand to her neck. "Okaasan, my throat hurts."

InuYasha and Kagome exchanged glances. Kimi frowned at that, especially the worried look in Kagome's eyes.

"I'm sure that Hisa-obasan has something that can make it feel better," Kimi said. "Sometimes when you're around too many flowers blooming at once, the dust from the flowers can make your throat itch. And getting spilled onto the ground didn't help. Here, let's pick up everything. Hisa-obasan gets some of the best chimaki. Almost as good as Haha-ue's."

That made Tazu giggle, and Rin smile. The girls retrieved their gardening tools and baskets, and with a little more nudging, the three of them headed down the road.

"How are we going to farm if we have to watch out for something like this?" Daitaro asked.

Eiji shook his head as he watched them walk off. "I wonder . . . I heard a story last market day that makes me think about our situation."

"That marketplace is full of nothing but talk" InuYasha said. His ear flicked, and he scowled, still upset about missing the chance at the bird. "So what does this have to do with our youkai?"

"A peddler from back east was telling a story that happened in Kyoto not long ago." Eiji rubbed the back of his neck. "There was a member of the fire brigade in that town. He was being charged with setting fires."

"Isn't that an odd thing for a fire fighter to do?" Kagome asked. "Isn't the fire brigade responsible for putting out fires?"

"Indeed," Eiji replied, nodding. "But in this case, the fire fighter had been setting fires so he could go with his crew and play the hero."

"I've heard of things like that," Susumu said, scanning the field once more, also a bit impatient. "Someone doing something bad so he could rush in and save the day."

"Keh," the hanyou replied. He looked at Kagome, who looked at him questioningly. "I know someone who would do something like that . . . except he only did it with words, never pulled a bad stunt to get people to believe."

Suddenly, it dawned on Kagome that InuYasha was talking about Miroku, and her eyes widened a bit with amusement. She put her hand over her mouth to cover her smile, not wanting to laugh at such a somber moment, and when she was able to look more serious, she said, "But what does this have to do with the youkai?"

"I have heard that yosuzume are supposed to be harbingers of coming disaster," Eiji said. "But if the youkai can cause a sickness like the peddler's, or destroy things unseen, like what happened to the cow, perhaps the youkai is actually not being a harbinger of bad things, but the cause directly?"

"But what would it get out of it?" Susumu asked.

"A good question," Eiji said. "I don't know the answer."

"Youkai always have a reason," InuYasha said. "It may not be a human reason, but there's something going on."

Daitaro lifted his jug, and this time took a drink. A deep one.

Not long after that, Sesshoumaru, nearly halfway between Kaede's village and where he had started from earlier in the day, was passing under the branches of a massive tree. It was an ancient sakura. He had passed it many times, and in a way, considered it the boundary between his world and the world of the village he was heading towards. Ignoring Jaken's chatter, he put his hand on the tree's trunk and paused for a moment, his eyebrows knitting together as he scented the air.

"I smell . . . " he said, but did not complete his sentence.

"My lord?" Jaken asked.

There was a screeching bird cry, and a gray feather floated down in front of him.

A girl's voice laughed. It was a light sound, like all girls' voices, but with a deep malice that did not go with the sound of the voice.

"I smell . . . " the girl's voice said. "I smell . . . dog!"


	316. Chapter 316

_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 316**

From the cover of the great spreading branches of a massive tree to the west of Kaede's village, a girl's voice laughed in a bright, but eerie giggle. At the sound, a small flock of birds flew out of the tree's branches.

"Is that . . . a girl?" Jaken asked. "Here?"

As if to confirm his question, a small figure stepped out on a branch. It was a small shape, about the size of Rin, a girl with her hair worn tall on her head, dressed in yellow.

As a soft wind played with the ends of his long silver hair, and ruffled the lengths of his sleeves, Sesshoumaru looked up at the speaker. There was something uncanny about the laughter, some magic. As she laughed, the air became charged with youkai magic. A squirrel barked, then bounded down the tree, finding security elsewhere. A rabbit bounded away from the base of the tree to somewhere safer. Ignoring the small creatures, the stoic youkai gave the girl a look that would turn the bones of most humans into jelly, but she merely laughed more.

"What type of person is that?" Jaken frowned.

"Yosuzume," Sesshoumaru said. His youki began to flare, creating a small whirlwind that lifted his hair more than the wind had a moment ago.

"She looks too small to bother with," the little green youkai said. "Do we need to stop for the likes of her?"

"I..." Sesshoumaru said. He never completed the statement, but his youki did not quiet.

"Her eyes . . . " Jaken said. "I do not like them, Sesshoumaru-sama."

Her eyes were odd, almost red, and looked more like birds' eyes than human. Her look she gave the two travelers was insolent and fearless and highly amused. "Yes, I definitely do smell a dog. A homeless whelp. Even if he thinks very highly of himself," she said.

A crow landed next to the girl. She grinned at it, revealing sharp fangs. Flapping its wings once, the bird fell off its branch, and hit the ground, dead.

Jaken, who was standing a couple of steps behind his lord and master, looked at the dead bird and back up at the girl in the tree. "I don't care what type of youkai you are," he said, as he took a step forward. "Do not talk about my lord like that. Whelp?" he said, his voice rising stridently. "Don't you know who's standing here, stupid girl?" The little green youkai shoved his diminutive eboshi hat into place and drew himself up as tall as small green youkai could. "Do not mock Sesshoumaru-sama, great son of the Inu no Taisho! Larger beings than you have lived to regret doing that."

"Silence, Jaken," Sesshoumaru said, stretching out an arm in front of the little youkai. His arm moved jerkily, as if seemed to take him far more effort than usual to move. "She is aware of whom this Sesshoumaru is. We have . . . met before."

"But Dono," the little youkai said. His voice was confused.

"Indeed." For a moment the girl sat down on the branch, kicking her heels. It was an odd sight; in her body she acted like a little girl at play, but her eyes and lips betrayed something far older and not nearly as innocent. "We have . . . had our dealings before. It was a long time ago. His otousan and my mistress had a. . . . misunderstanding. Words were exchanged, promises made."

She grinned at Sesshoumaru. Her fangs were very white. "I am not sure if your master liked the outcome, though."

Somewhere, beyond the tree, a deer crashed through the underbrush. Jaken, already on edge because of the youki both his master and the girl in the tree were producing, jumped, falling on his butt as his staff set him off-balance.

The yosuzume, laughed again, a high girlish giggle as he picked himself up off the ground. "Well, that is water under the bridge. Do not think I do not value your master's . . . abilities." She laughed again. "I even left your master a gift as the token of my appreciation. Did you not see my feather? A Yosuzume feather is not something to be spurned. Some say that the spirits of the air bless those who hold them."

Jaken, looking on the ground and spied the object. It had landed about ten feet from the dead crow. "That bit of fluff?"

"I wouldn't mock it if I were you. Pick it up, little youkai," the girl said. She stood up on her limb, and for a moment, her face beamed like an innocent, inviting trust. Considering how she had been behaving, it looked out of place. "Don't just leave it there."

The little green youkai looked up at Sesshoumaru, who gave him no sign. Instead, the inu youkai's stoic glance was focused on the being in the tree. He looked in deep concentration, as if caught up in some puzzle he was trying to solve. Knowing better than to push his master at times like this, Jaken shrugged walked to where the feather lay on the ground. The feather, just a small grey feather that looked as if it had been plucked from the chest of a bird, lay on a tuft of grass. The grass seemed unaffected by its burden, even though the feather was obviously giving off magical energy. It glimmered slightly in a bit of dappled light that danced through the leaves of the tree. The magic surrounding it made it inviting, enticing, almost as if were begging to be picked up.

The yosuzume smiled. The innocent look of invitation had faded, and a predatory gleam replaced it. "Go on, little youkai. You know you want to. Pick it up."

Jaken reached out and looked back over his shoulder. Sesshoumaru watched, his body tense, as if he were straining. To Jaken, that was more unnerving than the girl. He shuddered.

"Do it!" the girl said.  
>He took a step, unthinking. "What is going on?" he said.<p>

"Isn't it pretty?" the girl asked.

Jaken's head felt thick. Too much strangeness was going on in his world, with his master behaving the way he was and the girl edging him on. Suddenly, he found himself standing over the feather.

"There you are," the girl said. She grinned again, showing her fangs. "Just pick it up."

Jaken picked up the gray feather from off of the ground. He looked at it for a moment, then all the fuzziness disappeared. The feather began to glow red, then burst into flame. Jaken squawked as the spell broke and he threw the feather to the ground and ran back to his master's side.

"Silly little youkai," the being in the tree said, contented with her prank.

"Yosuzume," Sesshoumaru said. "You are a long way from home." His voice wavered just a little, betraying the strain he felt. "I did not expect to see you again. Ever."

"My mistress . . . she believes some things are unfinished," the yosuzume said, shrugging. She gave him a particularly wicked smile. "And at least I have a home to go back to. I am not sure I could say the same for you, Son of the great Dog. Your otousan, he didn't leave you much, did he? No home, and this, too. Look at you standing unmoving in front of a girl."

"Words given under duress . . . " Sesshoumaru said. He swallowed.

"Under duress, you say, Sesshoumaru?" The girl's form leapt to a higher branch, a leap that to a human watcher would seem impossible."The magic bound you even so. Otherwise . . . "

Sesshoumaru's eyes reddened, just a bit.

The girl leapt to another branch. "Such a strange thing. There is a village east of here. Your scent is all around it. It has made me curious. What would a mountain youkai, an okuri inu like you be doing spending so much time in the plains?"

"Insolent girl! What my Lord does is none of your business!" Jaken squawked, angry, and reacting to the oddity of his master's behavior. He pointed the Staff of Two Heads in the general direction of the youkai. She laughed.

"I do not think your staff has the range, little one." She looked at Sesshoumaru. "Such a loyal retainer," she said. "Is he always so noisy? How interesting."

"This Sesshoumaru cares nothing about what you find interesting, bird," the inu youkai said. He took a half step forward. It was obviously very hard for him. A bead of sweat marked his forehead. "We have no business together."

"Ah, but my mistress does" the girl said. She leapt once again, landing on a branch near the youkai, and leaned over, smirking. "And the hanyou there . . . surely he shares your bloodline. How interesting. Do you call him brother?"

Sesshoumaru growled softly, but did not move.

For a moment, there was silence, marked mostly by Sesshoumaru's breathing, labored and hard, like the sound of a man pushing a heavy load. Jaken began to shake.

"As I was flying across the village, your scent wove in and out of the village fields, and down its streets. So unusual for a person of your character. Your youki has burned pathways quite visible to one with my eyes. How they circle around the house of the old miko who lives there."

Sesshoumaru's teeth bared, and his hand clenched the hilt of his sword firmly, but he remained still.

The girl tapped her chin. "Now I cannot see what the attraction of the old miko would be. And it can't be the woman who lives with the hanyou, but also works with the old miko who lives there. Perhaps . . . "

She stood up and got to her feet. Jaken looked at his master. Something passed unspoken between the stoic youkai and the little green retainer. Jaken's eyes lit up, pleased, and began to circle around the tree. The girl, focused on Sesshoumaru, paid him no mind.

"Although the old miko has several objects of power sealed in her house, I do not think there is anything there that would interest such a person as the son of the great Inu no Taisho," the yosuzume said. Sesshoumaru's eyes grew redder, and he clasped and unclasped his hand on his sword. "Why should it? With his two swords and his own youki, what needs he for the trinkets of wizards? How few are there on this world who can weave a spell that would interest the likes of him." She smirked once again. "What else is there in the old miko's house that could cause him to mark this place with his own scent, his own power?"

"The only other being there is a small girl, just knocking on the door of womanhood. A girl as tall as me. Could...could that be it?" She laughed once again. "Is the great son of the Inu no Taisho, dog that he is, nothing but a young girl's pet?"

Her laughter rang through the air, but Sesshoumaru, as if held down by some great weight or hand, remained motionless.

"Oh, my mistress will be so happy at this news," the girl said laughing. "The great inu youkai a pet who cannot move because of what his own otousan did. It's precious. I wonder what would happen if I pecked at him now. How I would like to line my nest with that silver hair . . . "

Before she could act on that, the forgotten Jaken swept the tree branches with flame from the staff of two heads.

"It'll take more than that, silly youkai!" the girl said, as the fire rushed towards her. With a flash of her own light, she took back her bird form and flew off into the sky.

One could almost hear something snap as the magic that bound the daiyoukai was released. In one angry gesture, he slashed at the burning tree, and the youki channeled through his fingers, cut through the trunk and it crashed on the ground in a mighty boom. Quickly, the flames began to spread on the ground around it.

"You will tell no one of this day," he said to a cowering Jaken.

"No, Dono," the little retainer said.

With no further words, Sesshoumaru took to the air. 


	317. Chapter 317

_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 317**

_A/N Life interfered with my posting yesterday, but the chapter is here today!_

The group who had followed InuYasha and Kagome from Kaede's house milled around in the courtyard at Tameo's. Riki, walked around the group, laying out sitting mats.

"Away, bird!" she said, waving a mat at a chicken who had strutted into the area. "There's nothing here for you to eat!" The bird squawked, flapped its wings, and headed away from the crowd.

"She ought to be glad you're not a cat," Koichi said, carrying a cluster of long poles over one shoulder.

"Not so sure about that," Jun said, coming up behind him.

"The cat is scared of the broom," Isao said, sweeping the last bit of leaves off the area. "I'm glad, too. She doesn't seem to like me."

The men chuckled. "Something good to be said for sweeping, then," Jun said, dropping a couple of heavy hammers on the ground.

"But the leaves just blow back in, and the chickens just scratch things up, and the dog . . . " Isao shrugged. "I can't use the broom for that. But at least the chickens don't scratch my hand."

"You just need to learn how to talk to the animals," Furume, Masu's daughter said. She sat down on a mat not far from where Jun was working. "My cat never tries to scratch me. So how long do we have to wait?"

"Until InuYasha gets back," her father replied, scratching his chin. "Of course, if you want to go back home, you could get to work on weeding the eggplants."

"Probably be a better use of your time," Hisako said. "Who knows when he'll get back." She leaned on her staff, obviously tired. Riki laid down a mat.

"Why don't you sit here, Hisako-obaasan?" Riki asked. "Do you need a drink of water?"

"No, I'm fine," the old woman said. She tapped her walking stick. "It's just . . . this morning has been . . . a bit too odd. I'm surprised my otousan hasn't showed up yet. That's all we'd need."

"Are you sure, Hisako-obaasan?" Matsume, Kinjiro's wife, asked, stepping off the verandah of the main house. She walked over to elderly woman.

"All the things that have happened the last few days," Hisako said. She let Matsume help her sit down, then rested her walking stick on the ground beside her.

"It's been quite a rash of peddlers," Choujiro said. "I never expected to go through two of them so close together who couldn't take any of my money."

"Maybe that's a sign of good luck," Riki said. "At least for the village, if not the peddlers."

"Speak for yourself, Riki," Hisako said. "I was hoping for something to make these fingers feel better." She flexed the fingers of her right hand. The joints were gnarled with the wear and tear of her long years.

Matsume sat down next to Hisako. "Are you sure I can't get you something?"

"Ah, child, I am doing as well as can be expected," the old woman said, patting Matsume's hand. "I'm surprised you're still with us. I expected you to have gone to your okaasan's house by now."

Matsume laid a hand over her swollen middle and looked down, with a sigh. "I expected to as well, Obaasan, but my okaasan sent word that Chichi-ue had gotten sick. He got sun sick, she said, and then caught a fever. He's better, she says, but weak and taking up a lot of her time. And their village has the cough. She's afraid that if I go there, I'll get sick too, or the baby will." But then she looked up, and gave the old woman a small smile. "But Hisa-okaasan has been hovering over me so much, I might as well be at my okaasan's house."

"She's good that way," Hisako said, nodding. "I'm sorry to hear about your otousan. But we don't want anything to happen to that little one."

"No, we don't," Kinjiro said, walking up to the group. "Hey, Koichi - you still haven't gotten that canopy up?"

Koichi and Jun were unrolling a long piece of heavy white cloth. He looked up as Kinjiro called his name. "We could use a hand if you want it up faster."

Kinjiro rolled his eyes as he went to help the two workers.

Hisako noticed the small sigh of relief from the expectant mother next to her."Your husband is hovering over you, too?" she asked.

"Like a hawk," Matsume said. "I even think he's spending less time in the field."

"Never thought I'd hear that," Denjiro said, leaning up against the wall of Tameo's house instead of sitting on one of the mats Riki laid out. He was watching the men raise up the canopy but made no effort to help them. "Kinjiro's backing off working?"

"Which is why the ancestors set up the custom of going home to your okaasan," Yaya, Isamu's wife, said. "Husbands hover more that otousans do."

"And okaasans know just how you feel, having lived through it." Riki said, stopping by the couple. "Jun was acting so . . . "

"So what?" Jun said, as he and the other two men began hoisting the canopy up.

Riki smiled. "You were wonderful, husband. I was just glad I could spare you from fretting, that's all."

"Fretting, that's what you call it?" Kinjiro said. He tugged on a support rope for the canopy and made sure it was pegged to the ground securely.

Jun laughed.

"So," Denjiro said, strolling over to Tameo. "Sometimes I wonder about the wisdom of all of this."

Tameo raised an eyebrow as he watched Koichi secure the last rope. "Wisdom of all of what?"

"Like what's been going on," Denjiro said. "So many strange things . . . "

Mitsuo, Susumu's only son, ran by, his horse toy firmly in hand. He moved his arm up and down as he moved, making it look, in a way, like the horse toy, galloping ahead of him, was pulling him along, an effect that fell apart as he stopped in front of Denjiro.

"See my horsey?" the boy said, lifting it up for Denjiro's inspection. It was made out of braided straw and wood, and was getting worn out from much handling.

"A very fine animal," the villager said, nodding. "Reminds me of one I had as a boy."

"Horsey's the best!" Mitsuo declared. "He's going after the oni king!" the boy announced, and ran towards Kinjiro's house.

"Just don't wake up Mikio," Riki said, calling after the boy. "I just put him down for a nap."

The boy nodded, but Riki watched him leave, doubtful.

"If it was that simple, some days," Denjiro said, watching as well. "Everything would make sense."

"Oni can be anything but simple," Masu said, joining the two men. "If they only were as stupid as they were in the stories, we'd all be the Peach Boy."

"Instead, the world's complicated," Tameo said, nodding. He crossed his arms. "Isao!" he called.

Isao walked up, broom clutched in his hand. He looked a bit overwhelmed by all the people in his work area. He bowed. "Yes, Tameo-sama?"

"I suspect Hisa-chan needs you more than the courtyard needs sweeping," the headman said, smiling. "I know you can't do much good with that broom right now. Go tell her the canopy is up, and see if she needs a hand."

He nodded and headed towards the main house.

"Don't know why people actually thought he was the troublemaker," Masu said, watching him go inside. "I could have told you that Aki was the one who got him into trouble all the time. Isao's always been a good boy."

Tameo grinned. "I remember a time when they thought I was the troublemaker." He looked around. "But we all know it was Daitaro."

"Still true," Hisako said. The women sitting outside giggled.

Denjiro scratched the back of his head and stood up straight. "Maybe so, maybe so."

"Just don't tell him that if you want any of his sake," Koichi said. "Not that there's anything wrong with the sake we make."

"Does the job well enough," Jun said. He picked up the tools he and the other men had been using and headed to the back of the compound.

"Complications, complications," Yaya said. She reached into her sleeve and pulled out a handkerchief, which she used to wipe off her forehead. "Remember this, remember that. Be nice to one person if you need a favor, watch what you say to another or else you'll spread your tale across the village like wildfire." She started twisting the hapless fabric into knots.

"But sometimes I wonder if we're not making it more complicated than it has to be," Denjiro said. "I know InuYasha is a good man . . . "

"But what?" Tameo said. His oldest granddaughter came by, chasing after his youngest grandchild Aomi. "Here you go, girl," he said, picking the little one up. "Where are you running off to, girl?"

"Hungry," she said, simply, then stuck her thumb in her mouth.

"Well, you'll never get lunch if you keep running away," Yorime, his oldest grandchild said, coming up to the headman. "I'm sorry, Ojiisan."

"You're hungry, little one?" Tameo asked. Aomi nodded.

"I'll take her, Ojiisan. Haha-ue has her lunch ready." Yorime held her arms open. "She's being a little stinker. First she tried to take Mitsuo's horse, and did take Suzume's doll, and then she ran away . . . "

He handed the girl to Yorime. "She reminds me of her father," he said with a chuckle. "Now be a good girl, Aomi-chan. I'm sure Obaachan has made something special you can have if you're a good girl."

"Good girl!" the toddler announced.

Laughing, he handed Aomi to Yorime. Together they headed into the house. As they entered, Hisa exited, carrying a tray, followed by Emi who was carrying another tray and a basket. Isao followed behind the two women, carrying a low table.

"I thought," Hisa said, looking at the gathering. Only Riki was under the canopy, tending to a brazier that was heating water. "That everybody would be more comfortable sitting outside in the shade than in the house today. If we're going to have an impromptu party, we might as well be comfortable. It's just too hot inside."

Denjiro wasn't through with his talk. While people moved into the shade, and Hisa began serving refreshments, he crossed his arms. "We have youkai living in the village. We even have one in the village guard. Are we asking to be bothered?"

"You know what the family kami said, don't you?" Emi said, as she passed a tray of rice cakes in front of him. "He has the kami's blessing."

The grumpy man looked at the tray and accepted a cake. "I know what he said. I just wonder if the kami's going to be there watching out for us when the youkai come. Is he going to take care of Toshiro's cow?"

"Some things are for us to handle," Tameo said.

"Isao-kun! Isao-kun!" a young voice said.

The men turned to see Tazu, followed by Kimi and Rin, hurry into the compound.

"Tazu-chan, slow down."

"Isao! You should have seen it!" Tazu said, reaching the boy who was kneeling near Riki's brazier. He had been put on fire patrol for the tea water while the women served.

"Seen what?" the boy asked as he added a small bit of wood to the flame. "You look kind of funny, Tazu."

"I...I..." she put her hand to her throat. "There was . . . was . . . " She swallowed. "This . . . bird thing. A youkai!"

Isao looked up. "A bird youkai?"

She nodded. Rin caught up with them.

"There was this big bird youkai, and InuYasha-ojisan and Kagome-obasan ran into the field and it ran away," Rin said.

Tazu nodded, obviously excited. "It was going to land near us, but they showed up and it went. You should have seen Kagome-sama. I think she would have scared Grandfather Catfish."

Tameo and the other men watched the girls make their report.

"And maybe the kami have given us the right tools to do the job," Tameo said. "Youkai blood and odd background or not."

"Maybe," Denjiro said. "We'll see."


	318. Chapter 318

_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 318**

_A/N Sorry for the delay between chapters. Real life stepped in the way. I got sick, and hubby found out he had to have another surgery on his knee and had to have some other procedures done as well. Because of the craziness of getting all this done, the pre- and post-operative business and my own physical issues, I can't quite promise there will be no interruptions to the posting schedule. But I think I will move the posting dates to Wednesday and Saturday. Let's see if that works out better. _

_Thanks for the kind notes from those of you who PM'd me. This story is important to me, and I will try my best to keep it going._

InuYasha and Kagome, Susumu, Eiji and Daitaro headed for the field where Yasuo waited with the carcass of his father's dead animal. The field was near the edge of the village, and they only passed a single lone farmer who looked at them curiously while they passed before picking up his hoe and getting back to work.

Still, even this far out, some of the fields were dedicated to raising rice. The path they were on took them between two fields where the young green plants lifted their heads above the water.

"Toshiro's fields are doing well," Susumu said as he brushed at small insects buzzing his head.

"The mosquitos must not be doing as well," Daitaro said, slapping at his arm. "They're coming in straight as an arrow."

"Arrows, indeed," Susumu said, dodging another insect. "Speaking of arrows," he said, tapping the hanyou on the shoulder, who seemed blissfully unbothered by any of the cloud of insects they were passing through, "Remind me, not to get on the wrong side of your woman there. The way she's ready to use that bow . . . "

InuYasha turned around to grin at Susumu and then looked down at Kagome and smiled fondly at her. "Keh. She's pretty good with it . . . nowadays."

"Practice," the young miko said. They reached the end of the paddy field and only a few of the flying insects followed them. She brushed one away that made a last attempt to pass too close to her face. "I got enough of that during the quest."

"And from the looks of how you handle it, you kept it up," Eiji said, bringing up the rear of the small group. He started scratching the back of his hand where one of the mosquitos had gotten lucky.

Kagome nodded, then turned back to glance at Susumu and giggled. "I've seen you use a bow as well. You're usually pretty good. But I remember one day you missed. And to make up for only getting my leg, you told people you thought I was a kitsune . . . "

The village guard shrugged. "Well, you were a rather unusual sight," Susumu said. "It must have thrown off my aim. Coming out of the blue, looking like nothing I'd ever seen before . . . your clothes - and in a place where I had been raised to believe was too dangerous for mortals. Sorry, InuYasha." Susumu nodded at the hanyou. "But that's what we had been raised to believe. So I just assumed anybody there . . . "

InuYasha shrugged.

"Shows you how much everybody knows," Daitaro said. "I had been going up there for years."

They passed near a tree, and a bird cawed loudly. Eiji picked up a rock, and a crow flew out.

"Otousan told me to let you be," the village guard said. "He said that he believed you were too stubborn for any mononoke to take out." He looked at Eiji. "I think if we jump at every bird that flies around here, we'll never get any work done."

Eiji gave Susumu a rather sheepish look. "You're probably right." Still, he bent down and picked up another rock and hefted it in his hand.

"So Tameo said that, did he?" the old farmer said chuckling. "Maybe he knew a thing or two."

Kagome giggled, and InuYasha grinned. "Keh," he said. "Tameo knows a lot."

"It's a good thing your shot wasn't the best one that day," Eiji said, plucking at a weed they were passing by. A branch snapped off, and he used it to scratch an itchy place on his back. "A lot of things might have turned out differently."

"True," the village guard said, nodding. He tapped InuYasha on the arm. "I suspect the world would be a different place today. Wouldn't be the same without you two. And I'd still be needing to guard that piece of forest."

InuYasha's ear twitched, uncertain how to respond. Daitaro, picking up on it, changed the subject. "Weapons, weapons. I'm better with an axe and a hoe. The bow never liked me," he said.

"That's because you don't need a bow to gather mushrooms or chase after your animals," Susumu said. "Bow's no good for keeping up after that bull of yours. Now if you're going after birds like Eiji here . . . "

"Bah," Eiji said. He dropped the stick he was using for a backscratcher and hefted the rock in his hand. "Rocks do work . . . "

"You have a point," the old farmer said. "Sometimes when they got too interested in my barley, I've thought about it."

"Haven't we all?" Susumu said, nodding. "Chichi-ue used to make that one of my jobs."

"Is that how you got good?" Eiji asked. "Scaring off the birds? Seems a waste of a good arrow. Rocks are easier."

"Might be easier," Susumu said. "But not if you want to bring them down."

Suddenly, Kagome stopped moving forward, closed her eyes a moment, then looked up.

InuYasha was about to say something to Susumu when he noticed she wasn't moving forward with them. "Kagome?"

Her brows knit together as she scanned the sky.

He moved to her side. "What is it?" he asked, looking up as well. "Don't tell me that youkai's still hovering around."

"I don't think so," she said, pointing to the northwest. "I do feel youki. It doesn't feel like that bird youkai though. Look. I can't quite make it out. Is that . . . "

InuYasha looked in the direction she was pointing, and sighed. "Yeah," InuYasha said, nodding. His lips curled into a rather displeased scowl. "Sesshoumaru. Don't we have enough going on today without him showing up?"

While the hanyou bemoaned his luck, and Hisa and Tameo entertained the group of visitors waiting to learn more about the youkai attack at Toshiro's pasture, Kaede's house was an island of calm after the noise earlier in the morning. The old miko gathered some herbs she had been using earlier in the day from where they rested near the fire pit, and placed them back in a basket, and then stood up.

"I suspect it's not this quiet at Tameo's house right now," she said.

Amaya, who had stayed behind to help her with the sick peddler, looked up, and laughed lightly. "With Hisako and Denjiro both over there? You know it has to be rather loud." She picked up a cup of tea she was drinking, and took a sip. "The only thing that would make it louder is if Benika shows up."

"Let's not wish that on poor Hisa-chan," Kaede said, with just a little smile. "There is going to be enough talk as it is."

She stood up with her herb basket and looked back at the sleeping form of the sick peddler. He was softly snoring, and the look of fever that had marked him when he was brought in had faded; his color was nearly normal.

"Well, at least this one thing is going well," she said. "You know, as well as he's doing, you don't need to stay here any longer, Amaya-chan. I think the crisis has passed."

"It's amazing," the younger woman said, sipping her tea again. She put the cup down and looked at him, He was curled up on one side, clutching the coverlet tightly in one hand, looking quite at peace. "He was so ill when I found him. I wasn't for sure if he would live the day. And now, it's almost like he was never ill at all."

"Illnesses caused by youkai magic can be like that, sometimes," Kaede said, nodding. "Take away the dark magic, and the illness goes. Once we found that charm he was wearing, it seemed to have broken whatever spell he was under." She started moving across the room. "If only some of our other aches and ills could be fixed so easily."

Amaya nodded. "I wish my winter cough would go that quickly."

"Don't we all," Kaede said. She began to put the bags of herbs in her basket back up in their place on a shelf.

Amaya turned in her direction. "How long do you think he'll sleep?"

"Until he wakes up," the old miko said. She looked back over her shoulder at him, evaluating him calmly with her one eye. "I imagine it depends how long he was carrying that charm. But rest is what he needs now. I'll try to wake him up to eat later on, but for now, we'll just let him sleep."

She went back to work, then suddenly, she looked up, as if she had heard a noise that surprised her. "Oh my," she said, turning towards the door. "That is a surprise."

Amaya looked up at Kaede. "Is something wrong, Miko-sama?" she asked, looking around the room. "Did you hear something from outside? I was rather lost in my thoughts and didn't notice anything."

"No, no, you didn't miss anything," Kaede said. "But I have . . . some miko business to take care of, something I didn't expect." She put the basket on the shelf. "Would you watch our peddler for a few minutes? I need to check on something."

Amaya nodded, a bit surprised herself at Kaede's behavior, but not enough to question the old miko. "Of course, Miko-sama."

The old miko shook out her sleeves, pursing her lips, and then headed out the door. A couple of boys were walking down the street, and a cat was sitting near the fence by her house. It flicked an ear as she stepped out, but was too asleep to do more. She looked down the road in the direction of the center of her village, and paused for a moment, contemplating her actions.

"Should I?" she said, then gave a small shake. "Perhaps not. I'm not quite sure where to start looking. How odd that he would pick today," she said as she walked the few steps from her front door to the steps that led up the hill to the shrine of the land kami. Walking up the steps with a long-practiced familiarity, she left the village and its people behind to near the sacred precinct. Bowing once at the funeral shrine of her sister, she walked away from the main building to the side, where she was not too surprised to find a tall, white-clad visitor. It was, after all, the place where the daiyoukai would come to talk to her from time to time. It was a part of their arrangement regarding her fostering of Rin - a safe place out of the everyday eyes of the village.

He looked at her calmly, but she knew from past experience he could be hard to read. His little companion youkai was nowhere to be seen at the moment. Kaede took another step forward.

"Sesshoumaru-sama," she said, bowing politely. "I hope I didn't keep you waiting, Dono."

"Miko-sama," he replied. His voice, more sonorous than one would expect for a face as soft as his, was as usual, controlled, as neutral as he could make it. "No. This Sesshoumaru had just arrived."

Her single eye took in the youkai lord standing in front of her. Even though all seemed well, there was something else she couldn't quite put her finger on. The breeze stirred his bangs and lifted the ends of his long, flowing hair, and his face was as stoic as ever, looked serious and somber. His eyes, the same amber-gold color as his brother's eyes, gave much less away than the hanyou's. But as she studied him, Kaede noticed there was something about him, perhaps something about the look to his eye, or the way he carried himself that showed some agitation, and his youki was far more agitated than usual on his visits to her. For him to let any emotion bleed through to anybody was unusual. Not knowing the source of his unease, she paused a moment, not wishing to provoke her powerful visitor.

"I would have brought Rin-chan with me when I noticed your arrival, Dono, but she is not at home right now," Kaede said. "She is with her friend Tazu-chan, and probably Tazu's mother Kimi. I would be happy to go and fetch her for you. She's been asking about you. I know she will be more than happy to see you."

Sesshoumaru held up a hand and shook his head. "Rin-chan is at the headman's house, Miko. This Sesshoumaru saw her as he flew in over the village, and she was playing games with the children there. He will see her when the time is right. This time, Miko, this Sesshoumaru is here to speak with you."

This surprised the old woman, and her face reflected it as her brows knit together. "Sesshoumaru-sama? You wish to speak to me?"

"Have you heard of a youkai called a yosuzume?" the youkai asked.


	319. Chapter 319

1_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Chapter 319**

_**A/N**__ Sorry about the long wait in between chapters. My husband underwent surgery on his leg two weeks ago, and with the lead-up to the surgery and the post-surgical situation, I just haven't been able to keep on any writing schedule. Hubby is doing pretty well, and life is quieting down. _

_Not sure if I'll be able to go back to a twice a week schedule yet on the story, but I will try to keep the posting days on Wednesdays and Saturdays for the near future (I'm doing all my stuff and all his stuff too, and there's just so much of me to go around...) But anyway, here's today's chapter._

While Kaede pondered how to best answer Sesshoumaru's question, InuYasha and the others finally reached the field where Yasuo, Toshiro's son, leaned on the fence, looking quite anxious. The field was tall with summer grass, except for the corner where he was standing, which had been mowed. He was not alone: Hisoki who worked for Toshiro, along with the father of Rin's friend Iya, and a couple of other villagers were there with him, along with an empty oxcart.

Off in the distance, a crow called, but as InuYasha looked up, he could see no sign of the yosuzume. Kagome, noticing him scanning the sky closed her eyes a moment, stretching her miko senses. "I don't feel any youki here except yours."

"She better keep her face away from us," the hanyou said. "She's going to be dead meat if she keeps this up."

"That's the spirit," Susumu said, patting the hanyou on the shoulder. "Spoken like a proper village guard. Now just to deal with Yasuo."

"Might be easier to fight the youkai," Eiji said. "He's not going to be happy about us taking so long to get here."

InuYasha's ear flicked. "Not much we could have done any faster."

"No, there's not," Susumu said nodding. He pointed at the knot of men ahead of them. "Maybe he's heard some of the talk."

"I don't know," Eiji said. One of the men in Yasuo's group walked up to Shigeru, Toshiro's farm hand, and began to argue with him "They look rather irritated."

"If you had to put up with Shigeru prancing around, you'd get that way fast," Susumu said.

Eiji nodded. "Nobody in the village is better at dodging work."

"Is he that bad?" Kagome asked. She shifted her quiver. "I've heard some talk, but . . . "

"We could tell you stories," Eiji replied.

"Just not right now," Susumu said. "Not if he's in the middle of things. It'll be bad enough to deal with him."

"Maybe I should just offer Yasuo some sake," Daitaro said. "Might take the edge off of things for him."

"Wouldn't hurt to try," Eiji said. He scratched the back of his neck. "Never seen it work on him before though. He doesn't drink much."

The crow InuYasha saw earlier landed near the Yasuo's men, hopping towards the dead animal. One of the men saw it, yelled, and threw a rock. As the hanyou watched, the farmer barked an order to his men and someone grabbed a cloth out of the oxcart, and spread it over the carcass.

Daitaro lifted his jug, looked at it, and let it go back to his side on its strap. "I always knew there was something odd about him."

Susumu snickered. "Not everybody longs for your brew, Ojisan."

"They do if they have any sense," the old farmer said, looking shocked.

Yasuo, satisfied at what the men were doing, turned around and waved at the approaching group. He slipped across the fence and stood on the path to meet them. As they watched, the look on his face went from worried to relieved and then to impatient.

"No, I don't think he's heard about everything that's gone on this morning," Eiji said.

"Standing next to a dead ox might have something to do with it," InuYasha said. "I can smell it from here."

"Thank the heavens we're not all blessed with your nose, friend," Daitaro said.

Hisoki carrying a shovel over his shoulder, whispered something to the man, then went to rejoin the others. Yasuo sighed, and shook his head.

"He definitely doesn't look very happy," Eiji said.

"Would you be?" Daitaro asked, shaking his head. "Losing an animal to . . . well, whatever."

"You know how Yasuo is," Susumu said. "He won't say a lot, but we'll all feel like we should have been here two hours ago." The village guard shrugged. "Just be glad it's Yasuo and not Toshiro."

"Why?" Kagome asked, looking at Susumu, surprised.

"Oh, he would have made us feel that we were not only late, but we should have been here the day before," Eiji said. "Or at least that's how he made me feel when I was younger."

Daitaro chuckled. "I remember a time or two where you earned every bit of it."

Looking a bit sheepish, the village guard shrugged. "I was young."

True to his description, Yasuo crossed his arms and scowled a bit as they reached the fence. "I was wondering if you were going to show up," he said. "I've been out here more than an hour."

"I take it you haven't heard about all the craziness this morning," Daitaro said.

"Worse than this?" Yasuo asked.

"Maybe not worse," InuYasha said. "But it took time."

Yasuo shrugged. "Well, let's get this figured out."

The air was filled with a foul smell. Part of it was the smell of death. But there was another note to it, something separate, almost flowery. As InuYasha got a whiff of it, his face contorted, and he rubbed his nose.

"The morning has been filled with one thing after another," Susumu said. He pointed to a heap beyond where the men stood. "Is that it?"

Yasuo nodded. "I've never seen anything quite like it." He scratched the back of his head. "I didn't think anything could do something like that to another animal."

"No wolf or dog could have done this," Hisoki said. "I'm glad you came, too, Miko-sama. This has to be dark work. Youkai work." He looked up at the group, catching InuYasha's eye. The hanyou's ear flicked as he studied the young man. Although Hisoki mentioned the word youkai like it was a dangerous thing, his eyes held no accusation looking at the hanyou. InuYasha raised an eyebrow, still surprised by the villagers doing that.

Kagome, though, didn't even think anything odd about Hisoki's comment and gave him a small nod of her head. "I will do what I can."

"I have seen what you can do before, Miko-sama," Hisoki said. "I have no doubt."

"Sorry, sorry, Yasuo," Susumu said, standing shoulder to shoulder with the hanyou. "There's been more happening here this morning than just what happened to your animal."

"All the same cause, I bet," InuYasha said.

"Have there been other attacks?" Yasuo asked, rubbing the back of his head. "Maybe you should . . . "

"Not on animals," the hanyou said. "I'm not sure what it's trying to do."

"Been a decidedly odd morning, indeed," Daitaro said, looking at the cloth-covered bundle, his eyes sad. "Is that . . . "

Yasuo shook his head. "No, it's not that cow you like so much. We were lucky there. It was Kaze-jiji. He didn't have that many years left in him, old thing. But I surely didn't wish this one on him."

Daitaro nodded. "He was a great animal in his prime. Patient as all hell. Had to be to put up with you and your brood."

Yasuo nodded. "I can't deny that." Flies landed on the ungainly shape hidden beneath a red and brown stained cloth.

Two of the men were in a pit, digging. "You're going to bury it?" InuYasha asked. He seemed surprised.

"If we treat him right, maybe his spirit will watch over the field for us," Hiroyo, Iya's father said, tossing a shovelful of dirt out of the hole. "Ox ghosts are nothing to trifle with."

Yasuo crossed his arms. "Damn beast didn't deserve what happened to it."

"Don't want him to come back as an ushi-oni. Those are nasty," Eiji said, nodding. "I'm glad you're with us, Kagome-sama. We'll want to bless the grave."

"And get Houshi-sama to do it, too when he gets back," Hiroki said. "Can't be too careful with things like this." He grabbed a branch and chased the flies off the carcass, but as soon as he finished, the insects buzzed back into place.

"I guess," the hanyou said. "Anybody saw what happened?"

Yasuo shook his head. "Shigeru here was the first one to spot it."

"Praise Buddha it wasn't me," Shigeru said. "Toshiro had sent me out to cut hay here." Shigeru leaned against the fence, clearly ignoring the men who were busy working on the digging. "I left my sharpening stone, and had gone off to find something to use." He shuddered. "It took a while but I found a stone that would do over there." He pointed towards a stand of trees. "All of a sudden, I heard a screech. It was a weird sound and made the hair on the back of my neck stand up. I looked up and saw this huge bird flying in circles over the field here. It was the strangest bird. Flew like an eagle, but had the oddest head."

InuYasha and Susumu exchanged glances. "I don't know what that thing's trying to prove. But I'm going to have to go bird hunting," the hanyou said.

Susumu, crossing his arms, nodded, looking quite sober"Looking that way," he said. "I just wish I knew why it decided to come after our village."

"Is that what's caused the other problems?" Yasuo asked. "A bird youkai?"

Susumu nodded. "There was a peddler almost killed by it, from what Kaede-sama said. And one of the boys saw it this morning. We were headed here when it tried to go after Kimi-chan, too."

"No, not Kimi-sama?" Hisoki said, obviously not pleased. "Is she all right?"

"She's safe," Kagome said. "We were able to chase the youkai off."

InuYasha turned to Shigeru. "What happened next?"

"It dived into the field. I ran back, but by the time I got here, it was too late. It was already on Kaze-jiji. Those claws . . . I ran home to tell Toshiro-sama."

"Didn't even try to chase it away, did you?" one of the diggers said.

Shigeru turned to the other men. "You heard InuYasha-sama and Susumu-sama. I'd have been stupid to try anything."

"Whatever," Hisoki said. He threw a rock at another crow who was venturing close.

"Would you have?" Shigeru said. "You didn't hear the sounds it made as . . . "

"Well, it meant less hay for you to cut," the digger said. Shigeru made a motion towards the man, but Yasuo rested his hand on the worker's shoulder and shook his head.

The other man leaned on his shovel. "He never saw a job that wouldn't wait an hour or two." It was said low, under his breath, only meant for his co-worker to hear, but loud enough for InuYasha to make out. While the diggers chuckled a moment, the hanyou's ear flicked in their direction. He scowled a little.

Shigeru, ignoring the banter, rubbed the back of his neck, and looked up at Yasuo, hope dawning in his eyes. "What about the hay? This field's going to be bad luck for a long time. Are you sure you're going to want me to mow it?"

"I'll talk with Chichi-ue," Yasuo said, frowning as the reality of the situation dawned on him. "We really need the hay from this field. But is it going to be safe? I'd hate to have to get rid of one of the animals . . . "

"I am sure we can bless the field," Kagome said, stepping forward. "In fact, I would like to start now." She headed for the gate. "We want to make sure the bird didn't drop anything that would hurt anybody else."

"Keh," InuYasha said. "But let's make it fast. We really need to find out what this bird's trying to pull."

Out of his eyesight, and out of Kagome's sensing range, a bird sped across the skies. It sang as it flew, not bird calls, but a human song.

The dogs growl today  
>yoi, yoi ya, yoi,<p>

They bare their teeth and threaten,  
>ears back, hackles rise,<br>yoi, yoi, ya yoi.

We do not forget,  
>yoi, yoi ya yoi.<br>I shall pluck their hairy tails bare  
>bare to line my Lady's nest<br>yoi, yoi ya yoi.

Growl while you still can.

With a loud screech, it circled once, and then sped off to the west. 


End file.
